News that the Northeast is getting hit hard by a massive snow storm is fodder for deniers. If you'd like to see the sort of arguments they'll be repeating, Climate Depot has a post rounding up previous posts that deny the connection between extreme snow events and climate change. There's also a quick post quoting denier-meteorologist, Joseph D'Aleo, who points out that the storm could make this decade the snowiest in the East Coast, according to NOAA's records.
But of course, extreme weather events of all varieties are consistent with a warming world. Climate change is likely to have a hand in worsening precipitation events like this week's storm because as the atmosphere warms, it is able to hold more moisture. Additionally,sea surface temperatures are abnormally high, and the difference between the cold front and the warm ocean gives more fuel to the storm engine. This increase in extreme precipitation has already been observed, with the Northeast experiencing a 71% increase between 1958 and 2012.
Humorist Alexandra Petri takes on the denier's twisted logic with a number of lines similar to 'snowstorm means no warming.' Our favorite: “Today I saw no people. There are no people.”
The Climate Action Hub
The 2014 People's Climate March accelerated civic momentum to pressure world leaders to reach an adequate and just treaty at the December 2015 UNFCCC Paris Climate Summit. The Climate Action Hub, as part of the Action/2015 coalition, publishes posts throughout the week and features a regular weekly series Sundays at 5:00 PM Pacific.
Join our 'eco swat team' and share information about campaigns in your local communities in the comments or by emailing us with story ideas. Join us here at Daily Kos to contribute your skills and experience. We need all hands on deck!