Bloomberg recently published an article arguing that Hurricane Berrier and other natural disasters that regularly hit the state are symptoms of climate change and that Texas’ pro-fossil fuel policies are partly to blame. [emphasis, links added]
Bloomberg’s article is wrong and is a classic example of blaming the victim (like Texas residents) for something 100% beyond their control: the weather.
Beryl was not the first hurricane or tropical storm to hit Texassome media reports are just the opposite. Although climate warming is moderate, The data shows there are no worsening trends in hurricanes or other extreme weather events in Texas or nationwide.
In short, contrary to Bloomberg's unsubstantiated assertions, There is no “signal” that climate change is causing or exacerbating weather disasters in Texas.
In “Hurricane Beryl Mocks Texas Climate Deniers,” by Opinion Editor Mark Kongloff, he used Hurricane Beryl as a news hook, writing:
on Monday [July 8],nation [Texas] Warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico are fueling Hurricane Beryl's attack for the third time, wreaking havoc on Caribbean islands, Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. It made landfall south of Houston as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing high winds, storm surge and heavy rainfall that left millions without power amid sweltering heat.
Gonlov's story was mostly accurate, but then he went completely off the rails, writing:
Quiz time: Which U.S. state is most vulnerable to climate-induced weather disasters and soaring home insurance costs, but is also experiencing rapid growth and a government hostile to the concept of climate change? The obvious answer is Florida, with its hurricanes and flooding and a governor who likes to pull stunts. However, the correct answer is Texas.
No state has suffered more climate-related damage over the past few decades than the Lone Star State—not even Florida, California, or Louisiana. The cost of homeowners insurance in Texas rose more than other states last year and over the past five years, according to S&P Global. Although Florida Governor Ron DeSantis bans mention of climate change, Texas’ aggressive pro-global warming policies do work and continue to cause real harm. Especially to Texas.
While Texas does experience more weather-related disasters than almost any other state when counting hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and floods, this is due to its unique geography (relative to natural weather patterns), size, and increasing Demographic data The development of areas prone to extreme weather disasters is accelerating; the number and severity of extreme weather events have not changed.
long term trend display Although climate warming is modest, extreme weather has not increased due to the rapid development and use of fossil fuels.
In contrast, the state has benefited significantly from the development and use of fossil fuels, a significant reason for strong job, economic and population growth.
In fact, the top four highest-grossing industries in Texas are gasoline and oil wholesale, oil and natural gas extraction, oil refining, and gasoline and oil bulk stations, which alone generate more than $1.13 trillion in revenue for the state.
That doesn’t include the billions of dollars in revenue generated by the chemical refining industry, which produces plastics, fertilizers, pesticides, lubricants and other fossil fuel-based products used widely in Texas, the United States and around the world. as a whole.
Losses from natural disasters in Texas have reached $350 billion since 1980, Gongloff estimates. These costs pale in comparison to the benefits delivered by fossil fuels during the same period.
In fact, the revenue generated from wholesale gasoline and oil alone in the most recent year was The $486.5 billion is greater than the total cost of weather-related disasters calculated by Gonlov during the entire 44-year period.
Of course, it's unclear whether long-term climate change will cause any of the weather-related losses Texas has suffered since 1980, because There is no evidence that it makes hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or wildfires more severe or more frequent.
First, let’s discuss beryl and hurricanes more broadly. Contrary to what some reports suggest, Beryl is not unprecedented.
The media and some meteorologists say climate change is “fueling” Cyclone Beryl. But a closer review of the evidence shows that, contrary to the hysteria, establishing a direct climate link is actually difficult.pic.twitter.com/7VSV9BHflS
our @ChrisMazWX explain…
— CFACT (@CFACT) July 2, 2024
Hurricane Bonnie makes landfall in southern Texas on June 26, 1986More than 13 inches of rain fell, triggering a tornado that killed four people. For those of you counting, June 26 is nearly two weeks earlier than July 8.
Also on June 30, 2010, Hurricane Alex made landfall south of the Texas coast Hurricane Sotola Marina in Tamaulipas, Mexico brought heavy rain, high winds, tornadoes and flooding to the Texas coast and Rio Grande Valley.
Since 1980 alone, six other named storms have made landfall in Texas in June ——This does not include those who did this before 1980.
If anyone wants to know, The 1900 Galveston hurricane, 124 years after global warming, remains the deadliest natural disaster in Texas and U.S. history, claiming as many as 12,000 lives.
In terms of hurricanes more broadly, real-world data clearly shows that the number of hurricanes or major hurricanes is not increasing as the planet warms modestly (see chart below).
The data also shows that as the earth warms, the number of tornadoes in Texas is not increasing; It shows the number of tornadoes increasing and decreasing year by year, with no predictable or identifiable pattern.
Across the country, despite better detection and tracking methods, as discussed in Climate Overview: Tornadoes, Overall, the number of tornadoes, especially large tornadoes (F3 or higher), has declined over the past 45 years.
Sadly, while this is true, this is not the impression one gets from mainstream media coverage of tornadoes.
Regarding wildfires, the National Park Service reports that wildfires have been a constant concern in Texas, from the arid, scrubby western regions of the state, to the prairies of central and mountainous Texas, to the pine forests of East Texas. part of Sri Lanka's history.
In a classic example of yellow journalism, Gonloff attributed the historic Smokehouse Creek wildfires in February and March 2024 in the West and Northern Texas Panhandle to droughts caused by climate change.
However, Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Texas shows that since the 1950s, the state has seen a downward trend in hot days and a slight increase in precipitation.
UN International Panel on Climate Change agrees that fire weather is not becoming more commonwrote in Chapter 12 on page 90 of the United Nations IPCC Sixth Assessment Report that “fire weather” has not appeared due to climate change.
With fewer hot days and more precipitation recorded in long-term climate records, the idea that climate change has made current conditions conducive to Texas wildfires simply doesn't hold up.
More directly, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the area plagued by the Smokehouse Creek Fire has not experienced any degree of drought, and neighboring areas in Oklahoma have not been affected by wildfires and are even “abnormally dry.” .
In fact, because the area had had so much rain in the previous months, the grasses were growing so well that when they dried out, it created a tinderbox situation that only needed a spark to ignite.
Despite the shocking headlines one may read from the mainstream media, Global area and area lost to wildfires has dropped significantly during recent mild climate changes, according to satellite data from NASA and the European Space Agency.
It is irresponsible of Bloomberg to publish this article, which is filled with inaccurate and misleading statements. As former Democratic Senator and Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, “Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but not to his or her facts.”
There is no evidence that climate change is exacerbating extreme weather events affecting Texas or the nationTherefore, there is no reason to blame Texas’ continued development and use of extremely beneficial fossil fuels for the harm that natural disasters have done and continue to do to the state.
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