OPINION: Mike Clark: Hurricane Michael illustrated the devastation of a Category 4 storm

Oct. 28--An economic recovery plan following Hurricane Michael: Page E5

Floridians have seen remarkably severe hurricanes in recent years.

Hurricane Matthew hit the Jacksonville area with huge tidal storm surges.

Hurricane Irma covered large swaths of the state.

Hurricane Michael exploded in severity much quicker than normal.

This is evidence of a warming planet.

It's like a climate on steroids, said Jane Lubchenco, an environmental scientist who oversaw the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 2009 to 2013. She was quoted in a story in the conversation.com.

For an analogy, she mentioned the steroid era in baseball. Players were hitting more home runs, much further, than they did without the help of the drugs.

Similarly, warmer ocean water has a steroid-like impact on hurricanes.

The scientific proof that man has had a powerful impact on this warming planet is as solid as the evidence that smoking causes cancer.

"Temperatures are going up. Springs are arriving earlier. Ice sheets are melting. Seas are rising. Rainfall and drought patterns are changing. Heat waves are getting worse, as is extreme precipitation. The oceans are acidifying," noted a story in Scientific American.

Guess who is taking this seriously? The insurance industry.

The insurance industry paid a record $135 billion from natural catastrophes in 2017, three times the annual average.

The past is no longer a good predictor of future insurance risks. For Floridians, with millions living along the coasts and near bodies of water, plans must be made for a more resilient future.

John Moran, a journalist-photographer, offered a series of photographs from the devastation produced by Hurricane Michael.

"Scientists have been telling us for many years that in the age of a warming planet, our global carbon addiction will fuel a new breed of super storms," he wrote.

"Perhaps the hurricanes of the past 14 months -- Harvey, Irma, Maria, Florence and now Michael -- are telling us that we are fundamentally altering the climate.

"It appears a new normal is upon us. If so, we Floridians could be in for a rough ride.

"A week after Hurricane Michael made landfall, I went to the Panhandle to see for myself.

"The devastation is, in a word, astonishing.

"Time now to step aside, and let the pictures do the talking."

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