Given the calamity of last week’s Hurricane Harvey in Houston and this week’s Hurricane Irma pummeling the Southeast, our Thinker Thoughts comes from a commentary in the New York Times (September 3, 2017) entitled,
“Climate Science’s View of the Hurricane“, written by Katharine Mach and Miyuki Hino:
The answer, for scientists and everyone else who has been watching, is not to say definitively and dismissively, ‘This is the result of climate change’ or ‘There’s nothing we can do.’ It’s a chance to understand what is actually happening to the climate and all the ways human behavior leads to – and can mitigate – future disaster…
On the human side of risk, we should as a society embrace the fact that how and where we build our homes, plant our crops, construct our roads and bridges, and locate our schools and industries can provide resilience and safety rather than invite calamity…
We can take actions today that will make us more prepared, no matter what tomorrow holds. People can elevate power outlets in their homes, know their evacuation zone and have an emergency plan. Buildings can be raised and designed to resist hurricane-force winds. Such methods are tested and known to save lives and money…
Long-term climate change will necessitate more creative solutions…[w]e are not completely at the whims of the weather. With available tools and an eye toward the future, we can limit the amount of climate change that occurs, minimize the risks that remain and build a resilient future.”