The saying goes “blame it on the weather”. After Katrina hit the US the man-made global warming zealots all said global warming is causing increased hurricane activity. Since Katrina the US has seen very few hurricanes (and BTW – the temperature of Earth has been roughly steady and below the latest peak in 1999). Conveniently, some Chicken Littles have rushed out to scream the lack of severe hurricanes is now the latest result of global warming:

Global warming could reduce how many hurricanes hit the United States, according to a new federal study that clashes with other research. The new study is the latest in a contentious scientific debate over how manmade global warming may affect the intensity and number of hurricanes.

In it, researchers link warming waters, especially in the Indian and Pacific oceans, to increased vertical wind shear in the Atlantic Ocean near the United States. Wind shear — a change in wind speed or direction — makes it hard for hurricanes to form, strengthen and stay alive.

This is pretty silly stuff, which goes to show why a PhD is not a license to know anything of import. The global temperature has risen a single degree in the last 2 decades or so. And it has not budged much in the last 7 – even using the charts developed by the man-made global warming crowd.

Ignore the nice little blue line, just look at the peaks from around 1997 to 2006. All about the same. But the Hurricane patterns were not the same during those years, so how could the claim warming reduces hurricane effects? Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 and that is one of the warmest years out of the last ten! Folks, these people are grasping for headlines and to get grant money to make a living.