Saturday, September 17, 2005
Fact And Conjecture
Know the difference. This Scientific American piece illustrates it well.
Fact:
Fact:
According to an analysis published today in Science, the number of Category 4 and Category 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the past 35 years.Conjecture:
Because tropical storms draw energy from ocean water to gain strength, it has been hypothesized that global warming--and the warmer waters associated with it--could lead to stronger hurricanes.Truth:
In their report, the authors conclude that before the observed trend can be attributed to global warming both a longer global data record and a better understanding of how hurricanes fit into general atmospheric and oceanic circulation trends is required.And we have not even touched on the question of whether global warming is a man-made or "natural" phenomena.