Scientist Peter Kalmus: Fossil-Fueled Climate Change Left Out of Media Coverage of Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene tears through the southeastern United States as scientists say climate change rapidly intensifies hurricanes. The storm devastated large swaths of the southeastern United States after making landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm. Officials say the death toll is likely to rise, as many are still missing. Helene is expected to be one of the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history and was fueled by abnormally warm water in the Gulf of Mexico, but most of the media coverage has failed to connect the devastation to the climate crisis. "The planet's overheating. It's irreversible. It's caused by the fossil fuel industry," says climate activist and climate scientist Peter Kalmus in Raleigh, North Carolina. "This will get worse as the planet continues to get hotter."

[mozi]

Am from somalia. My dads generation knew something was wrong from the cl8mate around 1984. To date, millions of hectares of grasslands have turned to desert, and when it rains, it floods

[greendragon]

It is refreshing to see someone saying the truth about climate change.

[patriciafowler]

Yet wars & greed so often get left off the list of climate change causes.

[wisdomsleuth]

People literally do not understand how food gets to their table it can go from one year you can grow crops to the next year you cannot just that quickly that's it you can wind up with no food supply almost overnight. This is not a joke this is the reality and this is how come this is so extremely important think of the wars it would create if everybody's out of food

[stephaniepatel]

I look at the comments here and I understand how disappointing it is that people are so clueless.

[shilling]

Many news outlets are calling this 'biblical', which really irks me because they support this magical thinking. Address the science, not the fiction.

[pamamime]

Corporate media isnt even covering this! Shameful

[andrewcomplainer]

Thank you Peter for your existence and your contribution. I feel you 100%

[oceantransistor]

Classic capitalism, it always chooses profits for the few at the expense of the rest.

[sylvainmichaud]

As always, even among the richest nation, the poorest people will be the ones paying the most for their government's inaction.

[paulkennedy]

Peter Kalmus' words inspire me like nothing else I've heard or read in years!
I've also been arrested for non-violent civil disobedience and the ensuing punishment through the courts was exhausting.
But he's motivated me to get back on the front lines of protest.
Thanks, Democracy Now for featuring this scientist whose passion is equal to his knowledge!

[lauratyler]

We should call it climate pollution. It’s not just random change.

[bargdaffy]

Peter is the Best Climate Scientist and Activist!

[ErnestOfGaia]

Media outlets need to talk more than 10 min segments

[classyannsassy]

During the global pandemic, when around the world things haulted we actually seen air quality improved over China, and the US, this needs to be mentioned more showing what 2 or 3 weeks did stopping the use of fuels on the planet

[clarkdavis]

This guy nails it. Humanity has completely blown it.

[emiliobello]

In memory of the victims killed by Helene and other disasters

[nitar]

It still bogles the mind that so many people don't think that this is truly a top priority. What will it take

[darrelldixon]

Year after Year I have witnessed first hand record temperatures in the Phoenix Area and throughout the West. The accumulative number of 90 Degree, 100 Degree and 110+ days each year, obliterating previous records the past couple years and prior... It was 117 Degrees this week just few days before October, and temperatures nearing or exceeding 110 Degrees forecasted for at least another week. The norms this time of year used to be in the 90's. This years heat far surpassed last year's, which surpassed the prior years... (Continued Below)

Imagine the increased demands for electricity to power all the air conditioning just in this area alone for Businesses, Homes, Schools, Hospitals, Manufacturing and other "High Demand" requirements. Now multiply that exponentially across the country with other areas also experiencing hotter temperatures for long periods of time. More usage requires more power, which adds more pollution leading to worse conditions in the future. It's a "Feedback Loop" that never ends without intervention. This isn't a new problem it goes back decades. A few might remember the "Black-Out" in New York July 13th-14th in 1977. Think about a wider spread power disruption in large Metropolitan Areas across the country in the hottest periods of the year and for longer periods of time. Death Tolls would be "Massive", and the number of "Heat-Related Illnesses" would be catastrophic for medical facilities in those areas. Massive losses of revenue would occur should Manufacturing be halted during such a disruption. Other impacts would be felt "Far & Wide"

I worked for several years at SEL (Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories) a huge manufacturer of Power Generation and Distribution Equipment Internationally. The Nation's "Power Grid" can only deliver the power that is generated or stored. Though big Improvements to the technologies used the manage the delivery of power in this country and abroad have improved over the years, the demands keep rising. The reservoirs used to hold water for electricity generation at our nation's many dams continue to be depleted, and with more frequent and longer lasting "Drought Events" the future seems to be a very serious problem for many... Though flooding is becoming more and more frequent and extreme, little has been done in the big scheme of things, to manage this water storage to handle future needs, resulting in ever increasing damage and destruction to populated areas, agriculture and loss of life... Projects should have been implemented throughout the years to work at planning for and solving the problem in the future, but instead "Profit" over "Investment" has been the norm for those massive companies operating and "Raking in Money" to supply the need for electricity. These projects required Investment, which some has been made to improve the infrastructure of the "Power Grid", I believe not nearly enough has been accomplished. When was the last "Major" Dam Project like the "Hoover Dam" (Boulder) completed in 1936 or "Roosevelt Dam" completed in 1911 and expanded in 1989? Instead of preparing for the increasing demands, and destructive "Natural Disasters" caused by overwhelming flooding events, the massive companies and corporations have continued to profit and raise electricity rates for millions. How many times have you seen "Dam Failures and Breaches" in recent times? So little is done to improve and maintain the aging vital infrastructure.

Current Water Management of the rivers in the West, like the Colorado River, is not prepared for a future of such demand for increased power and more importantly the precious fresh drinking water needed to supply the increasing number of inhabitants of states like Arizona, California and Nevada, as well as the huge demand for Agriculture in those same states. More demand of the Aquifers of "Ground Water" in these areas is leading to rapid depletion. This depletion in turn leads to a vast change of the structure of the ground above the massive voids left when the water is no longer present below. "Sink-Holes", and "Quakes" are typical results, and a depleted store of such important water. It's hard to watch such 'Destruction" and "Death" caused by the more frequent floods, knowing that despite the vast quantities of water destroying Homes, Businesses, Manufacturing, Agriculture and most importantly people's lives, it will do little to mitigate the droughts in our future. A product of these extended droughts is clearly seen in the ever-increasing Wildfires across the West. Natural "Watersheds" provided by the forests destroyed are also eliminated, causing increased "Run-off" during periods of heavy rain only adding to the frequent "Flood Events" going forward. Where does it all end I ask? If the "Urgency To Do Something" I foresee in the future as conditions worsen would have been felt years prior maybe the "Worse to Come" could have been prevented...

Earlier this year I watched documentaries exposing the "Increase of Ocean Water Temperatures" around Florida and other coastlines. Water the temperature of "Hot Tubs" in places, "The Warmest on Record". Drastic impacts to marine life, coral reefs and related environments resulted... This was a "Clear Warning" of what was to come, and guess what? This led to Increased energy and damage exerted by more and more frequent Hurricanes in those areas. Wasn't anyone paying attention?? If only those profiting so much from industries impacting the environment so drastically cared more about the "Situation" they're passing along to their children and future generations, as the do about money & profit, maybe something would change...

[RCrosbyLyles]

The climate ship has sailed. Curbe Emissions yes, but it's also time to shift resources to water management infrastructure modifications, dykes, tide breaks, landslide mitigation, roadway resiliency measures and much much more across the board. This type of disaster has happened all around the world now, more and more frequently. It is only the beginning.