After the recent destruction caused by hurricanes especially Hurricane Ida, President Joe Biden believes we are in a “climate crisis” – a code red for the world. White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy recently said that climate is already a “health emergency.” But is it really what it is? Let’s examine.
Some politicians are keen to consider that hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods are apocalyptic signs but in reality, climate anomalies are part of our world. During a snowstorm that struck Texas earlier this year, the administration used it to pass draconian policies. But the Texas snowstorm is just similar to the rare 1973 blizzard that hit the South. This means these things happen and we cannot do anything about it, according to New York Post.
In history, hurricanes are not touching land at higher frequencies nor is there proof that storms that make landfall develop and become more intense compared to the previous years.
Although Hurricane Ida did bring disaster over cities in the U.S., it was not necessarily “more dangerous” as compared to other hurricanes that hit the country.
In 1900, the Great Galveston hurricane killed nearly 10, 000 people in Texas. In 1926, the Great Miami hurricane killed 372 and causing an estimated inflation-adjusted of $157 billion in damages. In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, it was categorized as Category Three and the most damage was because of how unprepared the city was for the storm.
According to the president, hurricanes are “less destructive” as the government and companies can adapt and prepare beforehand. But climate change has always been bad for people’s health. And overall, deaths that happened due to natural causes have significantly dropped over the past century.
Weather accounts for only around 0.07 percent of worldwide deaths. That means that people are safer today even though they live in areas with extreme weather.
By claiming that we are in an exceptional crisis, we alter both our proper understanding of our technological abilities and our moral outlook as well.
A recent Nature journal piece noted: COVID-19 lockdowns have prepared people for “personal carbon allowances.” Restrictions on individual freedoms “that were unthinkable only one year before” have us “more prepared to accept the tracking and limitations” to “achieve a safer climate,” it said.
If Democrats say that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should be given authority to declare an eviction moratorium and unilaterally discard property rights, then one can imagine what awaits the U.S if climate change is declared as an emergency!
