This past August, southeast Texas  and Louisiana was hit by Hurricane Harvey. According to an article by CNN about Hurricane Harvey and Irma, the consensus among scientists is that the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and warmer oceans, made Harvey and the other storms this past summer much worse than they would have been in previous decades. Sean Sublette, a meteorologist with Climate Central, a nonprofit group that studies climate change said, "It's not the proximate cause of the storm, but it makes these bad storms worse. And in the case of a really bad storm, climate change can make it totally disastrous or catastrophic." Hurricanes develop over warm water and over the past century, ocean temperatures have risen one to three degrees Fahrenheit and sea levels have risen 7 inches. With rising sea levels from global warming, storm surges, and heavy rainfall, you get extreme flooding. Harvey produced 51 inches of rain in total and was the longest Category 5 hurricane on record. I was personally affected by Hurricane Harvey. I live in Houston, Texas,  one of the cities hardest hit by Harvey. My house flooded, along with several other homes of my friends and family members. I had four inches of water in my house, which was a blessing compared to the seven feet that some people had in their homes. The devastation of severe weather events is evident in this hurricane season's round of storms. More has to be done globally to prevent such catastrophic weather events.

Link to CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/15/us/climat … index.html [Hurricane Harvey](//muut.com/u/footprint/s3/:footprint:xSTZ:hurricaneharvey.jpg.jpg)

NicoIe- I am so sorry that you and your family and friends were affected by Hurricane Harvey. What you talk about in your comment is very eye opening and upsetting because with the waste and pollution that we as humans have been putting into the air, we are causing so much climate change. It is so interesting to me that the change in climate is causing the storms that are happening around the world to become more disastrous. The data you mention about the change that has been seen in the ocean temperatures and sea levels shows that we really need to do something to lessen the amount of climate change on earth. I think the first step is to try and get everyone to understand how big of a problem climate change really is and to make them understand what it is doing to our earth.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and spreading the word about the storm information.

I completely agree. I'm so sorry about your house and I understand what you're going through as my house also flooded. After seeing the devastation of Harvey, I realized how much pollution and climate change contributed to the disaster. With all the carbon that humans release into Earth's atmosphere, climate change is a huge issue. If we want to take care of our planet, we need to find ways to reduce our carbon footprint. I don't think people realize how big of a deal global warming is and governments across the world need to make people aware of how their actions affect the environment. Walking through my own neighborhood and seeing the debris on everyone's lawns was an eye opening experience for me. If we want to prevent these kind of disasters from hitting our communities again, we need to reduce the amount of pollution we are causing.

I completely agree with y'all especially due to the recent events, and it caused me to be believe that global warming is not only real but it is effecting lives.

I also agree with these posts. I am really sorry and concerned about those whose houses flooded in Hurricane Harvey. I personally know many of my family members and friends who have been adversely affected by the immense rain and floods. Fortunately, my family and I were able to evacuate our neighborhood. After witnessing these recent events, I have become more aware of the effects of extreme weather and natural disasters. Thus, Nicole's research about the connection between climate change and Hurricane Harvey proves that we must make a global effort to prepare for these disastrous events and decrease our impact on climate change.

I am also very sorry about what has happened to you Nicole, and what happened to so many families. I also had many friends and family members who were driven out of their houses by the flood, but my house fortunately did not flood. Ergo, Nicole's research is very interesting and shocking, and it reminds me of an article I saw about the connection between hurricanes and climate change. Gerrit Jöbsis, Senior Director of Rivers of Southern Appalachia and the Carolinas said, "Weeks after Harvey, Hurricane Irma is ravaging communities across the Southeast with the new normal. Unfortunately, this is consistent with the impacts expected from climate change and will be the new normal that we must adapt to. With increasing temperatures we get more evaporation adding more moisture to the atmosphere. Catastrophic weather events result when increases in temperature and moisture seek to reach equilibrium". What he is saying is that the more we (humans) continue to pollute the Earth, the more natural disasters will occur, and that having multiple hurricanes and such will become everyd ay occurrences, hence "the new normal".
Link: https://www.americanrivers.org/2017/09/ … nkQAvD_BwE