In this post, mostly about abortion, Heather Cox Richardson closes with comments from meteorologist John Morales about the change that really bothers him, and it’s not climate change.
Hurricane Milton spurred meteorologist John Morales to step forward to take a stand, sharing his thoughts after Hurricane Helene hit. “Something’s shifted,” he wrote. “And it’s not just the climate.” He noted that with Helene on the way, “I did what I’ve done during my entire 40 year career—I tried to warn people. Except that the warning was not well received by everyone. A person accused me of being a ‘climate militant,’ a suggestion that I’m embellishing extreme weather threats to drive an agenda. Another simply said that my predictions were ‘an exaggeration.’
“But it wasn’t an exaggeration,” he wrote.
“For decades I had felt in control. Not in control of the weather, of course. But in control of the message that, if my audience was prepared and well informed, I could confidently guide them through any weather threat, and we’d all make it through safely…. But no one can hide from the truth. Extreme weather events, including hurricanes, are becoming more extreme. I must communicate the growing threats from the climate crisis come hell or high water—pun intended.”
The mayor of Tampa has flat out said that anyone who stays in an evacuation area will die. Yet apparently, many are not leaving.
Maybe this will teach their next of kin that there is such a thing as reality.