Record High Temps in U.S. - Pending Doom

[HoosierGuy]

So here in Indiana, March, when we should still be in winter, it's 72 degrees out as I type this! 72! It's been nice spring/summer weather for the last week and we are schedculed to keep this weather for at least another week.

I read last night that the famous Cherry Blossom festival in Washington D.C. keeps being started earlier and earlier because the cherry blossoms are blooming earlier and earlier.

Here in Indiana, at least here in the mid-west part of the state, there has hardly been any heavy snow fall at all. And the biggest shock - schools have not cancelled class one day because of snow. One day they did have a 2 hour delay, but no cancellations.

Now I ask you, when are you/we/others going to realize we are messing up the environment? We are going to turn the U.S. into a desert and that will bring our downfall. One of the most important things that has made the U.S.A. strong is our geography and all the different kinds of environments in the U.S. Land to have farms, land to build facteries, rivers, deserts, mountains, etc... More and more useful than any other country. And we are letting big business Wall Street pollute our wonderful and powerful environment and that is going to result in the downfall of the U.S.A.

[annewandering]

i am not going to argue with that but on the other hand a rose I had given up on as being too delicate for this climate zone is making a come back. I hope. For the last five or so years it has sent up about three or four inches of growth each year. Last year it was over a foot. Doesnt sound like much but at this rate it might actually get some roses this year!

Ok I know its serious but if its going to be, and I am not convinced it is not something that just happens in cycles, then we might as well start anticipating what changes there are going to be in our lives. Farmers and gardeners better start thinking in terms of different zones than what they are used to.

It is going to happen.

[Guest]

The winters here are more mild, but so are the summers.

[annewandering]

The worst part here is not the temp but the moisture. We have never gotten much rain in Southern Idaho but it has been even lower for, I am guessing, about 20 years at least. We do use irrigation but you have to have snowfall for the dams to fill and that has been a continual problem lately.

[Guest]

How did I not remember that you're in Idaho? I can't remember the last time we weren't in some kind of drought. Personally, I wish we'd all go to low-water yards (little or no grass) like they do in the southwest, and leave as much water as possible for the farmers.

[annewandering]

We are going to have to do something. I already annoy my neighbors by not watering my lawn directly. It gets water if I am watering a shrub or tree. If it cant survive with that then stronger grass takes over and I dont argue with it.

[HEthePrimate]

We reached 78 degrees today (tying the record), on a day when the normal high is 50! o_O

The main difference I've noticed between Utah weather and where I live is the humidity. I remember traveling to Utah for the first time, and it was about the same temperature as at home, but it felt much less oppressive because it was less humid. *sigh*

I'm really hoping that this summer is not as much warmer than normal as this winter has been, or we'll be pretty miserable!

[pam]

Just my opinion, but we are in the last days and I think we will see many changes. We've been warned of disasters and all kinds of things. So personally, I don't see that big business Wall Street has anything to do with it. I think we are just seeing some prophecies of the last days being fulfilled.

[Jezebel2011]

Even in the UK we have had much higher temperatures. Over the last two weeks we have had highs of 20C or 68F - in March???? Unheard of. We have often had heavy snowfall in March with lows of 0F - 14F

London recorded the highest temperatures since record-keeping on weather began somewhere around 1840.

.

[rameumptom]

I am not totally convinced that it is totally man's fault for the rising temperatures. The Sun and normal weather fluctuations can do more than man can.

This planet has seen many warming and cooling periods, long before mankind was even on the earth. In the Middle Ages, a warming period occurred that allowed England to grow grapes as well as those in France. The Vikings discovered America and started colonies in Greenland, which was habitable. People were healthier, etc. Then came the Mini Ice Age of the 1300s, which brought the Plague (killing 1/3 of Europe), destroyed northern communities, and ended the Vikings' foothold in Greenland.

As it is, warmer temperatures, from the days of the dinosaurs onward, have consistently shown to be more of a boon, than a bane. That we are having warmer temperatures earlier on allows for longer growing seasons. Yes, there are things we will need to adapt to, but over all will be minor compared to the benefits of warmer temperatures.

That said, we should enjoy this warm weather, because climatologists that take the solar changes into account say we will be entering into a cooling period for about 20 years soon.

How much of this warming is by man, versus the Sun or other changes? The study hasn't been done yet, because Global Warming experts have refused to take all things into consideration, only considering man's impact. That we could reduce our foot print to zero, and the earth still go into an Ice Age due to other factors, is something they completely ignore.

[Guest]

Hydroponics, people!

I'm growing lettuce in a closet. Truly!

But, technology has allowed desert regions in the middle of the Sahara to be able to grow crops and a modern farm housed in a 2,000 sq foot warehouse to produce as much as 10 acres.

A friend of mine from Argentina is excited about the weather change. His goal is to finally get a White Christmas instead of a White Fourth of July in Argentina...

[Saldrin]

I completely disagree. Anthropogenic Global Warming is a complete hoax.

you see there is this big ball of hydrogen in the sky called the sun, and it has more to do with temperature change then man can ever could hope to have. I have heard it said that man's contribution to actual climate change is like a fart in a hurricane. History did not start the day we were born or even when records started being kept. Did you know there was a time when England had the best wine in the world? why, because the average global temperature was three degrees higher then it is today. now explain how Wall Street and George Bush caused that. Here is a good article that explains the little climatic optimum "Resisting the Global Warming Panic" Now this came out in 2007 before climate gate exposed the scientists for perpetuation the hoax and fraud.

Also Mars is going through a warming period too its ice caps are melting. Guess they need to stop driving their SUV's on that planet.

Bottom line of this post, Climate change happens, humans didn't cause it, and there is nothing you can do about it, and it may not be all that bad.

[john doe]

And now they're saying that CO2 makes you fat, which totally explains Al Gore's recent huge weight gains.

[NeuroTypical]

Now I ask you, when are you/we/others going to realize we are messing up the environment?

As soon as there is conclusive evidence that we're doing so. Everything you mentioned above, is evidence of normal climatic variations that have been occuring on planet earth for as long as it's been around.

We are going to turn the U.S. into a desert and that will bring our downfall.

You don't have a sound basis for this conclusion.

And we are letting big business Wall Street pollute our wonderful and powerful environment and that is going to result in the downfall of the U.S.A.

Meh. No we're not. We're turning into Greece through increasing government spending on entitlements to levels that an aging population will not be able to sustain, and we're losing economic ground to China (the real polluter here) - both things threatening our way of life.

Don't worry HoosierGuy, the barbelutes will continue to dance with the swammie swans for a long time here in the U.S.

[Madriglace]

Weather cycles ..... my mom remembers 3-4 feet of snow in this area when she was a kid ... I remember rain but this year we had 25 inches in our yard for a week or so ..... today it is pouring buckets! And is supposed to for the next week ... here come the floods again!

[NeuroTypical]

It got a heck of a lot harder for the activists to forward their various political agendas via climate issues, when NASA discovered climate change on Mars. And you haven't had any credible claim to scientific consensus on the issue, since 2009 with the leaking of all those climate scientist emails showing their bias, not to mention the data spinning or outright agenda-driven deception.

However, in the last decade, the hand-wavers have done a pretty good job at abandoning the term "global warming" in favor of "global climate change", after trends started showing stuff cooling off instead of warming up. So at least that's something.

[Just_A_Guy]

It got a heck of a lot harder for the activists to forward their various political agendas via climate issues, when NASA discovered climate change on Mars.

Hey - they only discovered that after those nasty humanses sent many, many "probes" and "landers" and even "rovers" to the surface, thereby irreparably contaminating the pristine Martian environment.

[HoosierGuy]

It's a little humid here in Indiana and it's March 15!!! We didn't have much of a fall last year. It seemed to go right from summer to winter (and we didn't have much of a winter) and now it seems we are heading directly into summer.

And it has felt humid last week too.

I'm not opposed to warm weather. As I get older I, like most, get tired of dealing with driving on icy roads. But one of the nice things about the mid-west is that we get all four seasons - winter, spring, summer, and fall. It seems like fall and spring are getting shorter and shorter.

[john doe]

It got a heck of a lot harder for the activists to forward their various political agendas via climate issues, when NASA discovered climate change on Mars.

Well Duh! We're exporting our excess pollution to other planets so no one will notice it so much here. Why do you think we've been sending spaceships to Mars? Ever wonder why they haven't found intelligent life there? It's because we've killed them with our pollution. Ever wonder why they never show the dark side of the moon? It's because we Americans have turned it into a huge garbage dump and landfill. No way anything will grow there now.

[Vort]

Well Duh! We're exporting our excess pollution to other planets so no one will notice it so much here. Why do you think we've been sending spaceships to Mars? Ever wonder why they haven't found intelligent life there? It's because we've killed them with our pollution. Ever wonder why they never show the dark side of the moon? It's because we Americans have turned it into a huge garbage dump and landfill. No way anything will grow there now.

Darn Republicans.

When this news came out a few years ago, I actually heard a Seattle-area leftie say (with no apparent trace of irony or humor), "It's bad enough we're messing up our own planet! We shouldn't be messing up Mars, too!"

[LittleWyvern]

I'm not seeing how the fact that other planets go through climate cycles implies that it is impossible for humans to influence the climate cycles that occur on Earth.

[Vort]

I'm not seeing how the fact that other planets go through climate cycles implies that it is impossible for humans to influence the climate cycles that occur on Earth.

You are missing the point. Lefties claim that the "fact" (which really means short-term observation) that the earth is experiencing climate change means that humanity is to blame. Climate change on our neighboring planets puts a pin in this overinflated supposition.

[HEthePrimate]

You are missing the point. Lefties claim that the "fact" (which really means short-term observation) that the earth is experiencing climate change means that humanity is to blame. Climate change on our neighboring planets puts a pin in this overinflated supposition.

It's not about "Lefties" or "Righties," it's about science. The general scientific consensus is that the earth is getting warmer, and human activities have contributed to that. Why is it that so many people take is as an article of faith that global warming either does not exist, or is not caused by humans? Look at the data! And why does this subject so often come up in religious milieux? It's not about religion--I don't see the connection.

[LittleWyvern]

You are missing the point. Lefties claim that the "fact" (which really means short-term observation) that the earth is experiencing climate change means that humanity is to blame. Climate change on our neighboring planets puts a pin in this overinflated supposition.

I agree with you that the scientific observation that the earth is experience a climate change does not imply that humanity is completely to blame, but the way you put it makes it out to be a false dilemma. Yes, the earth experiences climate change naturally, but I think we can agree that humans can (and do) affect these changes: i.e. increase the magnitude of these changes that naturally occur. We'll probably disagree, however, on the extent of this effect.

[Vort]

It's not about "Lefties" or "Righties," it's about science.

How I wish that were true. "Global warming", or as the Lefties now want to rename it, "Global Climate Change", has been a political football since its inception. I am not sure at this point that it is even possible to depoliticize the issue.

All honest global-warmers (and yes, there are certainly honest ones) admit that the models are far too complex and the data too fuzzy to be able to draw any definitive scientific conclusions. Their argument is rather this: The scientific consensus is that global warming is probably driven by anthropogenic causes.

Consensus? Really? I was always taught that science depended on observations and real data, not just the opinions of the majority of scientists. Which of course is a particularly naive view; everything in science is basically a popularity contest, and the only reason it usually works is that "popularity" is generally determined by best-fit with the facts.

But therein lies the problem: The great majority of the scientific community is politically leftist, and pronouncedly so. Most scientists accept and even welcome the idea of governmental control over industry and means of production. (Why this might be is another topic.) And let's not forget that global warming "research" is not privately funded. And who do you suppose controls the purse strings for government grants for research into climate issues?

That's right: Global warming advocates.

So when they perceive a potential threat and see that it might be regulated by massive governmental oversight, most scientists are very comfortable with that idea. It fits with their political and social prejudices, and it pays their salary. Hey, even if they're wrong about the whole global warming thing, look at the good that will come of it! Government will increase its control over societal aspects that have heretofore been unregulated! And they get to publish more research and get more government funding! Everybody wins!

I consider myself reasonably intelligent and fairly well-educated. I have degrees in physics and computer science and fairly extensive (if by now outdated) educational training in biology. I once asked a group of scientists and hangers-on to please explain to me, in sufficient detail that I could understand, why global warming should be accepted. The immediate, dismissive reply was, "It's too complicated; you wouldn't understand." When I explained my credentials and educational bona fides, the reply changed to impatience and anger, with a definite undercurrent of, "How DARE you challenge my scientific authority!" The clear message was: This is consensus. This is what we have agreed on. Get with the program or get out of our way.

I object very strenuously to that attitude. So do millions of other reasonable, clear-thinking people.

The general scientific consensus is that the earth is getting warmer, and human activities have contributed to that. Why is it that so many people take is as an article of faith that global warming either does not exist, or is not caused by humans? Look at the data!

I have. I don't see any such pattern, and so far, no one has made a convincing case in public for it. Their arguments are all instead much like yours: "Look, EVERYONE ELSE agrees on this! What's the matter with YOU?"

But it is not "an article of faith". This is a straw man. Carl Sagan was fond of saying that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Anthropogenic global warming is an extraordinary claim. The negative effects of anthropogenic global warming is even more extraordinary. Using Sagan's Razor, we require equally extraordinary evidence. A bunch of scientists being supported by government funding -- which itself depends heavily upon the existence of "global warming" -- insisting that they're right simply does not qualify as extraordinary evidence of anything besides the vanity of scientists.

I don't deny "global warming". I simply want it to be clearly, effectively demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt before I accept it as reality. That is not asking too much.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Vort