Gov. Cuomo (D-NY):  ”There has been a series of extreme weather incidents. That is not a political statement, that is a factual statement. Anyone who says there is not a dramatic change in weather patterns is denying reality.”

He said, I don’t believe that” this is “the last occurrence we will have.” He told reporters, ”We have a one-hundred year flood every two years now.”

His remarks are worth noting particularly since the 55-year-old governor is widely mentioned as a potential candidate in 2016 or beyond.

Yes, Cuomo didn’t specifically mention global warming, but his entire point was that there is a “new normal” but an old infrastructure, and it’s time to do some serious planning:
You did not have ocean water, salt water, breaching the banks the way you’ve had it in Manhattan, you know, in my lifetime…..

When you start to fill the subway tunnels with salt water—much of the Con Ed equipment is in the tunnels, is underground—when hot electrical equipment hits cold salt water, that is a bad combination. And that is a design flaw, I believe, for our system now, if you anticipate these extreme weather conditions.

Obviously we didn’t when we designed this system. We did not anticipate water coming over the Hudson River, coming over the banks, being five feet deep on the West Side Highway, and filling subway grates and every opening and filling that massive infrastructure we have below ground.

Going forward, I think we do have to anticipate these extreme types of weather patterns. And we have to start to think about how do we redesign the system so this doesn’t happen again. After what happened, what has been happening in the last few years, I don’t think anyone can sit back anymore and say “Well, I’m shocked at that weather pattern.” There is no weather pattern that can shock me at this point. And I think that has to be our attitude. And how do we redesign our system and our infrastructure assuming that?”

The insurance industry certainly believes in global warming and the occurrence of more extreme weather patterns.
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Climate Change and the Insurance Industry

As the entire eastern seaboard slowly recovers from its lashing by Sandy, insurance companies are bracing for the hurricane’s aftermath and the possibility of another Katrina-scale loss. 

If there’s any major incumbent business with an incentive to publicly acknowledge the risks and costs of climate change, it’s the insurance industry, and especially the re-insurers — mega-corps that backstop individual insurance companies by pooling their risks globally.  These companies can do the math, and what they’ve seen over the last couple of decades is a steady upward trend in both the number of extreme weather events and the resulting insured losses that they’ve been on the hook to cover. 

The situation is well summarized in a new report from Ceres, entitled Stormy Futures for U.S. Property/Casualty Insurers. They suggest that insurers face an existential risk from climate change.

more at:

http://amateurearthling.org/2012/10/30/climate-change-and-the-insurance-industry...

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Nov 1^st, 2012 at 7:27pm:

The insurance companies are taking advantage because idiots want to get taxed for nothing, so they will cash in because you want to pay more insurance for nothing. Dummies.

Evidence suggests there has been less bad weather events now than in the past.

MOTR wrote on Nov 1^st, 2012 at 3:35am:


I've never heard anyone say "there is not a dramatic change in weather patterns".

There are changes.  We all know that.

However, there's no credible evidence to support AGW.

Maybe. Maybe not. Wouldn't it be better to err on the side of caution? Who wants to live in the sewer?

SOB

I've never heard anyone say "there is not a dramatic change in weather patterns".

  We all know that.

However, there's no credible evidence to support AGW.