It may seem callous to start pointing fingers but then again, maybe it should have been done a long time ago. Even right-wingers now agree that global warming is happening and it is a proven fact that warmer waters make for more intense hurricanes. The Gulf of Mexico is a full two degrees warmer than at any time in human history – we have our outrageous consumption of fossil fuels and destruction of habitats to thank for that.

Sure, the consumers are partly to blame as we are the ones driving the cars, but really – we will buy whatever they put on the market. Vehicles have consistently gotten larger, heavier, and less efficient. Car makers now brag about their 30mpg vehicles when there were a half dozen getting over 50mpg in the early 80s.

And don’t buy that line about safety – other than additions like airbags – vehicles are no safer than they were back then. Sure, the heavier cars and SUVs test better when striking a brick wall at 30mph, but most of our collisions are with other vehicles – other vehicles which have also gotten heavier.

We still have a very long hurricane season remaining this year as well as years and years of these high powered storms. New Orleans could be hit again within weeks – long before they have begun to recover from Katrina. If not New Orleans, other cities. The next decade will not be a very good time to live along the Atlantic or Gulf coasts.