Althought I haven't read it, I've heard great things about the book Freakonomics, co-authored by (and about the work of) University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt. Levitt is supposed to be a true original thinker, and has really shaken up the somewhat traditionalist field of economics. And now, Levitt has moved his popular blog--co written with Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner--to The New York Times online. This week he started off the new show with (among other things) a post on hurricanes and global warming. Alas, Levitt seems unaware of the history of this debate, and so pretty much makes a hash of things. Let us detail the errors of interpretation:
1. Levitt links the 2006 World Meteorological Organization statement on hurricanes and global warming--signaling a lack of consensus as to precisely what's happening right now--and opines, "It is interesting...that you can get a bunch of scientists to basically agree ...
