Posted by:
tgcorley
at Wed Dec 29 10:29:34 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by tgcorley ]
You make some nice points, Craig. Thanks!
Most climatologists prefer the term "global climate change" to "global warming" even though the temperature of Earth's oceans and atmosphere are increasing ON THE AVERAGE, which does NOT mean that it's getting warmer at every location on the planet. One reason for this preference in terminology is that it is more descriptively accurate at the local level, which is where most people (i.e., nonscientists) draw their inferences. The most pronounced warming has been observed at higher latitudes -- not in the lower 48 (witness the shrinking of the annual sea-ice extent in the Arctic Ocean and the accelerated melting of the Greenland ice cap).
Warmer air (in the Arctic's case, not WARM air, just warmer than usual) can hold more moisture, which has led to snow coverage in Siberia being earlier and more extensive than usual this year, which in turn has led to greater deviations in the jet stream, which has recently pulled unusually cold air into northern Europe, which has had record low temperatures over the past weeks. Thus "global warming" can lead to record low winter temperatures in the so-called temperate zones. The point is that to understand what's happening with climate on a global scale, one should not focus on one's local weather, but rather on the larger (global) scheme of things. Weather and climate are related, but they are not the same thing.
More meaningful discussions and policy decisions can be made if the public is well informed about the science of climate change. It is indeed unfortunate that now many folks in this country are being actively misinformed by some media outlets that are motivated more by the politics of their presidents and boards of directors rather than a desire to provide the most accurate information to the public. I think that we "can handle the truth", and that we deserve better. OK, I'll come down off the soap box.
I'll close with this: Best wishes to all for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011!
[ Hide Replies ]
- JLassiter-Global Warming or IceAge - pyromaniac, Tue Dec 28 10:13:10 2010
- RE: JLassiter-Global Warming or IceAge - DMong, Tue Dec 28 11:21:13 2010
- RE: JLassiter-Global Warming or IceAge - Jlassiter, Tue Dec 28 12:12:46 2010
- RE: JLassiter-Global Warming or IceAge - CrimsonKing, Tue Dec 28 13:56:51 2010
- RE: JLassiter-Global Warming or IceAge - brianm616, Tue Dec 28 17:04:03 2010
- I remember.... - a153fish, Tue Dec 28 18:55:39 2010
- RE: JLassiter-Global Warming or IceAge - gregspencer, Tue Dec 28 19:01:48 2010
- RE: JLassiter-Global Warming or IceAge - Beaker30, Wed Dec 29 08:25:41 2010
 RE: JLassiter-Global Warming or IceAge - tgcorley, Wed Dec 29 10:29:34 2010
- RE: JLassiter-Global Warming or IceAge - pyromaniac, Wed Dec 29 14:56:32 2010
- Global Warming or IceAge - JYohe, Wed Dec 29 15:34:48 2010
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