I was pleased to see climate change mentioned in your Nov. 4 editorial, "Post-Sandy questions to ponder." But I was disappointed that it was mentioned but briefly.
While Sandy's power is still fresh in our minds, it's imperative to make the connection between extreme weather events like this and the broader phenomenon of global warming and climate change, or more aptly, climate disruption.
As climate scientists have cautioned, we cannot directly link climate change to any one event. But as Kevin Trenberth, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said, "The answer to the oft-asked question of whether an event is caused by climate change is that it is the wrong question. All weather events are affected by climate change because the environment in which they occur is warmer and moister than it used to be."
The elevated warmth and moisture create greater energy, increasing a storm's power.
Then you have the problem of higher storm surge resulting from sea level rise due to the melting of glaciers and ice caps.
Unprecedented storms like Sandy are exactly the kinds of extreme weather events that scientists have been warning us about for years, with little apparent effect. But it's not too late to act.
We can reduce global warming by placing a fee on carbon-based fuels and returning the revenue to households - a bill to do this is now in Congress, HR 3242. This would help us move to clean, renewable energy.
Better to do this sooner than later.