LocoAko Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 As someone who grew up in the 90s I loved Bill Nye "The Science Guy" and I can truly say he fostered my early interest in science. However, I came across this Facebook update from him: "The President of the U.S. stated: "...climate change is not a hoax..." His opponent used sea level rise as a joke. This election matters to everyone in the world. Tornadoes in New York City– unusual yet consistent with mathematical climate models, which feature more heat energy in the atmosphere. Uh, what? Since when are there climate models printing out more tornadoes (I know there is no consensus but I've also heard a warming world would decrease shear, in theory leading to less tornadoes)? Secondly, since when does adding heat make more tornadoes? And tornadoes in NYC aren't a new thing - if they had occured 30 miles east in a more remote part of Long Island no one would be talking (at least on the national scale - us weirdos here would be ). I find this disappointing coming from such a public figurehead of science. I completely agree with the first half of the post, but with the amount of misinformation being spewed by other sources I hate to have someone lessening the credibility on this side of the debate. Am I misinterpreting his post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Looks like he's trying to imply that. Dear Lord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Ugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forkyfork Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 sad to see him do that, since i grew up watching his show too. tornadoes in nyc are unusual, but this event compared to other nyc tornado events is definitely not unusual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 sad to see him do that, since i grew up watching his show too. tornadoes in nyc are unusual, but this event compared to other nyc tornado events is definitely not unusual Yeah this was a classic NYC tornado setup. It's unfortunate that people say things that just aren't backed up by where the science is. Deniers and exaggeraters do nothing for the conversation. I am a total believer in AGW and significant impacts it is and will continue to have worldwide but things like this or people making other absurd claims makes me cringe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorEaster27 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I loved watching him in elementary school, reading this from him is sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorEaster27 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Yeah this was a classic NYC tornado setup. It's unfortunate that people say things that just aren't backed up by where the science is. Deniers and exaggeraters do nothing for the conversation. I am a total believer in AGW and significant impacts it is and will continue to have worldwide but things like this or people making other absurd claims makes me cringe. classic setup, warm ssts with an aproaching warm front / high theta-e air and good low level wind shear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallow Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 FWIW, apparently he's a real ***hole in person, too. Which is unfortunate, since he's from the Pac NW and I loved his show growing up, as well. But ya... re: this thread, his statements are dumb and not helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donsutherland1 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 I agree. It is all but impossible to curently attribute individual tornadoes to climate change. NYC has had a history of small tornadoes. This is not a unique event and it is statistically not possible to suggest that it stands out from natural variability. I suspect that cases of speculative attribution undermine the credibility among the general public where attribution is on more solid ground (rising temperatures, growing incidence of extreme heat, rising sea level, and declining Arctic summer sea ice, possibly in a transition from perennial to seasonal cover). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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