Weather Politics

It’s official. With election day a mere four days away (it’s Tuesday, November 6 for anyone who’s been living under a rock), local chatter about the weather has shifted from storms and winds, where Sandy is/was, and when the power will come back to lower Manhattan, Staten Island, New Jersey, etc. to speculation about how these recent weather events will impact the election. That’s not to say Amherst residents have moved on and forgotten about the huge number of people still suffering or the enormous recovery going on immediately to our south - far from it. Many of us are in contact with or helping out friends and relatives in these areas, some of us are volunteering with rescue efforts, and many others are donating to relief efforts. But in this proudly political town, which also tends to turn out a significant Democratic majority (87% of voters cast ballots for Obama in 2008), the worry is not only that people in devastated regions won’t be able to vote, but that even if they were able to vote, they just might not care. Many of us went through our own extended power outage during last year’s Halloween weather catastrophe, and it’s easy to imagine the search for basic necessities (heat, fuel, food, hot water, plumbing, shelter, someone to help clear your property) driving everything else off the radar. Of course, the pundits are endlessly reflecting on the impact of Obama’s and Romney’s responses to the storm, how this or that nod will influence voters, and what the polls are doing. The two big stories leading every headline: the aftermath of Sandy and the election.  It may seem that “weather talk” is always a safe bet, never included in the “do not talk about” categories of religion, sex, and politics. But the truth is, from Sandy to Katrina, climate change to FEMA, politics and weather collide all the time. So until Tuesday, expect to hear a lot more about weather and the election. And after that - maybe finally? - some meaningful dialogue and action on climate change. In the meantime, we encourage anyone and everyone to vote – no matter what side you come down on, your voice matters.

(By the way, speaking of climate change, we highly recommend this New England Aquarium site for how climate change is already impacting New England. Also see, from 2008, "Exploring the link between weather and elections," by NPR.)