Waves of tornadoes are becoming common.
http://www.latimes.com/...
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Joe Shepard, sheriff of Gibson County, said 200 to 250 homes were destroyed in his county.
"It's like someone dropped an atomic bomb on the county," he said. "I've been a sheriff for 20 years and I've never seen anything like it. Things that sit out in the yard -- tin roofs, clothes, cars, propane tanks -- are all over the place."
In the rural areas, Shepard said, searchers had to venture into the fields and pick through debris for victims. One family -- a husband and wife and their two children -- were found 150 yards from their home.
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Remarks of Senator Barack Obama below the fold.
The Coming Storm: Energy Independence and the Safety of Our Planet
Chicago, IL, Monday, April 3rd, 2006
http://blogs.suntimes.com/...
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The issue of climate change is one that we ignore at our own peril. There may still be disputes about exactly how much we're contributing to the warming of the earth's atmosphere and how much is naturally occurring, but what we can be scientifically certain of is that our continued use of fossil fuels is pushing us to a point of no return. And unless we free ourselves from a dependence on these fossil fuels and chart a new course on energy in this country, we are condemning future generations to global catastrophe.
Just think about some of the trends we've seen.
Since 1980, we've experienced nineteen of the twenty hottest years on record - with 2005 being the hottest ever.
These high temperatures are drying up already dry land, causing unprecedented drought that's ruining crops, devastating farmers and spreading famine to already poor parts of the world. Over the last four decades, the percentage of the Earth's surface suffering drought has more than doubled. In the United States, the drought we experienced in 2002 was the worst in forty years. And in Africa, more rivers are beginning to dry up, threatening the water supply across the continent.
As more land becomes parched, more forests are starting to burn. Across Indonesia, throughout Alaska, and in the Western United States, wildfires have raged in recent years like never before. A new record was set in 2002, as more than 7 million acres burned from Oregon down to Arizona.
And while the situation on the land may look ugly, what's going on in the oceans is even worse. Hurricanes and typhoons thrive in warm water, and as the temperature has risen, so has the intensity of these storms. In the last thirty-five years, the percentage of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has doubled, and the wind speed and duration of these storms has jumped 50%. A hurricane showed up in the South Atlantic recently when scientists said it could never happen. Last year, Japan set a new record when it suffered its tenth typhoon and the United States set a record for the most tornadoes we've ever had. And at one point, Hurricane Wilma was the most powerful storm ever measured.
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Nightline called it an onslaught of violent deadly weather.