Buffet Betting on Climate Change

Billionaire investor Warren Buffet is raising the cost of hurricane insurance due to climate change. He hasn't called it "man-caused global warming" which is the current politically correct approach, but regardless of cause, is taking steps to protect his investment:

Berkshire Hathaway, the investment group run by Warren Buffett, is pushing up the price of hurricane insurance as a precaution against the possible impact of climate change.

Mr Buffett said it remained an open question whether "atmospheric, oceanic or other causal factors have dramatically changed the frequency or intensity of hurricanes" but after the worst quarterly losses in industry history it was prudent to limit exposure.

Berkshire's insurance subsidiaries lost $3.4bn from the 2005 US hurricane season – a significant drag on otherwise-healthy annual results published on Saturday.

"Our ignorance means we must follow the course prescribed by Pascal in his famous wager about the existence of God," Mr Buffett wrote to shareholders. "Since he didn't know the answer, his personal gain/loss ratio dictated an affirmative conclusion."

Actually, we've been due for an increase in hurricanes for quite awhile. After a relatively low number of hurricanes through the 50's-80's, most hurricane scientists expected an increase in severity and number of storms because that's the normal cycle, regardless of any global climate change. Regardless of cause, Buffet is probably making the right bet.