[MUSIC PLAYING]
Been a very active
couple of months--
there's been probably four
major hurricanes in that time.
There's been--
--very, very severe
wildfire season in the West.
Literally driving through
a fire at the moment.
Then on top of it,
we've had a couple
of very strong
earthquakes in Mexico.
Some of this is normal.
But some of it may also be a
harbinger of things to come.
Science can explain
all of these things.
[SCREAMING]
Earthquakes-- the
frequency of earthquakes
is remarkably
consistent year to year.
A 7.0, roughly,
earthquake and then--
and also an 8.0 earthquake
within two weeks of each other
is not unusual at all.
The fact that they both happened
in Mexico is a little unusual.
But lots of quakes
happen in Mexico.
Thing about earthquakes
is that most
of the big earthquakes,
actually, in the world
happen in places where
there's not a lot of people.
So they don't
really get noticed.
Earthquakes aside, it's tricky.
Some of what's been happening
is related to climate change.
Some of it isn't.
So wildfires are an
interesting question
because there's some element of
normality and nature involved.
But there's a lot of
human influence here.
It's been very dry,
climate change-related.
And also, there's certain
insect infestations
that are now worse because
of climate change that
can kill trees.
And that's fuel for fires.
Couple that with
human influences.
More and more people
are living in areas
that are close to forest.
The human desire to live
close to nature sort of plays
into the whole "what's
going on here" feeling,
whereas 20 years
ago, a wildfire might
have happened somewhere in the
Rockies and nobody lived there.
So nobody would really care.
Now the same wildfire might
happen in the same location.
And there's vacation
homes there.
And so people take notice.
Terms of hurricanes,
generally speaking,
the months of August,
September, and October
are the busy, active
part of the season.
Some years, you don't get
many hurricanes at all.
It's a naturally
variable situation.
It is probably a little
unusual that several of them
have been really
monster hurricanes,
and also have made landfall.
You want a big database
of things to study.
And with hurricanes, with, like,
12 or 15 storms every year,
that's not a huge number
that you're working with.
But some scientists say the
intense season we've had
is more likely to repeat
itself in years ahead.
Scientists are pretty
confident that climate change
will make hurricanes
worse for two reasons.
One is warmer air
holds more moisture.
The other impact is that
sea levels are rising.
Some point, particularly
if you're personally
affected by these things--
the scientific
explanation is not enough.
Whether you blame nature
or some higher being,
to be in awe and a little
scared or a lot scared
at what can happen to you in
these events is a good thing.
It probably means you
prepare for them better.
