Global "Warning"

[texas*princess]

I don't think global warming will significantly impact the weather in one area in a span of a year (it's more of a gradual thing, right?) but I did notice that this winter was a LOT milder than winters past.

Last year we were still wearing our big coats through March and part of April. Last spring/summer we also saw a lot of unusual rain. It pretty much rained every single day from April - mid August.

The rain was nice, because we definitely needed it, and we only had a handful of days with 100+ degree temps (2006 we had 60+ days in a row of those high temps), but it was definitely the weirdest thing I had seen up here, and I've lived here for awhile.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by texas*princess

I don't think global warming will significantly impact the weather in one area in a span of a year (it's more of a gradual thing, right?) but I did notice that this winter was a LOT milder than winters past.

Except that the Rockies experienced record snowfall and Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc. had extremely cold winters.

Last year we were still wearing our big coats through March and part of April. Last spring/summer we also saw a lot of unusual rain. It pretty much rained every single day from April - mid August.

We also had a milder summer two years ago. I don't think we have anything to indicate a global warming trend, nor can it be shown that human activity could be responsible for such a thing. Mars has global warming for chrissakes.

The rain was nice, because we definitely needed it, and we only had a handful of days with 100+ degree temps (2006 we had 60+ days in a row of those high temps), but it was definitely the weirdest thing I had seen up here, and I've lived here for awhile.

That had about as much to do with global warming as the dust bowl did.

[shinerbock]

Katrina was nothing abnormal. Of course I have no scientific abilities, at all, this is just my opinion as someone who has spent his entire life in the deep south.

If Katrina had hit NW FL instead of NOLA, I don't think it would be so incessantly used in these arguments. There have been numerous comparable hurricanes in my lifetime.

[AKA_Monet]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Katrina was nothing abnormal. Of course I have no scientific abilities, at all, this is just my opinion as someone who has spent his entire life in the deep south.

If Katrina had hit NW FL instead of NOLA, I don't think it would be so incessantly used in these arguments. There have been numerous comparable hurricanes in my lifetime.

Shine-

I don't think Katrina was normal for NOLA. And even if it I switched to a different area, like the panhandle, those places could not sustain the kinds of damage or winds that Katrina packed... If you believe in that sort of thing, Katrina was the wakeup call for that region or a "pay the piper" kind of thing. NOLA knew in the 60's Betsy and 90's Georges for worst case scenarios what was going to happened and the "powers that be" failed to do anything about it (i.e. knowingly not reclamating the reef area).

Florida in 2004 have 4-8 various hurricanes going left and right across its peninsula. I know because my family lives there. Ever since Andrew, they had a very good action plan. But it took a loss like that for folks to get there crap together... Nearly 10-12 years.

Remember Katrina did not just bitch-slap NOLA, it took out Mississippi and parts of Alabama. So it will be the same for these suffering states.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Katrina was nothing abnormal. Of course I have no scientific abilities, at all, this is just my opinion as someone who has spent his entire life in the deep south.

If Katrina had hit NW FL instead of NOLA, I don't think it would be so incessantly used in these arguments. There have been numerous comparable hurricanes in my lifetime.

I don't think Katrina was abnormal, I was just saying that frequency is not the same as intensity. On the whole, the number of Category 1, 2 and 3 storms have fallen slightly, while the number of Categories 4 and 5 storms have climbed dramatically. Let's go back to the 1970s again. Back then, there was an average of about 10 Category 4 and 5 hurricanes a year worldwide. Since the 90s, the annual number has almost doubled to 18. Overall, the big storms have grown from around 20% to about 35%. That's a big increase. So it's the frequency I was speaking of.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

I don't think Katrina was abnormal, I was just saying that frequency is not the same as intensity. On the whole, the number of Category 1, 2 and 3 storms have fallen slightly, while the number of Categories 4 and 5 storms have climbed dramatically. Let's go back to the 1970s again. Back then, there was an average of about 10 Category 4 and 5 hurricanes a year worldwide. Since the 90s, the annual number has almost doubled to 18. Overall, the big storms have grown from around 20% to about 35%. That's a big increase. So it's the frequency I was speaking of.

Can we be 100% sure that some of this isn't tied to the degree to which we can/do measure things now versus how we did it in the 1970s?

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Can we be 100% sure that some of this isn't tied to the degree to which we can/do measure things now versus how we did it in the 1970s?

Yes, because it's an average numbers comparison.

Also, if you look at the total number of hurricanes and their power measured by wind speed and duration, it's jumped 50% since the 1970s.

[AKA_Monet]

Originally Posted by texas*princess

I don't think global warming will significantly impact the weather in one area in a span of a year (it's more of a gradual thing, right?) but I did notice that this winter was a LOT milder than winters past.

Last year we were still wearing our big coats through March and part of April. Last spring/summer we also saw a lot of unusual rain. It pretty much rained every single day from April - mid August.

The rain was nice, because we definitely needed it, and we only had a handful of days with 100+ degree temps (2006 we had 60+ days in a row of those high temps), but it was definitely the weirdest thing I had seen up here, and I've lived here for awhile.

I would call it climate change and it is global. One impacts the other... We have to get beyond political geographic lines when we talk about "global warming" or "carbon emissions" or hayle, "global health"...

The responsible authorities as well as those learning need to do what they can to live "green" life - no not tree hugging, but to reduce our consumptions because our planet may not be able to sustain it and it is about being good stewards to our planet...

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

I would call it climate change and it is global. One impacts the other... We have to get beyond political geographic lines when we talk about "global warming" or "carbon emissions" or hayle, "global health"...

The responsible authorities as well as those learning need to do what they can to live "green" life - no not tree hugging, but to reduce our consumptions because our planet may not be able to sustain it and it is about being good stewards to our planet...

And I think that selling the issue as good stewardship would get everything so much further than the condemnation and smugness that can creep in about the choices other people are making.

The smugness happens on both sides. It's not just people who condemn SUV drivers with righteous superiority; think about the gleeful way people reacted to Laurie David taking private jets or the electricity used at the Gore's house.

[AKA_Monet]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

And I think that selling the issue as good stewardship would get everything so much further than the condemnation and smugness that can creep in about the choices other people are making.

The smugness happens on both sides. It's not just people who condemn SUV drivers with righteous superiority; think about the gleeful way people reacted to Laurie David taking private jets or the electricity used at the Gore's house.

Yeah, I am really not trying to see folks homes from space with all their lights... When was the last electric or nuclear plant built in the US?