Jun 03 2011
In the Wake of Severe Tornadoes, How Communities Can Adapt to A Warm Planet
Two severe tornadoes in Western and Central Massachusetts this week killed 4 people, injured 200, and left 55,000 utility customers without power. Tornadoes in the New England state are relatively rare, and reflect the increased incidence of major storms this year. Senator John Kerry toured the devastated areas, assuring communities of federal aid. The Massachusetts storms came just a week after a massive tornado in Joplin, Missouri where an estimated 138 people died. President Obama visited Joplin this past Sunday, saying “[your country] will be with you every step of the way until Joplin is restored and this community is back on its feet.” The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration announced that the Joplin tornado was the deadliest in the US since 1957. Another major city to be hit was Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where 32 people died and thousands were made homeless on April 27th after a major tornado. The storm forced a pair of Nuclear plants to go offline, leaving more than a million people without power. This year has been the deadliest year for tornadoes in the U.S. since 1950. Is this a harbinger of the future? Is there a link between this severe weather, and global warming that is caused by green house gas emissions from fossil fuels? According to Mark Hertsgaard, “For more than 20 years, many of America’s political, business and media leaders have deliberately chosen to ignore scientific warnings about what would happen if we didn’t kick our addiction to fossil fuels, preferring instead the disinformation of the fossil fuel lobby.”
GUEST: Mark Hertsgaard, author of “HOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth,” and Amy Seidl, author of “Finding Higher Ground: Adaptation in the Age of Warming“
Find out more about Mark Hertsgaard here: www.markhertsgaard.com.
Find out more about Amy Seidl here: www.earlyspringthebook.com
Read Bill McKibben’s article in the Washington Post here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-link-between-climate-
change-and-joplin-tornadoes-never/2011/05/23/AFrVC49G_print.html
Comments Off on In the Wake of Severe Tornadoes, How Communities Can Adapt to A Warm Planet
