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10/02/10 - 11/02/10
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Amidst the shivering in Washington, the case for global warming by Deborah Zabarenko (Front Row Washington)
Web site called “Short term cooling on a warming planet.” The new site went up this week, Submitted at 2/10/2010 1:30:22 PM between blizzards, and is OK, it’s cold in Washington. It’s supposed to guide consumers really cold. And snowy. And and businesses so they can adapt blizzardy. It’s hard to recall that to climate change. The Climate long-ago moment — what was it, Service itself is expected to be six days ago? — when you could up and running by the start of the go for a walk without cross- next U.S. fiscal year that begins country skis and a flask of on October 1. brandy. But just because it’s The last decade was the warmest winter doesn’t mean global on record, according to the U.S. warming is a myth. National Oceanic and B u t t h e s t o r m s g a v e Atmospheric Administration, the conservatives fresh fodder for United Kingdom’s Met Office mocking former Vice President and the World Meteorological Al Gore and his efforts on global Organization. “The bottom line climate change. Senator Jim is that current temperatures are DeMint tweeted “It’s going to w a y a b o v e t h e l o n g - t e r m keep snowing in DC until Al a v e r a g e , ” N O A A ’ s D a v i d Gore cries ‘uncle’,” Politico E a s t e r l i n g s a y s . reported. The U.N. Intergovernmental For decades, scientists have Panel on Climate Change is s t r u g g l e d t o e x p l a i n t h e certainly not backing away from difference between weather, its 2007 report that global which changes in the short term, warming is occurring and human and climate, which changes over activity is causing it. But climate the long term. There’s a good change skeptics have focused on e x p l a n a t i o n a t t h e n e w what they see as problems with government Climate Service how some of the data that led to
this conclusion were collected and reported. To most scientists, though, this is all beside the point. One sign that the planet is getting warmer is what’s happening in the Arctic Sea. It’s not as icy as it used to be at this time of year, and that means there won’t be much thick, hardy sea ice at the beginning of the spring melt season — which in turn means there will be more open water exposed. Dark-
colored water absorbs the sun’s rays, just as light-colored sea ice reflects them, so it’s likely to get even warmer up there. That’s important because the Arctic is one of the world’s biggest weather-makers. But that still doesn’t explain the unusual weather patterns — putting it politely — that have hammered the U.S. East Coast this winter. However, part of the overall long-term forecast for a warmer world is for more severe
weather events, and the current storms could qualify. So could the notable lack of snow at some venues of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Oddball weather can be a sign of climate change. That’s why they call it climate change — civilizations are used to climate being the same as it has been for millennia, and scientists believe that’s going to change on a relatively rapid timescale. Not everybody likes the term “climate change.” So how about “ global weirding“? For more Reuters political news, click here. Photo credits: REUTERS/Jason Reed (U.S. Capitol as snow falls on Washington, January 30, 2010) REUTERS/Andy Clark (A truck carrying snow to the Olympic snowboarding and freestyle venue in West Vancouver, British Columbia February 3, 2010.)