1.Adler, T. As the globe warms, keep an eye on storms. Science News. 147:7; 1995, January 7.
This one page article elaborates on some of the more dramatic phenomena associated with global warming. Additionally, it focuses on global warming's alteration of storms, and how this will influence sea levels. In 1990, researchers from the Geneva-based Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated that for every 1(C increase in global temperatures, snowfall in Greenland would increase by 4 percent. The resultant accumulation of Arctic ice could offset anticipated sea level rises. However, other scientists disagree with the IPCC's predictions. According to David H. Bromwich of Ohio State University, the future behavior of storms is very difficult to determine.
2.Begley, S. Was Andrew a freak--or a preview of things to come? Newsweek. 120:30; 1992, September 7.
This brief paper warns that global warming may ultimately increase the severity of future storms. It notes the fact that thermal energy is the fuel which drives hurricanes. With an increase in global temperatures, warmer oceans will cause more water to evaporate. Greater quantities of water vapor rising and releasing heat energy into the atmosphere could then increase storms' size and severity. Obviously such a phenomenon would have widespread implications. At present though, it is not possible to accurately assess future impacts. Both global warming and its affect on hurricanes are poorly understood.
3."Don't know why." The Economist. 325:77-78; 1992, December 19.
In two pages, The Economist evaluates recent problems faced by the insurance industry. According to one reinsurance company, the burden of claims resulting from natural disasters has increased dramatically. In a single month in 1992 insurers paid out roughly $13 billion. The Economist also notes that both the cost of storms and the Earth's temperature
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