UK scientist slams U.S. climate 'loonies'

[tocqueville]

Friday, September 23, 2005 Posted: 1333 GMT (2133 HKT)

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A leading British scientist said on Friday the growing ferocity of hurricanes hitting the United States was very probably caused by global warming and criticized what he termed U.S. "climate loonies" over the issue.

Sir John Lawton, chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution which advises the government, made what the Independent newspaper said was a thinly disguised attack on the stance of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration.

"The increased intensity of these kinds of extreme storms is very likely to be due to global warming," Lawton told the newspaper in an interview.

"If this makes the climate loonies in the States realize we've got a problem, some good will come out of a truly awful situation," said Lawton.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/23/climate.scientist.reut/index.html

[Coexist]

1. great read - already emailed it to several people

who need to read and understand this!

[maxsolomon]

2. 2 cat 5's in 1960 & 1961

i think it IS global warming fueling it, but 60 & 61 need to be explained. otherwise, "its a fluctuating cycle" is the easy excuse for the know-nothings.

[tocqueville]

3. it can be both

the two different theories don't need to contradict eachother. It may be so that we are in a natural cycle of increased hurricane activity (natural causes) but that this part of the cycle is aggravated by global warming. And remeber, those cycles are about 20 years in duration...