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The devastation to New York City and the eastern seaboard of the United States from Hurricane Sandy has reignited the debate over global warming. Many experts believe the warming of the planet is largely caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Hurricane Sandy cut power to about 8 million homes, shut down 70 percent of East Coast oil refineries, and will exceed, economists say, the $15 billion worth of damage caused last year when Hurricane Irene hit New York. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state must adapt to the reality of more frequent extreme weather events. Carol Werner with the Environmental and Energy Study Institute says climate change scientists have long predicted that intense storms, droughts, and forest fires would result from the rising temperatures and sea levels caused by global warming. “Scientists have been warning us about this for decades, and unfortunately it is all happening much earlier than what they had originally predicted back in the 80s,” Werner said. But climate change skeptics take issue with the argument that global warming is to blame for intense storms. Patrick Michaels with the Cato Institute says New York has just been unlucky. “It was the moon’s fault. This storm hit at full moon which raises the tide there a couple of feet, so the storm set a record. If it had occurred any other time in the lunar cycle, that wouldn’t have happened,” Michaels said. | 
