Statements like this :
The White House is only 54 feet above sea level. If Jose went up the Chesapeake Bay, I think the
White House could flood. Maybe that would wake up some skeptics.
and this
We need to be shocked into action and deadly global catastrophes are the only way this will happen....say a deadly heatwave in the Southwest U.S. that kills 150,000.
are not helping at all.
If they were to happen they would be regarded as 'fluke' events and for good reason.
Global warming and climate change and sea level rise so far happen slowly but steadily.
And that is troublesome enough.
As the global temperature warms, more frequent and severe events are the natural outcome so we can expect these events to become more and more frequent. We need to have enough of them that they can no longer be characterized as 'fluke' events.
If there are any climate trigger points that lead to abrupt climate change, then we will see this only after a number of years in a row result in the same catastrophes, and then it will be too late anyway.
Would you mean like the three consecutive 500 year floods in Houston in 2015, 2016 and 2017? These events
are not evidence of abrupt climate change but the increasing frequency of these severe events
are a direct result of a warming planet.
You may feel my comments are not helpful but it does not matter how you characterize them. These kinds of events (throw in the historic wildfires in the west and and an endless number of events across the planet) are on the rise and the sooner Americans realize that this is what is in store for us if we do not stop burning fossil fuels the better off we will be.