I don’t want to pick on anybody, especially one of Illinois' better bloggers (who does clarify his statements in his comments), but the heat wave we are currently experiencing is not, in itself, indicative of global warming. I bring this up because I’ve seen global warming tied to the recent heat in more than one place now.
Is the globe warming? Certainly and without a doubt it is. However, individual events like a heat wave or cold snap do not prove anything either way. We have heat waves most summers. In fact, I can remember years ago when we used to occasionally hit 100 degrees, something that seems not to happen as frequently anymore. None of this is proof or disproof of global warming. Global warming is actually rather subtle until it reaches a tipping point when seas begin to rise along with a host of other environmental changes, some of which we are already beginning to see. But this particular heat wave? Nah, just some hot weather. It’s the long term averages that matter.
Update: I just noticed the president of the Springfield School Board is using global warming to justify the idea of putting air conditioning in all Springfield schools.
"Maybe some people poo-poo the whole global warming thing, but I think things are getting hotter, and I think it's staying warmer longer in the year, and I think that as a board and as a community we need to come up with some kind of solution," said school board president Cheryl Wise.Crap like this only trivializes the very serious issue of global warming.
3 comments:
Yes I agree I think global warming perhaps even Global Warning Warming would be a better name has a huuuuge part to play in this heat heat hotttt wave!
We need to take better care of this planet which seems to be withering away beneath our feet
In 1934-36 the teps for most of the summer were above 95 and many days above 100. I really doubt any talk about global warming was taking place. Have any of you people figured it out yet??? It is Friggin summer...it gets hot, sometimes steamy. Damn people give it a break. I hope we have one of the coldest winters on record with huge amounts of snow. Maybe that will shut some of you up about this normal summer weather.
A fact usually lost in all of the talk of Global Warming is the fact that the phenomena is a result in the average temperatures on earth rising slightly, but it doesn't always result in hot temps.
Global warming can affect ocean currents and thus disrupt weather patterns catastrophically eventually.
But one effect of warming temps is that it can alter ocean temps and currents which has a large bearing on weather patterns around the earth and pretty much dictates which areas are desert and arid and which are rainy.
But as a result of global warming, it can actually cause winters to be more severe, or result in more extreme temperatures, increased number of storma as well as increased severity of storms.
So if the point trying to be made her is that many hot days and a widespread heat wave isn't specifically evidence of global warming, that's not hard to understand.
But, I maintain that the fact that these heat waves are more numerous and that there's clear evidence that average global temps are indeed rising, with every indication and measurment showing that they are poised to rise at an ever increasing rate, makes it rather foolish to dismiss the evidence we see and feel around us.
The heat wave may not be a direct result of warming, but..... then again, it may be.
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