Images: The impact of climate change
Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, floods and pestilence are nothing new to Planet Earth or even to our comparatively brief human experience here. But, because of humankind's impact on the environment, are these phenomena growing more frequent and more intense? Nature, it has been said, does not need us; we need Nature. These photos show some of what may be in store if we don't get control of the activities that scientists say are changing our climate.
Residents look over damage caused by tornadoes in Suffolk, Va., Tuesday, April 29, 2008. Three tornadoes smashed houses, tossed cars and injured than 200 residents Monday.
Associated Press
A tornado touches down in Riverside, Calif. on Thursday May 22, 2008. A wild weather system lashed Southern California on Thursday with fierce thunderstorms that unleashed mudslides in wildfire-scarred canyons, spawned at least one tornado and dusted mountains and even low-lying communities with snow and hail.
Associated Press
A firefighter works to put out a spot fire near Santa Barbara, Calif., Thursday, May 7, 2009. Firefighters struggled early Friday to get ahead of a raging wildfire that was moving dangerously close to heavily populated areas in this idyllic coastal city. The fire's increasing strength prompted officials to order 6,000 more people to evacuate late Thursday, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. That pushed the total number of evacuated residents to at least 18,000.
Associated Press
Waves are seen growing more intensely on the Santo Domingo City on Sunday, Oct. 23 in Dominican Republic. Alpha formed Saturday in the Caribbean, setting the record for the most named storms in an Atlantic hurricane season and marking the first time forecasters had to turn to the Greek alphabet for names.
Associated Press
The Perito Moreno Glacier's ice bridge collapses into Lake Argentina, at Los Glaciares National Park, near El Calafate, in Argentina's Patagonia region, Thursday, March 10, 2016. The massive natural monument in the province of Santa Cruz periodically advances over the lake, and then breaks off. The glacier last ruptured in March 2012.
Associated Press
An SUV passes through flooding in downtown Naples as Hurricane Wilma passes over the city early Monday, Oct. 24, 2005 in Naples, Fla.
Associated Press
In this Aug. 30, 2005 file photo, floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina cover a portion of New Orleans. The most destructive storm in U.S. history and also one of the deadliest, Katrina was a Category 3 storm with estimated maximum winds of 125 mph when it made landfall near Buras, La., on Aug. 29, 2005. Broken levees left most of New Orleans inundated. Damage was estimated at $75 billion, though rebuilding costs have far exceeded the initial damage. Katrina was blamed for around 1,200 deaths.
Associated Press
Two smashed cars, middle left, are barely distinguishable Monday, April 3, 2006, at a home that was destroyed by a tornado in Dyer County, Tenn. A tornado Sunday night, swept a 25-mile path through Western Tennessee.
Associated Press
Firefighters work the Sawtooth Complex Fire near Morongo Valley, Calif., Wednesday, July 12, 2006.
Associated Press
A woman sifts through the rubble of a home, Friday, March 2, 2007, after a tornado hit on Thursday in Enterprise, Ala.
Associated Press
An upturned car lies on a home as Courtney Burks helps remove personal items from inside, Saturday March 3, 2007 in Enterprise, Ala. The car was blown onto the house from across the street during Thursday's tornado that hit the Enterprise area.
Associated Press
A helicopter drops water on a wildfire Sunday, March 11, 2007, near Anaheim Hills, Calif. A fast-moving brush fire scorched 1,000 acres of parched hillside and charred at least two homes Sunday, forcing authorities to evacuate more than 200 homes, Orange County fire officials said.
Associated Press
Houses burn on Camp Plenty Road in Canyon Country, Calif. on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007.
Associated Press
A firefighting aircraft drop retardant on the flames burning over a ridge into Rattlesnake Canyon near Santa Barbara, Calif., Thursday, May 7, 2009. The fire remained out of control and firefighters were on alert for a predicted return of a "Sundowner" fierce winds that late in the day can sweep down from the Santa Ynez Mountains towering close behind Santa Barbara.
Associated Press
A United States Forest Service air tanker drops fire retardant next to a line of fire as the Station fire burns in the hills above a home in Acton, Calif. on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009.
Associated Press
A line of severe storms crosses the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tenn., passing by the Memphis Pyramid on Wednesday, May 25, 2011. The dark formation was reported a few minutes earlier as a tornado in West Memphis, Ark.
Associated Press
In this Aug. 26, 2011 photo released by AMBAR, the Society for the Study and Conservation of Marine Fauna in Spain's Bay of Biscay, a dead sperm whale is seen beached in Zarautz, Spain. A marine scientist says the 15 meter (50 feet) sperm whale beached and died on the sands of the northern seaside resort town. Enrique Franco, vice president of the society for the study and conservation of marine fauna in the northern Bay of Biscay, said the carcass would be towed out to sea and then taken into the nearby port of Orio where it was to be buried in sand for around four years. After that period the skeleton would be retrieved for scientific and teaching purposes, Franco said.
Associated Press
An American flag flies nears a tornado damaged house in Lake Township, Ohio, Sunday, June 6, 2010. Authorities say tornadoes and thunderstorms that swept through the Midwest overnight killed a number of people in Ohio, destroyed 50 homes and damaged a high school gymnasium where graduation was to be held Sunday.
Associated Press
In this Aug. 29, 2005 file photo, Bryan Vernon and Dorothy Bell are rescued from their rooftop after Hurricane Katrina hit, causing flooding in their New Orleans neighborhood. The most destructive storm in U.S. history and also one of the deadliest, Katrina was a Category 3 storm with estimated maximum winds of 125 mph when it made landfall near Buras, La., on Aug. 29, 2005. Broken levees left most of New Orleans inundated. Damage was estimated at $75 billion, though rebuilding costs have far exceeded the initial damage. Katrina was blamed for around 1,200 deaths.
Associated Press
A man carries a young girl who was rescued after being trapped with her mother in their home after a tornado hit Joplin, Mo. on Sunday evening, May 22, 2011. The tornado tore a path a mile wide and four miles long destroying homes and businesses.
Associated Press
This Aug, 31, 2005, file photo shows a man pushing his bicycle through floodwaters near the Superdome in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina left much of the city under water. Some of those now taking shelter from Tropical Storm Harvey at Houston's main convention center may be having flashbacks to a previous storm. Elected officials in Texas are promising to heed the lessons from Katrina, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and tens of billions of dollars in damage.
Associated Press
In this Aug. 12, 2016 photo, the Pastoruri glacier is reflected in a lagoon in the Huascaran National Park in Huaraz, Peru. Glacial lakes are often pretty fragile structures, created when rocks and rubble carried by a glacier form a moraine that dams up its water outflow. The dam can also be created by chunks of a glacier'Äôs own ice. These inherently unstable structures can collapse quickly, especially in places like Peru that are prone to frequent, violent earthquakes.
Associated Press
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