Global Warming Said to Increase Hurricane Intensity

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Thu, 15 Sep 2005 15:07:51 GMT

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Global Warming Said to Increase Hurricane Intensity

 

 

Bush Greenwatch

 

September 15, 2005 | Back Issues

 

Global Warming Said to Increase Hurricane Intensity

 

As the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina continues to mount, the debate

over the role of global warming has grown apace. Climate scientists

have not established any link between global warming and the frequency

of storms, but a persuasive body of evidence indicates that warming is

having a considerable impact on the intensity of hurricanes, adding

greatly to their destructive force.

 

Indeed, a study just published in the journal Nature reports that the

power--and hence the destructive force--of hurricanes in the Atlantic

Ocean has more than doubled in the past 30 years, with an unusually

strong spike since 1995. " The large upswing is unprecedented and

probably reflects the effect of global warming, " said MIT climate

scientist Kerry Emmanuel, who conducted the study.

 

Emmanuel's findings echo a 2004 study conducted by NOAA (National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) of the U.S. Department of

Commerce. NOAA found that " greenhouse-gas induced warming may lead to

a gradually increasing risk in the occurrence of highly destructive

category-5 storms. " It added that, " The strongest hurricanes in the

present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over

the next century as the earth's climate is warmed by increasing levels

of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. " NOAA has also reported that

hurricane activity in the Atlantic has been higher than normal for 9

of the past 11 years, and that this year could see as many as 11

hurricanes there, in contrast to the typical six. [1]

 

The growing consensus on a link between warmer oceans and stronger

hurricanes has led to renewed criticism of the Bush administration's

refusal to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. President

Bush stated in June, 2001 that " My administration's climate policy

will be science based. "

 

But one year later Mr. Bush ridiculed a new study by his own EPA as " a

report put out by the bureaucracy, " and removed it from a submission

to the United Nations. When a 2003 EPA report stated that " Climate

change has global consequences for human health and the environment, "

the White House removed the sentence.

 

This week the chief of the White House Office of Science and

Technology Policy, Dr. John Marburger, told Greenwire that there is no

need for the administration to change its policies on global warming. [2]

 

In contrast, Sir David King, chief science advisor for the British

government, said flatly two weeks ago that " The increased intensity of

hurricanes is associated with global warming. We have known since 1987

the intensity of hurricanes is related to surface sea temperature... "

 

Likewise, five leading climate scientists writing on the blog

RealClimate.org noted last week that " The available scientific

evidence indicates that it is likely that global warming will

make--and possibly is making--those hurricanes that form more

destructive than they otherwise would have been. "

 

Boding ill for the coastlines of the U.S. and many other parts of the

world, Princeton University geosciences professor Michael Oppenheimer

said in an Environmental Media Services teleconference this week that

there is a consensus among scientists that " greenhouse gases bear most

of the responsibility " for the current warming of the earth, and that

scientists expect to see a sea level rise of between six inches and

three feet over this century.

 

Most upsetting in the eyes of many experts is the recent energy bill

passed by Congress and signed by the president. It includes some $13.1

billion in tax breaks for greenhouse gas emitting industries,

including $4 billion for an oil industry that is already enjoying

multi-billion dollar profits. [3]

 

###

 

SOURCES:

[1] " Global warming and hurricanes, " Geophysical Fluid Dynamic Laboratory.

[2] " U.S. policies sufficient to address hurricane threats, Bush's

science adviser says, " Greenwire, Sept. 12, 2005.

[3] US PIRG press release, Aug. 8, 2005.

 

 

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