Government and Crisis

"Freakish" severe weather has become so common this year that little of it makes the news, unless it is the kind of weather news outlets are accustomed to associate with deaths and destruction.  So the three day spate of tornados in some 15 states resulting in over 40 deaths was noticed.  In North Carolina especially, the activity was unusual--a tornado (or more than one--that's still being sorted out) spent a lot of time close to the ground, destroying homes and killing people.  That usually doesn't happen in North Carolina.

According to Dr. Jeff Masters, this was one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.  And there may be more violent weather in the area today.

There are two messages in this: each violent or extreme event or set of events gets covered alone, and there are always variabilities that cause experts to caution that this in itself is not evidence of the Climate Crisis.  But add them together (drought and unprecedented wind and wildfires in Texas, deep April snows in the midwest, 100 degrees in Los Angeles...) and match them with the predictions of climate scientists, and it's at the very least a warning.

But even more important, people do add them together, consciously or not, and it makes them afraid.  No wonder they are receptive to the misinformation campaign that says the Climate Crisis is all an illusion, a fraud concocted by greedy scientists and ambitious politicians eager to bring Prius communism to America.

But here's the second point, made on Monday in a photo montage by Lawrence O'Donnell: while GOPers in Congress and in the states further their agenda of destroying government, it is the local and the federal government that is expected to respond and help people heal their lives and their communities when disasters like this hit.  Government needs the capacities, the expertise and the public trust to do this effectively. 

Guess what?  With the onrushing Climate Crisis that's going to happen more and more, and that aspect of government is going to be more needed than ever.