"Dumbass of the Month" Honorable Mention: Any Fearmonger

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After the recent tragedy on the Gulf Coast, it’s galling to watch so many self-appointed “experts” leap behind the nearest microphone to scream “I told you so!” Being ignored by thinking people for so many years they now bask in the glow of their righteousness, their fringe doomsday prophecies finally coming to fruition. Damn the suffering. This is justice and vindication, at last!
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Many of these “experts” erringly used this disaster throughout the past week to advance the mistaken assumption that global warming has spawned a disproportionately large number of unusually powerful hurricanes in recent years- a classic example of, “If we repeat it enough, it will become the truth.” Five minutes of fact checking proves otherwise.
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It is uncertain- at best- whether or not the global warming theory is correct. What can’t be argued, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is that 97 hurricanes struck the U. S. between 1851- 1900. 95 struck from 1901- 1950. From 1951- 2000 only 72 hurricanes hit the U. S. Starting 1851 - 2004 we averaged 6 major (class 3, 4 or 5) storms per decade. Since 1970 – 2004 it’s been 5 major storms per decade. One can retrieve this information at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdec.shtml

There’s plenty for all the fear mongers to worry about if they must, they needn’t create difficulties where none exist. In order to avoid compounding our real problems by acting upon theories and emotion we should focus our energies where need be only after thorough examination of facts and evidence. The sky, Chicken Little, has yet to fall.