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 Editorials | Opinions | March 2007 
Tornadoes, Politics and Child Safety
 Alan Burkhart - PVNN
| | U.S. President George W. Bush (3rd L) poses for a picture with residents of Americus, Georgia, during his visit there March 3, 2007. Bush toured the areas of Alabama and Georgia that were worst hit by tornadoes this week. (Reuters/Jason Reed) |
Recent tragic events in Missouri, Georgia and Alabama should send a strong message to anyone who has been paying attention to all the fuss about climate change: The time for politicizing the weather is over.
Every scientist who contributed to the IPCC's 2007 report knows that the "human connection" to global warming is doubtful at best. Man's tiny contribution to greenhouse gasses has not and will not have any real effect on the cycle of global climate.
The deaths of 20 people, including eight high school students in Enterprise, Alabama is a clear indication of how we should be preparing for climate change. Is the planet warming? Of course it is.
But many, perhaps most, climate experts agree that the Earth has been both much colder and much hotter than it is now, and the warming trend will continue regardless of actions we take to reduce atmospheric CO2.
On average, Man only produces about 3.2 percent of the Earth's total of 186 billion tons of yearly CO2 emissions. To assert that Man is behind the global warming "crisis" is patently absurd, yet that is exactly what the Left is doing.
If anyone in the Democrat Party or the various leftist environmental groups possesses a shred of character, they'll drop their politics and turn their considerable resources toward preparing for the coming years of violent weather.
To do otherwise is to declare their questionable political agenda as being more important than the lives of innocent American children.
The media would also do well to cease its politicking and address real concerns. Consider a March Third Associated Press article by Deb Riechmann. The article detailed President Bush's visit to the tornado-ravaged areas of the Southeast, and Riechmann simply could not resist a blatant attempt at calling Mr. Bush’s motives into question:
"Bush made the hastily arranged trip to highlight his administration's stepped-up efforts, especially by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to provide immediate help to disaster victims. The White House came under withering criticism for its response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005."
Now excuse me Deb, but since when is it unusual for a sitting president to visit a disaster area? I cannot recall a time when this was not a normal and expected practice. Several American towns have been devastated. Twenty people were killed in less than 24 hours by 31 tornadoes, and Deb Riechmann wants to play politics.
Rather than playing political games with the climate (which is exactly what the Left is trying to do), shouldn't we address the real problem? That problem is simple enough to understand: The planet will continue to warm until we reach the end of the current interglacial period. That's going to happen regardless of whether you drive a 10-ton SUV or a dinky Japanese hybrid.
Historically, interglacial warming periods last 15,000 to 20,000 years. The current interglacial has been around for approximately 18,000 years. It is safe to assume we have many years of naturally occurring and completely unstoppable global warming ahead of us. Instead of wrecking Western Culture in a bogus attempt to change what cannot be changed, shouldn't we be preparing for the future?
Consider the words of Professor Jane Francis, a respected British scientist at the University of Leeds:
"What we are seeing really is just another interglacial phase within our big icehouse climate," Francis told Reuters.
Dismissing political calls for a global effort to reverse climate change, she said, "It's really farcical because the climate has been changing constantly. What we should do is be more aware of the fact that it is changing and that we should be ready to adapt to the change."
Earth's climate is affected by inconsistencies in her orbit and rotation, cosmic rays from exploding stars in deep space, naturally occurring CO2 emissions, tectonic activity and a host of other forces beyond our ability to control. If the Left (and the Right for that matter) wishes to accomplish something worthwhile, they should get off their electoral soapboxes and work toward preparing for the coming storms.
I live in Southeastern Mississippi. I remember the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. I saw first hand the wrecked homes and shattered lives. I’ve seen the results of powerful tornadoes and straight-line winds and massive floods.
Less than a week ago, I found myself fleeing my humble mobile home and venturing into the local Wal-Mart until a line of powerful super cells passed through. Outside, the shopping carts in the parking lot engaged in an impromptu demolition derby while the driving rain reduced visibility to nearly zero. The weather in the Southeast is quite exciting with or without a category 5 hurricane (my home survived yet again - prayer works!)
States prone to violent weather should receive additional funding to build storm shelters in schools capable of withstanding a direct hit by an F-5 tornado. Imagine if Enterprise High School had such a shelter. In all likelihood, those eight kids would be alive today. I'm not questioning the actions of the faculty at Enterprise. I'm sure they did their level best to protect the children and I respect them for it. However, given the nature of the weather in the Southeast and Midwest, especially over the last 15 or 20 years, shouldn't we be doing more?
Schools, and perhaps other state-funded facilities, should be required to have such shelters, and adequate federal funding assistance for such shelters should be required as well. Private citizens should receive generous tax credits specifically for building such shelters for their homes and businesses in storm-prone areas of the country. How much better would it be to spend federal money in such a manner instead of ridiculous ideas like Dick Durbin’s notion of taxpayer-funded political campaigns (so your money might go to the guy you’re voting against.)
Designing buildings, especially schools, to be safe from deadly storms is no less important and no less practical than designing buildings and bridges that resist earthquakes. We have the technology and resources to make ourselves safer and the events of March 1 make it obvious that the need exists.
Politicians, especially Hillary Clinton, love to use the phrase "for the children" when they're getting ready to dump a boatload of taxpayer money into another questionable project. Here's a chance for them to do something that actually makes a difference.
Related Reading:
Bush Offers Comfort to Devastated Towns
Video: From the Air: Enterprise, Ala. Devastation
Warming Skeptics Call for Balanced Media Coverage
Global Warming: A Chilling Perspective
Ice Age? (Source for Prof. Jane Francis quote)
Prof Jane E. Francis Web Page
Senators Dodd and Durbin Announce Push for Public Financing
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