With two Category 5 hurricanes in a month, there seems no doubt that hurricanes are getting stronger. In fact, the evidence shows exactly that:
Link: Hurricanes Are Getting Stronger, Study Says
BOULDER The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes worldwide has nearly doubled over the past 35 years, even though the total number of hurricanes has dropped since the 1990s, according to a study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The shift occurred as global sea surface temperatures have increased over the same period. The research appears in the September 16 issue of Science.
While there isn't enough evidence to determine for certain whether this can be attributed to human-caused global warming, that really doesn't matter, in a political sense.
Even people from the "Show Me" state of Missouri will be convinced by the evidence they see on their TV screens and in their evacuation shelters, at their gas pumps and eventually in their tax bill. Katrina and Rita may be the most economically devastating events in the history of the United States, if not the planet.
So what's the Bush administration to do? Killing the messenger doesn't seem to be working. Perhaps they should demand the National Hurricane Center readjust the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Adjust upward and voila! No more Cat 5 hurricanes.
