What’s in a Name?
This one will of necessity be short — duty calls.
I recently published a post regarding the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The subject continues to prompt countless articles that run the full gamut: from dire warnings of imminent doom; to flat-out rejection of the whole concept that fluctuations in global climatic patterns even exist, much less can be tied to the whole climate change hoax perpetrated by the Radical Left Lunatics.
Partisan politics would probably be a real hoot, if it wasn’t so inherently self-destructive.
This is obviously problematic for those who actually believe in climate science — not just me (I’m a Bozo anyway), but more learned voices as well. Scientists who have studied and debated the controversial topic in sufficient detail to have defensible opinions that are based upon observation and analysis, and words of value to share.
So, when one has doubts about how their message is being received — and this is true on any point on the political spectrum — a time-honored tactic to increase adherents (or at least clicks) is to raise the stakes through increased doomsaying. This is a proven and time-honored ploy that generally gets the hoped-for results, and can often lead to anxiety, dread, and renewed dedication to the cause… whatever the cause might be. (Refer to an earlier post entitled “Fear is like a drug” for a discussion of this phenomenon.)
In many situations, the easiest place to start the process is with a simple name change.
I saw an interesting article last week (9 September 2026) in the New York Times titled “Heard About the Super Godzilla Monster El Niño? Here’s How It Could Actually Affect You.” I even had a reader send me the link to make sure I’d seen it (thanks Jim!).
So now it’s not just an “El Niño” or a “Super El Niño” coming for us, but a “Super Godzilla Monster El Niño”.
Mercy!
The new appellation is certainly gathering strength — even as the Atlantic hurricane season is struggling to even get started (although the Pacific season is doing more than enough to make up for the lack of named storms impacting North America’s East and Gulf Coasts). To pull a quote from the Times article:
It has already helped make this the hottest summer on record in the United States and boosted Pacific hurricane activity with rare, damaging storms near Hawaii. At the same time, it has kept hurricanes away from the Atlantic, making parts of the Caribbean drier than usual. And as winter approaches, experts are closely monitoring what El Niño’s most intense phase will mean for the day-to-day weather.
Feel free to review the Times article for more details and predictions about the coming event(s). You can also search online for myriad other articles — each one preaching to their dedicated choir — for additional information and/or validation.
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One last comment. Make no mistake: I am a “true believer” when it comes to ENSO and Climate Change, and — for the most part — some as-yet-to-be-fully-defined connection between our changing climate and the increased volatility of earth’s severe climatic events (and yes, this includes a “Super Godzilla Monster El Niño”).
Gotta run…
