The Republican opponents included both of Texas' senators -- John Cornyn and Ted Cruz -- and a lengthy list of Texas House Republicans, including Brady and Hensarling. But the dominant scientific consensus is that climate change is increasing the odds that storms will be more powerful and destructive. "The climate change impact on the strength of Harvey is unknown; climate change is expected to increase the intensity of the strongest storms, but it's not clear whether Harvey was in that category," he wrote me. That shift, he continued, "is a direct consequence of climate change and is expected to continue." "Unfortunately, climate change will most certainly make disasters like Hurricane Harvey more likely: Think of Harvey as a glimpse of the future," Lubchenco, now a distinguished university professor at Oregon State University, wrote me.

Source: CNN August 29, 2017 09:56 UTC