Snow in Baghdad, but global warming rages on
It’s not often that it snows in Baghdad. In fact, no one can remember the last time it happened.
But just because it has now snowed in Baghdad for the first time in anyone’s memory doesn’t mean that global warming isn’t raging on unabated, killjoy climate experts are rushing to tell us. Don’t let this one little cold weather anomaly get you too excited because it doesn’t mean a thing and mankind is still rushing headlong toward planetary catastrophe.
Nonetheless, that didn’t stop locals from taking delight in the beautiful and unheard of sight and declaring it an omen of peace.
“It is the first time we’ve seen snow in Baghdad,” said 60-year-old Hassan Zahar. “A few minutes ago, I was covered with snowflakes. In my hair, on my shoulders. I invite all the people to enjoy peace, because the snow means peace,” he said.
It’s a lovely sentiment and if you believe many climatologists, peace in the Middle East is a much more likely scenario than a reversal of the runaway train of catastrophic global warming. Sure, the warmest year for the planet was back in 1998, a full ten years ago, but that is nothing more than a nattering detail.
“Global warming has not stopped,” said Amir Delju, senior scientific coordinator of the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) climate program. He went on to say that climate change, primarily caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases, would bring bigger swings in the weather alongside a continuing warming trend.
“The more frequent occurrence of extreme events all over the world — floods in Australia, heavy snowfall in the Middle East — can also be signs of warming,” Delju said.
Oh, okay, now I get it. I’m kicking myself for not figuring this out sooner. All extreme weather events, even of the cold variety, are signs of global warming. Makes perfect sense, what was I thinking?
So, presumably that would include one of the coldest winters ever in South America last year which included record low temperatures, widespread frost and the first snow in Buenos Aires in 89 years. And Australia’s coldest June on record. And New Zealand’s record spring lows. And the first significant snowfall in a quarter-century in Johannesburg. And the record snowfall that fell in New Hampshire last month. And the snow in Malibu last year. And the . . .
Well, you get the idea. Every weather extreme of every sort is further proof of anthropogenic global warming. But doggone it, there are still “some people,” according to Rajendra Pachauri, head of the UN Climate Panel that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, “who would want to find every single excuse to say that this is all hogwash.”
Yeah, well, excuse me for living–and excuse me for having a bit of trouble grappling with the concept that the ultimate result of human productivity will be the destruction of the planet. Can the climate Cassandras possibly get how counterintuitive that seems to us common folk who instead have the idea that productivity is a good thing?
Delju said that temperatures would have to be flat for several more years before a lack of new record warm years would become significant, or, that is, before we could “say that this is all hogwash.” If it happens, though, don’t expect the doomsters to go away quietly without a fight, and without a phantasmagorical web of explanations and rationalizations about why they got it all wrong.
Greg Strange provides conservative commentary with plenty of acerbic wit on the people, politics, events and absurdities of our time. See more at his website: http://www.greg-strange.com/.
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January 11th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
[...] | Fri Jan 11, 2008 Global Warming or Not? This from Britain on the same day that SNOW FELL IN BAGHDAD: The most pessimistic predictions of sea level rises as ice sheets are melted by global warming [...]
January 11th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Greg, you’re doing what every person who has not studied earth sciences does; you are equating weather to climate……….apples to oranges.
The scientists told us long ago the weather would push the envelope in every direction, just as it has been doing.
But weather is not climate. The whole year of weather last year is not climate.
An example of climate is that in the past twenty years there has been double the amount of devastating hurricanes than in the past. That’s climate. An average of weather over long periods of time.
Please learn more about climate before trying to dispute a mountain of scientific research and confusing people about a very frightening future that we have in the later part of this century.
January 11th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
d. beck,
Actually, I do know the difference between weather and climate. I worked in the meteorological field for 17 years. What is your expertise in the field, or are you just another inexplicable devotee to anthropogenic global warming who for some perverse psychological reason has a need to believe in doomsday scenarios caused by man?
I know that the weather has always “pushed the envelope in every direction,” it didn’t just start during the relatively recent global warming hysteria. I also know that the incidence and intensity of hurricanes runs in 20-30 year cycles and right now we happen to be in a cycle of increased incidence and intensity. Those cycles have been occuring since long before anyone heard of global warming. And a funny thing, in the last two years there’s been one landfalling hurricane in the U.S. After Katrina in 2005, we were promised lots more where that came from, but it didn’t quite pan out.
Here are some excerpts from a 2005 article that appeared in USA Today a few months after Katrina:
(http://www.usatoday.com/weather/stormcenter/2005-11-30-hurricane-cycle_x.htm)
“Natural climate conditions, not global warming, created the record-breaking 2005 tropical storm season, the nation’s top hurricane experts said Tuesday.”
“Meteorologists refer to such an active hurricane cycle as the “multi-decadal signal.” It can last for 30 years. The current period began in 1995. A record 26 tropical storms formed this season, which began June 1 and ends today.”
“‘It’s not related’ to global warming, Bell said. The same conditions occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, the last period of above-normal hurricane activity.”
“William Gray, head of Colorado State University’s Tropical Meteorology Project, also says on his website that there’s no evidence that global warming has caused more hurricanes.”
“Despite a rise in ocean temperatures worldwide in recent decades, there has not been a worldwide increase in the number or intensity of tropical storms. Only the Atlantic Ocean has had an increase, which Gray attributes to natural cycles.”
I don’t deny that there has been some degree of global warming, but I question how much is being caused by humans and projections of how much warmer it will get. It might be a lot, it might be only a little. Given the complexity of our planet and its atmosphere, there is absolutely no way to be sure. Some scientists believe most of the warming has to do with a solar cycle and has little or nothing to do with us. If that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do about it.
But whatever the cause of global warming and however warmer it might get, I am confident that humans can adapt without having to throw modern civilization as we know it out the window. As for your advice about not disputing “a mountain of scientific research,” here’s a quote from the 1970s when global cooling was all the rage:
“We simply cannot afford to gamble. We cannot
risk inaction. The scientists who disagree are acting
irresponsibly. The indications that our climate can soon
change for the worse are too strong to be reasonably ignored.”
Guess what? The predicted impending ice age failed to materialize.
January 12th, 2008 at 1:47 am
First, please tell us (new listeners) what your experience is. Seventeen years is a very long time to become familiar with the differences between climate and weather. I apologize for my ignorance of your expertise.
For myself, I studied earth sciences in college and found the field the most interesting and compelling subject I had ever seen. But since then, I read a few reports from foreign news services that told of very horrific scientific field studies, so I set up google alerts for “climate change” and “global warming” and I have been up to the minute with the research for over two years now. And it is scary what these researchers are finding…….and the US media is not passing this stuff on to the American public. You need to get your news from another source than any of the major networks here.
You said “the weather has always “pushed the envelope in every direction,” it didn’t just start during the relatively recent global warming hysteria.”
I will argue that point. The weather has always set new records, but just listen to this!
-The first ever hurricane in the Persian Gulf
-The strongest thunderstorm in recorded history (sustained winds of 65
mph) ‘05 near St Louis, Mo.
-The first ever hurricane hit Brazil last year.
-The first ever hurricane hit Spain last year.
-In May a tornado over two miles wide wiped a town in Kansas off the map.
-The first ever hurricane to hit Iran last year.
-And lets not forget snow in South Africa…
-And snow in …..WHERE…..BAGHDAD?????
Weather events like these have always been in our past. I can remember every couple of years there would be an over the top event. But in the past two years there has been a huge number of ‘over the top’ events. Can you deny that Greg?
Greg, anyone who promises weather events is a fool, and you should know that. Weather predictions of more than a few days in advance are wishful thinking.
We were told that there is evidence of an increase in cat 4 and 5 storms over the past 20 years, but that doesn’t mean that it will incrementally increase every single year. That is the most important thing to remember. It is an average that is being tabulated by climatologists. It will never be a steady increase in either direction. Weather is fickle. That is what the climate averages attempt to show.
“We were promised lots more”. Greg, you should be intelligent enough to know that no one can promise weather beyond one or two days.
The ‘05 season was very intense, and it took immense amounts of heat from the tropical Atlantic to higher latitudes. Consequently, in the past few years the hurricane season has been closer to average, but look at what has been happening in the west Pacific – Many devastating tropical storms and typhoons similar to ‘05 in the Atlantic basin. The next few years in the Pacific may return to normal because of the cooling off of the tropical Pacific just as the cooling of the Atlantic from the ‘05 season.
Mr. Gray says “that there’s no evidence that global warming has caused more hurricanes.” Well of course there is no evidence. That is a ridiculous statement from one of the most knowledgeable hurricane experts on the planet. I cannot explain why he would say that but he knows that there can never be any ‘evidence’ of any weather event caused by GW.
Mr. Gray can attribute the increase in tropical storms to whatever he likes. He is guessing like everyone else. And I hear that the tropical storms in the west Pacific are on the rise in frequency and intensity. But don’t try to pin that to GW because nobody knows.
And yes, there are natural cycles…..what scientist has denied that? Tell me his name. There is none.
What they are saying is that AGW is adding to whatever natural cycle is in play. But most people want to hear of a smoking gun. There is none. It is cumulative. We are adding to it. And our emissions of CO2 are the only handle on it we have.
Greg, it was reported just two days ago that the first sunspot of the 11 year cycle appeared. Doesn’t that pretty much eliminate the Sun as the cause of the past ten years of warming? You tell me.
January 12th, 2008 at 6:22 am
and the US media is not passing this stuff on to the American public.
d. beck, I was going to comment on the many “evidences” you cited, but then I thought “why bother”? This one comment shows how little knowledge you actually use. The US media is so doom-and-gloom on GW it’s ridiculous, and you think they’re “not passing this stuff on”. Obviously you only see what you want to see, so theres no reason to argue.
January 12th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Squig, here is a list of reports from foreign news services. You tell me the truth squig, how many of these did you read or hear about…….be honest now squg.
2) Dec. ‘06 – Globe is Warming Faster Than Scientist’s worst predictions. Our worst fears are exceeded by reality.
**************
Oceans
3) Jan. ‘07 – Earth is Losing its Ability to Absorb CO2?
4) May ‘07 – … (the Southern Oceans) are beginning to release the CO2 they have stored.
5) Oct. ‘07 – …the ability of (the Atlantic) ocean to absorb CO2 has dropped by half….
6) Feb. ‘07 – World’s sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate. Sea levels are rising even faster than scientists predicted.
7) May ‘07 – 30% reduction in the warm currents that carry water north from the Gulf Stream.
**************
Other Positive Feedbacks
9) Aug. ‘07 – Arctic lakes are beginning to release methane and CO2. A global tragedy of monumental proportions is unfolding at the top of the world…
10) Nov. ‘07 – The increase in forest fires in the boreal forests have weakened one of the earth’s greatest terrestrial sinks of carbon dioxide.
**************
CO2
11) Feb. ‘07 – Carbon dioxide rate is at highest level for 650,000 years.
12) Oct. ‘07 – New CO2 evidence means climate change predictions are ‘too optimistic’ Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are increasing much faster…. than scientists have predicted….
**************
Glaciers
13) Jan. ‘07 – Glaciers (water supply) Melting 6 X Faster Than ’80s
14) Sept. ‘07 – Glaciers are moving much faster towards the sea because of previously unknown factors. (Greenland ice is) advancing toward the sea at seven miles per year, compared with three and a half miles before.
**************
Polar Ice
15) Jan. ‘07 – The Pace of Arctic Global Warming is Staggering. “….the change “is happening so extremely fast, much much faster than we have seen in thousands and thousands of years. “Climate change in the Arctic is not coming. It is here,”
16) Mar. ‘07 – … the Antarctic Peninsula is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth, and glaciers are in massive retreat.
17) April ‘07 – …. the (sea ice) that we’ve observed is actually declining much faster than the models have shown.
18) Sept. ‘07 – ‘Remarkable’ Drop in Arctic Sea Ice Raises Questions
**************
19) Jan. ‘07 – Reduce CO2 in Ten Years, or Climate Will be Out-of-Control. ‘If we fail to act, we will end up with a different planet’
20) July ‘07 – No Link Between Cosmic Rays and Global Warming
*********
references
*********
2) http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article2110651.ece
3) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/jan/19/frontpagenews.climatechange
4) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=455735&in_page_id=1965
This link is not functioning. To retrieve this article you must enter “Ocean ‘less effective at absorbing climate change gases’”
into google’s search engine.
5) http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008907686
6) http://www.environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2004718,00.html
7) http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2007/05/86525.html
9) http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/08/13/008.html
10) http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article3115537.ece
11) http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article2211568.ece
This link is not functioning. To retrieve this article you must enter “Carbon dioxide rate
is at highest level for 650,000 years” into the Independent’s search engine.
12) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2719627.ece
13) http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Melting_Glaciers_Show_Climate_Change_Speeding_Up_999.html
14) http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ji-VBJ-GzgzCFcdspzNBU5kKAB3Q
15) http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Arctic_Region_As_Global_Warming_Barometer_999.html
16) http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSSYD27511820070326
17) http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/04/04/3916309-cp.html
18) http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/arctic_minimum.html
19) http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article2116874.ece
20) http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/07/no-link-between.html
***************
***************
Are you there squig. Look at the references and tell me how many US media
outlets are there.
January 13th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Squig said ‘The US media is so doom-and-gloom on GW it’s ridiculous, and you think they’re “not passing this stuff on”. Obviously you only see what you want to see, so theres no reason to argue.”
Here is some news for you, squig. The US media has been keeping the truth from you and I for years about a lot of things, not just the climate.
But in the case of the climate, I see proof of their “not passing it on EVERY DAY”. Many of the scientists who wrote the 2006 IPCC report have stated recently that their predictions are already out of date. Have you heard that, squig? Not unless you read news sources other than U.S. corporate news.
Scientists have just recently found several dynamics in the ice sheets and also in the oceans that are not included in the computer climate models that have been the base of the IPCC reports, and these recent discoveries all point to the fact that the situation is much worse than anyone had dreamt possible.
That’s right, squig. The so-called ‘liberal media’ that you spout to be scaremongers are actually holding back the dire facts.
Until you know enough about the current science, I think you should be silent on the subject.
January 14th, 2008 at 4:43 am
Until you know enough about the current science, I think you should be silent on the subject.
You are so typical of the left. “Either you believe in what we believe or you should keep your mouth shut (and it’s so important we might have to use force).” You don’t own a pair of jackboots, do you (just in case)?
Praise the Lord you people are being discredited more and more every day. I just pray it’s enough to stop you.
January 14th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Yea squig, stay right on point, just like all deniers. Call me names cause you cannot answer these questions, can you?
January 14th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I didn’t call you a name.
Can you explain why the arctic ice is refreezing at a record rate? When it was melting it was “proof” of global warming.
Anthropogenic global warming is a hoax, the only purpose of which is to help socialists gain control of humanity. And you believers are (as Stalin so perfectly put it) “useful idiots”.
January 14th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Squig doesn’t call people names………..
Tell me where you saw that the Arctic is freezing at record rates. They won’t know till spring when the ice stops freezing and starts melting again the size of the ice. Your statement makes absolutely no sense. Please provide a link to your source of info.
Listen, I’ll tell you again. About AGW……..FORGET ABOUT IT.!
What difference does it make how much man or the sun or the moon, or what have you, has to do with the heating up of the planet? They are all cumulative!
The planet is heating up and our carbon emissions are adding to it.
Our carbon emissions are the only handle on the warming that we have.
Do you wish to not do anything, squig? You certainly want to confuse the issue with the AGW.
And of course you don’t call people names, do you squig.
Your a real honest kinda guy, aren’t you squig
January 14th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Squig is a real fact-based, scientific oriented, non name calling kinda guy.
Thanks for providing that link to scientific research showing a record breaking freeze taking place in the Arctic.
I am curious, what motivates you squigy?
There are people who are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to do what you are doing by the energy giants. Are you among those lost souls?
January 15th, 2008 at 4:31 am
All you have to do is google “arctic ice refreezing” and you get a boatload of hits. But okay, here’s one – http://digg.com/environment/Arctic_Sea_Ice_Re_Freezing_at_Record_Pace
As for working for the energy giants, I wish. Sitting around at home and being paid tons of dough for stuff I LIKE to do? How do I get that gig?
And yes, I suppose calling you a “useful idiot” is calling you a name. Not that I can claim credit for that. The commie control freaks came up with that. And the socialists are their offspring. And they’ve got you terrified of your future. Well I have children, and I’m terrified they’ll live in world run by leftists who will try to control every aspect of their life. GW is their current big gun. And apparently their gloomcasting is working.
Just for fun, how about you go here: http://ukcommentators.blogspot.com/2007/12/independent-is-new-ice-age-coming.html
Wait a couple of years, and the whole problem will go away. And we’ll have a whole new set of problems for you to fear.
January 15th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Squig, you didn’t even read the text from the link you provided, did you?
Sea ice re-freezing at record pace:
“When summertime ice extent hits a record low………. large areas of open water provide room for the ice to grow once temperatures cool off enough.”
What does that say to you, squig. Does that mean that suddenly it is MUCH colder in the Arctic which means that the globe is not warming any more?
You just saw the title and wanted to believe that it means that the scientists are all wet, didn’t you.
You are just full of facts that prove thousands of scientists and their research wrong, aren’t you? You are smarter than the scientists gathering all that data that is wrong, aren’t you?
You’re quit a guy, squig.
You’ve convinced me not to worry any more.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Okay, go to another article here in MND and read the comments after it. We’re going to be wishing for global warming very soon, as the earth goes into it’s next cooling phase. And don’t just read the title, as you accused me of doing.
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2008/01/15/researchers-antarctic-ice-loss-is-accelerating/