rtsy, you're really going nuts with these threads lately. I think you're beating basso for the past week.
I don't know that many conservatives and libertarians believe in the existence of systemic causation. They believe in the magic ferry of capitalism that solves all problems. FDA? Don't need it. FEMA? Whatever. The private sector can do all of these things much more efficiently as evidenced by history.
This thread title and poll illuminate why conservatives and non-conservatives have so much trouble conversing these days. Absolutes versus complex reality. The truth is that mankind has loaded the dice to make bad storms somewhat more probable than before. To what extent? I think there are way too many variables in the climate to ever know for sure. Put more energy in the atmosphere and the oceans, and you increase the chances of severe weather. It's not very complicated. Thoughts and prayers for the east coast clutchfans! (and all those folks out there really.)
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So the article was related to global warming. I take it by the poll, nobody read the article to get the point the author was trying to make. I thought this was a pretty pro-science and thus pro global warming forum. Here is another article from Huff Post mentioning the rarity of such a storm: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/hurricane-sandy-map-east-coast-rare-target_n_2040598.html It does seem strange to have two hurricanes hit so far up the eastern sea board two years in a row.
Every major storm that makes landfall on a major city, this same topic comes back up. Sandy was nothing more than a hurricane that hit our most populated area in our country. It wasn't a freak storm. Its pretty simple; Any major storm that hits New Orleans and New England is going to wreak havoc. The only thing odd is the bigger storms are hitting the most vulnerable areas, while the most likely areas (Florida) are being spared.
If only it were so black-and-white. Unfortunately, it's never so simple. Did mankind create a hurricane? No. Did our adverse effects to the environment up the probability of such a storm occurring? Probably.
Florida hasn't seen any more or less hurricane activity than has been typical for Florida. Climate change caused by global warming makes "freak" meteorological events like Sandy far less "freaky."
Great Hurricane of 1780 The Great Hurricane of 1780, also known as Huracán San Calixto, the Great Hurricane of the Antilles, and the 1780 Disaster,[1][2] is probably the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record. Between 20,000 and 22,000 people died when the storm passed through the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean starting on October 10 and ending on October 16.[3] Specifics on the hurricane's track and strength are unknown since the official Atlantic hurricane database only goes back to 1851.[4] The hurricane struck Barbados with winds possibly exceeding 320 km/h (200 mph), before moving past Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Sint Eustatius; thousands of deaths were reported on the islands. Coming in the midst of the American Revolution, the storm caused heavy losses to British and French fleets contesting for control of the area. The hurricane later passed near Puerto Rico and over the eastern portion of Hispaniola (today's Dominican Republic). There, it caused heavy damage near the coastlines. It ultimately turned to the northeast before being last observed on October 20 southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. The death toll from the Great Hurricane alone exceeds that of any other entire decade of Atlantic hurricanes. Estimates are marginally higher than for Hurricane Mitch, the second-deadliest Atlantic storm, for which figures are likely more accurate. The hurricane was part of the disastrous 1780 Atlantic hurricane season, with two other deadly storms occurring in the month of October.[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hurricane_of_1780
I thought Mitt Romney time-travelled to a planet near the star-base Kolob and had Elohim create Hurricane Sandy for him? After all, it's really the only chance he has to come fairly close to winning the election next week..... http://www.cultwatch.com/mormon.html
