Thursday, November 14, 2013

Did climate change cause Typhoon Haiyan?

Did climate change cause Typhoon Haiyan? - Features - Al Jazeera English

Finger pointing is the most popular action for the people who are feeling powerless to do anything to help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. We've seen the typhoon being used to the political advantage of certain people and people blaming developed countries for causing climate change and consequently the most intense tropical cyclone to ever make landfall. We've really seen people say just about anything, and most of it is just out of frustration about the lack of preparedness for this disaster, the powerlessness people feel to get aid to people fast enough, and our need to have a reason why this typhoon happened in the first place.

First let's look again at some of the stories that have come out this week with people assigning blame to others. We saw Nederev Sano, chief representative for the Philippines at the UN Climate Talks in Warsaw, blame climate change for the typhoon. He called for nations to collectively take action on climate change. He was careful not to assign blame to any specific countries or even on developed countries. He acknowledges that it is every countries' responsibility equally to act on climate change.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/world/asia/typhoon-in-philippines-casts-long-shadow-over-un-talks-on-climate-treaty.html?hp&_r=1&

We also saw Stuart Varney commend Australia for backing out of talks for climate reparations to developing countries affected by climate change.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/11/13/foxs-heartless-response-to-the-philippines-call/196882

We saw a police chief who reported to the media that he estimated the death toll to be more than 10,000 removed from his post. Obviously a political move and punishment for "leaking" the severity of the situation to the international media. We will see if he gets his job back when the death toll surpasses 10,000.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/11/14/philippines_death_toll_police_chief_who_provied_10k_estimate_ousted.html

We've also seen NGOs and foreign military be able to deliver aid where the Philippine government has been too slow.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/11/typhoon-haiyan-devastation-slows-aid-efforts-2013111573115466504.html

Let's put this natural disaster in perspective. Here are the deadliest natural disasters in world history. As you can see, as bad as Yolanda was, it doesn't even make the list. In today's media age, we are seeing spectacular and graphic imagery of the destruction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_toll

The Philippines is actually very lucky that Yolanda did not hit Manila. Manila is extremely vulnerable to flooding as we have seen in 2009 and 2013, and wind damage would have been catastrophic. We would be talking about hundreds of thousands dead. It is unfortunate that the people affected are on relatively small and remote islands. They have no way of getting aid they need from other islands. It is one of the reasons that the Philippines is so disaster prone. If the country was connected to the mainland, we would be seeing aid arrive much sooner.

Gallery Image
Hundreds of typhoon survivors wait for the first evacuation flight of the day at the airport in Tacloban, central Philippines, Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by Typhoon Haiyan, which tore across several islands in the eastern Philippines on Nov. 8.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A boy runs through the smoke of a cooking fire in the typhoon-shattered town of Guiuan, Philippines, on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country’s eastern seaboard Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction.
A boy runs through the smoke of a cooking fire in the typhoon-shattered town of Guiuan, Philippines, on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A woman and her child plead from the frantic crowd to be prioritized on an evacuation flight in Tacloban, central Philippines, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country’s eastern seaboard on Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
A woman and her child plead from the frantic crowd to be prioritized on an evacuation flight in Tacloban, central Philippines, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard on Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Philippines rescue team wades into floodwaters to retrieve a body in the Typhoon Haiyan ravaged city of Tacloban, central Phillipines on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country’s eastern seaboard on Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and killing thousands.
A Philippines rescue team wades into floodwaters to retrieve a body in the Typhoon Haiyan ravaged city of Tacloban, central Phillipines on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard on Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and killing thousands.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Villagers, isolated by Typhoon Haiyan that hit the area a week ago, scramble for relief goods being dropped by Philippine Air Force Friday, Nov. 15, 2013 at La Paz, south of Tacloban city, Leyte province in central Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country’s eastern seaboard Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction.
Villagers, isolated by Typhoon Haiyan that hit the area a week ago, scramble for relief goods being dropped by Philippine Air Force Friday, Nov. 15, 2013 at La Paz, south of Tacloban city, Leyte province in central Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A young girl walks amid ruins of houses in a neighborhood badly affected by Typhoon Haiyan in Guiuan, Philippines, Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country’s eastern seaboard on last Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
A young girl walks amid ruins of houses in a neighborhood badly affected by Typhoon Haiyan in Guiuan, Philippines, Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard on last Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
An aerial view shows the coast affected by Typhoon Haiyan Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 in Hernani, eastern Samar, central Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms on record, slammed into 6 central Philippine islands on Friday leaving a wide swath of destruction and thousands of people displaced.
An aerial view shows the coast affected by Typhoon Haiyan Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 in Hernani, eastern Samar, central Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms on record, slammed into 6 central Philippine islands on Friday leaving a wide swath of destruction and thousands of people displaced.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan walk amid ruins of their homes in Maraboth, Philippines, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country’s eastern seaboard on Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan walk amid ruins of their homes in Maraboth, Philippines, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard on Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A young boy shields himself from the rain while waiting for an evacuation flight at the airport in Tacloban, central Philippines, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country’s eastern seaboard on Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
A young boy shields himself from the rain while waiting for an evacuation flight at the airport in Tacloban, central Philippines, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard on Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Filipino pedicab driver pedals past damaged homes at typhoon hit Tacloban city, Leyte province, central Philippines on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country’s eastern seaboard Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction.
A Filipino pedicab driver pedals past damaged homes at typhoon hit Tacloban city, Leyte province, central Philippines on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan shade themselves from the rising sun after spending the night on the tarmac in the airport in Tacloban, where they wait to be evacuated, Friday, Nov. 15, 2013 in Tacloban city, Leyte province, central Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country’s eastern seaboard Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction.
Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan shade themselves from the rising sun after spending the night on the tarmac in the airport in Tacloban, where they wait to be evacuated, Friday, Nov. 15, 2013 in Tacloban city, Leyte province, central Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Filipino man walks among debris from damaged homes at typhoon-hit Tacloban city, Leyte province, central Philippines on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms on record, slammed into six central Philippine islands on Friday leaving a wide swath of destruction.
A Filipino man walks among debris from damaged homes at typhoon-hit Tacloban city, Leyte province, central Philippines on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms on record, slammed into six central Philippine islands on Friday leaving a wide swath of destruction.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Typhoon Haiyan survivors walk amid ruins of buildings in Maraboth, Philippines, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country’s eastern seaboard on Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
Typhoon Haiyan survivors walk amid ruins of buildings in Maraboth, Philippines, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard on Friday, destroying tens of thousands of buildings and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
An aerial view shows the coast affected by Typhoon Haiyan is seen, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 in Hernani, eastern Samar, central Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms on record, slammed into 6 central Philippine islands on Friday leaving a wide swath of destruction.
An aerial view shows the coast affected by Typhoon Haiyan is seen, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 in Hernani, eastern Samar, central Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms on record, slammed into 6 central Philippine islands on Friday leaving a wide swath of destruction.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Typhoon Haiyan survivors ride a tricycle in Guiuan, Philippines, Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by Typhoon Haiyan, which tore across several islands in the eastern Philippines on Nov. 8.
Typhoon Haiyan survivors ride a tricycle in Guiuan, Philippines, Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by Typhoon Haiyan, which tore across several islands in the eastern Philippines on Nov. 8.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Typhoon survivors line up to get fuel from an abandoned filling station Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, in Tacloban city, Leyte province in central Philippines. Aid has been slow to reach the half-million people displaced by the storm that tore across several islands in eastern Philippines last Friday.
Typhoon survivors line up to get fuel from an abandoned filling station Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, in Tacloban city, Leyte province in central Philippines. Aid has been slow to reach the half-million people displaced by the storm that tore across several islands in eastern Philippines last Friday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Typhoon Yolanda cannot be directly attributed to climate change. We are seeing increasing evidence across the board that the frequency of extreme weather events is indeed increasing. The likelihood that these events might occur at any given time is increasing. Climate change simply increases the likelihood that weather events are more extreme. Typhoon Yolanda was so strong because of the extremely warm water in the Philippine Sea. Because the worldwide human population is increasing rapidly, it is becoming more likely that people are going to be affected by extreme weather events. Read for yourself. If you can't see that it's happening and that human activity is accelerating the greenhouse effect, you should probably get out and make some of your own observations.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2013/20130905-extremeweatherandclimateevents.html
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/23/climate-change-carbon-emissions-ipcc-extreme-weather

It is ludicrous and hypocritical for people in the Philippines to be demanding reparations from the governments of developed nations. Developed nations are the people sending most of the food, clean water, and clothes that the typhoon victims need to survive right now. People don't have these things right now because most of them were living in unsustainable situations that were completely dependent on fossil fuel consumption before the typhoon happened.  Many of these people have practically no direct connection with a land base for subsistence. The people that were living sustainably with a connection to a land base and do have clean water and food are now being forced to give it to others that don't have it.  The Philippines is a net importer of food and has serious issues with clean drinking water, a recipe for a real disaster.

Developing countries subsidize fossil fuel consumption just as much as developed countries. Corporate welfare exists everywhere. It's a problem that stems from a culture of carbon consumption, a sense of entitlement, and exploitation. All countries are equally at fault for holding future generations hostage with unsustainable practices and for making so many people so vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Typhoon Yolanda is just the tip of the iceberg. We really haven't seen anything yet. We are talking about the likely possibility that 2 billion people will be displaced this century. We really don't have any time left to point fingers. It's a massive number of climate refugees that will be extremely desperate for survival. Yes, it is madness.

1 comment:

  1. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/11/aid-eludes-many-philippine-storm-survivors-201311145341242571.html

    Al Jazeera really digs deeper than any other news source.

    ReplyDelete