Daniel Lubetzky

By Michael E. Mann, Thomas C. Peterson, Susan Joy Hassol

With Texas just beginning to recover from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey and the Southeastern U.S. preparing for Hurricane Irma’s iminent arrival, people are naturally asking the question: What role might human-caused climate change be playing in all of this?

Scientists have been more than willing to weigh in on this question, but often with different perspectives on the data they should draw from, which has at times led to more confusion than edification. Part of the problem is that there are at least two fundamentally different ways of addressing this problem, and they reflect a different philosophical approach.

The first approach is to account for the simple physical processes at work and what role they may be playing. There are certain indisputable linkages that we can talk about immediately because they have already been vetted in general rather than for any specific storm. [Read more →]

By STEVE HARTMAN CBS NEWS

NEW YORK — This week we saw what a trillion gallons of water can cover. But more importantly, we saw what it can uncover — our potential as a nation.

I know it seems like eons ago, but remember what was in the news before this? Remember when nothing was more important to America than the fate of a Confederate statue? We were literally at each other’s throats over race, religion, immigration and, of course, politics.

And then Harvey came and pounded us with perspective.

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