Alarmism in 'science'

Finally I can breathe a sigh of relief that some scientists and engineers at the University of the West Indies have entered what so far has been a one-sided and somewhat strident commentary on the global warming/climate change issue, a commentary that seems to have scattered a series of hobgoblins about the effects of the phenomenon now attracting the attention of the international community.

China, early '08: Paralyzed by the perfect storm

Chenzhou was one of the most severely damaged cities in the rare winter snowstorms caused by a lingering, brutal winter. Meteorologists called it "the worst of its kind in five decades" for many of the regions in southern China hit from mid-January till February.

　　Such harsh weather is commonplace in north China, weathermen said. But it caused enormous destruction when it moved south.

　　"Chenzhou snowed in the past winters, sometimes heavily, but the temperature usually rebounded above zero within a few days so that ice thawed. What was unusual in January was that the temperature remained under zero for too long," Li Yanqiong recalled.
...
　　Statistics later showed that as a result of the snowstorms, nearly 500,000 buildings collapsed and 1.69 million homes were damaged in south China.

　　The steel, high-voltage towers in southern provinces also buckled in the lingering snowfall and icy rains.

　　Zhang Haiyang, spokesman for the State Grid, said more than 184,000 high-voltage towers in 10 provinces collapsed in the rare weather conditions.