Meteorologist responds with data after Joe Biden seemingly blames climate change for deadly tornados
Meteorologist Joe Bastardi fired back at President Joe Biden for seemingly blaming the devastating tornado outbreak that struck multiple states last week on climate change.
What did Biden say?
When a reporter asked Biden on Saturday whether climate change contributed to the deadly tornados, Biden pointed to climate change allegedly increasing the intensity of storms.
"All I know is that the intensity of the weather across the board has some impacts as a consequence of the warming of the planet and climate change," Biden said. "The specific impact on these specific storms, I can't say at this point."
"I'm going to be asking the EPA and others to take a look at that," Biden continued. "But the fact is that we all know everything is more intense when the climate is warming. Everything. And obviously, it has some impact here, but I can't give you a quantitative read on that."
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell was more direct. During an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," Criswell said the extreme weather "is going to be our new normal."
"The effects we are seeing of climate change are the crisis of our generation," Criswell said.
How did Bastardi respond?
The famed meteorologist accused Biden of weaponizing tornados and shared data showing that severe weather this year has not been as severe compared to previous years.
"Clueless Joe Biden In action again with his weaponization of Tornados. 1) Violent tornadoes not increasing. 2) this year tornados, hail and wind all together near-record low," Bastardi said. "Mindless media should do their dang job and call him on it, I called Trump out on Dorian jibberish."
The data Bastardi included, coming from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, directly contradicts claims from Biden and Criswell that severe weather is more intense because of climate change.
- The first graph shows that, as carbon emissions increased between 1954 and 2014, the number of annual tornados did not increase; in fact, it went down.
- The second graphs shows that the number of recorded tornados through Dec. 11, 2021, is, in fact, close to a record low.
- The third graph shows that the number of local storm reports of hail — 3,714 through Dec. 11 — is significantly under the average of 7,979 through the same time period.
- The fourth graph shows that the number of local storm reports of damaging winds — 12,780 through Dec. 11 — is also under the average of 13,996 through the same time period.
Clueless Joe Biden In action again with his weaponization of Tornados. 1) Violent tornadoes not increasing. 2) this year tornados, hail and wind all together near-record low. Mindless media should do their dang job and call him on it, I called Trump out on Dorian jibberishpic.twitter.com/AElVGAVMfF— Joe Bastardi (@Joe Bastardi) 1639345154
Climate change hawks love to exploit isolated weather events to promote a certain narrative about the climate. However, climate, by its very definition, describes observable patterns of weather over long periods of time — not isolated events.
Thus, if climate change were truly driving more intense weather, such a phenomenon would be observable over a substantial period of time. But as Colorado University professor Roger Pielke Jr. pointed out on Sunday, the U.S. government's own data shows that tornados, for example, are becoming less common in the U.S.
"According to data from the U.S. National Weather Service from 2000 to 2020 only four of the strongest category of tornadoes were observed (which are labelled as F/EF5 tornadoes) In comparison, from 1954 to 1974 36 (!) such powerful tornadoes were observed," Pielke explained. "Our research on tornado damage in the United States over many decades shows a decline that is suggestive of an actual decline in tornado incidence."
Pielke also highlighted an important point to consider when politicians and those with an agenda begin blaming climate change for weather disasters.
"If it is so well known that disasters are the result of a complex interplay of social and climate factors, why then is climate typically the main focus of attention after every extreme event?" Pielke wrote.
His point: If a tree falls in a forest, but no one hears or sees it, did it make a sound? In a similar way, weather disasters — like the one that happened last week — are only disasters because they impact a significant number of people. If a severe tornado with 200mph winds touches down in rural Nebraska, but causes no damage, no one blames climate change for such an extreme event.
As geographer Gilbert White, known for his work in helping society mitigate the impact of natural disasters, wrote: "Floods are 'acts of God' but flood losses are largely acts of man."
Eric Swalwell hit with abrupt lesson after using devastating tornados to attack Sen. Rand Paul
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) used the devastating tornado outbreak that struck parts of Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Arkansas overnight on Friday to take a political shot at Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R).
What are the details?
As daybreak exposed the enormous destruction across parts of America, Paul immediately took action to help his constituents. Paul wrote President Joe Biden early Saturday asking that he expedite requests for federal assistance.
Paul, in fact, spent much of his Saturday working to help Kentuckians impacted by the devastating storms. He worked with FEMA to help coordinate the federal response, and compiled a list of resources for those who need help.
Here are some resources for those affected by the devastating storms in Kentucky and for those who want to help.https://relief.randpaul.com/— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1639263752
Swalwell, however, couldn't pass up the opportunity to bash Paul.
The California Democrat responded to a message from Paul about the storms by urging Americans not to forget that Paul "has voted against helping most Americans most times they're in need."
"We should do all we can to help our Kentucky neighbors. God be with them — they are hurting. But do not for one second forget that @RandPaul has voted against helping most Americans most times they’re in need," Swalwell said.
We should do all we can to help our Kentucky neighbors. God be with them \u2014 they are hurting. But do not for one second forget that @RandPaul has voted against helping most Americans most times they\u2019re in need.https://twitter.com/randpaul/status/1469651645814480899\u00a0\u2026— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@Rep. Eric Swalwell) 1639268444
But is that true?
As one person promptly pointed out to Swalwell, Paul has "never questioned the need" for disaster relief, but "[he has] only opposed how we fund it."
In fact, while Paul's voting record may show that he has voted against some disaster relief funding, he never questioned the need for it. Every time the issue surfaces, Paul raises issues of how disaster relief is funded, and whether monies should be reallocated from other government programs, such as foreign aid, to address domestic crises.
For example, after voting against a bill that would have provided recovery funds to areas hit by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Paul explained that he supported disaster relief funds, but not new government spending.
"I would have given them 9 billion and I would've taken the 9 billion from somewhere else," he said. "I would have taken it from foreign aid and said you know what, we don't have money for Egypt or Pakistan this year because we have to help the Northeast."
In fact, Paul made those comments as he opposed a second Hurricane Sandy-related relief bill. The first bill provided $9 billion in relief funds, while the second amounted to $51 billion, which Paul said was filled with pork.
Meanwhile, while opposing legislation that triggered more government spending in response to Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Paul explained once again that he opposed such spending, and urged Congress to reallocate money earmarked to go oversees to fund disaster relief.
"Instead of continuing [sending money overseas], let’s take a portion of that money and spend it here to help the victims of this great disaster," Paul wrote in essay for The Hill.
"They say we are out of money to pay for hurricane relief. So instead of finding that money somewhere else in the budget, they simply want to raise the limit on our credit card," he added. "This has to stop. We spend too much. We owe too much. We cannot keep spending money we do not have."
Anything else?
In addition to Swalwell learning that Paul does not oppose helping Americans, but rather opposes wasteful government spending, the California Democrat's comments generated backlash against his character.
Swalwell was peppered with thousands of responses. His comments were characterized as "genuinely disgusting" and "[t]he very worst of Congress. Right here. In broad daylight."
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