Pirate's Cove

You know, this is totally your fault for driving your fossil fueled vehicle and going back in time to create monster hurricanes like the Great Galveston Hurricane on 1900, which killed somewhere between 6,000 and 12,000 people

How climate change is ‘loading the dice’ for more perilous hurricanes

As Hurricane Florence was closing in on the Carolina coast this week, the role of climate change in intensifying weather was back in the national conversation. Amna Nawaz talks with Radley Horton of Columbia University about the link between climate change and sea level rise and rising temperatures.

Amna Nawaz: The question is a vital one, with more and more people living along the coast and the seaboard, which many say is a problem in and of itself.

And there is certainly some debate among scientists about how climate change impacts a storm. But, increasingly, researchers are trying to explain the connections immediately after a storm hits. And they say climate change is definitely associated with both sea level rise and rising temperatures. (snip)

Let’s start with the million-dollar question we face every hurricane season. What is it we can say definitively about the link between climate change and these kinds of hurricane?

Radley Horton: Well, there’s a very clear link.

And there’s really three dimensions to it, to the way that human activities have increased the risks associated with these types of storms. The first is because climate change and warming has increased sea levels. And, as a result, whenever any storm hits, water levels are that much higher, just by virtue of that baseline having been raised, that gradual change in sea level. (slight snip)

The second component is the amount of rainfall associated with a given storm. As we have warmed the atmosphere, as we have warmed the upper ocean, it can now hold more moisture. So, for a storm of a given strength, there’s that much more moisture available to fall out in the types of catastrophic rains that we’re seeing here.

The third element, which is a little less certain than those first two, is that the storms themselves can become stronger with climate change, the actual strength of the winds, the depth of the low pressure.

These same people were claiming that human caused climate change was causing massive wind sheer that were killing off hurricanes, as well as upper level winds that steered them away from land during the period of 13 years without a landfalling major hurricane on U.S. soil. Notice where Amna states “explain the connections immediately after a storm hits.” This is not science, it’s retroactively attempting to Blamestorm and prop up your cult. They can’t future predict, but, damned if they won’t find a human caused link afterwards.

Remember, less than a week ago they were wondering if this would hit Category 6 status (which doesn’t exist). It was like they were hoping Florence would hit NC/SC as a monster major hurricane.

And, yes, climatic changes could be having an effect on systems, but, there’s no reason to assign witchcraft to it: the climate has always changed.

Read: ‘Climate Change’ Is Loading The Dice For More Perilous Hurricanes Or Something »

San Francisco’s streets are full of poop, people using drug needles openly, and used drug needles all over. LA’s streets are filthy. Homelessness is high and rising. Housing prices are beyond ridiculous. And so much more. But

California is ‘launching our own damn satellite’ to track pollution, with help from Planet

California plans to launch a satellite to monitor pollution in the state and contribute to climate science, Governor Jerry Brown announced today. The state is partnering with satellite imagery purveyor Planet to create a custom craft to “pinpoint – and stop – destructive emissions with unprecedented precision, on a scale that’s never been done before.”

Governor Brown made the announcement in the closing remarks of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, echoing a pledge made two years ago to scientists at the American Geophysical Union’s 2016 meeting.

“With science still under attack and the climate threat growing, we’re launching our own damn satellite,” Brown said today.

This would be the same climate summit which witnessed thousands of people from around the world fly in on fossil fueled airplanes, not too mention all the fossil fueled autos used to ferry them around.

Planet, which has launched hundreds of satellites in the last few years in order to provide near-real-time imagery of practically anywhere on Earth, will develop and operate the satellite. The plan is to equip it with sensors that can detect pollutants at their point sources, be they artificial or natural. That kind of direct observation enables direct action.

Technical details of the satellite are to be announced as the project solidifies. We can probably expect something like a 6U Cubesat loaded with instruments focused on detecting certain gases and particulates. An orbit with the satellite passing across the whole state along its north/south axis seems most likely; although Planet specializes in geosynchronous orbits, it seems unlikely that a single craft sitting in one place could offer adequate coverage. That said, multiple satellites are also a stated possibility.

What they do not tell you is that a 6U Cubesat is what’s called a nanosatellite, because it is tiny. It is also not meant to be in orbit for more than a year or so. They are for quick projects, not long term surveys. They cost at least $50,000, then at least another $100,000 to launch. If Brown wants a real satellite for long term science, well, something like that cost at least $50 million, plus launch costs.

Anyway, what’s it going to survey? How much carbon pollution is put out be the citizens of California as they drive their fossil fueled vehicles and welcome lots of people coming on vacations on fossil fueled flights?

Read: Governor Moonbeam Claims California Will Launch Its Own Damn Climate Satellite Or Something »