During his two terms as president, Mr. Bush has issued 422 declarations of disaster. That is described as more than President Bill Clinton and far more than President Ronald Reagan, also two-term presidents. The largest number of Mr. Bush's disaster declarations in any given year came in 2004. Austin Bogues, "Bush Declared 422 Major Disasters" (New York Times Online, Sunday, August 10, 2008).
Mr. Bush's government committed $40 Billion in disaster relief from the Federal Government after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005. Since they took office, they have committed an additional $47 Billion, for a total of $87 Billion in Federal Taxpayer Funds used for disaster relief, so far. With or without the relief following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Mr. Bush has assigned more Federal money to disaster relief than his predecessor by some 2 and 1/2 times after adjusting for inflation, it is reported in the linked newspaper article. The likely cause is, ironically, global warming.
Before concluding this post, it is worth noting that a curious quote in the linked report is attributed to a person with the Environmental Defense Fund. He is quoted as observing that "'weather events'" are "'consistent with what the models predict'". However, the linked article does not provide a description of whose Computer Catastrophe Models they have in mind.
Please Read The Disclaimer.
Comments