Global warming anyone??
So on the way to work this morning my overactive mind wandered over to the topic of global warming and climate change. Now this has been in the news, with most people claiming that it exists and our president claiming that it's all in our heads.
So if there is anybody out there who agrees with the guy with monetary blinders on... here are the signs that I am seeing that global warming and climate change are actually problems.
temperature- UGH... has it ever been hot. I am in a comfortable position to discuss this. I was born and raised in the city in which I currently reside, so I can compare the heat of now to the heat of then. And since my parents are news junkies we can't even factor in the magnification of age because I remember, not individual but general, newscasts.
When I was younger the temperature out here would usually top out when still in the low 80's sometimes high 70's, I mean if it got over ninety we called heat wave. And even then the temperatures only reached those levels in late July and August. This year we have been in the 90's since the end of may. And even farther north, Denver had it's highest temperature ever just over a week ago.
And the past few winters have been relatively mild as well. Fewer days with snow, and where I used to have to wear a heavy jacket all winter long these past few winters I have been able to get away with only a light fleece jacket on all but the coldest days.
animals- I have seen change in some animals about. Now some of these changes can be attributed to population spread, but not all. Probably the most noticable is a new bird species to me this year. I remember in years past seeing a few of these birds, but not in the numbers of this year. They are about the size of a sparrow, but a gorgeous blue. Out here a blue bird stands out, so I generally notice when I see one. And before this year I probably wouldn't have even used up fingers and toes counting how many I'd seen. But this year they were abundant.
I also have to say something about horny toads, as we call them. Now some say that this species is disappearing because of kids like me. I guess they are allergic to human skin oils. But I haven't seen one of these animals since I was ten or twelve. Not even where my parents live now. And there aren't enough people out there to decimate an animal population like there is in town. So where did they go?
weeds- We have some of the strangest weeds this year. Tall stalky things, and they are overtaking our normal weeds, which stay low to the ground and spread out to capture moisture. Now I know that these are most likely the result of heavy spring rains, but we have never seen these weeds before even in wet years. So there must be more than one factor in their appearance.
global- And finally we come to the recent warnings to coastal areas to prepare for an even worse hurricane season. Last year was bad, and it seems like this year will meet it.
famine in Niger and surrounding areas. locusts and not enough rain, why?
permafrost and glaciers melting.
heat wave deaths in Arizona.
and those are just off the top of my head.
So what have you all noticed that shows change in our environment?
So if there is anybody out there who agrees with the guy with monetary blinders on... here are the signs that I am seeing that global warming and climate change are actually problems.
temperature- UGH... has it ever been hot. I am in a comfortable position to discuss this. I was born and raised in the city in which I currently reside, so I can compare the heat of now to the heat of then. And since my parents are news junkies we can't even factor in the magnification of age because I remember, not individual but general, newscasts.
When I was younger the temperature out here would usually top out when still in the low 80's sometimes high 70's, I mean if it got over ninety we called heat wave. And even then the temperatures only reached those levels in late July and August. This year we have been in the 90's since the end of may. And even farther north, Denver had it's highest temperature ever just over a week ago.
And the past few winters have been relatively mild as well. Fewer days with snow, and where I used to have to wear a heavy jacket all winter long these past few winters I have been able to get away with only a light fleece jacket on all but the coldest days.
animals- I have seen change in some animals about. Now some of these changes can be attributed to population spread, but not all. Probably the most noticable is a new bird species to me this year. I remember in years past seeing a few of these birds, but not in the numbers of this year. They are about the size of a sparrow, but a gorgeous blue. Out here a blue bird stands out, so I generally notice when I see one. And before this year I probably wouldn't have even used up fingers and toes counting how many I'd seen. But this year they were abundant.
I also have to say something about horny toads, as we call them. Now some say that this species is disappearing because of kids like me. I guess they are allergic to human skin oils. But I haven't seen one of these animals since I was ten or twelve. Not even where my parents live now. And there aren't enough people out there to decimate an animal population like there is in town. So where did they go?
weeds- We have some of the strangest weeds this year. Tall stalky things, and they are overtaking our normal weeds, which stay low to the ground and spread out to capture moisture. Now I know that these are most likely the result of heavy spring rains, but we have never seen these weeds before even in wet years. So there must be more than one factor in their appearance.
global- And finally we come to the recent warnings to coastal areas to prepare for an even worse hurricane season. Last year was bad, and it seems like this year will meet it.
famine in Niger and surrounding areas. locusts and not enough rain, why?
permafrost and glaciers melting.
heat wave deaths in Arizona.
and those are just off the top of my head.
So what have you all noticed that shows change in our environment?
posted by Phoenixwaller | 11:10 AM
4 Comments:
Atmospheric conditions go in cycles, as has happened for millions of years. The Earth has gone through ice ages, heat waves and plenty of other strange conditions. You really can’t read much into conditions over 25 years when we are talking about cycles that have existed for millions of years. Read what the serious scientists say about it instead of the fad “junk scientists”.
Sarah
Oh no, I agree that there is a cycle. And one volcano can emit more greenhouse gasses in one burp than america can in a year, but even if you look at those cycles we are off. By most accounts we are due or overdue for an ice age, we haven't even had a normal planetary cooldown for several hundred years. The last was in the middle ages, and records show that these happen every few hundred years. Also if the current trend of glacier melt continues we will force ourselve into an ice age.
That was one bit of science that that movie, day after tomorrow, got right. If enough fresh water gets into the oceans it can disrupt those currents that take warm water to the northern parts of the world. Without the temperate water northern Eurpoe and other northern areas freeze. And with the melts there is a great deal of fresh water headed for the oceans.
And it's not just me. I've talked to other natives. One is in her 70's, and she says that even what I remember is warm compared to her childhood.
I'll even give you the fact that the sun is hotter now than in previous cycles, but as a scientist myself I see problems with the current course.
Sarah, I know you are a staunch Republican, and you have probably heard mom's disappointment in me being a republican as well. So I know you are probably confused as to why I am taking this stance. But I had to study some of the same environmental laws that Bush is giving waivers for or repealing entirely, and I know the dangers of those by-products of manufacturing. And I can't ignore it. I used to try and claim planetary cycles myself, and I can't do it anymore. There's just too much.
Finally, even if you think that warming is just part of the cycle, you have to admit that deadly chemicals are not. We have more and more dangerous emissions staying close to the ground as well as more in the upper atmosphere. And we are seeing dangerous health effects from it, and we are not seeing new regulations being passed that would curb the amount of these chemicals. So while global warming is one issue, there is a whole tree of things that are affected by these same blinders.
i am singing the REM song , it's the end of the world , as we know it ... and i feel fine ...
LOL @ Thomcat!
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