German leader blames Bush for Katrina and his indifference to Global

[Quixote1818]

Warming. Is it possible that we have no one to blame but ourselves for this disaster? Too many SUV's too many Factories putting CO2 into the atmosphere? The storms will only get worse and more common as the earth warms. Time to wake up America!

[ananda]

1. Which leader?

In any case, they're right.

Sue

[Quixote1818]

2. Germany's environment minister

I don't know his/her name

[marcus_b]

3. Not really, although there is a connection.

First, it is proven beyond doubt that global warming exists, and is of anthropological nature, ie, it is caused by us. And yes, the US has a big share of responsibility because of its massive energy consumption and CO2 emittance.

Global warming increases the _risks_ of extreme weather. This is very clear, and easy to see. For example, heat waves are more likely if the average temperature is higher, but the overall distribution stays the same (just shifted along the temperature axis).

However, if storms and hurricans are also more likely when the average temperature increases is not proven: It is a current discussion among climate experts. We just don't know. Some say it may be the case, others don't.

Some say that hurricans are an effect due to convections in the deep sea oceans, which have a cycle of 20-30 years, and that we are entering a period with more hurricans due to that. Such effects are not unheard of: For example, sunspots are also caused by magnetohydrodynamical convections in the sun, and have increased size and number in periodic cycles

If you want to know more about climate, the real deal, with no bullshit and with real scientific data and method, check out

http://www.realclimate.org

For example:

Hurricanes and Global Warming - Is There a Connection?

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=181

And older articles:

Storms and Climate Change

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=140

Some recent updates

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=162

Storms & Global Warming II

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=173