{"id":53146,"date":"2023-09-24T18:30:23","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T01:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=53146"},"modified":"2023-09-24T18:30:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T01:30:23","slug":"everyday-erinyes-389","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2023\/09\/24\/everyday-erinyes-389\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday Erinyes #389"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto<\/span><\/strong>, Megaera<\/strong><\/span>, and Tisiphone<\/span><\/strong>. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”<\/p>\n

When I was in high scholl (and through my college years), Dr. S. I. Hayakawa emerged as an expert on semantics, and in fact made it a household word. I doubt whether this is the dictionary definition – but he and his work made us think about how the way we speak about things, the words and phrases we use, the way we form questions and answers, actually influence the way we think. The author of this articles does not use the word “semantics,” but he certainly addresses its implications, and in particular when it comes to climate change. And he’s right. Referring to extreme weather as “the new normal” may be a good desription; it may even terrify a few people into paying attention, but it does not address the problem. Climate change is a symptom, an indicator. It itself is not the disease that caused the symptom. I am inclined to call that disease “human arrogance.” Perhaps you have a better idea. But, when I call it that, I can see clearly why no one is directly addressing it. “You can’t fix stupid,” and there is equally no direct way to fix arrogance.
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Summer 2023 was the hottest on record \u2013 yes, it\u2019s climate change, but don\u2019t call it \u2018the new\u00a0normal\u2019<\/h1>\n
Kansas City\u2019s baseball stadium ran misters to cool people off in heat near 100 degrees on June 28, 2023.
\nAP Photo\/Charlie Riedel<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Scott Denning<\/a>, Colorado State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Summer 2023 was the hottest on record<\/a> by a huge margin<\/a>. Hundreds of millions of people suffered as heat waves<\/a> cooked Europe, Japan, Texas and the Southwestern U.S. Phoenix hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit<\/a> (43 degrees Celsius) for a record 54 days, including a 31-day streak in July. Large parts of Canada<\/a> were on fire. Lahaina, Hawaii, burned to the ground<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As an atmospheric scientist<\/a>, I get asked at least once a week if the wild weather we\u2019ve been having is \u201ccaused\u201d by climate change. This question reflects a misunderstanding of the difference between weather and climate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Consider this analogy from the world of sports: Suppose a baseball player is having a great season, and his batting average is twice what it was last year. If he hits a ball out of the park on Tuesday, we don\u2019t ask whether he got that hit because his batting average has risen. His average has gone up because of the hits, not the other way around. Perhaps the Tuesday homer resulted from a fat pitch, or the wind breaking just right, or because he was well rested that day. But if his batting average has doubled since last season, we might reasonably ask if he\u2019s on steroids<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unprecedented heat and downpours and drought and wildfires aren\u2019t \u201ccaused by climate change\u201d \u2013 they are climate change.<\/p>\n