Grist’s Roberts & Giller argue their point in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer 8

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1. 

   Biodiversivist Posted 6:54 am
   11 Sep 2005

   Very good articleLet's hope it made some kind of dent.
   
   In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Help acquire and protect ecological hotspots, give to a conservation organization: http://www.saveourbiodiversity.com

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2. 

   Japhet Posted 10:39 am
   11 Sep 2005

   Potency Not FrequencyThis is a great article and does much to balance the  discussion on how closely related climate change and global warming are to the cause of Katrina.  I agree , in one sense, that neither were THE culprit when it comes to linking the storm to the devastation. Many other things played into the catastrophe, such as the levee upkeep, budget cuts to FEMA and Army Corps of Engineers (who btw, love this stuff and you should check out Mark Reisner's book Cadillac Desert to give a solid, if disturbing, history of the Corps of Engineers and the environment) and of course the slow response of emergency personnel to the situation. I'd throw in leadership but it doesn't seem like anyone, either from the state or federal level really stepped up to "lead" people into action.
   However, I do think the article will be taken by global warming questioners as evidence that, yet again, there is disagreement in the ranks and even environmentalists can't come to an agreed-upon explanation for this natural disaster so why should anyone listen to them?
   Lastly, in the larger picture global warming absolutely played a role in the overall intensity of this storm.  Yes more levees and better funding and stronger plan of action before such an event would have saved lives and homes, but the intensity of the storm, one of the few category 4 hurricanes to hit the gulf coast, was a direct result of rising ocean temperatures that supercharge slow moving category 2 and 3 storms ramping up along the coast line.  Global warming will not result in more storms overall. You're not going to have 45 hurricanes in the coming season. However, you may very well have 7 hurricanes of which 3 are category 4 or higher.  That means lots of $ when it comes to recovery.  
   I posted an interesting study on Floating Ark the other day that some folks may find interesting regarding cyclone activity and its tie-in to global warming.
   
   Jay Els
   
   Educate, Motivate and Bring About Change. http://www.ran.org

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3. 

   MikeCapone Posted 3:15 am
   12 Sep 2005

   RealclimateI tend to defer to RealClimate.org when it comes to this kind of stuff:
   http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=181
   
   --
   
   
   SUVs are squared-out minivans.

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4. 

   amazingdrx Posted 4:33 am
   12 Sep 2005

   Category 6?So if NO is ready for a category 5 next time, what if a category 6 shows up?  
   With ever increasing weather volatility due to the greenhouse gas effect, in this case a warmer gulf water temperature than normal, disaster planning is not enough.
   Reversal of global climate change won't help for a few decades either, even if a crash program were instituted tomorow.  We have to live (and many will die) with this situation.
   Storm resistant homes with decentralized power systems built farther back from coastlines is the only longer term solution.  Give the coasts and wetlands back to mother nature.  Thousands of miles of great coastal wilderness and camping areas will result.
   Camp out at the beach on vacation instead of building fancy homes.  It's a wonderful way to get in touch with nature and save energy and development.
   Less homes built, less energy used, less global climate change greenhouse gases.
   Let's talk peak climate change weather volatility for awhile along with peak oil.  The costs from both are economy shattering!

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5. 

   amazingdrx Posted 6:14 am
   21 Sep 2005

   The argument?Finally figued out an apt comparison to the argument in the op/ed piece.
   Letting bushco inc off the hook for Katrina is like letting an alchoholic who kills someone in a car wreck out of responsibility to quit drinking the day before the accident.
   Bad arguments both.
   But it makes for a nice neo-libertarian corporate friendly headline.  Great for fundraising I'm betting?  Hehey.  

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6. 

   Japhet Posted 9:29 am
   21 Sep 2005

   Cat 6To my knowledge there is no such thing as a category 6 hurricane. Cat5 hurricanes are defined as wind speeds of 155mph and up.  I've also heard that hurricane wind speeds cannot exceed 195mph...something about it being naturally impossible. But who knows, right? With the way the climate is shifting, we should be looking for new natural weather mutations?
   
   Jay Els
   
   Educate, Motivate and Bring About Change. http://www.ran.org

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7. 

   amazingdrx Posted 3:18 am
   22 Sep 2005

   300 mph tornado.I have heard of that!  Who knows?
   Maybe a cat 6 will need to be invented once the gulf water temp is over 100 degrees?  It's at 96 now.  Warm that globe up a little more duuhbya!  
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day_Hurricane_of_1935
   "The storm of the century" past.

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8. 

   amazingdrx Posted 7:03 am
   22 Sep 2005

   300 mph!http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/satellite/satelliteseye/educational/fujita.html
   The tornado scale.

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