Topic: How big will this Hurrican Season be?

[FCM_SFHQ_XC]

Well we have our first named storm... This appears like its going to be another active season. How active will this season be? and What do you think is the cause of these active seasons??

[Lieutenant_Q]

I say its going to be about the same as 2005, perhaps a little more concentrated in the Atlantic this year rather than the Gulf.  But really, part of the reason the 2005 Hurricane season was "so bad" was that it sank New Oreleans.  Had Katrina not hit New Orleans we wouldn't be talking about this.

People will rant and rave about how it was so bad because of Global Warming.  I'm not so closed minded to dismiss it out of hand that that couldn't have played some factor in it.  But the fact of the matter is that we are nearing the peak of a 30 year cycle.  In ten years or so the Hurricanes will calm down once again and people will forget about it and go about their lives.

[FCM_SFHQ_XC]

Perhaps, but what if it is part of global warming?? I mean.. it might be the SOLID reason why the intensity of the hurricanes in increasing, but it could be PART of the reason...
If it is part of global warming then we dont have much longer to fix Global Warming before its irreversabe..

[Jack Morris]

Hurricanes, earthquakes, Tsunamis, etc... are Mother Nature's way of giving mankind the enema he so rightly needs. 

[Lieutenant_Q]

It will never be irreversible, the experts that claim that it is have other motives for saying so.

Hurricanes, and to a lesser extent Blizzards and Thunderstorms are all a part of Nature's Air Conditioner.  As the global temperatures increase the severity of such storms will increase.  Because the stronger the storms, the more the planet is cooled by it.  The faster we stop putting these pollutants into the air (CO2 being the big one) the sooner our climate will return to normal.  Part of the reason people are screaming that it could be irreversible is that the few people that slow down their emissions are being outshadowed by the many that are reving it up into high gear.  The United States is the biggest contributor to Greenhouse gases in the world, but if you were to go back twenty years, you'll see that the percentage of global output the US is has dropped significantly.  Why?  Because the US has curbed it on their own, while countries in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa are jumpstarting their industries with little or no supervision.

A non-partisan treaty that excludes no one, and sets flexible limits will be far more effective than Kyoto and its successors will ever be.  How many European countries are nowhere near their limits?  Russia is going to get very rich off Kyoto.  Since they seem to be the only signatory that will come in UNDER their limit.  (And way under at that)

[Dracho]

There are hippo and croc fossils under London.  It's been a lot hotter in the past than it is now.

[FCM_SFHQ_XC]

Yea, however I must say that I would doubt it is never irreversable... If we stopped all activities right now that affect Globa Warming it would still take YEARS for the planet to recover.. so there will be a time that it will be irreversable. Nobody knows when that deadline is though.. it coud be tomorrow, or in 110 years from now, you just never know..

[Dracho]

And a major volcanic event could drop global temperatures by 5 degrees in 15 minutes.  It's just a crapshoot.

[Just plain old Punisher]

Thankfully I don't live in a Hurricane region...so it's all disaster entertainment to me.

[FCM_SFHQ_XC]

And a major volcanic event could drop global temperatures by 5 degrees in 15 minutes. It's just a crapshoot.

True, it could but then it would just rise again, if anythig worse then before. With a volcano erupting it will release more green house gasses into the air, so the the sun is finally not blocked by the ash then the Earth will retain heat more easily.. so if basically would be a temporary solution to a permanet problem.