My undergraduate degree is in meteorology and some of my graduate work dealt with paleoclimate. To me hurricane Katrina is nature in action, an inevitable and glorious performance by our miraculous little planet.
With that statement, by no means do I intend to diminish this still unfolding tragedy. By studying Earth, I have simply learned to respect it.
The devastation and horrible suffering Katrina has inflicted is a grim reminder that to survive we must continually seek to understand our host, to resolve our differences with Earth because we cannot win the conflict. Greed, short-sightedness, and arrogance will betray us, if we allow our leaders and the free-market press to think for us.
Meteorologists have been in a "catch-22" for years. The
only responsible approach to forecasting severe weather is to alert the public about the full range of possibilities. But the MSM, who stopped caring about anything but profit decades ago, knows that fear and mellodrama sell.
The MSM chooses to emphasize the worst-case scenario, to "sex-up" the science. But when 50 straight "forecasts" fail to live up to that hype, the public begins believing that meteorologists don't know what they're talking about. The weatherperson becomes the little boy who cried wolf.
Katrina was a monster by any measure, as close to a "sure thing" as you'll ever see. But our faith in science has been systematically eroded by irresponsible and greedy infotainment.
As well as by our elected officials.
Nothing is more threatening to the aristocracy than an educated public, and listed on this administration's screed of conquests is science itself.
It's a no-brainer: as the planet grows warmer, so will sea-surface temperatures, the energy source for hurricanes. Don't expect "The Day After Tomorrow" (utter nonsense) but you may want to consider the reality of global warming before sending 1/3 of the National Guard to Iraq to fight an illegal war.
This administration routinely trots out fake scientists to combat crucial, peer-reviewed research because it doesn't support their financial agenda.
Take the Hudson Institute's climate "expert" Dennis T. Avery. Avery frequently attacks global warming, although his credentials are suspect -- his Hudson bio curiously neglects to mention any degrees, stating only that he "studied agricultural economics at Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin." Avery has, however, received the "National Intelligence Medal of Achievement," a service award for members of the intelligence community.
Another example is Dr. H. Sterling Burnett of the National Center for Policy Analysis. Burnett "specializes in issues involving environmental policy" for the NCPA, also writing articles that seek to discredit global warming as well as "expensive" renewable energy. As an authority on earth sciences and environmental engineering, however, Dr. Burnett is way out of his element given that his Ph.D. is in philosophy.
Hurricanes, droughts, ice ages -- even meteors -- are inevitable and recurring consequences of the accident of our existence. We cannot stop, change, or delay them. So we must respect, study, and prepare for the reality of life on Earth.
We can't let our leaders take away our right, or fulfill our duty to self-educated, and so faithfully self-govern. We can't allow this adminstration to further de-value science so they can line their pockets.