> There is scant evidence to indicate that hurricanes, floods, tornadoes or drought have become more frequent or intense in the U.S. or globally. In fact we are in an era of good fortune when it comes to extreme weather.
Try telling that to the residents of California or Gatlinburg, TN.
OK, anecdotes do not constitute data. So here's some data:
Look at the number of acres burned, which is the metric that matters. The upward trend over the past few decades is unmistakable even without fancy statistical tests. And that's just what I was able to find in five minutes on a ridiculously slow internet connection.
It's hard to tell the difference between "there is scant evidence" and "there wasn't any evidence where I happened to look for it."
The Emdrive is an experiment that has so far provided an anomalous result. If that result holds up to replication and deeper investigation, only then will we proceed to the theory stage.
There is presently no theory to explain this result, but there are many speculations and hypotheses. Only the most extreme of these invoke a true violation of conservation laws, and these as a result would be considered last after others had been ruled out.
Less extreme hypotheses include interaction with dark matter or some other normally invisible or weakly interacting medium, unknown physics surrounding gravity or magnetic fields, etc.
Personally my favorite is dark matter. Could this be a weakly interacting particle thruster? Perhaps it is somehow accelerating ubiquitous but weakly interacting particles, essentially using dark matter as a propulsive medium.
That could have massive practical implications and would also lead to new physics, but would not violate conservation laws since momentum is being transferred.
A craft powered by such a thruster would have a "jet wash," just one that is harmless and largely undetectable through normal means. It might also only work in the vicinity of massive objects or in other places where a sufficiently rich concentration of propellant is found. Planets and stars have been hypothesized as being surrounded by dark matter clouds, but e.g. it may not work well in interstellar space.
Of course it would only be useful for propulsion if it could be made efficient.
Try telling that to the residents of California or Gatlinburg, TN.
OK, anecdotes do not constitute data. So here's some data:
https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/fireInfo_stats_totalFires.html
Look at the number of acres burned, which is the metric that matters. The upward trend over the past few decades is unmistakable even without fancy statistical tests. And that's just what I was able to find in five minutes on a ridiculously slow internet connection.
It's hard to tell the difference between "there is scant evidence" and "there wasn't any evidence where I happened to look for it."
[UPDATE:] Here is some evidence that the author is being deliberately deceptive: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13099156