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Hurricanes and lemmings

The New York Times carried a Q&A entitled “Conversation with Kerry Emanuel” yesterday. The lead was Emanuel’s apparent shift on the connection between warmer oceans and the intensity of hurricane winds. Still, Emanuel says “not so fast” to those who see Katrina as evidence of global warming. But conservatives should take note that America’s inability to keep pace with Europe in the race to develop alternative energy sources “offends [his] pride as a U.S. scientist.”

Emanuel also admits feeling “not so good” about the coincidence of Katrina and the publication of his book Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes over the summer:

If one is just interested in sales, I suppose it was fortuitous. But I was trying to convey a sense of hurricanes as not just things of scientific interest, but as beautiful. A leopard is a very beautiful animal. But if you took it out of its cage, it would go for your jugular. Anyone can understand that neither a leopard nor a hurricane is a willful killer.

LINK to Q&A at NYTimes.com.

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