Is there a global warming, Katrina connection?

Katrina and the catastrophic 2005 hurricane season "is very much natural," said William M. Gray, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University who issues forecasts for the hurricane season. Yet, Kerry A. Emanuel, "a hurricane expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote that global warming might have already had some effect." (More from the New York Times)

Katrina has Greens in Germany speculating that America will finally open its eyes to Global Warming. "Greenhouse gases have to be radically reduced and it has to happen worldwide. Until now, the US has kept its eyes shut to this emergency. (Americans) make up a mere 4 percent of the population, but are responsible for close to a quarter of emissions," notes the Frankfurter Rundschau in Spiegel.

While the science simply isn't conclusive, it does leave room for plenty of logical speculation. If there is a reasonable chance that global warming is causing increased hurricane activity, shouldn't America at least try to mitigate its culpability?