Did ATA Cause The Earthquake In The Las Vegas Area Earlier Today? Where Are All The Hurricanes? -- July 7, 2016

The 4.5 magnitude earthquake that hit the Las Vegas area earlier today is being blamed, by some, on anthropogenic tectonic activity:

Was this quake caused by ATA (anthropogenic tectonic activity)? Caused by the concentration of people in certain localities? How can we stand by and allow more earthquakes caused by an ATA? The way to stop this is a global tax on people who are located in the wrong areas. Of course I will personally collect all that tax money to make sure it is fairly distributed. Don’t stand in our way, the science is settled. ATA is the worst disaster facing humanity.

I can't make this stuff up. If it appears on the internet, it must be true.

Speaking of which, what happened to all the hurricanes? It was my understanding that the energy from warm ocean water -- the surface of the ocean, mind you --was the cause of hurricanes and with global warming, there should be a record number of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, there has been a ten-year lull in hurricane activity and not one hurricane yet this season. Just saying.

And speaking of which, Arctic ice extension is up, way beyond the mean. It should be decreasing now, by July, and it is not. Certainly it's just an anomaly; the science is settled, saith Algore.

Later, from a reader, regarding that Arctic ice extension:

June saw a marked shift to low pressure over the central Arctic Ocean. This type of pattern is known to inhibit ice loss. A low pressure pattern is associated with more cloud cover, limiting the input of solar energy to the surface, as well as generally below average air temperatures.

Note: Arctic ice extent is currently well below "normal/average" (despite a little two week upward wiggle)...as is expected at the end of a El Nino cycle.

It'll continue to drop for a couple months, but will be trending upward "on average" for the next 10 years. The reader's guess is a recent U of Illinois report suggesting a significant summer increase in ice extent, was based on poor data...or just the little wiggle.