How's Your Weather?

[Krummhorn]

Krummhorn, did you find the movie interesting? I have to find it--they don't have it at my local video rental place.

Yes - very humbling experience ... everyone needs to see this movie.

... and also because as a regulator I try to stay away from too many issues that could be divisive. But hey, this is Krummhorn's forum! LOL

Thomas ... LOL ... IMHO, even as regulators, we can (and should) still make great contributions to these forums, as you have here. I really appreciate your posting :tiphat: ... perhaps I can return the favor in your forum :crazy:

 

[Ouled Nails]

Clearly, news media every where have the right to disseminate information, reports, forecasts, etc., giving as much priority to climatic issues as they are entitled to. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) is currently doing just that by making climatic news and issues the leading theme for several consecutive days. I don't know if a similar initiative has been adopted by leading US newspapers. The Globe's most recent long-term scientific forecast is quite interesting. Among other topics, it singles out Australia and its great reef barrier as a particularly vulnerable area of the world.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070131.wclimate31/BNStory/National/home

Sorry. I just saw that this URL does not give access to the article. But Globe and Mail is online and offers the full article free.

 

[Thomas Dressler]

Yes, Ouled, I think the news media are trying to get this story out but it is being buried by those who don't want to deal with the embarassment of having their incompetent manipulations exposed. At least this is how it appears. That story is now nowhere to be found anywhere on the Yahoo news.

 

[rojo]

Did anyone see on the news that they turned off the lights on the Eiffel tower and other landmarks worldwide to bring focus to climate issues? Here in Mtl. it was the Hydro-Quebec building light (a big letter Q. ) Good idea though...

 

[Krummhorn]

Perhaps we're at least getting started?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070130...67VVjEDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

At least it's not a taboo subject. Now if we could only get them to start DOING something about it!

This is the sort of thing Al Gore brings to our attention in his movie An Inconvient Truth. I tend to think we, people in general, are becoming more aware of, but our government, at least in the US, seems reluctant to totally embrace this problem, mainly because the 'wheels of justice' turn ever so [too] slowly.

I quite agree with ON on the comment about seeing more one person car travel in Maine. In Tucson, mass transit is a joke, partly because we are more of a sprawling rural area as opposed to a more structured urban area like, Philadelphia, Los Angeles or Boston. Travel time from west to east (25 miles) can take up to 90 minutes to traverse; there are no east/west express routes here. We do have public transportation, but unless you live within the 'city limits', you are mostly on your own, transportation wise. We still have lots of un-annexed county areas - I live in one of those 'county pockets' where city transportation doesn't exist, even though I am considered part of the 'city' for my address, mail and utility services; so I am expected to drive 6 miles to the bus stop, wait 20 or so minutes for a bus, to travel another 5 miles to my final destination.

There is talk about a light rail system here - but as is so typical of oour local government, it will take years of 'feasability study' then years of 'environmental study', then more years figuring out how to finance the project. I'll be dead by the time all that happens :crazy:

Did anyone see on the news that they turned off the lights on the Eiffel tower and other landmarks worldwide to bring focus to climate issues? Here in Mtl. it was the Hydro-Quebec building light (a big letter Q. ) Good idea though...

I see this as another good idea as I see countless high-rise buildings with ALL their internal lights glowing 24/7. Most of those doing that here are county and city buildings . Until government, in general, embraces this alarming problem, where is the drive to help solve this problem? I am convinced and doing everything I can to help solve the global warming issues, but as Thomas mentions, our government needs to get off their duffs and put a plan into action today, for there might be to many tomorrow's left. There's more about the issue on the web.

Kh

 

[Krummhorn]

So, what's happening in your country or state about your weather trends. Do you think it's related to 'global warming'. What are people or government doing about it where you live?

 

[rojo]

Just had to mention, the weather here is foggy! Thick as pea soup!

 

[Krummhorn]

Is the fog a normal occurence for this time of the year in your geographic area, or is this possible attributed to a general warming trend?

 

[rojo]

Well, fog is pretty rare around here. But today, April 11th, we get 10 cm of snow! I thought winter was over, but I guess not. Seems winter has just been shifted by about a month and a half this year; this spring has been unseasonably cold. Go figure.

 

[giovannimusica]

Ok,

Now I'm gonna venture into the shark-infested waters of global warming and the lopsided debate it has spawned. Weather and climate are phenomena which are subject to change quicker than a woman or man leaves their partner. Sure, we can make predictions based on statistical modeling for most weather but it is a highly inexact science since we do not factor in, amongst other things, the energy output of the Sun nor do we take into account the will of The Eternal One. The Sun varies in its total energy output every second. This energy output is, among other things, Gamma and Infrared waves. We must recognise that there are factors which are beyond any possibility of our control. What is impossible for man is not impossible for God.

You can take an ice-core sample from the Arctic or Antartica and see the wide climate change way before the Industrial Revolution. Glaciers have drastically advanced and receded over parts of the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere. The alarmism that is palpable when listening to *scientific panels* who have never once submitted their findings to peer-reviewed academic and scientific journals underscores the *political twisting* of the debate atmosphere. A well-known Danish statistician named Bjorn Lomborg, an environmentalist, took issue with the the way facts were being tampered with in order to steer an agenda. I submit a link to his book entitled *The Skeptical Environmentalist*:

http://www.lomborg.com/

Oh yeah, he does have a Ph.D in Statistics but since he does not follow the status quo of the environmental movement his character has been viciously attacked in the media and by certain other *scientists* and he has also received death threats from the radical movements.

I know I have probably upset the applecart now but I cannot remain silent any longer on this issue.

Regards!

Giovanni


p.s. A recent Arctic expedition with a famous celebrity named Anne Bancroft and her friend in order to prove the *ravages* of global warming had to be cut short since her friend suffered terribly from frostbite.

 

[Ouled Nails]

Not upsetting me, Giovannimusica. When winter gets too long, here in Maine, as it is at this time, I am somewhat reassured that global warming is not progressing too fast. It's not the humans I am especially concerned about; they're resourceful, for the most part, and adaptable. No. I worry about the little things that make life normal, like the bees that bring us food, the caribou calves in northern Canada that cannot follow the herd because the snow has crystallized too early, the loon nests that are lost because water has risen far too high too soon, etc. What's in the balance is not human survival, as far as I'm concerned, and people will keep on burning fossil fuel because they love being alone in their own car, they love the indenpence, the ownership of space, even if it costs them an arm and a leg in gasoline. What's in the balance is the world we knew when we grew up, many decades ago :grin: , wherein seasons followed seasons in a predictable pattern for all living beings. Its an apprehension, not a scientific assertion, a worry that the world in question is losing its balance with all kind of freak accidents of nature occurring at a faster pace and a growing magnitude. But we, humans, are safe, I think....

 

[giovannimusica]

Hi Ouled Nails,

That was an empathetic missive which you posted :up: --- Yes, we humans are resourceful and thankfully so, So much so sometimes that we can tendentially swing in the opposite direction and cause more harm than good economically speaking. Methinks that in the grand scheme of things we're doing alright here on earth. We have built up repositories of genetic material for livestock, birds, bees, flowers, fruits, vegetables, coniferous and deciduous trees and........the list goes on. The picture of a baleful Polar Bear sitting on an iceflo with the caption underneath reading: *He is in vast trouble - please help him* is misleading and cockamamie. The world is a dangerous place to live in.

We were all given brains with which to use in order to make us safe from freak accidents of nature. E.g. New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I am gobsmacked and thoroughly confounded that human folly has permitted the settling of an area which is under sea-level and bordering a coastline. For crying out loud, what should one have expected when the Gulf of Mexico has historically been a severe-weather breeding ground since before the Industrial Revolution. It is heartbreaking to see the misery that so many people have gone through and are going through and for some, who have lost their loved ones, a ghastly tragedy.

I live in Hawaii and every Hurricane season puts one on tenterhooks. One must be prepared for when the *Big One* comes blowing through the neighborhood. Then we also have earthquakes which can drastically effect the Islands - Tsunamis are another thing altogether - they can easily wipe out at least half of the population if not more - too many people live in the inundation zones. I could go on rambling about the hazards but I shant.

I drive a rotary-engined Mazda which, with a few *minor* adjustments can utilize Hydrogen as a fuel, diesel, biodiesel, natural gas, alcohol, ethanol and so forth. I would love to see Hydrogen as a fuel resource but society would need to make massive investments in new powerplants to provide the energy to make Hydrogen as a fuel. Then there are the costs for the distribution network and the specialised service stations for the end-user. Hydrogen also dissipates very rapidly since the Hydrogen molecule is so small - it's called evaporation!!! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - Only a nuclear powerplant the size of the Indian Point plant in New York state can provide the energy necessary to power the facility that will make hydrogen fuel for +/- 10 million vehicles. Then, if one is going to use grain alcohol or ethanol as a fuel source, alot of the countryside that now lies fallow and is sanctuary for many species, will have to be put to use again.

Its all fine and dandy to return to the era of the horse-drawn buggy but it is impractical. Yes, I would love to see a community that could log-on to the web, buy the food, clothing, entertainment, and other goods and services and have it delivered to one's door by the warehouse - a community where people can work from home, be their own boss, not have to commute day in and day out and are educated enough so that they do not have to be employed working for someone else's dream. It is nearly utopian to dream that we could have a society where everyone was a private entrepreneur.

Let me now end this homily of mine by exhorting and encouraging everyone to learn what it is to be an entrepreneur - to provide a good or a service to one's fellow man.

Regards!

Giovanni

 

[zlya]

I'm afraid this isn't a comment on global warming, but a rant about the weather out here in the East.

I'm cold and I'm wet. I walked to work today through driving rain. It's a forty minute walk. My umbrella turned inside out twice (I was able to right it). Not only was the rain horizontal, it seemed to be coming from every direction at once, and a few times the wind nearly blew me out into the middle of the street. My boots were full of water to my ankles. The street was flooded. My skirt got sodden and so tangled around my legs that I couldn't move, unless I hitched it nearly to my thighs. Not a pretty sight.

When I arrived at school (I'm a teacher at a boys middle school), I discovered that my red wool coat had bled all over my clothes, my hands, and my legs, staining me an interestingly mottled red. It was still bleeding profusely, all over the lovely wooden floors of the building. I managed to hang it up in the entrance hall, where it's creating an interestingly suspicious-looking red pool.
A colleague then came up and informed me that the respectable slit in my skirt had ripped nearly to my waist. I tried stapling it closed, but it came unstapled, right in the middle of class. The boys loved that. Finally I found someone with a needle and some thread, and managed to repair it enough for decency. Of course, by this time the sun was shining brilliantly.

Now I sit here at my desk with wet socks and cold feet and red stained clothes and a badly patched skirt in one of the most conservative countries in the world.

This is South Korea.

 

[Ouled Nails]

Hello zlya! The little things, yes? They matter a lot. Frankly I am not qualified Giovannimusica, really not! What do I know? Nothing! It's a little curious though that the USA, China and Saudi Arabia were the countries that most objected to the recent international scientific report on global warming from Brussels. A strange national combination, no? Saudi Arabia, I can understand. They (meaning the extraordinarily wealthy monarchy) must sustain their life style and sell more fossil fuel. They are perfectly consistent with their own economic interests. China? Humm. Perhaps they objected to the phrasing of the scientific report because their unregulated economy is booming -- a sort of "raw" capitalism like it existed in the United States before the Progressive Era and, later, the New Deal. Markets will resolve every problem by some strange, unknown, undefined alchemist formula. No. Markets concern some human interests and they have utterly nothing to do with the habitat in which humans live (unless you make so much money that you can seek shelter from the rest of the world on some insulated island). The third party of politicians to tell the scientists they were, well, exceeding reason, came from the USA. Why should the USA join with Saudi Arabia and China in preventing the full disclosure of scientific projections about the future of the planet? Perhaps because the USA is and has long been the first consumer of resources on this planet, including fossil fuel, and because this sort of life style could be seriously disrupted by a .... life change.

 

[giovannimusica]

Ouled Nails,

Again you post an empathetic response and I fully laud you for it - it shows your commitment and engagement in the debate - right on, dear sir :tiphat: :tiphat: :tiphat:

There are so many variables involved that no one human has all the answers. It does not solve the problem to castigate the latest countries who have their hands and head in the stock. A well educated public is very near and dear to me. As it stands now, even with all the money that Europe and the U.S.A throw into the education mill they produce only a measly small percentage of people that can think independantly. We have Colleges and Universities today that teach people what to think instead of how to think. Thats like putting the cart before the horse.

NO!!! Education is not for political indoctrination and presenting scientific dogma as fact with its own *religious* worldview.

I don't pretend to have all the answers because I don't and freely admit that. However, I do take exception to the mob shouting down those who are invited to speak at Universities when the guest has information that is not in tune with the *status quo*. The same goes for the University who first invites then disinvites, often when the guest speaker has already arrived, because the faculty and radical elements on the campus have manufactured *dirt* about the speaker or the subject matter.

That is not education - that is brainwashing and thought-control.


Regards!

Giovanni

 

[Ouled Nails]

I agree. Yet. the planet is bigger than all the petty things and nasty affairs that go on between human beings. Believe it or not, fellow classical music lover, I care about the future of fish, fowl, reptile, mammal life around me. In fact, after this long winter, why would I look forward to an escapade in the wilderness if it were silent and depopulated. Don't laugh! I have witnessed such a thing in northern Quebec where a pulp and paper company, contributing to our modern media distribution of information, had devastated the landscape virtually just like a moonscape. There is no pleasure, no satisfaction, no well being for any human being in such an environment. One would do just as well to spend a vacation in southern Algeria!

 

[giovannimusica]

Dear Ouled Nails,

I can assure you that all what you have presented in terms of flora and fauna and its survival I have the same reverence for, believe it or not. In Hawaii we have many rare and exotic endemic species which are found nowhere else on the planet. As in my earlier post, I would love to see the day where people didn't have to commute or work for someone else's dream. That they could positively contribute to environmental protection by being able to work at home and not in some downtown high-rise.

Again, I come back to one of my original theses - an educated and informed public will make the necessary life-style changes so that we all and the environment win. There is no place for an *von Oben* attitude from any Washington pol who is a *Besserwisser*. Don't laugh!!! This is not something that is enforced by political fiat with the backing of a gun barrel planted at the base of someone's skull.

Respectfully submitted,

Giovanni

 

[rojo]

Yesterday, it was 27 degrees celsius. About a week ago, we had another snowstorm that left 10 cm of the white stuff. But actually, this is not that unusual. We do tend to get ups and downs like this regularly. Makes for surprises, anyway..

 

[Krummhorn]

Wow, Rojo, that's quite a temperature swing ... spring-like barbeque weather one day and slogging in ones snowshoes the next week ... what are the summers like there?

 

[janny108]

Warm and windy here in AZ.
Jan