Posted by
BLOGASSAULT on Saturday, January 23, 2010 12:04:19 PM
Even those who think climate change is going to get us are taking a step back.
This opinion column in the LA Times is a good representation of what is going on with those who believe in man-made global warming.
Maybe we shouldn't be too quick to mythologize the verdure of years past, or to castigate ourselves for taking a few extra minutes in the shower or for not wanting a Prius the way a little girl wants a pony. Consider this about good old 2006: It was a scorcher. It was febrile. It was partly sunny with a chance of Hades.
Is she saying we should maybe just relax a little? Possibly. But it is also clear in the article that global warming is still as real as ever.
But here is the next paragraph in the story:
Moreover, it came on the heels of something even hotter: 2005. That year is tied with 1998 as the hottest ever. In fact, NASA reports that the first seven years of the decade were among the warmest on record for average global surface temperature. Remember how on July 22, 2006, the thermometer hit 112 degrees in downtown L.A.? Remember going to see "An Inconvenient Truth" several times not necessarily because it was so compelling but because the theater was air-conditioned?
So, since it was hot over this last decade, that must mean that climate change is real? Well, actually, what it shows is that the weather has changed, but not that people are resposible for it.
Yet, what I believe is the whole point of the article is to make clear that current weather is not a good barometer for climate.
Not that anyone who's ever gazed out at a blizzard and thought, "This is global warming?" deserves to be labeled a denier. We all know (we do, don't we?) that weather is not the same as climate.
That's funny...she did mention earlier that we shouldn't forget how in 2006 it was 112 degrees in L.A. But if it's cold and rainy...
This year's weather may be less convenient for the global warming cause, but it doesn't change the facts -- the climate is changing. Here's the rub, though: In order for a cause to resonate, people need simple, clear evidence. They need tangibles. And what could be more tangible than opening your door and being hit by a blast of fiery air?
Science, alas, is complicated and weather has always been as predictable as, well . . . the weather. Maybe that's why, if we're really interested in the truth -- about global warming or anything else -- it helps to get beyond what's outside our own doors and windows.
She is trying to have it both ways. When it is convient to make a point, like 112 degrees in L.A., it must be global warming. But if it's rainy, she wants to make sure you know the difference beween weather and climate.
Since the Earth's weather has been changing for billions of years, I'm guessing the last 10 years that she is so worried about are of any real consequence to the overall picture of climate.