Storm watch

Embrace and fund science to understand climate

The supercharged, super-destructive series of hurricanes that battered the United States and devastated Puerto Rico and Caribbean island nations should be wake-up calls for our political leaders: Do not fear science. Always seek out science and embrace it.

Science is discovery — it is constantly arriving at conclusive answers. And hurricanes have raged without the global warming of this era. What happened to Houston and the Florida Keyscannot be called purely matters of climate change. But, to the extent that these natural disasters turn people to science for insight, and to the extent that climate science can enlighten humankind about its responsibilities, thesestorms are sobering.

If climate change and warmer ocean water temperatures are fueling hurricanes, making them bigger and more destructive than they would otherwise be, all Americans need to know that, take that in and decide on courses of action.

This is no different than assessing the risk of terrorist attacks, or a North Korean attack, on U.S. soil. The Trump administration must see the damage from Harvey, Irma and other weather disasters and arm itself with scientists as it would beef up the military for a threat to the peace.

Refusing to fill important scientific posts in Cabinet departments, or filling those posts with nonscientists, is not a solid option. Defunding crucial programs, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s $73 million coastal research programs, is not a reasonable strategy. And dissolving the 15-member climate-advisory committee is not helpful.

Experts estimate that Harvey and Irma combined could cause about $290 billion in damage. The impact of the storms reaches far beyond Texas and Florida, affecting the price and availability of everything from gas to food to building supplies across the country. In economic terms alone, that total will dwarf the cost of Hurricane Sandy, which caused about $50 billion in damage, and Hurricane Katrina, which cost about $120 billion. And this is to say nothing of the emotional and human toll. More than 80 people died in Harvey, more than 70 in Irma, and the Maria death toll is at least 30.

Understanding the weather, and the deep science behind it, is a matter of economic as well as physical security. Hostility to science and the scientific puts American lives at risk.