Environment, Uncategorized

Is it just me, or is it warm in here?

Submitted by Charlton Stanley (aka Otteray Scribe), Guest Blogger

NASA logoNOAA logoApproximately 1,000 weather reporting stations all over the world have been monitoring local temperatures for decades. Temperature data have been compiled and analyzed by NASA scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.

Nine of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since the year 2000. The tenth? From the 20th Century, that was 1998. Temperature rise is not completely steady and consistent from one year to the next. That is due to factors such as volcanic eruptions and other natural causes; however, trends are the important thing.

We can see from the short video below the flip that Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures than several decades ago. The average temperature around the globe in 2011 was 0.92 degrees F (0.51 C) warmer than the mid-20th century baseline. Weather experts warn that a consistent global average change of even a half-degree Fahrenheit can have catastrophic effects on global weather patterns. Anyone recall April and May 2011?


130 years in 27 seconds:

Source:NASA finds 2011 the ninth warmest year on record.

386 thoughts on “Is it just me, or is it warm in here?”

  1. MM,
    Of course the ecosystem is complicated. No one has said it isn’t. In years where there are major volcanic eruptions of the explosive kind, average global temperatures tend to drop. However, we do know there is a greenhouse effect due to large amounts of various gasses and solids being released into the atmosphere. The physics of this are well understood, and the historical records bear it out as demonstrated by the temperature changes over the past 130 years. We cannot afford to wait two or three hundred years. The fewer fossil fuels are burned, the fewer carbon emissions. When solving a complex problem with multiple probable causes, it is not a good idea to say, “Since we do not know all the answers to all the problems, we should wait until we have every facet of every problem solved before taking action.”

    Some people seem to have trouble wrapping their heads around the fact the cooling of the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic has spawned violent weather anomalies causing billions of dollars damage. Why is the Gulf Stream cooling if we are having global warming? Watch the video of the ice cap at the geographical North Pole as it turns into a big lake. When ice melts what does it do to surrounding water? Anyone who has dropped ice cubes into a glass of tea knows the answer to that one. My oldest son was on two surface expeditions to the North Pole in the early 1980s. He says the ice thickness and size of the ice cap is now only a fraction of what it was then.

    It is reasonable to do what we can as humans to stop the trend, even if we cannot reverse it. To do less borders on the criminal.

  2. That humanity is creating Global Warming is settled. There is no longer any question about it. Only the profoundly ignorant still doubt it. Yes, I’m talking to you.
    The only question left is what do we do about it.

    Denying that we’re doing it is one possibility. A suicidal choice, but a possibility.

    Deities or aliens from outer space are not going to rescue us from ourselves.

    Denial is not just refusal to acknowledge reality. It’s also a river in Africa.

  3. **Darren Smith 1, August 4, 2013 at 10:35 pm

    Regardless of those who believe truly there is no such thing as climate change, can anyone argue a downside to protecting the environment? And, are we going to go somewhere else if our planet is ruined?
    **

    Darren,

    Rotten oil/wallst can argue climate change-corrupt derivative contracts/carbon trading ponzi scams, til the cows come home, what they can’t argue is that this industrial society is causing to much Smog & other Toxic Pollution.

    Carbon is the least of our trouble.

    Now SO2 in the air, take a drink of battery acid from your car, same difference as breathing it.

    etc… etc…. on down the list

  5. No minion here – just an open mind. Open enough to realize that correlation is not causation and that we really have no way of proving the central thesis herein. For every argument supporting it, one can be found antithetical to it.

    But that’s not my point – the Earth is a very complex system and for humans to think that we understand what makes it tick is both absurd and conceited.

  6. Regardless of those who believe truly there is no such thing as climate change, can anyone argue a downside to protecting the environment? And, are we going to go somewhere else if our planet is ruined?

  8. To continue to ignore the global climate change already happening would be additional evidence that science and facts no longer mean anything. The Koch Brothers have plenty of money and they do not need to keep killing the planet except for greed. Great job OS.

  9. Pete,
    Yup. I expect that. I am reasonably certain the big fossil fuel companies monitor keywords for everything posted on the internet regarding this subject. Then they send their minions (one of my favorite words) to troll threads. You may not believe this, but we have detected paid trolls on this site before. Who woulda thunk it?

  10. I am not disputing the DATA that we have. After all, data can become megadata and oppenheimer data. I am disputing the information which we have. Ya see information is more like two plus four equals six while data is just 2, 3, 9. Data is not just numbers or numbers and letters. It is gibberish.

  11. All data is always subject to interpretation, but “global warming” due to man is a myth. Even if the argument is allowed, is the U.S. solely responsible for spending tillions that will make virtually no difference in doing what mother earth does naturally…and what about China and India who alone have @ 40 of the world population and could care less about CO2, warming, or other earthly matters….all we do is weaken our abilities by spending our resources for nothing….including big government!

  12. OS

    somebody had to talk about the 800 lb overheating gorilla in the room. just get ready for attack of the trolls.

    but you already knew that

  13. MM,
    OK. Got it. Since we do not have data definitive to the .05 level of confidence, and there are a bunch of variables, it would be best to do nothing for the next two or three hundred years so we can see what happens. Right. 🙄

  14. We don’t need no one with no book learnin round here’n. The fact that my state is on fire & has no water is none o your business.
    Quick, another round of defunding fire & forestry & that other service I can’t remember.

  15. People let’s not worry about climate change…it will only hurt profits.

  16. JN: I’m not disputing the data we have. It HAS been getting a bit warmer of late. But no one knows why and to blame it on CO2 or other atmospheric gases is foolish when there thousands or millions of other variables in the equation.

  17. We have no idea what we’re talking about. We’ve only had a plethora of real data for the past 100 years or so – everything else is inferred – and somehow we’re extrapolating that to global doom. There have been periods of much warmer and much cooler climate over the 4+ billion year history of the Earth. Ice ages have come and gone. Sea levels have risen and fallen. This will continue without regard to what humans do to the Earth.

    http://sppiblog.org/news/russian-scientists-we-could-face-cooling-period-for-200-250-years

  18. Time lapse sequence of photos from the North Pole Environmental Observatory. The time on this video is July and August 2012.

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