# Sorry, But Sandy is "The New Normal" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 1, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565 "2012-11-01T15:09:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/21 "2012-11-01T17:31:08Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Wait, since when does the Right hate set theory? I honestly don’t remember that one. It’s socialist. All those numbers, hanging around together, helping each other out. IT’S UNNATURAL, I TELLS YA! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/22 "2012-11-01T18:06:35Z")
How can an empty set exist?! Jesus is everywhere! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/23 "2012-11-01T18:39:13Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > How can an empty set exist?! Jesus is everywhere! An example of an empty set: places where Jesus isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/24 "2012-11-01T18:41:14Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > An example of an empty set: places where Jesus isn’t. But Jesus is a member of every set, even sets that He isn’t a member of. ---
**Author:** ![Crab\_Rangoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Crab\_Rangoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crab_Rangoon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/25 "2012-11-01T18:51:34Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > But Jesus is a member of every set, even sets that He isn’t a member of. Woah. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/26 "2012-11-01T18:56:11Z")
> [@Troutsqueezer](#): > > It must be true because that’s what Al Roker said this morning on “Today”. So, East Coasters, you had better get used to it because we all know that Roker is a weather genius. Either that or he’s a complete idiot. :smack: > > Don’t bother fixing those fences or re-planting those trees or even replacing windows. Just nail up some plywood, paint it to match the house, stock up on gasoline and invest your money in Coleman stock. so, we know Al did not say don’t fix your windows - what, exactly, are you pitting? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/27 "2012-11-01T19:20:42Z")
I didn’t see the Today Show. (Even on my days off, I don’t bother.) Could you provide a link to Roker’s actual words? Perhaps he meant that putting a hospital’s emergency generator in the basement is not a good idea. We learned that in Houston–although at least one hospital learned it rather late… ---
**Author:** ![Troutsqueezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Troutsqueezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troutsqueezer)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/28 "2012-11-01T22:38:31Z")
No, Al Roker did not say anything about fixing your windows. That was me. Sorry if that went right by some of you. He did in fact, say that this weather is the new normal in response to a question from Matt and no, I’m not going to search around for some YouTube video to back up my assertion for two reasons: First, none of you are required to believe it just because I wrote it. Secondly, I have an actual life. Since “Today” has a national audience, I’m sure I’m not the only one who heard it. Interesting that some here, for no reason, are quick to call me a liar. That says something… ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/29 "2012-11-01T22:57:48Z")
I don’t think anyone is calling you a liar. We’re just a little confused by the pitting and looking for the context to see if there’s some reason for your anger at him. Do you disagree with the science that shows storms such as these are increasing in frequency? Do you accept this truth, but feel Al exaggerated by using the word “normal”? Do you wish he had given people platitudes about this never happening again to spare them anxiety? (No, I’ve never been squeezed by the OP and do not plan on that happening.) ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/30 "2012-11-01T23:44:50Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > (No, I’ve never been squeezed by the OP and do not plan on that happening.) That’s what you’re supposed to think and say, but _that’s_ part of the OP’s _evil plan!_ ---
**Author:** ![Dolomite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Dolomite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dolomite)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/31 "2012-11-02T02:52:38Z")
Searching the Internet is hard you guys!! I’m going to have sex right now. You heard me, I have a life. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/32 "2012-11-02T03:01:54Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Yeah. It’s funny how when we get 3 days of -30 degree temperatures no one ever mentions that “this is the new norm.” It’s always the new norm during heat spells or dry spells, but never for cold or rainy weather. We’ve had storms before. We’ve had drought before. We’ve had EVERYTHING before and will continue to. This exceptionally stupid comment just means that you just haven’t been paying attention. In fact, global climate change predicts more extreme weather of all kinds - not just heat waves and droughts, but also floods and even cold spells. Weather is basically caused by the heat trying to redistribute itself between equatorial regions and polar ones. When there is more heat near the equator, it requires more intensive flow of air masses to move that heat north. And this produces more extreme weather events of all kinds. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/33 "2012-11-02T03:06:16Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > This exceptionally stupid comment just means that you just haven’t been paying attention. In fact, global climate change predicts more extreme weather of all kinds - not just heat waves and droughts, but also floods and even cold spells. > > Weather is basically caused by the heat trying to redistribute itself between equatorial regions and polar ones. When there is more heat near the equator, it requires more intensive flow of air masses to move that heat north. And this produces more extreme weather events of all kinds. Well, thank you for calling me stupid. I rest my case. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/34 "2012-11-02T03:06:37Z")
The Onion: [Nation Suddenly Realizes This [Sandy] Just Going to be Thing That Happens From Now On](http://www.theonion.com/articles/nation-suddenly-realizes-this-just-going-to-be-a-t,30195/) ---
**Author:** ![Troutsqueezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Troutsqueezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troutsqueezer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/35 "2012-11-02T03:17:42Z")
We haven’t been on this Earth but for the blink of an eye and yet we have “experts” telling us what is normal weather. Weather is a chaotic process, it will never be normal. And what do you mean “Do you accept this truth?” Sounds like you’re pushing Jesus Christ to me. For the record, fuck no I don’t! Sheesh… Roker is a joke. Meteorologist my ass… ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/36 "2012-11-02T03:42:59Z")
Judging by the graph on [this page](http://www.skepticalscience.com/hurricanes-global-warming.htm), it seems like this sort of hurricane activity is indeed the new normal. The graph ends at 2007, with a ten-year average number of North Atlantic tropical storms of 15.2. The numbers for the years since then are: 15.4, 15.1, 15.4, 15.8, 16.5 (assuming there are no more tropical storms left in 2012). Luckily, it looks like the steep rise in the earlier part of the 2000s has slowed down into a steady ascent. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/37 "2012-11-02T04:24:19Z")
**Troutsqueezer** , if you were thinking of becoming a full time critic of trained, credentialed professionals, I’ve got a piece of advice for you: Keep squeezing those trout. It’s more productive and you’re probably a hell of a lot better at it. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/38 "2012-11-02T11:46:28Z")
> [@Troutsqueezer](#): > > We haven’t been on this Earth but for the blink of an eye and yet we have “experts” telling us what is normal weather. Weather is a chaotic process, it will never be normal. > > And what do you mean “Do you accept this truth?” Sounds like you’re pushing Jesus Christ to me. For the record, fuck no I don’t! Sheesh… > > Roker is a joke. Meteorologist my ass… ah - now we know: you are pitting Al for not being a climate change denier like yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/39 "2012-11-02T12:36:25Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > ah - now we know: you are pitting Al for not being a climate change denier like yourself. Surprise! A dumbshit who knows nothing about the climate insists nobody else is allowed to know anything about the climate either. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565/40 "2012-11-02T14:09:21Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Yeah. It’s funny how when we get 3 days of -30 degree temperatures no one ever mentions that “this is the new norm.” It’s always the new norm during heat spells or dry spells, but never for cold or rainy weather. We’ve had storms before. We’ve had drought before. We’ve had EVERYTHING before and will continue to. > [@Colibri](#): > > This exceptionally stupid comment just means that you just haven’t been paying attention. In fact, global climate change predicts more extreme weather of all kinds - not just heat waves and droughts, but also floods and even cold spells. > > Weather is basically caused by the heat trying to redistribute itself between equatorial regions and polar ones. When there is more heat near the equator, it requires more intensive flow of air masses to move that heat north. And this produces more extreme weather events of all kinds. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Well, thank you for calling me stupid. I rest my case. Well, even the business press is calling you one now. [http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/11/01/1122241/bloomberg-businessweek-its-global-warming-stupid/](http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/11/01/1122241/bloomberg-businessweek-its-global-warming-stupid/) > [@](#): > > The cover of the year goes to Bloomberg Businessweek, “It’s Global Warming, Stupid.” > > Bill Clinton famously campaigned on the slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Upwards of $50 billion damages from the Frankenstorm Sandy — which was made far more destructive by manmade climate change — underscores the point that it will be increasingly difficult to separate the economy from how we respond to (or fail to respond to) global warming. > > The story opens: > > > [@](#): > > > > Yes, yes, it’s unsophisticated to blame any given storm on climate change. Men and women in white lab coats tell us—and they’re right—that many factors contribute to each severe weather episode. Climate deniers exploit scientific complexity to avoid any discussion at all. > > > > ``` > > Clarity, however, is not beyond reach. Hurricane Sandy demands it: At least 40 U.S. deaths. Economic losses expected to climb as high as $50 billion. Eight million homes without power. Hundreds of thousands of people evacuated. More than 15,000 flights grounded. Factories, stores, and hospitals shut. Lower Manhattan dark, silent, and underwater. > > > > ``` > > The piece goes on to provide much-needed clarity — and our favorite climate metaphor: > > > [@](#): > > > > An unscientific survey of the social networking liter moodature on Sandy reveals an illuminating tweet (you read that correctly) from Jonathan Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. On Oct. 29, Foley thumbed thusly: “Would this kind of storm happen without climate change? Yes. Fueled by many factors. Is storm stronger because of climate change? Yes.” Eric Pooley, senior vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund (and former deputy editor of Bloomberg Businessweek), offers a baseball analogy: “We can’t say that steroids caused any one home run by Barry Bonds, but steroids sure helped him hit more and hit them farther. Now we have weather on steroids.” > > > > ``` > > In an Oct. 30 blog post, Mark Fischetti of Scientific American took a spin through Ph.D.-land and found more and more credentialed experts willing to shrug off the climate caveats. The broadening consensus: “Climate change amps up other basic factors that contribute to big storms. For example, the oceans have warmed, providing more energy for storms. And the Earth’s atmosphere has warmed, so it retains more moisture, which is drawn into storms and is then dumped on us.” Even those of us who are science-phobic can get the gist of that. > > > > ``` [http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/11/01/bloomberg-businessweek-gets-it-right-sandy-wasn-t-caused-climate-change-it-global-warming](http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/11/01/bloomberg-businessweek-gets-it-right-sandy-wasn-t-caused-climate-change-it-global-warming) > [@](#): > > The cover is sure to generate some controversy, but, as Bloomberg Businessweek editor Josh Tyrangiel tweeted, “only among the stupid.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-but-sandy-is-the-new-normal/639565.md?page=3)