Global Warming and the Flu

Among the dire forecasts of global warming alarmists are increasing numbers of flu cases.  One claim, for example, is that the winter flu season could become a "year-round event" as "the tropical air mass around the Earth's equator expands". 

But a story in today's New York Times suggests exactly the opposite.  Veteran science reporter Gina Kolata describes how scientists may have finally figured out why flu cases rise in winter.  It has nothing to do with people crowding together or staying indoors--rather, flu particles (such as those emitted when an infected person sneezes) are simply more stable in colder, less humid air, and so they spread to more people. 

So if the alarmists are right about higher temperatures in the future, we may well see a drop in flu cases, not an increase.

But don't hold your breath waiting for this to be hailed as a benefit of global warming.  Influenza causes several hundred thousand deaths annually around the world.  If flu deaths decline, you know what that means, don't you? 

An even greater carbon footprint for humanity!