My latest "Storm Pundit" post is up over at The Daily Green. It's entitled "Forecasts, Fulminations, and Flossie," and it gives the rundown on the latest prognostications of Atlantic hurricane activity, as well as discussing the strong (and weirdly named) tropical storm now possibly headed towards Hawaii. Meanwhile, the website ClimateandInsurance.org, created by the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, just interviewed me about Storm World. I say stuff like this:
I wanted to tell a story that provided a chance to explore some of the knottiest questions at the interface between science and politics. Questions like, how should politicians approach and use scientific information, which is often characterized by high levels of uncertainty? And what's the role of the media, and of scientists themselves, in translating their complex knowledge into a form that policymakers can use? The fraught and sometimes even nasty argument over the relationship between hurricanes and global warming provided a perfect opportunity to dig into these questions. Here's a scientific issue that's undeniably important, and yet also laden with much uncertainty; indeed, scientists are deeply divided over it, fighting over it. Meanwhile, our coastlines are extremely vulnerable to deadly hurricanes, so the stakes couldn't be higher. In this context, how do we get past mere conflict and scientific uncertainty and into the realm of productive policy action? It's a question that fascinates me--and one that's extraordinarily important for society to come to grips with.
Finally, Discover magazine also just reviewed the book. Honestly I can't quite figure out what to say about this review; it's not really good, not really bad...it just kind of...is. You can read it here.
