Recent Hurricanes Not The Result Of Global Warming

For all my media bashing, I feel compelled to point out when they do exhibit the professionalism to report all sides of a story. Case in point is this article, linked from the front page of CNN, which explains that the recent string of bad hurricanes is not the result of global warming.

The meat of the article is a quote from Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center:

But don't rush to blame it on global warming, experts warn.

Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, told a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday that we're in a period of heightened hurricane activity that could last another decade or two.( See scientists collect data -- 1:33)

"The increased activity since 1995 is due to natural fluctuations (and) cycles of hurricane activity driven by the Atlantic Ocean itself along with the atmosphere above it and not enhanced substantially by global warming," he testified

Other scientists at the center were interviewed and added:

Mayfield's colleague at the National Hurricane Center, meteorologist Chris Landsea, said two recent studies about global warming and hurricanes raise more questions than they answer. He added that the impact of global warming is "minimal for the forseeable future."

(And I'll try not to focus on the fact that a meteorologist studying hurricanes is named Landsea.)