What about growth?<p>Areas that were corn fields 20 years ago now have houses, malls, commercial, mfg plants, etc.<p>We have a greater population that is spread out. What was one a small crop disaster for farmers is now a very costly disaster for a municipality.<p>Does the study account for this? Is this a valid concern?<p>tl;dr:
We have more "stuff" to ruin now.
Is this really climate related? My initial suspicion is that as technology advances, we just have more complicated (expensive) systems and infrastructure that are harder to repair because of the expertise required. We also become more and more reliant on technology every day, but also more and more incompetent when that technology suddenly fails. It is sort of a 'house of cards' effect.
Oh my god, in 2010 there are infinity more car related deaths than there were in 1880. Are we getting worse at driving, or are cars just less safe?<p>There are more people, there is more stuff, and there is a little thing called inflation. People live in areas of Florida that were swamp 20 years ago.<p><a href="http://mensnewsdaily.com/images/misc/tipler/a.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://mensnewsdaily.com/images/misc/tipler/a.jpg</a>