Notices by Andrew Dessler (andrewdessler@mastodon.world)

h/t TAMU faculty listserv

It's a good thing DeSantis did this. If he hadn't, Florida might be suffering the wrath of climate-enhanced hurricanes.

I was asked by a reporter to comment on Marjorie Taylor Greene's statement that humans control the weather. Here is what I said.

[Very Nordhaus voice] “Because most economic activity occurs indoors, warming of several degrees Celsius will have a minimal impact on our economy.”

Just to be clear, this is a joke. Of course, renewable energy is not responsible for the destruction of Hurricane Helene. Instead, we know that fossil fuels are making the hurricane more damaging.

Renewable energy ruins the landscape

The most important lesson of Helene: No one will escape the climate crisis

https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/you-will-not-escape-the-climate-crisis

Your occasional reminder that climate change makes rain events more intense.

Crack dealer: I care about society

NY Times: But you're a crack dealer

Crack dealer: Look, we are going to keep making and selling crack until we're put in jail. The real solution is better treatment facilities for addicts, paid for by society.

NY Times: You make some good points!

if this track moves a bit East, it's going to obliterate Tampa Bay

if you live on the W. Coast of Florida, make plans now. Make sure you have gas in the car, medicine, plans for pets, cash, know where you're going to go ... start planning now.

This is quantified in this paper by Fran Moore et al. @climatefran.bsky.social (https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1816541116): "The reference point for normal conditions appears to be based on weather experienced between 2 and 8 y ago."

A friend emailed me saying: "it was nice that Texas won the climate change lottery this year with a cooler wetter summer than usual"

Let's look at the data. Here's IAH summertime average temperatures:

2024 was definitely not "cool" by any metric. It *was* cooler than the hellacious summer of 2023, but it was still in the top 10% of summers over the past 55 years.

This points out one of the big problems with climate change: people's memories are terrible when it comes to extreme weather.

Recommended: Rolling Stone article, "Climate on the Ballot" by Thor Benson
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/climate-on-the-ballot-2024-1235096557/

@albertcardona @mattjhodgkinson @atthenius @williamgunn

to be honest, the problem with journals & reviewers is part of a bigger problem w/ academics: our publication system is broken

tweet thread from 2019:
https://x.com/AndrewDessler/status/1100771007437201409

Media organizations: please put buttons on your stories to share on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads

I'm amazed at how many people who say they are concerned about climate change have this weird, pathological need to believe that we're doomed.

We're only doomed if we (as a society) fail to deal with the problem.

Get over yourself and get to work.

I think a lot of people are on the
cusp of having an "oh shit" moment about extreme heat. Hotter temperatures do not mean tank tops and grilling in the backyard, it means, at best, changing how we live. At worst, it means suffering and death. At worst, it means suffering and death.

Why 2023 was so hot? Article by Clark Merrefield on how reporters should cover this.

https://journalistsresource.org/environment/warming-2023/

Our actual climate policy