A Green WTF?! Moment

Global warming did NOT cause this plane crash 7

This is not helpful:

As the investigation continues as to what brought down the French airliner over the
Atlantic Ocean with 228 people on board, a Russian climatologist believes global warming played a significant part.

Russia Today offers this steaming pile of reportage under the disingenuous headline, “Did global warming help bring down Air France flight 447?”

Although the exact cause of the tragedy may never be fully known, most investigators already agree on one thing: severe weather conditions played an important part. And that conclusion is leading some climatologists to wonder if the airlines are properly prepared for a world of higher temperatures, and therefore more stressful flight conditions in the future.


“A consequence of global warming is that the frequency and severity of such events (severe weather conditions) is higher,” Alexei Kokorin, head of Russia’s World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Program, told RT. “Unfortunately, the risk for airplanes, especially in tropical areas above water, will be higher. This could be difficult for pilots to understand.”

Will climate change lead to fiercer storms? Sure. Can any particular storm be linked to climate change with any legitimate certainty? No. The Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media has a timely piece on this very subject.

This sort of framing—note the headline in the form of a question, note that the evidence is “leading” some climatologists to “wonder”—is made-to-order fodder for deniers like the Business & Media Institute. The free-market group (“Advancing the Culture of Free Enterprise in America”) already pounced on the story: “Climatologist Blames Global Warming for Air France Crash.”

They’ve got the gall to call out “warming alarmists” for advancing this fictitious link to the Air France crash. Alarmist?! Why…that’s just…OK, this pretty much fits the definition of alarmist. We can agree on that one.

And, to jab back at the climate skeptics, the Russia Today stinker of a headline was the equivalent of the gleeful right-wing bloviating about the “myth” of climate change every time the temperature drops below 40 degrees F in Miami.

Jonathan Hiskes is a Grist staff writer. He reports, tweets, eats, asks questions, self-promotes, looks out windows, and wonders if it could be like this.

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  1. Tom Laskawy's avatar

    Tom Laskawy Posted 7:43 pm
    04 Jun 2009

    I agree linking single events to climate change is wrong. But I don't know if I agree that the central point of the article is without merit. Are airlines and pilots prepared for a world where tropical storms are far more powerful? I mean, does this not strike you as a very good question? if you read the MSM coverge, the storm is sounding more and more freakish. 100mph updrafts that were bringing seawater to 50,000 feet and causing severe icing conditions. In the tropics! Then we're left with the question of whether this is a truly freak occurrence or whether this is one we'll start seeing more and more. I don't know about you, but that possibility scares me.

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  2. oracle2world Posted 6:52 am
    05 Jun 2009

     NOAA's WP-3 Orion aircraft flies into hurricanes to study them.  Planes have been crashing because of weather since the dawn of powered flight.  Ingestion of enough rainwater into jet engines will cause them to flame out and cause the plane's backup power to kick-in.  A pitot tube failure means no airspeed or altitude info, that has led to plane crashes. If anyone wonders why the environmental movement has become a laughingstock, keep on linking everything to global warming.  Honesty, I think we are back to the ancient practice of seeing omens in every bad event.  I'm surprised solar eclipses, Mount St. Helens, and Big Foot are not linked to global warming.    After the hurricane prediction debacles, you would think global warming folks would steer clear of weather and stick to tree ring temperature proxies.

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  3. racc Posted 10:42 am
    05 Jun 2009

    Well, the tragedy was due to fossil fuels. Without them, the plane wouldn't be in the air in first place.

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  4. hfn's avatar

    hfn Posted 12:43 pm
    05 Jun 2009

    Yes, and global warming is also to blame for my back pain. Because my back pain is caused by stress. And I'm stressed out because I'm worried about global warming.
    It's called logic, people!

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  5. oracle2world Posted 12:43 pm
    05 Jun 2009

    We can blame the air too.  Without air the plane would not have been in the air.

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  6. AntonioSosa Posted 2:47 pm
    05 Jun 2009

    Hahahahaha! The global warming dogma believers are getting desperate; aren't they? They'll blame anything and everything on global warming hoping we'll swallow the hoax.

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    1. oracle2world Posted 8:14 pm
      05 Jun 2009

      There are winners and losers in climate change.  The US, Canada, Russia, and Northern Europe make out well with global warming.  The third world toilets?  Well, no one will notice any difference either way.

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