Do global warming doubters understand "long-term trend"?

Question

A couple weeks ago they were crowing about the small number of hurricanes this season, thinking this completely disproved global warming. But the LONG-TERM trend in hurricanes is up, and it is linked to rising temperatures. It's a long-term trend, people.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/05/AR2007080501281.html

"About twice as many hurricanes are occurring in the Atlantic Ocean now, compared with 100 years ago, according to a study, in large part because of warmer sea surface temperatures and new wind patterns driven by global warming."

A few legit answers, and a few stupid ones. Just one comment to thegubmint - its about counting storms, not tracking them. People could count 100 years ago.

Uh, jake, actually it does prove something. And its not imposing a belief on you - it's not a belief, its science. It's getting hotter. Deal with it.

Answer 1

Long-term trend: The last ice age ended 12,000 years ago and it wasn't because cave-dwellers started driving SUVs.

A thousand years ago, when the Earth was much WARMER than it is now, the Vikings farmed Greenland, hence its name.

Let us be grateful that the crushing, deadly glaciers are retreating, allowing us to farm the midwest, Europe, England, Canada and other places where the ice was piled a mile high.

Global warming - ENJOY IT!

Answer 2

there is no doubt there is global warming. The question is...who will it hurt and who will it benefit.

In many part of what was once the Soviet Union, there is a huge oil deposit below ground that the Russian government can't get to due to the ice. With global warming, the ice would melt and the Russians will have access to all of that oil. And, the Russians will have greater amount of farm land.

The point to be maede is that not all of global warming is frowned upon by every nation. There are nations who are embracing the whole idea of global warming. There will be a tremendous change in the world economics as the earth heats up.

Answer 3

There are long-term trends with hurricanes, you'll get decades with fewer hurricanes (we just finished up that part of the cycle), then decades with more. Within that, there's variation.

A year with many disasterous hurricanes is presented as 'proof' of global warming. A subsequent year without many hurricanes doesn't disprove global warming - but it does cast doubt on the supposed 'proof' presented by the more active year.

Hurricanes are always going to happen, though, and people who live in areas prone to them would do well to prepare for the eventuality.

Answer 4

Actually, scientists have concluded that global warming likely doesn't affect the frequency of hurricanes. Once they form they'll likely be stronger, but it won't affect how often they form (see links below).

However, global warming deniers clearly don't understand long-term trends. They think that one cold day in Walla Walla means that global warming isn't happening, or that an abnormally hot year (El Nino 1998) means that global warming has stopped over the past decade. Science is not their friend.

Answer 5

Of course the number of recorded hurricanes is up over the past hundred years. A hundred years ago, they didn't have radar, so how the hell were they supposed to know it was a hurricane and not just some storm? And what about hurricanes that didn't make landfall in the U.S., the ones that they couldn't see?

And who did the study? Al Gore?

Answer 6

You might ask the same question of the enthusiasts.

You also might question whether or not there is the same methodology and ability to track tropical storms and hurricanes than there was 100 years ago.

(The answer to that is no, in case you were stumped)

I also see quite a few enthusiasts crowing about localized weather events like floods and droughts when trying to make an argument that GW is an imminent disaster, so it's not all just on the doubters.

Answer 7

This is part of the Ebb and flow of earth...same things happened before Ice age, ice reflects heat, heats earth, melts ice, flood...comfort zone for a bit and now we're recycling though...I read a study about how this would have happened even if humans never existed, only we are forcing it a lot sooner than it should have. Way to go Earth get ride of the parasites... Maybe the next generation of intelligent life will appreciate earth!

Answer 8

Americans generally are incapable of following long term trends or reading a graph. Math and science are the weakest points in education. I would recommend desisting from trying to make people realize the truth.

Answer 9

how did we get out of the ice age without global warming? There is no global warming it's a trend. I that were truley the case our wonderful leaders would be doing something about it. After all they are always looking out for what is best and doing what we the people want

Answer 10

Yeah, right. And the Southern hemisphere is having colder weather and more snow than in sixty years. The "science" you refer to is produced by a bunch of pointy head liberal PhDs hoping to be continually refunded by a liberal Congress.

Radical Environmentalism is the new home of Communists worldwide, and Global Warming is their mantra...it plays so well with idealists and those prone to worry and prone to blame man and especially the US and capitalism for the world's "problems."