Tag: Global warming

The Weather Report

Well the government has shut down and DC will draw to a stand still……but the weather NEVER stops…….

The last week it has been colder than a witch’s tit in a brass bra…..even as far South as the Gulf Coast had snow, sleet and a week of below freezing temps….but with all the cold in 2018……but Moscow is the coldest…….

If Russian winters weren’t miserable and dreary, we wouldn’t have Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. In fact, the month of December 2000 saw just three hours of sunlight in Moscow, the New York Times reports. That benchmark was just shattered, however, with Moscow experiencing its “darkest December” ever, the paper notes, soaking in a whole six minutes of sun over all of last month. The average for December in the country’s capital is 18 hours. This followed an atypically wet and chilly summer, which prompted more than the usual number of calls to local mental health services and visits to psychiatrists. “When they hear about this, many people say, ‘It’s clear now why I was depressed,'” Roman Vilfand, the head of Russia’s weather service, says. Vilfand notes the bleakness was brought about by warm air masses sweeping in from the Atlantic and saturating the sky with clouds.

The lack of sunlight isn’t the only issue now that it’s winter. With the darkness comes extreme cold, with temperatures throughout Russia plummeting into deep-freeze territory. In Yakutsk (also spelled Yakutia), generally considered to be the country’s coldest area, temps have hovered at around minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the BBC reports. The Siberian Times notes it was so cold in Oymyakon, sometimes dubbed the coldest village in the world, that a new, recently installed electronic thermometer actually broke. To underscore the brutal weather, one local Yakutskian posted a picture of herself on Instagram showing her bundled up, her eyelashes crusted with ice. “This is nothing but a trip to work in [-52],” she posted. “Now, every girl in Yakutsk has a photo like this.” (It’s approaching Antarctic levels there.)

2017 has been one of the hottest on record…..

Earth last year wasn’t quite as hot as 2016’s record-shattering mark, but it ranked second or third, depending on who was counting. Either way, scientists say it showed a clear signal of man-made global warming because it was the hottest year they’ve seen without an El Nino boosting temperatures naturally. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United Kingdom’s meteorological office on Thursday announced that 2017 was the third hottest year on record. At the same time, NASA and researchers from a nonprofit in Berkeley, California, called it the second. The agencies slightly differ because of how much they count an overheating Arctic, where there are gaps in the data. The global average temperature in 2017 was 58.51 degrees, which is 1.51 degrees above the 20th century average and just behind 2016 and 2015, NOAA said.

During an El Nino year—when a warming of the central Pacific changes weather worldwide—the globe’s annual temperature can spike, naturally, by a tenth or two of a degree, scientists said. There was a strong El Nino during 2015 and 2016. But 2017 finished with a La Nina, the cousin of El Nino that lowers temperatures, reports the AP. Had there been no man-made warming, 2017 would have been average or slightly cooler than normal, said National Center for Atmospheric Research climate scientist Ben Sanderson. The observed warming has been predicted within a few tenths of a degree in computer simulations going back to the 1970s and 1980s, several scientists said. It has been 33 years since the last month that the globe was cooler than normal, according to NOAA.

Have a good day….keep warm

Closing Thought–10Jul17

There is a debate going on about climate change…well there is a discussion because twats are denying there there is anything different….that nothing is changing and if it does it is only as nature wants.

Well and good but I personally do not give a shit which side one cares to take….I am talking about what I see….you may dispute what I see that is your right as it is my right to think negatively……

I have a small orchard with plums, tangerines, satsumas, limes, peaches and olives and since we have NO winter to speak of here in my state these trees do not bear the way they should…so something is changing and not for the good…..10 years ago I was getting so much fruit I was having to can to keep from losing the crop…..these days I do get enough to make a good snack.

I then read an article about the change climate here in the South……

As the United States confronts global warming in the decades ahead, not all states will suffer equally. Maine may benefit from milder winters. Florida, by contrast, could face major losses, as deadly heat waves flare up in the summer and rising sea levels eat away at valuable coastal properties.

In a new study in the journal Science, researchers analyzed the economic harm that climate change could inflict on the United States in the coming century. They found that the impacts could prove highly unequal: states in the Northeast and West would fare relatively well, while parts of the Midwest and Southeast would be especially hard hit.

There is some good news for some states other than the South but since I live in the area mentioned I really do not give a crap about Ohio or New York or any state in the Northern quadrant….sorry about that just being honest.
Not good news for my orchard….the one upside is that the olive trees are doing well these days so there is that……
There is nothing I can do to change this….I need a winter of freezing weather for the fruit to set without it I got a tree…all this is sad because I do love my fruit…well maybe things will improve when my granddaughter inherits the house and land…..
Day is done……..I am off like a dirty shirt…..be well, be safe….chuq

Closing Thought–13Feb17

Climate Change!

Today I would like to talk about climate change…..there is a wealth of articles written, research published and opinions ad nauseum……I am going to look at it from my small little slice of this globe…..

I have fruit trees….citrus, plum, peach, fig and olive…..most of these plants need “X” amount of cool to cold weather to make the fruit set for the harvest…..in the past I have harvested really large amounts……especially the plum and the peach….but in the last 5 years crops have been dismal…..with the exception of the citrus…they have loved the warmed temps…..everything else is suffering from these warmer temps…..it sucks!

I personally do not care what is causing it just that it is keeping me from my fresh fruit…..my consumption is way down…that makes for irritated chuq…LOL

Just yesterday we set a new record for that day in February….76 degrees….that sucks when it is still winter!  So that damn woodchuck was full of sh*t as far as my region goes.

Got that off my chest….my day is over and relaxation is the rule for the rest of the day….see you tomorrow and thanx for the visits and the comments they are much appreciated.  Peace out

Looky Looky Who Wants To Be A Czar

We have been watching as Pres.-elect Trump has been meeting this person and that….he is in search for key positions within his new government…and then there are those charges of nepotism…you know using his kids and family to load up the government positions….personally I think he is smarter than that….but there is one person in his family that might be a good choice.

The position is the new “climate czar” and the person is his daughter…..say what?

Politico is out with an interesting feature on Ivanka Trump that points out she might be the first “first daughter” in history to eclipse the first lady in influence. But perhaps the most intriguing part of the story is that it says she is planning to make climate change one of her “signature issues.” While the president-elect considers the issue to be mostly bunk, Ivanka Trump disagrees, and a source tells Politico that she’s already planning on how to make use of her public profile to push the issue. “If she can pull it off, her advocacy could come as a bit of solace to fearful Americans,” writes Annie Karni. She adds that nobody is closer to Donald Trump than Ivanka, who remains in relatively good standing in elite liberal circles.

Meanwhile, an analysis at the New York Times might also soothe fears of those who think a Trump White House will be disastrous in terms of progress on global warming. The gist of the piece by Eduardo Porter suggests that even if Trump reneges on last year’s Paris accord and kills Obama programs such as the Clean Power Plan, the momentum toward cleaner energy is impossible to stop. He cites a report by the Breakthrough Institute that suggests the importance of international treaties may be overstated when it comes to reducing carbon. The takeaway: “As long as [Trump] keeps the nation’s nuclear power plants online, continues tax incentives for wind and solar energy, and stays out of the way of the shale energy revolution, ‘the US might outperform the commitments that the Obama administration made in Paris,'” say the researchers.

Would she be a better choice?  It depends…she will have her daddy’s ear and she thinks the climate change is a coming problem….it should work out for the better.

She has taken to meeting with Al Gore on the climate thingy….maybe she is serious…..

Ivanka Trump is meeting Monday with climate change activist and former vice president Al Gore.

The President-elect’s daughter, who reportedly wants to make global warming one of her signature issues, will meet with Gore at Trump Tower in Manhattan, according to transition spokesman Jason Miller.

Source: Ivanka Trump to meet with Al Gore | TheHill

Of course all this is speculative until he announces his choice….but it is a damn sight better than one of the toads that hates science.

Thoughts?

Admit Jimmy Carter Was Right

For decades Jimmy Carter has been the whipping post of the nose picking Right…..but his admin had some good program ideas that never got a chance….he also was instrumental to finding a peace, although not lasting, between Israel and Palestine, of which he gets little credit…..finally he was the closest thing we have had as president that is a true Christian…..

These days there is lots of back and forth on climate change or global warming or dinosaurs farts….science is ignored all in favor of some continuous BS….but Carter had an idea on this problem back in the 70’s and it was a good one…sadly he got no chance to put his ideas into motion……(and we know why don’t we?)…….

Americans, who hate to be told they must change, roundly condemned Jimmy Carter’s memorable “Crisis of Confidence” speech of July 15, 1979. In it, Carter outlined a program for achieving energy independence: “On the battlefield of energy we can win for our nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny.”

We admirers have long endured ridicule whenever we dared to defend Carter’s prescient plan for reducing U.S. dependence on oil.

But today, after all the abuse and scorn heaped on Jimmy Carter and his supporters, we find ourselves paying more than $4 a gallon at the pump to fill our hulking gas guzzlers.

It turns out that Carter was right after all.

Source: History News Network | Is it Safe Now to Admit Jimmy Carter Was Right?

They say hindsight is 20/20 but it would not be needed if there were more people of courage and vision like Jimmy Carter.

All I know is my area use to get 10-12 inches of rain during the summer months…..these days we are lucky to see 4….something is going on and something needs to be paid attention to or the results could be dire.

Is The Persian Gulf Doomed?

The Persian Gulf has been a source of contention for centuries…..everybody that borders on the sea has claimed dominance at one time or the other….

The Persian Gulf seems to always be in the news…..either we are worried that someone will try to close it off or we hear all about the business opportunities if you happen to be a multi-national corporation to the proximity to Iran and the dangers that that might entail….

In case you are not aware of the location of what we call the Persian Gulf…..

Wars are being fought all around the Persian Gulf….Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen….something that has been a common denominator over the years….but there seems to be a new enemy of the region…..

A stark warning, even by the standards of climate research: If emissions continue at their current level, parts of the Persian Gulf region will simply become too hot and humid for people to survive in. Researchers say that by the end of this century, the combined heat and humidity “wet bulb” index in the region could hit 165 to 170 degrees during the worst heat waves, creating sauna-like conditions that even the healthiest person couldn’t survive in outdoors for more than six hours, the Smithsonian reports. The researchers, writing in the journal Nature, say conditions will exceed the “threshold for human adaptability” in cities including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and, on the other side of the Gulf, Bandar Abbas in Iran.

The researchers say that while air conditioning may keep wealthier areas inhabitable, that’s not an option for people in countries like Yemen. And in the years ahead, the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia could become exceptionally deadly in summer months. “Some of the scariest prospects from a changing clime involve conditions completely outside the range of human experience,” a Carnegie Institution for Science climate researcher tells the AP. “If we don’t limit climate change to avoid extreme heat or mugginess, the people in these regions will likely need to find other places to live.” The researchers say the deadly level of heat can be avoided with relatively modest emissions cuts, the Smithsonian notes

If the trend continues then the only thing the Persian Gulf will be noted for is……. OIL.

Keep in mind that the region we call the Sahara use to be a vast wetlands with a multitude of animals and people…..and as they say….look at it now.

Clean Power Plan Hailed as Ambitious, Insufficient | Al Jazeera America

A few days ago the Prez made his big climate change speech…….it was hailed as an impressive speech and it was belittled by the deniers as a “chicken Little” moment…….but was the speech all that or was there holes in it?

We all know that something must be done…..well anyone with an IQ larger than their shoe size…….but is this going to be the cure all that we all search for?

Personally, I think not……anytime you look for reform then the opponents have won…….you either do it or go home!

 

Clean Power Plan Hailed as Ambitious, Insufficient | Al Jazeera America.

Climate Change: Speak No Evil

How many times do we hear about the consequences of our actions concerning the planet…….and how many arguments against any changes that would possibly effect the globe?

Hell, there is a whole network, media type, that has made its living off all deniers……but we are all free to say and believe what we want about the ups and downs of climate change….all of us……….. with the exception of state workers in Florida……

At Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection, employees whose jobs include preparing for the effects of climate change and sea-level rise say life got a little tougher after Rick Scott took office in 2011 and the use of terms like “climate change,” “global warming,” and “sea-level rise” was banned. Past and present DEP employees say the “unwritten” policy has been bad for educational efforts and public policy, according to the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting. One former employee tells the FCIR that she was told orders had come down from the governor’s office that they were “not allowed to discuss anything that was not a true fact” and the terms should be avoided. She says a suggested replacement for “sea-level rise” was “nuisance flooding.”

A former attorney with the DEP’s Office of General Counsel tells FCIR that “sustainability” was also on the list of terms he was told not to use in meetings or on state documents; he thinks the issue is about more than just a dispute of phrasing, it is “an indication that the political leadership in the state of Florida is not willing to address these issues and face the music when it comes to the challenges that climate change presents.” Gov. Scott, a Republican who was re-elected last year, refuses to say whether he thinks there is a link between human activity and climate change, and has said, “I’m not a scientist” when asked about it, the Guardian reports.

With all the rumblings and mutterings about our rights to say what we think……is this not somehow a violation of that right?

The problem will go away if the name is not spoken?

God I love Florida!  (Sarcasm in the n-th degree)

Remember Climate Change?

With all the shootings, deaths, hackings and just mind numbing gossip I had thought that the issue of climate change was off the radar at least until the 2016 campaigns……but it appears that I may have been mistaken…….

Think back for a moment…..recall when the big news was the cow farts was the leading cause of climate change?

Well there seems that ‘science’ and I use the term loosely has found a new culprit to blame for the changes…….anyway it is a culprit you would never suspect……

We were just trying to help. Turns out the efforts of humankind to save beavers from extinction over the past century have had an eco-unfriendly side effect: The animals, whose population has rebounded, are contributing to climate change, researchers say at EurekAlert. Beaver dams create shallow ponds, which can host growing levels of carbon as biological material accumulates on the floor. The result is methane, a greenhouse gas that doesn’t dissolve in the ponds; instead, it travels into the atmosphere. These days, beaver ponds release 200 times more methane than they did in 1900, when centuries of hunting threatened the animals with extinction.

Today, the animals are definitely doing better; in fact, there are about 10 million of them, researchers in Canada figured in a new study. One result of that is some 16,000 square miles of dammed ponds, which has led to the release of some 882,000 tons of methane, or 15% of what deer, antelope, and other cud-chewing wild creatures produce. And that figure could grow, says a researcher. Beavers aren’t the only rodents to blame for climate change, the Independent reports: Arctic squirrels are doing their share, too, say US scientists. They dig burrows, which warms the ground and helps melt permafrost, where carbon has been building up “for tens of thousands of years,” an expert explains. (Meanwhile, swamp rats are shrinking Louisiana.)

Will the ‘deniers’ now support a jihad aimed at beavers?  They were quick to jump on cows farting.  And what about those damn ground squirrels?

There you have the big news in climate science….BTW the other story mentioned in that piece is also as interesting as this one……get it a try.