By the way ThunderCat (and Rox)...I see your point now on the hurricane data vs temperature. I was arguing the wrong tangent. I agree that Hurricane data wasn't as abundant a hundred years ago as it is today. I also agree that more data is needed to be totally certain if there's a causal relationship between storm intensity and global warming. But the data we do have certainly suggests that it's highly likely. And the data we've amassed since the 1970s certainly shows an increase in severity (according to the MIT study).
Our knowledge of physics tells us that when you add more energy to the system (rising ocean temperatures) that it will result in increased intensity of storms that are generated by...well...ocean temperatures. Also physics tells us that rising ocean temperatures will result in higher evaporation which puts more water in the air. Rising ocean temperature isn't in dispute. That's a direct measurement. So all of this energy needs to manifest itself somehow. The laws of thermodynamics tells us the energy just doesn't disappear.
Our knowledge of physics tells us that when you add more energy to the system (rising ocean temperatures) that it will result in increased intensity of storms that are generated by...well...ocean temperatures. Also physics tells us that rising ocean temperatures will result in higher evaporation which puts more water in the air. Rising ocean temperature isn't in dispute. That's a direct measurement. So all of this energy needs to manifest itself somehow. The laws of thermodynamics tells us the energy just doesn't disappear.