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<meta name="description" content="The storm called Harvey broke US records for rainfall and duration. Some environmentalists think it is a “moral duty” to talk about the role global warming played in making Harvey so intense. But the Trump administration, which days before Harvey disbanded a federal advisory panel on climate change and revoked an important flood-proofing rule, has tried to deflect talk of climate change, claiming it’s tasteless while..."/>
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			<span class="kicker">A QUESTION OF TONE</span>
		<h1 itemprop="headline">It&#8217;s morally right to bring up climate change even as the tragedy of Hurricane Harvey unfolds</h1>	<div class="item-meta-mobile"><div class="byline item-meta-row">
	<h5>Written by</h5>

	
		
			
			<a href="https://qz.com/author/akshatqz/" class="author-name" data-index="0" itemprop="author">Akshat Rathi</a>

			
			
			
		
		
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			<span class="timestamp" itemprop="datePublished">September 02, 2017</span>
	
	
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			<i class="icon-camera"></i>The fight against global warming depends on people perceiving the risks.							<span class="featured-image-credit has-space"> (Reuters/Jonathan Bachman)</span>
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			<a href="https://qz.com/author/akshatqz/" class="author-name" data-index="0" itemprop="author">Akshat Rathi</a>

			
			
			
		
		
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			<span class="timestamp" itemprop="datePublished">September 02, 2017</span>
	
	
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<p>The storm called Harvey broke US records for<a href="https://twitter.com/NWS/status/902638267102842880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Fscience-and-health%2F2017%2F8%2F29%2F16221542%2Fhurricane-harvey-rainfall-record-houston"> rainfall</a> and<a href="https://twitter.com/philklotzbach/status/903045282308300801"> duration</a>. Some environmentalists<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/31/opinions/climate-change-harvey-lynas-opinion/index.html"> think it is</a> a &ldquo;moral duty&rdquo; to talk about the role global warming played in making Harvey so intense. But the Trump administration, which days before Harvey<a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/347269-trump-disbands-federal-advisory-panel-on-climate-change-report"> disbanded</a> a federal advisory panel on climate change and<a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/348547-before-hurricane-harvey-trump-canceled-coastal-flood"> revoked</a> an important flood-proofing rule, has<a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/348678-conway-slams-cnn-anchor-for-asking-about-climate-change-during-harvey"> tried to deflect</a> talk of climate change, claiming it&rsquo;s tasteless while rescuers are still searching for the missing.</p>
<p>Some flood-trapped Houstonians agree. One told us the media should be<a href="https://qz.com/1065263/a-houston-residents-striking-plea-to-the-media-were-not-an-event-to-be-coolly-analyzed/"> doing less finger-wagging</a> about the causes of Harvey and more reporting on people&rsquo;s immediate needs. But we think it&rsquo;s nonetheless important to bring up climate change as early as possible.</p>
<p>Unlike with other disasters, such as a war, a financial crisis, or a disease outbreak, there is no simple narrative about the causes of any given hurricane. Nobody would claim global warming created Harvey; scientists can only say with some confidence that <a href="https://qz.com/1062574/hurricane-harvey-and-climate-change-did-rising-temperatures-and-sea-levels-make-harvey-worse/">Harvey&rsquo;s impact was stronger</a> than it would otherwise have been and that storms on average are getting more intense. (Meteorologists are predicting Hurricane Irma, which may hit the US east coast in the coming days,<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/31/us/hurricane-irma-forecast-weather/index.html"> could be worse</a>.)</p>
<div class="inline-ad" id="inline-1067556-1"></div><p>Global warming is a slow-motion catastrophe, yet research in social anthropology<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/02/why-is-it-so-hard-to-believe-in-climate-change/"> has shown that</a> what motivates humans is short-term concerns. It&rsquo;s harder to get people to care about and act on an abstract trend than specific disasters.</p>
<p>That is why we should talk about the issue while the water is still waist-high. In the years after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the proportion of Americans concerned about climate change rose,<a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/206030/global-warming-concern-three-decade-high.aspx"> then slumped again</a>. Since then it&rsquo;s risen once more&mdash;and even so they&rsquo;ve chosen a<a href="https://qz.com/832885/the-greatest-threat-from-a-trump-presidency-may-be-his-toxic-brew-of-unscientific-beliefs/"> climate skeptic</a> as their president. The more Americans see global warming as a direct threat, the better the chances for the whole world of doing something about it.</p>
<p><em>What are your views on the media&rsquo;s coverage of Harvey? Please <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeQBjmRGvBLDkAze9boTXNMTk-F-63Ak_ZAAXZ0piLONANzfA/viewform?usp=sf_link">tell us in this short survey</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>This was published as part of the weekend edition of the Quartz Daily Brief. <a href="https://qz.com/daily-brief">Sign up here</a> for our newsletter, tailored for morning delivery in Asia, Europe and Africa, and the Americas.</em></p>
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	QZ.bootstrap = {"https:\/\/qz.com\/api\/article\/1067556\/":{"version":3,"header":{"name":"Article","path":"article\/1067556\/","slug":"article","type":"article"},"items":[{"id":1067556,"title":"It&#8217;s morally right to bring up climate change even as the tragedy of Hurricane Harvey unfolds","slug":"hurricane-harvey-and-climate-change-is-a-conversation-we-should-be-having-immediately","permalink":"https:\/\/qz.com\/1067556\/hurricane-harvey-and-climate-change-is-a-conversation-we-should-be-having-immediately\/","date":{"published":"2017-09-02 10:29:35","updated":"2017-09-02 10:29:35","pretty":"September 02, 2017"},"postType":"article","summary":"The storm called Harvey broke US records for rainfall and duration. Some environmentalists think it is a \u201cmoral duty\u201d to talk about the role global&hellip;","inlineAds":["inline-1067556-1"],"content":"\n<p>The storm called Harvey broke US records for<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NWS\/status\/902638267102842880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Fscience-and-health%2F2017%2F8%2F29%2F16221542%2Fhurricane-harvey-rainfall-record-houston\"> rainfall<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/philklotzbach\/status\/903045282308300801\"> duration<\/a>. Some environmentalists<a href=\"http:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2017\/08\/31\/opinions\/climate-change-harvey-lynas-opinion\/index.html\"> think it is<\/a> a &ldquo;moral duty&rdquo; to talk about the role global warming played in making Harvey so intense. But the Trump administration, which days before Harvey<a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/347269-trump-disbands-federal-advisory-panel-on-climate-change-report\"> disbanded<\/a> a federal advisory panel on climate change and<a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/pundits-blog\/energy-environment\/348547-before-hurricane-harvey-trump-canceled-coastal-flood\"> revoked<\/a> an important flood-proofing rule, has<a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/348678-conway-slams-cnn-anchor-for-asking-about-climate-change-during-harvey\"> tried to deflect<\/a> talk of climate change, claiming it&rsquo;s tasteless while rescuers are still searching for the missing.<\/p>\n<p>Some flood-trapped Houstonians agree. One told us the media should be<a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/1065263\/a-houston-residents-striking-plea-to-the-media-were-not-an-event-to-be-coolly-analyzed\/\"> doing less finger-wagging<\/a> about the causes of Harvey and more reporting on people&rsquo;s immediate needs. But we think it&rsquo;s nonetheless important to bring up climate change as early as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike with other disasters, such as a war, a financial crisis, or a disease outbreak, there is no simple narrative about the causes of any given hurricane. Nobody would claim global warming created Harvey; scientists can only say with some confidence that <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/1062574\/hurricane-harvey-and-climate-change-did-rising-temperatures-and-sea-levels-make-harvey-worse\/\">Harvey&rsquo;s impact was stronger<\/a> than it would otherwise have been and that storms on average are getting more intense. (Meteorologists are predicting Hurricane Irma, which may hit the US east coast in the coming days,<a href=\"http:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2017\/08\/31\/us\/hurricane-irma-forecast-weather\/index.html\"> could be worse<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-ad\" id=\"inline-1067556-1\"><\/div><p>Global warming is a slow-motion catastrophe, yet research in social anthropology<a href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2015\/02\/why-is-it-so-hard-to-believe-in-climate-change\/\"> has shown that<\/a> what motivates humans is short-term concerns. It&rsquo;s harder to get people to care about and act on an abstract trend than specific disasters.<\/p>\n<p>That is why we should talk about the issue while the water is still waist-high. In the years after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the proportion of Americans concerned about climate change rose,<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gallup.com\/poll\/206030\/global-warming-concern-three-decade-high.aspx\"> then slumped again<\/a>. Since then it&rsquo;s risen once more&mdash;and even so they&rsquo;ve chosen a<a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/832885\/the-greatest-threat-from-a-trump-presidency-may-be-his-toxic-brew-of-unscientific-beliefs\/\"> climate skeptic<\/a> as their president. The more Americans see global warming as a direct threat, the better the chances for the whole world of doing something about it.<\/p>\n<p><em>What are your views on the media&rsquo;s coverage of Harvey? Please <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSeQBjmRGvBLDkAze9boTXNMTk-F-63Ak_ZAAXZ0piLONANzfA\/viewform?usp=sf_link\">tell us in this short survey<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This was published as part of the weekend edition of the Quartz Daily Brief. <a href=\"http:\/\/qz.com\/daily-brief\">Sign up here<\/a> for our newsletter, tailored for morning delivery in Asia, Europe and Africa, and the Americas.<\/em><\/p>\n","hero":{"id":1067886,"alt":"Residents wade through flood waters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Beaumont Place, Houston, Texas, U.S., on August 28, 2017. REUTERS\/Jonathan Bachman - RC16A37A65F0","caption":"The fight against global warming depends on people perceiving the risks.","credit":"Reuters\/Jonathan Bachman","width":3186,"height":1793,"aspectRatio":1.7769102063581,"url":"https:\/\/qzprod.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/09\/hurricane-harvey-flood-victims.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=3186","size":"extra-large"},"kicker":"A QUESTION OF TONE","seoTitle":"Hurricane Harvey and climate change is a conversation we should be having immediately","facebookDescription":"That&#039;s the best way to increase consciousness of the risks the world faces and stir people to action.","edition":"global","taxonomies":{"obsession":[],"tags":[{"name":"Climate change","slug":"climate-change"},{"name":"climate change denial","slug":"climate-change-denial"},{"name":"climate denial","slug":"climate-denial"},{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump"},{"name":"environment","slug":"environment"},{"name":"environmentalists","slug":"environmentalists"},{"name":"Global warming","slug":"global-warming"},{"name":"hurricane","slug":"hurricane"},{"name":"Hurricane Harvey","slug":"hurricane-harvey"},{"name":"Hurricane Katrina","slug":"hurricane-katrina"},{"name":"hurricanes","slug":"hurricanes"},{"name":"storm","slug":"storm"},{"name":"storms","slug":"storms"}],"qz_series":[],"topic":[{"name":"Science and human behavior","slug":"science-and-human-behavior"}]},"byline":{"authors":[{"name":"Akshat Rathi","username":"akshatqz","url":"https:\/\/qz.com\/author\/akshatqz\/","twitter":"AkshatRathi"}],"type":"author","label":"Written by"},"share":{"twitter":"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1067556&text=It%E2%80%99s%20morally%20right%20to%20bring%20up%20climate%20change%20even%20as%20the%20tragedy%20of%20Hurricane%20Harvey%20unfolds&via=qz","facebook":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1067556%2Fhurricane-harvey-and-climate-change-is-a-conversation-we-should-be-having-immediately%2F&caption=qz.com%20%7C%20By%20Akshat%20Rathi","linkedin":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1067556%2Fhurricane-harvey-and-climate-change-is-a-conversation-we-should-be-having-immediately%2F&title=It%E2%80%99s%20morally%20right%20to%20bring%20up%20climate%20change%20even%20as%20the%20tragedy%20of%20Hurricane%20Harvey%20unfolds&summary=The%20storm%20called%20Harvey%20broke%20US%20records%20for%20rainfall%20and%20duration.%20Some%20environmentalists%20think%20it%20is%20a%20%E2%80%9Cmoral%20duty%E2%80%9D%20to%20talk%20about%20the%20role%20global%E2%80%A6&source=Quartz","email":"mailto:?subject=Quartz%3A%20It%E2%80%99s%20morally%20right%20to%20bring%20up%20climate%20change%20even%20as%20the%20tragedy%20of%20Hurricane%20Harvey%20unfolds&body=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1067556%2Fhurricane-harvey-and-climate-change-is-a-conversation-we-should-be-having-immediately%2F%0A%0AThe%20storm%20called%20Harvey%20broke%20US%20records%20for%20rainfall%20and%20duration.%20Some%20environmentalists%20think%20it%20is%20a%20%E2%80%9Cmoral%20duty%E2%80%9D%20to%20talk%20about%20the%20role%20global%E2%80%A6%0A%0ASign%20up%20for%20the%20Quartz%20Daily%20Brief%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fquartzdailybrief.","whatsapp":"whatsapp:\/\/send?text=It%E2%80%99s%20morally%20right%20to%20bring%20up%20climate%20change%20even%20as%20the%20tragedy%20of%20Hurricane%20Harvey%20unfolds%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1067556%2Fhurricane-harvey-and-climate-change-is-a-conversation-we-should-be-having-immediately%2F"},"peer39":[9496,9465,9736,1908,2735,18899,9389,9390,9357,19680,9521,9506,9504,9522,9519,9507,9597,9369,22057,21363,12625]}]}};
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