Former Vice President Al Gore has finally weighed in on Hurricane Sandy, warning that the monster storm is a “disturbing sign of things to come” because of climate change.
Gore commenced his Tuesday blog post by suggesting that people donate or volunteer to assist hurricane victims, before launching into his signature issue, climate change.
“Hurricane Sandy is a disturbing sign of things to come,” Gore explained in his “Statement on Hurricane Sandy.”
“We must heed this warning and act quickly to solve the climate crisis. Dirty energy makes dirty weather,” he wrote.
According to the former vice president-turned-global warming activist, Sandy reminded him of a flood event in his hometown of Nashville, Tenn., which he wrote was a “milestone” in his understanding that the “climate crisis” is a reality.
“The images of Sandy’s flooding brought back memories of a similar–albeit smaller scale– event in Nashville just two years ago,” he wrote. “There, unprecedented rainfall caused widespread flooding, wreaking havoc and submerging sections of my hometown. For me, the Nashville flood was a milestone. For many, Hurricane Sandy may prove to be a similar event: a time when the climate crisis—which is often sequestered to the far reaches of our everyday awareness became a reality.”
Gore explained that climate change “strengthened” both the storm in Nashville and Hurricane Sandy.
“Scientists tell us that by continually dumping 90 million tons of global warming pollution into the atmosphere every single day, we are altering the environment in which all storms develop,” Gore wrote.
“As the oceans and atmosphere continue to warm, storms are becoming more energetic and powerful. Hurricane Sandy, and the Nashville flood, were reminders of just that,” he continued. “Other climate-related catastrophes around the world have carried the same message to hundreds of millions.”
The former vice president added that, if emissions are not reduced, the problems Sandy brought will only get worse.
“Sandy was also affected by other symptoms of the climate crisis. As the hurricane approached the East Coast, it gathered strength from abnormally warm coastal waters. At the same time, Sandy’s storm surge was worsened by a century of sea level rise. Scientists tell us that if we do not reduce our emissions, these problems will only grow worse.”