| The first presidential debate isn’t the only disaster (for Democrats, anyway) to make landfall of late. The strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded this early in the season crashed over the Caribbean today. Hurricane Beryl is a dangerous Category 4, with sustained winds at 150 mph. That’s no fluke: Hurricanes are getting more frequent and more intense as oceans rapidly warm in a changing climate. While President Joe Biden has poured billions of dollars into combating global warming, much of that funding would be at stake if former President Donald Trump retakes the White House — a possibility that many Democrats fear became more likely after Biden’s debate performance last Thursday. The world’s oceans have been gradually warming for decades as humans have released greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. But the past year’s temperatures surpassed even the most doomsday-esque of predictions. “At this point a year ago, no one would have guessed what was about to come,” Brian McNoldy, an ocean scientist at the University of Miami, recently told POLITICO’s E&E News reporter Chelsea Harvey. Hurricane Beryl’s record-breaking activity confirms meteorologists’ worst fears for this year’s hurricane season, especially following the recent announcement that the hurricane-suppressing weather pattern El Niño has ended. “Incredible doesn't cut it,” meteorologist Noah Bergren wrote on X regarding Beryl’s explosive strength. Beryl is forecast to continue traveling westward, eventually reaching Mexico at a reduced speed. Meanwhile, another storm named Chris made landfall in Mexico on Sunday. Should he stay or should he go
While Biden has made historic investments in cutting planet-warming emissions, at least one climate group thinks his debate performance proved he’s not up to finishing what he started. “Defeating Trump and Trumpism is existentially important for our climate and our democracy,” said Michael Greenberg, executive director of Climate Defiance, which is best known for protesting Democratic officials. The debate “proved President Biden is not up for the job.” Trump has pledged to roll back Biden’s climate agenda — and yank the United States out of the Paris climate accord for the second time if he takes back the White House this fall, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign told POLITICO. Also on a short fuse: global temperatures. Even if Biden’s historic investments in clean energy pan out, they may not be enough to achieve the nation’s climate goals, let alone stave off the worst effects of global warming.
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