The following graphic depicts an alleged cause-and-effect chain of events that begins with the increase in sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (in this case, a strong El Niño) and ends with a number of people suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. While there is some logic to the stream of cause and effect noted below, there is a poing at which the logic is carried too far. For example, while it may be feasible to blame El Niño for having contributed to the strength of the ice storm and the destruction that ensued, and to link the sale of gas-fired space heaters to the ice storm, it would be rather a "strech" to blame the placement of leaky space heaters in poorly ventilated areas to the incidence of CO poisonings. The bottom line is that we cannot blame everything that happens in an El Niño or a La Niña year on that phenomenon.