sexta-feira, setembro 23, 2005

Katrina, Rita e a senhora que se segue

Jeremy Rifkin, The Guardian:
A new scientific report out this past week in Science Magazine, a prestigious American journal, gives fresh impetus to the connection between oceans warming as a result of climate change and the increased severity of hurricanes. Scientists report that the number of major - category four and five - hurricanes has nearly doubled in the past 35 years. Tropical storms, say the scientists, draw their energy from warm ocean water. As the global rise in temperature heats the world's oceans, the intensity of hurricanes increases.
Katrina and Rita, then, are not just bad luck, nature's occasional surprises thrust on unsuspecting humanity.