Global Warming, Hurricane Sandy, and Antarctica

As I write this, on Saturday, November 3, many communities in the mid-Atlantic are still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, which swept up the coast on Monday and Tuesday. MP and I only lost power for a day, so we were among the lucky ones (although it was pretty scary watching the trees bend in the wind on Monday and into the night).  But the devastation in places like Staten Island and along the Jersey shore is heartbreaking; our thoughts are with the loved ones of those who lost their lives, and with all those who must now rebuild their lives.

Sandy was so violent, and its damage so great, that it has prompted some much-needed analysis about whether global warming played any role in the “superstorm” and the damage.  This article, here, for example, on Huffington Post posits that “climate change very likely made Sandy’s impacts worse than they otherwise would have been.”

Global warming has been very much on my mind as our trip to Antarctica approaches, since the Antarctic peninsula exhibits some of the most striking evidence of climate change on the planet.  The effects of global warming on the Antarctic Peninsula are in fact the subject of marine biologist James McClintock’s new book, Lost Antarctica: Adventures in a Disappearing Land.

Last month, I posted that I was so taken by McClintock’s discussion of his book during an interview on NPR that I ordered it even before the interview was over.  I’ve now had the chance to read it, and I strongly recommend it, whether you are traveling to Antarctica or not (but especially if you are).  McClintock is an excellent writer, and Lost Antarctica is wonderfully readable.

McClintock has spent many years doing research in Antarctica, and his account of the effects of climate change on the Antarctic Peninsula, from king crabs moving in to Adelie penguins disappearing, is a very disturbing story, and a real wake up call for the world.  As is Hurricane Sandy.