Strong winds and harsh weather in the United States where, on Tuesday, a Republican elected official from North Carolina decided to take up his pen to remind his contemporaries that “no one can control the weather” and that the hurricane Helenewhich hit his state at the end of September, “was not designed by the government”.
This reminder of the facts and scientific evidence was deemed necessary by Chuck Edwards, who represents the 11e district of North Carolina in Washington, after a series of politically tinged conspiracy theories took root in the wake of the hurricane’s passage through several states.
“The hurricane Helene is not the result of government climate manipulation to seize and access the Chimney Rock lithium deposits [petit village de l’État] “, declared Mr. Edwards in a press release. He thus responded to a persistent online rumor spread largely by Donald Trump’s Republicans to attack the Democratic camp in the current presidential campaign.
“No one has the technology or geoengineering capability to create a hurricane,” he stressed. Current geoengineering technology can serve as a large-scale intervention to mitigate the negative consequences of natural weather events, but it cannot be used to create or manipulate hurricanes. »
“Scandalous rumors”
Since September 24, and the arrival of the hurricane Helene On the west coast of Florida, managing this climate crisis must now take place in a climate of intense political polarization and misinformation.
“Scandalous rumors”, believes Mr. Edwards, which also risk following the passage of the next hurricane, Miltonwhich is approaching the American coast. The storm, which has been forming for several days over the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to hit late Wednesday.
The Republican elected official urged his voters on Tuesday to “make sure to verify the facts” that they read “from a reliable source.” “We’re seeing an unprecedented level of support nationally compared to other disasters, but amid all this support, we’re also seeing an increase in the number of unreliable sources attempting to sow chaos by spreading hoaxes, conspiracy theories and rumors about hurricane response in our mountains,” he added.
Chuck Edwards is thus forced to point out that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, “does not stop trucks carrying donations” to “confiscate” them, that it “has not diverted the funds” for hurricane relief “for border management and international aid” and that it “cannot seize your property and land,” he wrote.
Ironically, a study published Wednesday by the World Weather Attribution network served as a reminder that the violence of the hurricane Helene which has left more than 230 dead in its wake to date, was the result of climate change, rather than government-controlled geoengineering. According to these scientists, fossil fuels, which the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election regularly promotes by calling for increased drilling, have increased the probability of the appearance of hurricanes like Helene 2.5 times in this region of the United States. These energies are the main causes of global warming.