o change climates so drastically that future storms will be less frequent, but much more severe, costly, and devastating to those that are hit. A current example can be seen in the wake of Hurricane Floyd where hundreds of thousands of livestock were killed by floods and are now decomposing out in the open. As a result, widespread disease and infestations are predicted to occur and possibly run rampant through the eastern seaboard. This means an increase in the number of deaths and overall cost of the disaster, which happened to be the most powerful hurricane on modern record. Further research on the areas weather patterns where the hurricane occurred, showed a prodigious increase of atmospheric pressure and climate in comparison to previous hurricane seasons. Putting two and two together, one can assume that these are the preliminary effects of global warming and that they will only intensify with time. The cost of these hurricanes is almost as severe as the tangible damage itself. A significant increase in annual natural disaster cost jumped from an average of $1.8 billion in the eighties to over $10 billion in the nineties. Along with those costs just to the U.S., economies that heavily rely upon tourism as a means of financial support such as the Caribbean, have experienced heavy loses averaging around $12 billion per year as a result of shifting weather patterns due to global warming. As for measures taken in the interest of national security, the Clinton Administration is actively engaging the private sector, states, and localities in partnerships based on a win-win philosophy and aimed at addressing the challenge of global warming while, at the same time, strengthening the economy.At the global level, countries around the world have expressed a firm commitment to strengthening international responses to the risks of climate change. The U.S. is working to strengthen international action and broaden participation under th...
