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U.S. NEWS Friday 14 december 2018

Texas report says ‘changing climate’ intensifying disasters

with the likelihood of more “It looks like something’s causes of climate change,”
intense hurricanes,” the re- changing but I’m not sure he said. “The elephant in
port read. I’m a good enough scien- the room is getting bigger.”
The report was spearhead- tist to know what it is. I leave Abbott, who easily won
ed by Texas A&M University it in their hands.” re-election in November,
System Chancellor John John Anderson, a profes- has been noncommittal in
Sharp, who Abbott ap- sor of oceanography at his career about whether
pointed as a recovery czar Rice University and expert he thinks human activity is
after the storm. It urges on rising sea levels, said the affecting the climate. Be-
state and local officials report continues a trend of fore becoming governor
to think in “generational denials from Texas leaders. in 2015, Abbott repeatedly
terms” to infrastructure “The tendency in the state sued the federal govern-
planning so as to “future- of Texas has been to com- ment over environmental
proof” the Gulf Coast . bat the changing climate regulations as Texas’ attor-
“I don’t know,” Sharp said. without acknowledging the ney general.q

In this Aug. 28, 2017, file photo, a Coast Guard rescue team
evacuates people from a neighborhood inundated by
floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Texas.
Associated Press
Continued from Front sible for me to answer that
question,” he said.
But the report makes no The report was not commis-
mention of global warm- sioned as an assessment of
ing. And in urging steps climate change in Texas.
Texas should take to lessen Instead, it is the findings
the impact of intensifying of a rebuilding task force
hurricanes and flooding, Abbott created after Hur-
the report makes no men- ricane Harvey devastated
tion of curbing greenhouse the Texas coast, causing
gases in Texas, the nation’s an estimated $125 billion
oil-refining epicenter that in damage. At least 68
leads the U.S. in carbon people directly died from
emissions. The phrase “cli- Harvey’s effects, and an-
mate change” also does other 35 people died from
not appear in the nearly indirect effects such as ve-
200-page report, except hicle accidents, according
in footnotes that reference to the report.
scientific papers. The Category 4 hurricane
But it is the latest govern- dumped more than 50
ment alarm that massive inches of rain on Houston,
disasters such as Harvey leaving the nation’s fourth-
will only continue. Last largest city underwater.
month, a White House re- But in underscoring the
port warned these types of inevitably of future disas-
disasters are worsening be- ters in Texas, the report
cause of global warming, notes rising sea levels and
and citing numerous stud- extreme downpours be-
ies, said more than 90 per- coming more frequent in
cent of the current warm- recent decades. It also
ing is caused by humans. cites a “changing climate”
After releasing the new Tex- while reinforcing the need
as report Thursday, Abbott to strengthen dams and
wouldn’t wade into wheth- levees. “Flooding risks for
er he believed manmade coastal Texas, and much
global warming is causing of the rest of the state, will
the kind of disasters the continue to rise. The current
state is telling residents to scientific consensus points
get used to. to increasing amounts of
“I’m not a scientist. Impos- intense rainfall coupled