Number of natural disasters declared by FEMA, 1953-2011. 2011 set the record for most Federal Emergency Management Agency declared disasters. Joe Romm, with data from FEMA

By Joe Romm 
26 September 2011 This year just set the record for most Federal Emergency Management Agency declared disasters. And we’ve still got 3 months to go. It is strictly a coincidence, of course, that most of those disasters are climate related and climate scientists predicted that as we pour more heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere we would see more record-smashing extreme events (see “Two seminal Nature papers join growing body of evidence that human emissions fuel extreme weather, flooding that harm humans and the environment“). And no doubt it is similarly coincidental that the pro-pollution, anti-science extremists who run the House of Representatives are demanding relief efforts for these disasters be offset by cuts in clean energy programs that create jobs and cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases that make extreme weather disasters more likely. I believe Congressional Democrats and the White House should be willing to shut the government down rather than giving in to the GOP masters of disaster. UPDATE: TPM reports “Dems Float Resolution To Government Shutdown Fight.” So it’s possible a shut-down can be averted without giving in to the GOP. But emergency disaster relief funding is only going to grow in the future, so we can expect more and more of these showdowns if the Dems give in to GOP demands. What follows is the story of the showdown and the investments the GOP wants to cut. […]

2011 Sets Record for Most Disasters, But GOP Demands Relief Funding Be Offset by Clean Energy Cuts