The National Weather Service later confirmed that two tornadoes touched down, one in Washington County and the other in Greene County. And while, thankfully, there were no deaths or serious injuries reported, there was some property damage, including a camper and barn that were destroyed, and a church and barn that had their roofs torn off.
It’s summertime, and the living is supposed to be easy, as per the George Gershwin tune. But this has been the Summer of Our Discontent, with dissatisfaction running high over inflation, culture wars, threats to democracy and a pandemic that refuses to be fully vanquished. It’s also been a summer marked by extreme weather events: flooding in Kentucky that has led to at least 37 deaths; a brutal heat wave in Europe that led to at least 2,000 deaths on the continent and 1,000 in Britain; and up to 12 inches of rain deluged parts of Illinois on Tuesday in less than 12 hours.
Sure, sizzling weather and the occasional downpour are part of the package when it comes to the warm-weather months, and so is the random tornado. What is worth noting, however, is the number of tornadoes that have been recorded in this region has been climbing upward in recent years. As we reported last fall, the Pittsburgh region typically experienced three or four tornadoes per year since 1950, but it endured an eye-opening 32 last year, including 15 in October alone. Some of the increase is likely due to improved technology. But some of it is likely because, yes, more tornadoes are dropping in on our neighborhoods.
And climate change could at least be part of the cause.
The National Geographic Society has pointed out that meteorologists still have much to discover about how tornadoes develop, so it’s not precisely clear if a changing climate is a direct contributor to more tornadoes cropping up across the landscape. But climate change sets the table for more extreme weather events – this means more heat, more moisture and more storms, which are key ingredients for tornadoes.
For too long, the United States has demonstrated passivity, or even outright hostility, to trying to cool off a heating planet. If a bill that is pending in the U.S. Senate is approved, however, it would represent the most significant effort the country has made to date in confronting climate change. It includes rebates and tax credits for solar panels, heat pumps, electric vehicles and more. It would establish a methane fee that can be levied against fossil fuel companies and put some resources toward restoring coasts and forests. The bill’s Democratic advocates say it would reduce climate-harming pollution by about 40% compared to 2005 levels.
The resistance to more actively grappling with climate change has never made much sense. If we manage to slow it down, or even arrest it, we would be leaving our children and grandchildren with a more habitable world. It also makes economic sense – investments in clean energy and technology create jobs, and a slightly cooler planet would mean less money spent later on cleaning up after fearsome storms.
The overall price tag of the Senate bill is more than $300 billion. That’s a lot of money, no doubt. But it’s not too high a price to pay when you consider this is the only planet we’ve got.
Guest Editorial