New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stuck his foot in his mouth recently when appearing on MSNBC to discuss recent flooding in upstate New York.
While discussing the present disaster, Gov. Cuomo began ranting about climate change, telling MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi that “we didn’t have hurricanes or superstorms or tornadoes” before climate change. The governor also made a point of calling everyone who even questions the man-made climate change narrative “delusional.”
Granted, it is possible that Governor Cuomo was only talking about New York and not the United States in general. However, even if this is the case, a simple Google search proves that the governor is dead wrong.
Experts note that there is evidence that a major hurricane struck the New York area between 1278 and 1438, long before the Industrial Revolution was happening anywhere in the world. Later records show that a tropic cyclone sent ships crashing into Governor’s Island in 1785. Later, in 1788, a hurricane caused severe flooding in New York City. Disastrous weather events continued into the 1800s, and include the 1821 hurricane that slammed into Manhattan and the 1893 hurricane that hit what would become the JFK Airport. A powerful Hurricane hit Long Island in 1938, killing dozens of people while 1954 saw three disastrous hurricanes strike the state.
It doesn’t stop there. Two powerful tornadoes hit the state in the early 1900s, long before “man-made climate change” was an issue. Climate experts who have analyzed global tropical cyclone landfalls from 1970 to 2018 found that there are “no significant trends” showing that cyclones are stronger than before and/or making landfall more frequently than was the case in times past.
What’s even more horrifying than Governor Cuomo’s blatant lie about climate change is the fact that the mainstream media is refusing to call him out for his obvious deception. When the governor made his outrageous statement on MSNBC, the anchor sat still and listened quietly. Naturally, no explanation has been given for Ali Velshi’s passive behavior. Perhaps Mr. Velshi actually believed what Governor Cuomo was saying. Alternatively, he may have wondered if something was off, but was afraid of being labeled “delusional” for questioning the “official” point of view.
The hysteria surrounding “man-made climate change” is hard to overstate. Those who believe that the world has only twelve years to “take drastic action” to combat “man-made climate change” are so desperate to push their point of view, that they are willing to resort to spreading fake news.
Granted, the recent storm in upstate New York did a great deal of damage, dumping as much as five inches of rain in some areas. Even so, the fact remains that the storm can’t be blamed on climate change as historical weather records show that severe storms have been hitting the area for hundreds of years.