Hurricanes vs. sea-levels

The Times today:

When people worry about the effects of global warming, they worry more about hurricanes than anything else. In surveys, almost three-quarters of Americans say there will be more and stronger hurricanes in a warming world. By contrast, fewer than one-quarter worry about increased coastal flooding.

But as far as the scientific consensus is concerned, people have things just about backward.

The Times today:

Most important, Dr. Link said, the new method lays the groundwork for finding the best way to protect a coast, and moves away from the old habit of evaluating projects largely on the basis of cost-benefit analysis. He added that the model was flexible enough to incorporate new information in the future, as global climate change affects hurricanes.

Glad that's settled!