For the second time in three years the big easy is uneasy. With the possibility of a second hurricane and the potential repeat of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, one can only suspect the odds have changed.
Certainly this was not a total surprise as warm water feeds hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones. With the water being warmer now as a result of global warming, the effect of putting gasoline on a fire has been achieved.
The number of storm and intensity have been steadily rising over the years, and to see monster storms of category 4 or 5 yearly where in the past there were occasional, is the trend of the future.
Although hurricane Gustav is only predicted to be a category 3 storm when it hits land someplace along the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, the chances of hitting New Orleans are significant. Memories of Katrina are fresh and will take many more years to heal. Even hurricane Andrew a category 5 storm that hit south Florida in 1992 still stirs troubled emotions in many.
So the pay me now pay me later mentality is starting to come true, in that the damage cause by global warming fed storms will be more costly to the economy than to do the right thing and make the necessary changes to cool the planet.
Although at the time of this post the exact track of the storm is still unknown, this is just a preview of the weather norms to come. To expect a storm to come and trash all that you just rebuilt every few years does not do good things to your mental state or wallet. Welcome to the future.
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