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GLOBAL WARMING

Al Gore: Climate Change to Blame For Hurricane Sandy

Epic storm 'a disturbing sign of things to come'

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by David Mark

Editor-in-Chief t

Image: AP

Hurricane Sandy's severity is the result of climate change triggered by human activity, Al Gore says. The former vice president writes on his website that like flooding two years ago in Nashville, Tenn., Hurricane Sandy could be a turning point in environmental awareness.

"While the storm that drenched Nashville was not a tropical cyclone like Hurricane Sandy, both storms were strengthened by the climate crisis," Gore writes. "Scientists tell us that by continually dumping 90 million tons of global warming pollution into the atmosphere every single day, we are altering the environment in which all storms develop."

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Is Al Gore right about climate change triggering Hurricane Sandy and other natural disasters?

Comments (view in Forum)

  • marine1
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    I'm not saying he is wrong and some of what he says makes sense but the solution can not be soley on the back of america. If we make rules that cost us jobs, we shouldn't buy the product from those who don't have to follow those rules.
  • dances-weebles
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    @marine1 nobody is even remotely suggesting that only the u.s. shoulder the responsibility alone. it's a global problem and must be solved globally.
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  • ccchhhrrriiiss
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    Al Gore comes out from his 45,000 sq ft mansion ONLY when there is a storm or heat wave. When temperatures go down and during relatively quiet hurricane seasons, Gore goes back to doing what he does best: Assaulting hotel masseurs and selling "carbon credits" to unwitting victims.
  • Pragmatist
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    Well then, it is certainly convenient for him that the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th most active Atlantic storm seasons in the history (since we started recording 1870) occurred in the last 6 years since he made "An Inconvenient Truth". The number one season was 2005 - which had also the most Category 5 storms (most powerful level of storms).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_hurrica...

    Maybe these are just statistical anomalies... we only have a little over a century of data. But here is a nice graphic showing storms over the centuries:
    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/time... .
  • ccchhhrrriiiss
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    @Pragmatist - First of all, the Wikipedia isn't a credible source. Secondly, your claims are bogus. Finally, "history" is much longer than the past 140 years. The science for climatology has only been meaningful for the past 30 years (thanks to widespread instrumentation and satellites). So, it would be obviously skewed to reflect "change" from what we THINK that things were like a hundred years ago. Of course, it doesn't take into account NATURAL CLIMATE CHANGE that takes place due to the Earth's revolution around the sun, solar flares, sunspot activity, climate cycles and natural phenomenon.
  • dances-weebles
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    when was the last time that you can remember there being a 'relatively quiet hurricane season? they're getting worse and worse, and the storms are stronger and larger than ever before in recorded history.
  • ccchhhrrriiiss
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    @dances-weebles - 2009. On average, there are about 10+ named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes every year. In 2009, there were only three hurricanes and just two that were "major." Last year was relatively inactive as well, with most storms taking place late in the season and occurring in the Atlantic (never threatening land). BTW, we don't know how "active" hurricanes were before the advent of modern satellites in the 1970s and 1980s because we couldn't monitor the entire Atlantic Ocean to see if there were more hurricane prior to that period.
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  • MBernard
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    How I knew somebody was going to say that? I thought about this morning and say somebody will blame this on global warming and the religious nuts are going to say it's God punishment.
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    Rustgold
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    The religious nuts were on several days ago.
    .
    If Gore was a proper expert on climate change, he'd know that you can't say one storm (or one anything) is proof of a changing climate. People like him make all environmentalists out to be crazies. The best thing nutters like him could do for environmentalism is to get back into his box and stay there.
  • Denizen_Kate
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    @Rustgold -- A one-trick Pony he may be, but he did not say that this one storm is proof of anything. He said it was a result of climate change and a "sign of things to come." I'm not saying that's correct (although I tend to agree with the scientists who say that it is), I'm just saying that this is how things get spun in odd directions, by putting words into others' mouths. Just an observation, not a judgement.
  • u
    Bambi
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    @Denizen_Kate Just for giggles, tell us what caused those hurricanes centuries ago? One hit Galveston, Tx in the early 20th century and thousands were killed and most of the buildings were destroyed Of course, gore didn't exist then, so I guess we have to settle for an "act of God."
  • Denizen_Kate
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    @Bambi -- I'm not arguing that hurricanes are not natural. We get them every year. I'm just pointing out that climate change has caused them to much bigger. Sometimes bigger in the sense that they are higher on the scale that measures wind speed, and sometimes, as with Sandy, bigger in that it covers a much larger area than usual and will therefore carry itself further inland and wreaking more havoc.

    BTW, here's the ironic bit that I mentioned in another reply to you on another thread. The "just for giggles" is snide, yet that's the very sort of sarcasm for which you chide me. Glass houses, Bambi.
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    laviavi
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    Can you imagine what our country could have been like if the political system in the US was clean & transparent? We should examine the claims to the existence of climate change. We should also stop our foolishness and cheating on elections so we could have the credibility to promote democracy from practice and not theory only.
  • ccchhhrrriiiss
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    That is a very stupid thing to say. Seriously. You obviously know little about what Republicans think...and your cheap shot at Christianity is uncalled for.
  • Quantummist
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    @ccchhhrrriiiss ,,,, Yes you are correct... I'm an atheist so sure can't put me in that basket and No One is or have been saying that the climate isn't changing.. It changes all the time... The point these B'Levers in the Religion ignore is that Man has Nothing to do with it and they have been played to fool by the Priests of the Religion so they can suck money out of their pockets... Al Gore sits in a home that has a carbon foot print of 10 average homes, flies around in private jets and has convoys to go anywhere on the ground... While getting people in low income housing and poor folks to spend on useless floro light bulbs and pay double for a old used car... It's a Con Game and the EnvironMental Followers are being forced everyday to pay for the Priests and Clerics of the Enviro Religion to make fortunes of off the con game....
  • Quantummist
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    @Cheenoguy .. I seem to remember left wingers saying that the hurricane in Florida was God striking the Republican convention .. Talking about it being a punishment... So I would guess that Sandy was making a much bigger statement... But of course if Obama had lowered the sea levels like he con'ed his imbecilic followers into B'Leving then it would not have been so bad I guess....
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  • dances-weebles
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    sandy is much, much larger than katrina was, katrina was more powerful, but sandy, they say may possibly be the largest in history to date, and a preview of worse to come. yes, the winds are lower, but the shear amount of time that it takes for the storm to pass over and then go away is a whole lot longer, and therefore the rains add up to more.
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    Wisdom73
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    ManBearPig strikes again. While there may be evidence of global warming, the fact that Mr. Gore is jumping into the spotlight blaming this event on global warming before any scientist or meteorologist who has the actual educational background and done the research to back up such a statement, proves his statements should be taken as pure speculation.
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    Kellso
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    EVERYTHING and i do mean EVERYTHING he said that the scientists said is happening. The polar caps are melting and sea levels are rising. Weather is changing because of the change in the waters in the oceans. We are having more drastic temperatures and swings. What else could he have told us that you simple minds laugh at? Now you tell us all since you guys are so smart, why is this happening???
  • mimi57
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    Even according to Nasa Climate Change is cyclical...Al Gore is an opportunist making lots of money profiting
    from the whole Global warming scam. That's why he's rich and can afford to pay 1,300.00 to heat his 10,000
    square foot home, if he believes in it , maybe he should scale back to maybe an 8,000 sq. foot home, and drive
    an economy car instead of taking private jets...just another Limousine Lib...Hypocrite much?
  • ritabugs
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    People should listen to Al Gore, because he is so right about Global Warming - the high temperatures we are having, my trees looked like Fall back in July & August, birds dropping from the skies, fish dying in lakes and streams all over the country come on people wake up. Also solar flares getting worse - something is happening all over.
  • Citrus93ta
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    Wrong global warming was stopped back in 1997 there's been a cooling since Al gore is a opportunist who just wants to profit from idiots
  • ccchhhrrriiiss
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    The problem with "Climate Change" is that the scientists who are studying its causes, effects and issues often have a VESTED INTEREST in going along with the "party" (or, in this case, fiscal) line.

    Instead of making up our mind based solely upon the word of professional (and highly paid) "climatologists" and "environmental engineers," we should listen to physicists, meteorologists, chemists, geologists and others who study the matter objectively.

    REMEMBER: There is "climate change" occurring on Mars, Venus and, interestingly, our own Moon. Obviously, human beings and industry didn't cause those climate changes. Moreover, there was "climate change" long before the Earth was so largely populated. The various ice ages (and mini-ice ages) came and went prior to the industrial age.

    The question regarding this issue is: 1.) What part(s) of climate change is MAN MADE?; and, 2.) The cost of doing what environmental activists (like Al Gore) might harm the nation's economic-political status on an international scale. China, India, Russia and other nations have made it clear that they will NOT adhere to any international protocols on the matter. If we do, it places us at a competitive disadvantage.
  • DARSB
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    "scientists who are studying its causes, effects and issues often have a VESTED INTEREST in going along with the "party"" Really. How so?
  • ccchhhrrriiiss
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    @DARSB - Most university-based and grant-based "climatologists" are funded to study climate change...and find man-made reasons/solutions for it. So, their funding is dependent upon finding links between man/industry and climate changes. HOWEVER, physicists, geologists, meteorologists and others are often free from monetary or vocational motivations. There is much less support for man-made climate change (and the solutions devised by funded-climatologists) among mainstream scientists.
  • u
    EquinsuOcha
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    Too hot: global warming.
    Too cold: global warming.
    Too much snow: global warming.
    Too little snow: global warming.
    Too much rain: global warming.
    Too little rain:global warming.
    You can't win with these morons......What is known is that if every country on earth did their best to curb carbon emissions it would only drop the average temperature one half of a degree..........But your power bill would skyrocket......
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    Your_Name_Here
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    Climate requires a lot of data and supercomputers. I know Al Gore invented the Internet and can most assuredly give any supercomputer a run for the money... But...
    My personal belief is that the earth has a history of climate changes over time that have gone to both extremes; global warming and ice ages and we are in the same pattern right now. Unfortunately the human race cannot stop itself from destroying the environment so we'll be killed off by either nature or something man made.
  • mimi57
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    LOL, that's right, he did take the credit for initiating the creation of the Internet, huh? I thought it was Tim Berners-Lee.
    So, It was Mr. Global Warming...? Go figure...
  • Your_Name_Here
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    @mimi57 I thought he was web but that stuff all ran together back then. I worked with packet switching networks back in 1970 which is the underlying component of today's Internet but completely forgot to take credit for all that. Not really sure about global warming; it has some basis for sure but I think pollution is going to get us first.
  • mimi57
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    @Your_Name_Here Well Hey, start telling anyone who'll listen...that's all Gore has done. He is a nut! I think it
    will be a nuclear war, possibly the nuts in Iran...
  • Your_Name_Here
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    @mimi57 With the current "management" in place the US will fade into oblivion and become meaningless. We will not be a superpower, we already lost our engineering and design edge, the government bloat is adding to the debt faster than it can be paid off, we no longer have the manufacturing edge. I guess the best we can hope for is to get jobs cleaning toilets for the new owners. The enemy, believe it or not, is not the Democrats or Republicans... it's the government.
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