What’s the link between hurricanes and global warming?

The devastation wreaked on the Gulf Coast this week by Hurricane Katrina is sure to reignite debate over hurricanes and global warming. The science linking the two is ambiguous and complex, but the need to spur action on climate change is urgent. Would activists be justified in using Katrina to raise alarm about a globally warmed world, in which extreme weather events are expected to grow more intense? Or is sticking strictly to what’s supportable by the best current science a value that outweighs any other? Discuss in the Gristmill.