A Series of Hurricanes and Only 1 Culprit

After Hurricane Helene hit Florida, there came Hurricane Milton. The storms’ power and the devastation they caused are a direct consequence of global warming, but this issue remains largely absent from the election campaign

A gigantic hurricane hitting a large city with full force. Florida authorities have prepared for this nightmare scenario for years. With the arrival of Milton in the Tampa region on the Gulf of Mexico, it is now a reality. The metropolis of 3 million inhabitants has not experienced such an event for more than a century. But back in 1921, the city had only 135,000 inhabitants. The exponential rate of urbanization illustrates the scale of the challenge for Florida because the planet has also experienced unprecedented warming over the last century.

While the Florida peninsula is no stranger to hurricanes, they have intensified as a direct consequence of climate change. The ocean’s heat acts as fuel for these weather events. In a matter of hours earlier this week, Milton’s power exploded, an increasingly characteristic feature on this overheating planet.

This latest disaster comes as the southeastern United States struggles to recover from the devastating impact of Helene less than two weeks ago, a storm that became the second deadliest hurricane in U.S. history since Katrina in 2005. Unusually, Helene caused damage as far away as Tennessee, more than 1,000 kilometers (about 621 miles) from the Florida coast.

A Chasm between the 2 Camps

If there is one country that should be able to withstand these extreme weather events, it is the United States. However, this infernal round of storms in putting the world’s leading power to the test because the hurricane season will continue until December and after the general election on Nov. 5.

But the climate issue is largely absent from the election campaign. Entirely focused on undermining the institutions run by his political opponents, Donald Trump is focusing the debate on how the government is responding to the disasters which he believes is obviously deficient. Democrats can instead point to historic progress in favor of addressing climate change, with massive investment in renewable energy during the Biden administration. The energy shift has begun, even if the United States, the leading emitter of greenhouse gases, is extracting record amounts of oil and gas.

There is a chasm between the two camps on this existential issue for the planet. Trump rejects the reality of global warming and says it’s an opportunity to “create more oceanfront property.” While they pray to be spared by Milton, Florida’s residents would do well to vote in November so the Republican hurricane bypasses the White House.