This past weekend, Hurricane Irma made landfall in the United States, battering the entire state of Florida with a colossal reach of more than 400 miles. Yes, natural disasters happen naturally, but as we affect the natural world, the strength, frequency, and likely damage of these disasters change as well. Hurricane Irma wasn't caused exclusively by global warming, but the fact that human activity has warmed the world makes storms as powerful and expansive as Irma more frequent and more likely. At the same time, the western United States has been experiencing periodic droughts that have been coupled with deluges of rain. Natural disasters will always occur, but there's no good reason to make them worse, especially when we can do something about it today.

Source: Forbes September 11, 2017 14:26 UTC