Storm of Lies

On the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept 29th, Hurricane Ian made landfall along the gulf coast of Florida near Fort Myers. The Category 4 storm had sustained wind velocity of 150 mph, making it the 5th strongest hurricane to strike the United States. Equally devastating was Ian’s massive storm surge which caused extensive coastal flooding. In the storm’s wake, dozens of Floridians had lost their lives, and millions of homes and businesses were left without power. On these facts, it seems, we can all agree.

The leftist media immediately jumped at the opportunity to portray Hurricane Ian as a spectacular example of global warming. The New York Times, one of the most dishonest publications in America, stated that “strong storms are becoming more common in the Atlantic Ocean.” The equally mendacious Washington Post proclaimed “climate change is rapidly fueling super hurricanes.” Many other media outlets chimed in, claiming that global warming has made hurricanes more frequent and more severe. Yet all of these claims are patently false.

So let’s review the science and try to set the record straight. We shall begin by examining the hurricane record as it pertains to the state of Florida. As you might expect, Florida has suffered more hurricanes than any other state – by far. The 1935 Labor Day hurricane, which struck the Florida Keys, remains the strongest storm in US history, with astonishing sustained winds of 185 mph. Notably, this occurred decades before anyone was talking about global warming.

The chart below shows the number of hurricanes which have made landfall in Florida going all the way back to 1851. Clearly, there is an element of natural variability, with some decades seeing higher hurricane activity and some lower. (Hurricane Ian was the first to make landfall in the Sunshine state this decade.) Yet there is clearly no upward trend in the number of hurricanes affecting Florida. In fact, the data show that Florida is experiencing slightly less hurricanes than in the past!

Nor is it the case that Florida is being struck by stronger storms. According to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), there have been 15 Category 4 or 5 hurricanes which made landfall in Florida since 1919. 10 of these monster storms occurred before 1960, while only 5 took place since then. The simple truth is that vicious storms have been battering Florida long before human beings invented the internal combustion engine. The claim that Hurricane Ian is somehow “unprecedented” is totally false.

But what about the rest of the United States? While Florida is by far the most hurricane-prone part of the country, many other states such as Texas, Louisiana, and the Carolinas have been regularly impacted by these powerful storms. The graph below records the total number of hurricanes which have struck the continental US dating back to 1850, as well as the number of major hurricanes. (Category 3, 4 or 5 storms are considered major hurricanes.) Once again, the data clearly demonstrate that there is absolutely no increase in the frequency of hurricanes making landfall in the US. In fact, even the scientists at the NOAA admit that “US landfalling hurricanes…show a slight negative trend beginning from 1900 or from the late 1800s.”

Additionally, the number of major hurricanes has remained stable over time. Thus, there is no suggestion that hurricanes are becoming more intense. Yet these undisputed records are never mentioned by the liberal media pundits who are pre-occupied by pumping out misinformation. CNN’s Don Lemon is an excellent example of this phenomenon. Lemon recently interviewed Jamie Rohme, the director of NOAA’s Hurricane Center. During this exchange, Lemon insisted that global warming was causing hurricanes to become more intense. Much to Lemon’s chagrin, Rohme denied that any such link could be established.

Now let’s step back and look at the really big picture. Has global warming resulted in an increase in the frequency or intensity of worldwide hurricanes? The chart below shows the best data we have for global hurricane activity. Once again, the data show no significant long-term trend in worldwide hurricane activity. Neither the overall number of hurricanes nor the number of major hurricanes has substantially changed. In fact, despite the destructive effects of Hurricane Ian, the world is currently enjoying a relatively lull.

Some readers might be wondering why this data only goes back until 1980. Good question! Answer: it wasn’t until the late 1970’s that scientists were able use weather satellites to comprehensively study worldwide hurricane activity. Prior to the satellite era, only hurricanes which made landfall in populated regions were reliably recorded. Many storms were never detected because they never made landfall. Satellites now give us the ability track hurricanes wherever they occur.

This reality has created the opportunity for media mischief. The global warming alarmists at the Financial Times recently published the following graph, which purports to show that hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean are on the rise. Indeed, this data comes from the NOAA, and is completely accurate. No doubt many readers see this graph and are quick to adopt the media’s desired narrative: our carbon emissions are creating far more destructive hurricanes! It’s a climate crisis!

The problem is that the graph is entirely misleading, because it doesn’t take into account the many hurricanes before 1980 which were never observed. Now the scientists at the NOAA are fully aware of this potential misunderstanding and have been very careful to acknowledge the situation. They note, “After adjusting for changes in observing capabilities in the pre-satellite era, there is no significant long-term trend in the proportion of hurricanes that become major hurricanes. We conclude that the historical Atlantic hurricane data at this stage does not provide compelling evidence for an… increase in the frequency of tropical storms, hurricanes, or major hurricanes.”

We can be thankful that the scientists at the NOAA have been truthful on this matter. Sadly, the same cannot be said about the irresponsible journalists at the Financial Times, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. These journalists often write about climate; they are fully aware of the data which I have presented above, yet they continue to publish false and misleading climate propaganda. Such behavior is reprehensible and deeply harmful to our society.

Over the past 170 years since the Industrial Revolution, the earth has experiencing only 1 degree C of warming. Moreover, we know that the planet has been naturally warming since about 1700 when the Little Ice Age ended. Human activity has likely made a small contribution to this warming trend. But the idea that humanity faces some kind of climate emergency is preposterous. In fact, humans have never been safer from the climate! Over the past century, climate related deaths have fallen by over 98%.

These facts have not prevented the cult of climate alarmism from capturing the minds of people and politicians around the world. The climate cult holds powerful sway over President Joe Biden and his Democratic Party. As the result, the world now truly does face a crisis – not of climate, but of energy. Upon taking office, Joe Biden launched a war on American energy. The President has done everything in his power to prevent our nation from developing its rich oil and natural gas resources. This has driven gas prices to stratospheric levels. Home heating bills have spiked upward, and many businesses are struggling in the face of higher energy costs. Many Americans are now learning the painful lesson that energy is the foundation of our entire economy. Thus, the rise in energy prices has made a substantial contribution to soaring inflation.

Like all politicians, Joe Biden knows that the mid-term elections are fast approaching; he knows that American voters are miserable, frustrated and angry. Yet it is clear that Biden and the Democratic Party are completely beholden to the radical climate agenda. The United States has been blessed with massive oil and gas reserves. Resourceful Americans could easily supply our energy needs, as well as the needs of our friends in Europe who are facing even more desperate challenges.

Instead, Joe Biden has bizarrely begged for more oil from Saudi Arabia. But the Saudis only laughed at old Joe and recently announced that they were cutting oil production by 2 million barrels per day! Even more embarrassingly, Biden has engaged the brutal, despotic regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. The President has promised Maduro sanctions relief, if only they will export more oil.

Tragically, through a storm of lies, the political left has convinced far too many Americans that we face a climate crisis, all while driving us into a true crisis of energy. These events once again prove that no nation which consistently lies to itself can flourish for long.