Hurricanes wreak the havoc of climate change – but is a green energy solution in sight? | Jonathan Watts

Like the debate over gun control, the public discussion in the US about whether to take action on the climate has often been characterised as a struggle between powerful lobbies and violent reality.

After each campus shooting or hurricane disaster, there is a brief uptick of concern followed by a gradual return to entrenched positions as the National Rifle Association or the oil industry reassert their influence, inevitably raising the question: just how bad do things have to get to reach a tipping point?

Related: Nuclear plans 'should be rethought after fall in offshore windfarm costs'

Related: Why do we see hurricanes like Harvey and Irma as otherworldly omens? | Philip Hoare