Superstorm Sandy, the Tragic Wake Up Call

Superstorm Sandy is devastating the North Eastern United States, as we speak, in what can only be described as a terrible and tragic natural disaster. However even as the flood waters remain high, power remains out  and the lives of so many Americans remain in jeopardy, the country, as a whole, has suffered a blow that may permanently change this nation, hopefully, for the better.

I would like to first and foremost extend my hopes and prayers to the people who are  being ravaged by Superstorm Sandy. The horrific pictures of Atlantic City underwater and its historic boardwalk being swept out to sea struck a nerve in me. Also, seeing New York City flooded and the damage that is occurring all over from Virginia to Canada is frightening. Hurricanes are scary enough, yet when mixed with a massive Northern storm and sent to an area that is not used to getting hit with such powerful winds and rains, it is the perfect storm, in the true sense of the term.

Help!

While the waters are a long way off from receding, the need for our help has already arrived. The Red Cross is on the scene with 112 shelters. Many more may be needed before the storm is done. If you have anything to spare, please consider helping the Red Cross out with a donation. The Red Cross does good work, and it is these sorts of disasters that require the most money. Thousands of people will be left homeless when the sun returns.

 

The New Norm

Sadly, Sandy may not be the storm of the century that Mayor Bloomberg billed it, it may be the century of storms. Whether you believe that Climate Change is man-made or not, there is no denying that the climate is changing. The planet is the warmest it’s ever been in recorded history, and is breaking records every summer. The frozen Arctic Ocean has melted by a third and the oceans are now 30% more acidic. Superstorm Sandy is the largest storm (over 1,000 miles wide) to form in the Atlantic Basin in the history of record keeping, and comes on the heels of increasingly violent and turbulent weather. Sandy’s strange combination of Arctic cold front and Mid-Atlantic hurricane is being referred to as “Arctic Amplification”, making the storm worse than it otherwise would have been. The warming planet also produces more hurricanes that occur later and later in the season. This combined with the jet stream bending in new ways, again due to the warming planet, than you have the possibility that this storm of the century can happen far more frequently. In other words, these Frankenstorms can become the new normal.

I know I’m not alone here because even the major media has suddenly began asking questions about climate change. The issue that was not brought up one time at the so-called Foreign Policy Debate last week, is suddenly a campaign issue again and being thrust into the spotlight once more.

FEMA and the Election

Mitt Romney, who in the debates called for the defunding of FEMA and pushing it on to the states is now dead silent on the issue. It really makes little sense for a state to tackle a national disaster that affects 7 or 8 states, so it’s mums the word for now and pray that the storm keeps liberals at home, because FEMA is a losing argument for Republicans.

The last two Republican Presidents, Bush number 1 and Bush number 2, both had horrible disasters, Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Katrina / Rita. In both instances, they botched FEMA up so bad that it was considered a monumental failure of government. Yet in between, was Clinton, who’s revamped FEMA was a huge success during the Northridge Earthquake, which I can personally testify to, as I lived a few miles away from the epicenter and went through the aftermath.

Republicans don’t know how to run the government. How can you manage something you fundamentally hate?

Even conservative commentator PJ O’Rourke once said: “The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.”

So why elect them to office? Bush didn’t cut the government, he expanded it and Romney will be no different. They cut the social services which cost nothing and expand the law enforcement, military and spy agencies that Libertarians should be afraid of, ya know, Big Brother?! Yet instead they fear social workers and teachers.

Romney and Ryan is R&R for big business. The rest of us, including those hit with a disaster, will be left to the free market for help and you know what that means. You’ll be forced to sell what’s left of your home to the banks for rock-bottom prices, forced out of the American Dream with no way to get back on your feet, all the while guys like Christie will call you stupid for not being able to afford all-risk insurance that won’t deny your coverage on some technicality.

So the issue of the future of our planet has returned. Just weeks ago I wrote an article about how Fox News was found to be misleading and misinforming people on the issue of climate change, while a host of new data had come in that disproved Climate Change Gate or whatever they called it, and concurred with the enormous body of scientific evidence that Climate Change is a real threat to our planet.

For now, however, while the election just a week away brings this issue to the foreground during the disaster, it is important that we not lose sight of the people that are baring the brunt of this new Frankenstorm. Again, let’s keep them in our minds and offer any help that we can to get them back on their feet. That is what we as Americans do. Individual, sure, though we never forget that is not I the People, it is WE THE PEOPLE!

 

Make a Donation to the Red Cross to Help the Victims of Hurricane Sandy

 

 More Pictures from Superstorm Sandy:

Subsequent fires further claimed another 80 homes

Life will get back to normal.

My heart goes out to the victims of Superstorm Sandy

Many low lying areas were left under water even after Sandy moved on.