NASA calls 2005 the warmest year in a century


http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2006/01/24/warmest-year060124.html



Not good, not good. Here in January we had some +8 Celsius instead of the usual -15, -20. It seems the cold emigrated to Europe and Asia.

This is so scary for me. We have been having really warm weather too. :/

It's very sad that our people and governments are doing so little to mitigate this and prepare for the changes. I hope you all are learning all you can about the situation and trying to educate others. It looks like we can't count on our governments to take the lead in dealing with this and we need to do it ourselves. What the hell are we paying their salaries for? So they can spend their time trying to get re-elected.

This looks like a good overview site with links to other sites:

http://eartheasy.com/article_global_warming.htm

Its normal for Missouri to have that random day or two in January when its 70 degrees. Its happened almost every year since I've lived here. The thing that weirds me out is that our weather this January has literally been switching from 30 degrees and snowing one day to 70 degrees the next, and then back to 30, then a couple days later its 55. We've been on these 1-3 day increments of weather. That goes with being smack in the middle of the jet stream, but this year the changes seem more frequent and abrupt :think:

Its normal for Missouri to have that random day or two in January when its 70 degrees. Its happened almost every year since I've lived here. The thing that weirds me out is that our weather this January has literally been switching from 30 degrees and snowing one day to 70 degrees the next, and then back to 30, then a couple days later its 55. We've been on these 1-3 day increments of weather. That goes with being smack in the middle of the jet stream, but this year the changes seem more frequent and abrupt :think:


It's similar in Montreal. We've have up and downs all January. One day you go outside in a shirt, then after two days with the heavy Winter jacket.

Its normal for Missouri to have that random day or two in January when its 70 degrees. Its happened almost every year since I've lived here. The thing that weirds me out is that our weather this January has literally been switching from 30 degrees and snowing one day to 70 degrees the next, and then back to 30, then a couple days later its 55. We've been on these 1-3 day increments of weather. That goes with being smack in the middle of the jet stream, but this year the changes seem more frequent and abrupt :think:

No kidding, 60's this week and it snow and iced a few days ago. Now storms this weekend.:stinkeye: Seems like this always happens here in January.

<<Not good, not good

First we must determine what we mean by "good". Before we do that we must establish an appropriate framework within which to make said determination.

Clearly, "it's getting hot in here"

ebola

np: skinny puppy

Pssssh y'all are just getting Ohio weather.

It's been a very warm winter here in Texas. We usually have highs in the 50s this time of year but we've been in the 70s and sometimes even the 80s. I haven't turned my heat on since we got one ice storm around the 16th of December. Which is fine I guess, but the hotter summers really suck. We've also been having a terrible drought, which I don't know if that is related to global warming or not, but we got about half the normal rain in 2005. I really want to move.

i'm in central illinois, and our local weatherman reported today that every day in january has been above average. i have a hard time not being happy about that though, because most of the time, it's unbearably cold here in january.

what it seems to come down to is, "times, they are a changin'". we've entered into the age of aquarius, so maybe that has something to do with all the crazy weather patterns, not to mention all the other insanity that's happening around the world on a daily basis.

but maybe the shifting world will end up having a positive result...maybe our minds will evolve to a higher plane of existence when it's all said and done. :beatnik:

Hey, if we have a little bit warmer winter, that means we don't pay as much in heating costs.

Winter started out with a bang in Nov/Dec. January has been milder, above normal temps. Bill Evans on Eyewitness news promised me February will be better...below normal temps with at least two good snowfalls. I'm a winter person. :) Global warming does concern me though.

There may be some benefits to global climate change, but overall, there are likely to be few. Weather is predicted to become more erratic, with higher highs and lower lows, more floods and more droughts. People will need to learn to adapt to these changing conditions. It's more difficult for the plants and animals to adapt, not all are mobile enough to move to a more conducive area (especially plants, obviously). Though there have been huge climate changes in the past, they were not as sudden as this is predicted to be. The most similar situation during recorded history was the Little Ice Age, which caused widespread hardship for people.

We are already experiencing plenty of climate change issues, its just not all that easy to connect everything with only the basic information we're given. You have to really want to know, to figure it all out.

One aspect of 'global warming' is the disturbance of large systems over the Atlantic. This in turn effects systems over places like the Dead Sea, which then effects systems all the way over in Africa. The chain reaction has lead to the drying up of large lakes used not only for recreation, but for irrigation of land. The dryness has created a dust which ends up blowing all the way over to the Carribean. Once in the water, the dust creates a mold on sea plants. The mold is creating a disturbingly high rate of childhood asthma in islands of the Carribean. Hey, I saw it all unfold on PBS. Edward Norton wouldn't like to us ... would he?

Recently there's been evidence of changes in the Atlantic Conveyor, which brings warm water and air up to Europe. The melting of the arctic sea ice is beginning to have an effect that was predicted, but changes are much faster than expected.

If anyone needs links to info about this, let me know.

There're still debates if the climate change is due to human action or natural events. The consensus is that we're at least partly to blame.

Have the winters for the past 10 years all been above normal? I don't think so, not at least in Atlanta.

There're still debates if the climate change is due to human action or natural events. The consensus is that we're at least partly to blame.


No there isn't debate on that point (if the climate change is due to human action or natural events) within the scientific community. Not at all. There is consensus that the change we are experiencing is human caused. What is being debated is the DEGREE of effect humans are having compared with natural cycles.

It is of VITAL importance not to misunderstand or mis-state this. If you need references I will be happy to provide them.

I've been very worried about the weather patterns here in Charlotte, even before watching Day After Tomorrow :). Starting in the fall with all of the wind. Seemed like the leaves took longer this year to color and come down. And all winter has been up and down. One day I'm in capri pants and the next I wear a coat and scarf to work. We're in for a few days of cold again this week. We had tornado watches this month. Very weird. I agree the weather is changing. Is this winter season fluke as Tame suggests? Or is it a predictor of things to come?

B

Hi Tame, I decided to look up your question and came upon this chart -

http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/demos/temrecmontage/

I had heard this is the hottest year and tops 1996 which was the hottest before. Obviously there are going to be fluctuations from year to year but this chart seems to heading in one general direction (up)....

I think this year's hurricane season is also pretty telling. I don't claim to know all the answers, but if we know we are doing stuff that COULD raise global temperature, and the global temperature keeps going up... I dont consider it alarmist to consider curbing the activities which can cause climate change. That, to me, just seems like common sense.

p.s. as much as I have enjoyed not needing a coat for several outings this JANUARY when I live in BOSTON.... there is something not so good about that.

Have the winters for the past 10 years all been above normal? I don't think so, not at least in Atlanta.



"The five warmest years in the past century have occurred in the past eight years, Hansen said."

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2006/01/24/warmest-year060124.html

No there isn't debate on that point (if the climate change is due to human action or natural events) within the scientific community. Not at all. There is consensus that the change we are experiencing is human caused. What is being debated is the DEGREE of effect humans are having compared with natural cycles.

It is of VITAL importance not to misunderstand or mis-state this. If you need references I will be happy to provide them.



I believe that we're one of the problem involving global warming. However, the debate is there ( ex. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming_controversy ). The reason for this debate is the fact that in the past the Earth cooled or warmed without the intervent of humans. Therefore, scientists are looking for almost perfect correlations, something they won't probably find. Hence the debate. (humans love to argue :sweat: ).

No, there isn't debate within the legitimate scientific community. Wikipoopia isn't a good source, maybe should look at an actual scientific site.

The only debate is among people who don't know what the scientists are saying.

'Q Have humans contributed to the warming?
A. Yes, but there is debate over how much. Natural variability - such as that arising from changes in the sun's energy input to Earth, volcanic activity, and regional climate phenomena like El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) - does play a role in adjusting the global thermometer. But the observed temperature record cannot be wholly accounted for by natural causes. As the American Geophysical Union recently concluded: "It is scientifically inconceivable that - after changing forest into cities, putting dust and soot into the atmosphere, putting millions of acres of desert into irrigated agriculture, and putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere - humans have not altered the natural course of the climate system." Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), ozone (O3) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) are being added to the atmosphere largely as a result of burning fossil fuels, tropical deforestation and other human activities. These gases trap energy that would normally be radiated into space, and raise Earth's surface temperatures.'

http://www.whoi.edu/institutes/occi/currenttopics/abruptclimate_15misconceptions.html#ocean_2

"The changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities, but we cannot rule out that some significant part of these changes is also a reflection of natural variability" (National Research Council 2001a)."

http://www.ametsoc.org/POLICY/climatechangeresearch_2003.html

etc etc etc

The other day I brought out the garbage wearing a tanktop and without shoes. Normally I can't do that in January.

No, there isn't debate within the legitimate scientific community. Wikipoopia isn't a good source, maybe should look at an actual scientific site.

The only debate is among people who don't know what the scientists are saying.

'Q Have humans contributed to the warming?
A. Yes, but there is debate over how much. Natural variability - such as that arising from changes in the sun's energy input to Earth, volcanic activity, and regional climate phenomena like El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) - does play a role in adjusting the global thermometer. But the observed temperature record cannot be wholly accounted for by natural causes. As the American Geophysical Union recently concluded: "It is scientifically inconceivable that - after changing forest into cities, putting dust and soot into the atmosphere, putting millions of acres of desert into irrigated agriculture, and putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere - humans have not altered the natural course of the climate system." Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), ozone (O3) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) are being added to the atmosphere largely as a result of burning fossil fuels, tropical deforestation and other human activities. These gases trap energy that would normally be radiated into space, and raise Earth's surface temperatures.'

http://www.whoi.edu/institutes/occi/currenttopics/abruptclimate_15misconceptions.html#ocean_2

"The changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities, but we cannot rule out that some significant part of these changes is also a reflection of natural variability" (National Research Council 2001a)."

http://www.ametsoc.org/POLICY/climatechangeresearch_2003.html

etc etc etc


Wikipedia's article states that the consensus in the scientific community is that part of the global warming problem is due to humans but that they cannot prove it beyong any doubt. What you quoted above is similar to what's said in the Wiki article.