Are you global warming enthusiaists paying attention?

Question

All 4 weather tracking entities,Hadley,Giss,Uah and RSS have all said the global temperture dropped one degree this year. The basis for global warming was that the earth had heated up 1 degree in 100 years. And this cooling touches the entire earth. Places reaching new lows include Minn,Tex,Fla,Mexico,Australia,Greece,Ind... Africa,Greenland,Argintina and Chile.

The US had it's most snow cover in 52 years. China has had it's most in over 100 years and Isreal and Iraq have seen their first snow ever.

I will bet my life savings that at least on global warming disciple says the cold weather proves there is global warming. Any takers?

Answer 1

I'm actually a geophysical enthusiast who pays attention to climate change because I am a natural experimentalist.  A lot of people like me, some of them far more misanthropic than I am even, are looking at what is going on thinking "Righteous!"  The reason is if people like me went to people like you and said:

"Hey, we have this smashing idea for an experiment that would be totally awesome if it works.  A few of us think that if we put a bunch of CO2 and CH4 and N2O into the atmosphere we can make the planet warm up a few degrees.  A few of us think nothing will happen, a few think the planet will warm, and a few don't know.  If the planet warms up, worst case is that climate could change, sea level might rise a few meters inundating a lot of cities and coastland, croplands might become too arid for agriculture causing food shortages, summers might become unbearable in some locations, oh and we might trigger a runaway greenhouse effect and sterilize the planet except for the thermophiles.  Whaddaya say?"

You wouldn't let us do it because you would be all scared of the negative consequences, which are only *possibilities*.  But the joke, as far as us geophysical experimentalists are concerned, is that because you love your creature comforts so much you not only will let us do the experiment, in fact you are *stopping* us from not doing the experiment.  I'm not sure if that is the literary definition of irony, but climate skeptics like you crack me up because most of you are the NIMBY types who wouldn't want anything new unless it gave them a woodie, tastier beer with fewer calories, or involved a bigger hamburger with more cheese and bacon on it.  

Anyway, thanks for allowing this grand experiment to continue.  It is an exciting time to be involved in geophysics.

Answer 2

This cold weather proves that La Nina is having an effect. Why would I call myself an "enthusiast" for GW. As if those of us who agree with the theory of AGW are enthusiastic about seeing our planet change because of human influence. If that is what you think of people, I'm suspect of your thought processes.

Don't forget that Australia had the warmest January on record and Europe has had what is becoming a normal mild winter.

Poet - that is kind of a childish statement you made about Thor...nahnah I make more than you do! You sound like a 6 year old.

Answer 3

Your question plus Dana's answer adds up to this: even if the late 20th century warming was man-made, it's still within the range of normal temperature variability: less than a year of natural cooling offset a generation of man-made warming.

The bigger picture is that what's going on now is a repeat of the MWP.    Has either side paid attention?    Both the global climate and regional sub-climates are tracking in line with what happened 1000 years earlier.

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp...

And last time obviously we had nothing to do with it.

Answer 4

Sure, if you had done any REAL research, you would know that Global Warming is a misnomer for Climate Change. Doesn't seem to make a difference in the polar regions does it?

Answer 5

You guys crack me up. You link to a blog and that's your "proof"? LOL

Average global temperature for the last 12-months (2/2007 - 1/2008) is 0.504 C above the base period of 1951 - 1980.  That's more than 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2004.

The saying "you doth protest too much" couldn't be more appropriate than when applied to people that confuse short-term weather fluctuations with the long term climate trend which is clearly getting warmer.

Edit:

Kent (Nancy) - The author of the paper you linked too (Dr. Richard Seager) agrees with Dana (if I may use his name) and I that:

"Based on current scientific understanding, this requires that global greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by at least 50% below their 1990 levels by the year 2050. In the long run, greenhouse gas concentrations need to be stabilised at a level well below 450 ppm (parts per million; measured in CO2-equivalent concentration). In order to stay below 2 ºC, global emissions must peak and decline in the next 10 to 15 years, so there is no time to lose."

http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/index...

Edit 2:

Self-Correction: I was looking at the wrong data column in my spreadsheet when I first posted.  The past 12-months are actually warmer than 1999 & 2000 (1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993 .....), but not 2001 or 2004.

Answer 6

It doesn't matter. If it keeps cooling they will shriek global cooling and apply for federaL GRANTS LIKE THEY DID IN THE 70'S........jUST ANOTHER INCONVENIENT TRUTH

Answer 7

Why ask a question when your mind is so strongly fixed.

With the amount of chemical emissions made by humanity how can we NOT impact the environment. But dont let sense and reason cloud your faith that the world is alright.

Oh and Mahar, dont believe in Evolution huh... well I guess the world is flat and the sun orbits us just as the church had said in the dark ages. Dont let scientific proof and reason block your faith either. After all... Science is just guess work.

Sigh... Go on refute me on your technical marvel... ahem I mean magical object of god complete with glowing screen and magical keyboard.

Thumbs down please people... Like I know your going to!!!

Answer 8

Your information is not accurate.  The surface temperature records have shown that global temperature dropped an average of 0.5-0.75°C from January 2007 (which was the hottest single month on record) to January 2008 (which was during the peak of a La Nina cycle).  Here is the NASA GISS data, which showed the largest drop.

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabled...

Just like the fact that January 2007 being 0.87°C above the 1951-1980 average didn't mean that global warming had suddenly accelerated, the fact that January 2008 was only 0.12°C *above* the average doesn't mean that global warming has stopped or that we're headed for global cooling.

It's one month.  It might end up being a couple of months of relatively cool temperatures overall, depending on how long this strong La Nina cycle lasts.

That's it.  If we have a couple years of cool temperatures, then you have something to talk about.  If you think one month proves anything, you need to either take a science class, statistics class, and/or learn the difference between climate and weather.

*edit* I didn't say anything was a myth, I said it was a short-term effect.  For a self-proclaimed poet your reading comprehension is severely lacking.  Not as lacking as your scientific comprehension, of course.

Answer 9

So far you owe your life savings.   I'm suspecting that is a negative number and you're about to have your house repossessed, so don't bother sending it to me.   What happens if next years average is 2 degrees warmer than this year?   Is that solid proof that climate change is even more drastic than previously thought since it warmed as much in one year as it has in the past 100?    The problem with most Americans is they can't look at the longterm effects of their actions.   That's why Japan, which looks 20 or more years ahead when planning a project is so far ahead of US.

Answer 10

i don't know if u are right are wrong add some links to these details and then put your babble. i just want to say the ones of us that believe the inconvenient truth are in no way enthusiastic about the destruction of our world. if it is cooling then maybe the people that have went green are doing some good.

Answer 11

NOOOO! You are he who tells lies. Global Warming is real. I see it every day. The sun is the future of the earth, if we don't stop global warming. I don't care what your science says our (and yours too)  Messiah (Al Gore) and our Prophet (Barack HUSSEIN!! Obama) tell us,  truth. Don't be a scoffer come to the light with us see it through our eyes. Of course you have to have an I.Q of less then Forest Gump, or pretend you are 5 and believe in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. So if you believe in Rabbits that lay chicken eggs, The THEORY of evolution is real to.