Russell Moran - A Climate of Doubt

“Have you ever watched my wife’s show, The Ellen Bellamy Show ?” I asked.

“Sure, it’s my favorite show next to Homeland ,” Buster said. “If I can’t watch it live, I DVR it. Your wife has a rare talent for getting people to talk. I’ve fantasized about hiring her to help me interrogate suspects.”

“Then you’ve no doubt seen her interview climate change experts,” I said. “I’m not sure when NBC will book the next one because those experts seem to be afraid of Ellen. Over coffee the other day she asked me if I thought these climate fanatics could have something to do with the weather. They have a vested interest in millions of dollars in grant money. If they can convince the world that climate change is the cause of these weather anomalies, the grant money spigots will open and flow. Hell, an article in today’s Wall Street Journal talked about the sudden increase in foundation spending on climate change. It may sound conspiratorial, but it’s a valid area of inquiry.”

“What Rick just said makes a lot of sense, Buster. What do you think?” Sarah Watson said.

“Rick is one smart cookie, and I would never dismiss his thoughts on anything, but, as I just said, these weather events are terror. It would be out of character for these timid scientist types to collude and plunge the world into chaos. No, my money is on somebody else, somebody we haven’t identified yet. Square one is obviously the Rosetta Corporation. As I said, I’ve got people inside, and I’m going to recommend that the FBI send in a team, not clandestinely like my guys, but as the investigators they are. I must humbly admit that FBI agents are fabulous interrogators. In a shootout, I’ll pick my people, but the FBI people know how to ask the right questions without drawing a gun.”

“Do you think you might find some of the people responsible right there at Rosetta?” Sarah asked.

“No, I don’t, but if we did it would be a welcome gift. What I’m looking for are leads. That’s the whole point of the operation at this stage. I recommend that all these efforts be channeled through Homeland Security to keep the CIA and FBI agents out of each other’s hair. We’ve been working well together in the past few years, but there’s got to be a coordinating command, and I suggest that Secretary Rick is the perfect man. Hey, the three of us know that there are leads out there—it always happens, and it will happen with this operation. Then we can nail those bastards—hopefully before the next blizzard.”

July 25

NYPD Officer Frank Monroe walked down Seventh Avenue in Manhattan on his regular foot patrol. He wore a pair of special nonskid shoes designed for walking on snow and ice. He didn’t know if he would be reimbursed by the department, but he didn’t care. He had spent enough time in the past few days falling on his ass, so he knew he had to do something about it. The temperature was 24 degrees on the bright July day. The temperature had warmed a bit yesterday, actually rising above freezing at one point. The slight thaw, combined with this morning’s bright sun, worried Monroe. He could see chunks— chunks —of ice falling onto Seventh Avenue. He had just crossed 56 thStreet when he saw a man in front of him almost hit by a falling shard of heavy ice. Then he saw another sheet of ice hit the ground. He placed his whistle in his mouth and blew as hard as his lungs allowed.

“Everybody get inside a building,” he yelled. “Get inside now, RIGHT NOW .”

Jeanine Fogarty, a clerk at the Midtown North Precinct, was a good friend Frank Monroe. They dated occasionally, but not as much as she would like. Jeannine was about to enter an office building on Monroe’s command when she stopped, turned around, and yelled.

“Hey, Frank, what about you ? Get your ass inside.”

As Monroe smiled and waved at Jeannine, a huge chunk of ice landed on his head. Officer Frank Monroe was now an oozing red mass under a pile of crushed ice.

July 26

New York State Chief Administrative Judge Randolph Jackson sat in his office with Janet Pinkerton, his chief clerk.

“Janet, to say that this crap is getting out of control is to overstate the obvious. Under normal circumstances our courts are clogged with caseloads, but this weather is turning our judicial system into fucking chaos, pardon my language. Look at this report. All the lockups at all the courts in the state are at capacity. Some judges have ordered that old school buildings be taken over as temporary jails. The problem in New York City is at a crisis point. Rikers Island, which was crowded already before this weather hit, can’t hold one additional inmate . The ACLU has taken notice and our courts are drowning under release petitions. Because jurors can’t get to court, the dockets back up like a sewer. Jury trials are not considered an emergency, and that means the recent local law making it a felony to travel unless it’s an emergency is bringing the system to a halt. The constitution gives a defendant a right to a speedy trial, but the constitution never contemplated non-stop blizzards in the summer.”

“I just received an update from all districts this morning, your honor. It’s even worse than you described. Prisoners are being released all over the state, and even some violent offender suspects are out on the street. Homeland Security Secretary Bellamy recently stated for the record that the only positive thing about this wild weather is that it keeps criminals off the street as well as the rest of us. Turns out he was being too optimistic. According to recent police reports, looting and burglaries are at an all-time high. And this insane weather only hit us 10 days ago.”

“What about the civil calendars, Janet?”

“Frozen in amber, judge. If you have a contract you want enforced or a personal injury case that is ready for trial, you’re out of luck. Some attorneys are waiving their client’s right to a jury trial because you can’t have a jury trial without a jury. Even if this crazy weather changes soon it will take years for us to work through the backlog. I’ve never seen anything like this, your honor.”

“Do you have any statistics on the kind of cases that are being filed?”

“Yes, sir, and this blows me away. Although it’s only been 10 days since the freeze and the blizzards started, we’re seeing a 25 percent increase in bankruptcy filings. A lot of businesses are doing absolutely no business. I expect that in the weeks and months to come we’ll see a lot more bankruptcies as suppliers go belly up. And we’re just talking about New York. The same problems are hitting courts across the country. It’s just a matter of time before we see how hard the economy as a whole is hit. And there’s not a damn thing we can do about it other than to encourage plea bargains and civil settlements. We’ve got a problem, judge, a big one.”

“I have a meeting with the governor this afternoon and I want you with me, Janet. I understand that we’ll get picked up by a big snowmobile. You and I never expected this crap when we went to law school.”

“This is Cal Johnson reporting for NBC News . I’m here at the emergency room at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan with Dr. Murray Goodman, as he’s taking a well-earned break. Tell us, Dr. Goodman, what have you seen here at the emergency room as a result of our weather crisis?”

“I’ve never seen anything like what’s going on here, Cal. With the freezing temperatures, I expected to see cases of frost bite and hyperthermia. We’ve had a few cases like that, of course, but what’s clogging our emergency room are people with fractures—arms, wrists, legs, ankles, backs, necks, and skulls. It’s as if the entire city decided to play tackle football—without pads. The culprit is obvious, as you folks have been saying on The Ellen Bellamy Show— black ice, the worst I’ve ever seen. But it’s not only broken bones. We’ve seen at least 10 cases of people being injured by falling shards of ice. One person is in critical condition having had his arm severed. The rapid temperature swings are causing this. Snow and ice falling from tall buildings have always been a problem, but the rapid freeze-thaw turns those frozen sheets of ice into daggers when the temperature heats up a bit. Ice in large blocks are also falling from building ledges. Yesterday a New York City policeman was killed by a chunk of ice that fell from a building. That happened right after a man in front of him was almost hit by a sheet of ice. I tell all our people here at the hospital to try to keep their outdoor walking to a minimum, and to walk through building when possible. I commend Ellen Bellamy for sounding the alarm loud and clear, but a lot of people haven’t listened. When we encountered that weird heat spell, it lasted only two hours, but long enough to cause rivers of melting snow and sheets of falling ice, which quickly refroze when the temperatures dropped again. Please people, listen to me—be careful.”