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Extreme weather was more frequent in recent years
is it a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions?
Now, has extreme weather been more frequent
in recent years? The evidence is definitely to the contrary.
The United States has always had extreme weather. We look back on our
weather history. It's been punishing: floods, droughts
tornadoes, hurricanes, great forest fires –
Is global warming happening? No doubt about it.
We're living in a warmer world, we're living in a melting world, sea levels are rising.
Now, direct evidence of the footprint
or the fingerprint of global warming: we're seeing more frequent,
more intense, and longer lasting heat waves.
As far as hurricanes, tornadoes,
forest fires, floods, and drought, the evidence is definitely not in.
The consensus among almost all scientists
is that it's a small fingerprint, not a large footprint.
But what is true is that
in this country, in the United States, we live in many areas
with great risk to drought, to tornadoes,
to hurricanes, and so part of the dialogue is not only
extreme weather and global warming,
but is the amount of risk we can tolerate. Now looking to the future,
global change, global warming –
it definitely is accelerating and it will have an impact
on extreme weather, but at this point, not much.
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