Caution: Do Not Watch This Video!
Making the obvious connection may be upsetting
When you see pictures of rubble from the tornadoes that ravaged Joplin, Missouri, you should not wonder:
Is this somehow related to the huge tornado outbreak in Alabama (which, together, comprised the most active April for tornadoes in U.S. history)? …
… Or to the fires in drought-stricken Texas that are (that, even before the huge Arizona fire, had burned more of America at this time of year than any wildfires in previous years) …
… Or to this year’s record snowfalls and rainfalls across the Midwest, and the record flooding along the Mississippi …
… Or two how any of this relates to global warming …
… Or to the fact that climatologists have been predicting for years that as we flood the atmosphere with carbon we will also start both drying and flooding the planet, since warm air holds more water vapor than cold air.
The text of this video was drawn from a column in the Washington Post by scientist Bill McKibben, founder of the global climate campaign 350.org and a distinguished scholar at Middlebury College in Vermont. It was adapted for video by Stephen Thomson.