Yesterday yet another blizzard began to sweep across the United States. The storm ended up dumping 20 inches of snow on Minneapolis, causing the Metrodome roof to collapse (video to the left) and altering the schedule of the NFL. The weather system shut down much of the country's air traffic and caused many deaths on the roads. Last year the two blizzards which hit the East Coast both created a renewed debate on the existence, or lack thereof, of climate change. This newest storm is sure to generate the same kind of controversy once more.
Climate change skeptics argue that these extreme winter weather storms disprove the whole climate change theory. Skeptics ask how the country could be seeing colder temperatures and record snow fall if the earth is warming. Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck made this argument last year following the “Snowmaggedon” event in Washington D.C. Fox News followed their lead. The argument certainly does make sense on its face.
But some believers in the climate change theory make exactly the opposite argument. They point out that the United Nations Climate Change Report actually predicted more extreme weather, including cold weather storms, as a result of global warming. Warm air, believers argue, carries more moisture which creates the potential for more storms like these. Climate change believers also state that they never believed global warming would rid the world of winter weather, but rather that it would raise temperatures a few degrees to create the unstable environment we see today.
In reality, most scientists believe that climate change cannot be proven or disproven based on one, or even a few, extreme weather events. Climate change, by nature, is about decades and centuries not fluctuations over a season or even a year. Extreme cold weather events could still be occurring if climate change is real, or if it is a fiction. Basing our opinions on climate change based on a few cold weather events would be like betting one’s life savings at the casino after winning a few times at the slots.
Comments
A picture is worth a thousand words: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gistemp/do_nmap.py?year_last=2010&...
Note the cool spots over North America and England/Scandinavia, largely surrounded by regions of record-breaking warmth.
Cancun, home to the GW/CC Revival Meeting saw 100 year record low temps.
Is the Earth warming? Possibly but that is a good thing as us humans do much better in the warmer climes than in the cooler ones.
Yeah and it's all about us humans. Hell with everything else. Merry Christmas ya'll!
Why yes, yes it is.
Have a Happy New Year as well.
We can't say if climate change is a fact with the records we have. They don't go back far enough to say that it really is happening or if it's another cyclical thing like everything else extreme environmentalists have said is bad. But that doesn't mean discount it either.
Of course it may be warming. It's been warming since the ice sheets retreated from central North America about 12000 years ago.
Look into Iroquois Lake. You will see how warming has allowed us all to live on the upper East coast and elsewhere.
Rush Limbaugh has stated that only Gaaaaawd can effect climate change. He also says he has talent on loan from Gaaaaaawd. Why should anyone be skeptical of what he says?
You are right, we should listen Al Gore and just ignore the fact he stands to become a billionaire if we follow through on his dreams.
Say how is Al, you don't see much of that slime around any more? Is he doing a new book on all of his favorite massage parlors around the globe. I wonder how Tipper's been?
Back before everyone was so angry about "global warming". Didn't the climatologist say that warming would not be the first symptom? Didn't they say that we would begin seeing more extreme, unusual weather patterns. Tornadoes and blizzards in the fall. Colder winters. Hotter summers. Just because someone doesn't agree that changes are occurring or further that they are in some way caused by man's activities, is no reason to use inflammatory language to shut down the debate.
I really don't think that the state of Al Gore's marriage or wealth has any place in the debate at all. Al Gore was simply a spokesperson for scientists - I don't believe he claimed to be a climatologist.
But to those who consider politicking the ultimate game, science is always secondary to politics.
Gore says it, so it must be WRONG!!! Pay no attention to the science!!! Quick, quote two of thousands of emails, taking them totally out of context to create a massive conspiracy!!!
Yeah, lg, extremes in all directions are an expected result of global temperature increase. Weather is driven by energy; heat is the primary energy source for weather. Increase the total supply of heat, you increase the energy feeding weather.
The latest NASA report completely cuts out the global warming trend of the late 30's-40's -- and picks up at 1950 to compare to today. The reason? Because we saw extreme warming during the 30's. Rembember the Dust Bowls?
So, what is really clear is the climate goes through cycles, and it appears they last 30 years or so. This latest warming cycle peaked in 2007, so we should see temperatures decreasing up to and until 2040 from here. We could even see a mini-Ice Age that have been recorded to occur over the past 500 years.
Don't worry, foks, we don't need Barbara Boxer, Al Gore or any other left-wing climate change fighter to save us. We'll do just fine without them.
No, '08 dipped but '09 was the second warmest on record - and 2010 is looking to be in the ballpark.
But don't worry. Be happy.
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