Even as the floodwaters continue to rise in East Texas, it's clear that Hurricane Harvey will force a new reckoning over major energy and climate policy questions.
The immediate priorities—rescue operations, disaster assistance, flood insurance, and the like—will be followed by broader questions involving the vulnerability of infrastructure, the energy industry and communities to extreme weather, and the need to balance mitigation of the pollution that causes climate change with adaptation to global warming's inescapable impacts.
Also running through the debate is the question whether this storm, beyond even the experiences of Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, will lead to broader acceptance of the scientific consensus surrounding climate change, a crisis that offers no convenient escape route.
Harvey's rainfall was on track to break national records, the Texas state climatologist said. By dawn on Tuesday, parts of the Houston area had received more than 43 inches of rain, and the storm wasn't finished. The National Weather Service said another 10 to 20 inches was expected over parts of the upper Texas coast into southwestern Louisiana, with some places potentially receiving more than 50 inches of rain in all. Thousands of people had to be rescued from the flooding.
