Surging sea levels will inundate the coasts. This is false. Sea levels have risen at the same pace for 100 years, unaffected by climate change or human activity. The rate of increase is about seven inches per 100 years. That’s barely enough to get your feet wet in 2121 if it persists, which it may not.
Hurricanes are becoming more powerful and more frequent. This is false. The 2014 US National Climate Assessment said, ‘There has been no significant trend in the global number of tropical cyclones nor has there been any trend identified in the number of US land-falling hurricanes.’ There is evidence that property damage from hurricanes is increasing. Does this mean hurricanes are getting stronger? Not at all. It just means that rich owners with subsidised insurance are building mansions on sandbars where they don’t belong. That’s not climate change. It’s stupidity.
Tornadoes are more powerful and more frequent. This is false. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) records from 1954–2014 show the number of tornadoes in the US of EF1 or greater (EF is the Enhanced Fujita Scale of tornado strength) is fairly consistent at about 400, with occasional spikes in 1973, 1982, 2008, and 2011. The number of tornadoes in the US of EF3 or greater has been steady at around 40, with spikes in 1957, 1965, 1973, and 2011. No correlation has been shown between tornado strength and CO2 emissions.
Snowstorms are becoming more frequent with greater accumulation of snow. This is false. Snowstorms are highly localised so, of course, measurements vary, with some locations getting more snow, some less. A chart of annual snowfall in Washington, DC, from 1889–2018 shows the annual snowfall in inches has been trending downward for the entire 130-year period. If climate change has any impact at all, it is causing less snow. And there is no correlation between climate change and an increase in CO2 emissions.
Wildfires are destroying larger areas more frequently than ever before. This is false. Satellite data from NASA reveals that the global area burned annually by fires from 1998–2015 has declined by about 25%.
Similar data exists for ice sheets, droughts, floods, and other weather-related outcomes. In short, none of the extreme outcomes that the climate alarmists shout about are true. And there is no conclusive evidence that any extreme weather, when it does occur, is caused by human activity or CO2 emissions.
It is true that CO2 emissions are increasing. It’s also true that scientists have detected a slight trend toward global warming.
There is no clear evidence that human-caused CO2 emissions are the principal source of global warming. Although, emissions could be a contributing factor along with sunspot cycles, ocean currents, and other natural causes that are difficult to measure.
What is clear is that global warming, if any, is proceeding slowly. There is no looming catastrophe. Some evidence even suggests that a new cooling period has begun.
Regards,
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Jim Rickards,
Strategist, The Daily Reckoning Australia
