Markey: Why Aren't Climate Deniers Singing in this Rain?

Deniers Quick to Sling Mud…Except When There’s Too Much Actual Mud

A damaging storm hitting the Northeast United States has caused floods, power outages and dropped inches of rain across the region. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today hit back against the deniers who questioned climate change after this winter’s east coast snowstorms, asking them what answers they had to directly measured data that shows an increase in extreme precipitation events.

“Climate skeptics like to sling mud at scientists, but where are they when millions of people are dealing with real, actual mud, and too much of it?” asked Rep. Markey, chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. “They shouted as loud as they could about extreme weather when it was snow, but now you can’t find any of them singing in this rain. That’s because the data shows these types of extreme precipitation events, whether it’s through rain or snow, are consistent with climate trends.”

While no one storm can be attributed to climate change -- nor disprove its existence -- the overall trends point to more extreme weather events, especially heavy precipitation events as a warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture.

According to a recent report by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, consisting of 13 U.S. government agencies working on the challenge of climate change, the amount of rain falling in the heaviest downpours has increased by 20 percent on average in the United States over the last century. In some regions, the increase of precipitation over the last 50 years has been even higher, like the 67 percent increase in the Northeast.

“What do the deniers say when asked about real, directly measurable data? They are willing to sandbag progress on clean energy, but are they also willing to help put sandbags outside American families’ homes?” asked Rep. Markey.

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