Climate Craziness of the Week – USA Today duped into thinking severe weather began in 1980

Watts Up With That?

From USA Today: Report: Climate change behind rise in weather disasters

12:53PM EST October 10. 2012 – The number of natural disasters per year has been rising dramatically on all continents since 1980, but the trend is steepest for North America where countries have been battered by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, searing heat and drought, a new report says.

The study being released today by Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurance firm, sees climate change driving the increase and predicts those influences will continue in years ahead, though a number of experts question that conclusion.

Whatever the causes, the report shows that if you thought the weather has been getting worse, you’re right.

Two words: Oh, please.   This is easily dispelled by looking at the data. Apparently Doyle Rice can’t be bothered to do some basic research.

Time for a graphjam, starting with this:

But wait, there’s more:

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IPCC, Government, and Insurance Enables Dangerous Behavior

Watts Up With That?

Guest opinion: Dr. Tim Ball

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” – Benjamin Franklin

The claims of increasing disasters presented as inevitable by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provided opportunities for government interference and crony capitalism on a massive scale. Their actions ignored the realities and enabled unwise behavior by offering assistance and compensation if problems developed in areas where problems are well-known and inevitable.

The insurance industry is a major benefactor of this crony capitalism. They promoted the false IPCC claims on their web pages, sponsored documentaries, and did everything to exaggerate the threat. Look at the comments from the web page of Swiss Re.

Re/insurance plays an important role in managing climate and natural disaster risk, and that’s why it’s part of Swiss Re’s core business.

Managing climate and disaster risk is part of Swiss Re’s DNA.

Munich Re is a…

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The Economist, fossil fuel subsidies and ‘climate disaster’

Watts Up With That?

Guest essay by Andy May

I’ve been a subscriber to The Economist for years. It is one of the few mainstream media publications I still read. But, I found a very annoying article in the October 1, 2016 issue. The title and link are “Notes from the undergrowth.” It starts out with a false assertion that is easily debunked, but often stated:

Media myth #1

“DESPITE deluges in the South, droughts in the West and fires throughout national forests this year, the words “climate” and “change” have seldom been uttered together on the campaign trail.”

The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Nature magazine, and the IPCC all have said extreme weather cannot be reliably linked to climate change.

From the WMO:

“There were fewer deaths, even while exposure to extreme events increased as populations grew and more people were living in disaster-prone areas. According to the…

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