As almost everyone in contemporary society already knows, it is commonplace for policy makers, media pundits, and others to make claims that storms like the Oklahoma tornado on May 20, 2013, should be attributed to climate change. Theoretically, climate change may, in fact, result in increases in the frequency and intensity of hurricanes and other types of storms. But the verdict is yet out on the subject. And further, when it comes to tornadoes, not only is it too early to tell, but much of the data and models suggest that climate change and global warming are likely to reduce the frequency and intensity of tornadoes, not worsen them. Thus, in light of the recent Oklahoma tornado and all the visceral hype about climate change, it is best to maintain a more objective integrity in the discussion. In fact, the real lesson in it all "is that we ought to ignore the noise from zealots and listen to the scientists" (Guzman, 2013).
References
EPA. (2013a, April 22). Climate change basic information. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/
EPA. (2013b, April 22). Climate change indicators in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/weather-climate/
Guzman, A.T. (2013, May 22). The real climate-change lesson from the Oklahoma tornado. The Daily Beast. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/22/the-real-climate-change-lesson-from-the-oklahoma-tornado.html
National Climatic Data Center. (2013, May 17). U.S. tornado climatology: Recent tornado reports and information. Retrieved from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/severeweather/tornadoes.html#history
Peeples, L. (2013, May 22). Oklahoma tornado's climate change connection is "a damn difficult thing to predict." Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/oklahoma-tornado-climate-change_n_3310413.html
Perry, M.J. (2013, May 22). Inconvenient weather fact: Frequency of violent tornadoes like the one in Oklahoma has been declining, not increasing. AEIdeas. Retrieved from http://www.aei-ideas.org/2013/05/weather-fact-the-frequency-of-violent-tornadoes-like-the-recent-one-in-oklahoma-has-been-declining-not-increasing/
Romm, J. (2012, October 31). How does climate change make superstorms like Sandy more destructive? ClimateProgress. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/31/1117091/how-does-climate-change-make-hurricanes-like-sandy-more-destructive/
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