A Climatologist Explains Why Climate Change Has Nothing To Do With Hurricane Harvey

Whenever a hurricane occurs, whether it be a major hurricane or not, the Left is always quick to blame climate change and, by association, Republicans and mankind for the damage we do to our poor planet. Last year, some of the southeastern states were hit by a weaker hurricane than Harvey, named Hurricane Matthew. This year, the people of Texas have been the ones to suffer the effects of the hurricane, particularly Houston.
 
And it’s particularly BECAUSE of Houston getting flooded as much as it is that the Left wants to make a stronger case for climate change with this hurricane. Even though Houston has a long history of flooding by relatively minor rain, the Left will never miss an opportunity to point out climate change wherever they can.
 
But one climatologist acknowledges the fact that, even though it’s uncommon for the hurricane to have stalled over Houston and caused so much rain in the area, it’s not a sign of our climate getting worse.
 
Dr. Roy W. Spencer wrote an article on his personal site titled “Why Houston Flooding Isn’t a Sign of Climate Change”. Now that title alone could easily trigger a liberal. He writes: “In the context of climate change, is what we are seeing in Houston a new level of disaster which is becoming more common? The flood disaster unfolding in Houston is certainly very unusual. But so are other natural weather disasters, which have always occurred and always will occur.”
 
He’s basically saying that natural weather disasters aren’t all typically the exact same. Which is rather obvious. A hurricane striking, say, Florida is going to be different to one striking Texas or New Jersey. And that’s because different variables are in place for each storm in each location. Even location itself is a variable. But just because a hurricane is doing things others typically and historically haven’t done doesn’t mean that climate change is at work here, or that Mother Nature is getting her revenge.
 
Dr. Spencer continues by saying that “floods aren’t just due to weather.” “Major floods are difficult to compare throughout history because the ways in which we alter the landscape. For example, as cities like Houston expand over the years, soil is covered up by roads, parking lots, and buildings, with water rapidly draining off rather than soaking into the soil… The Houston metroplex area has expanded greatly and the water drainage is basically in the direction of downtown Houston.”
 
As humanity expands and technology becomes more advanced and readily available, cities and towns start to become altered by new advancements in our civilization. Urban development naturally means that the landscape in the area will be changed, meaning that the way the water caused by rain or major storms is taken care of is changed. As Dr. Spencer said, with the city of Houston expanding, the water is steered in the direction of downtown Houston rather than being soaked up by the earth. Don’t ask me why the water is directed to downtown Houston, it’s just the way the city was built.
 
He continues to say “There have been many flood disasters in the Houston area, even dating to the mid-1800s when the population was very low. In December of 1935, a massive flood occurred in the downtown area as the water level height measured at Buffalo Bayou in Houston topped out at 54.4 feet. By way of comparison, as of 6:30 a.m. Monday morning, the water level in the same location is at 38 feet, which is still 16 feet lower than in 1935. I’m sure that will continue to rise.”
 
So we even know, as I said earlier in this article, that Houston has a history of getting flooded, with the worst of it seemingly happening in 1935. And that flood wasn’t even the result of a hurricane. It was just constant rains in the area causing the flood. Besides, this is 1935. The automobile at the time was largely steam-powered, with diesel engines beginning to be made only 5 years prior. Not to mention that the population was significantly less than today. So I highly doubt the Houston flood of 1935 was caused by mean, capitalist men polluting the planet.
 
Dr. Spencer goes on to talk about whether the rainfall totals were unprecedented, in which he says that the only thing unprecedented about the totals is WHERE they landed, not the amount of rainfall that happened.
 
He also talks about whether Harvey’s intensity was unprecedented, which he says that it’s really not, since in the last 44 years, we’ve had 4 Category 4 hurricanes strike the U.S., with 14 more in the last 88. Basically, we’ve actually had LESS intense hurricanes in the past half-decade.
 
He concludes his article by saying: “Weather disasters happen, with or without the help of humans.” And he’s completely right about that. Hurricanes have always happened in the history of the Earth in areas that get hurricanes. Some have been completely devastating, particularly one that hit Galveston in 1900, which killed between 6,000 and 12,000 people. While some have been without much fatality (particularly BECAUSE of technological advancements and innovation that the Left seems to despise).
 
The point is that hurricanes happen in the intensity they occur simply because God ordains it so. We have nothing to do with the frequency or intensity of any particular hurricane. If we actually COULD affect the weather in which the Left claims we can, then California would never go through any drought. We would increase all the factors that “contribute to climate change” in that area to solve California’s drought problem… at least in 50 to 100 years, according to the Left.
 
To me, the Left’s claims that we are capable of severely altering the weather is basically the equivalent to believing a rain dance would actually cause rain. The logic is about the same in both cases.
 
And, interestingly enough, both cases exclude God’s sovereignty on the Universe. It makes sense, since the Left doesn’t believe in God, they think we can become like gods. But we are mere humans, with mortal flesh. We can’t accurately predict what the weather will look like by the end of the week, and we can’t do anything to change what will happen. Only God has that power.
 
Psalm 135:6
“Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in Heaven and on Earth, in the seas and all deeps.”