tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15347688.post113848762604089449..comments2023-12-19T03:38:23.085-05:00Comments on Note to self:: Spring?Teaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09459066358653082806noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15347688.post-1138670633354026762006-01-30T20:23:00.000-05:002006-01-30T20:23:00.000-05:00Yeah, you're right that taking warm days as eviden...Yeah, you're right that taking warm days as evidence of global warming is misunderstanding the problem.<BR/><BR/>As I understand it, scientists seem to think that climate change, while warming the world on average, could have wildly different effects on different climates -- dry plains will become rainy, ocean-cooled regions will become warmer, more hurricanes hitting land because of warmer ocean temps, etc. One specific non-warming effect I've heard mentioned a number of times is that the ocean current that keeps northwest Europe warm (the Gulf Stream?) might slow or cease because of changes in water circulation patterns. There is some evidence that it has already slowed.<BR/><BR/>All of which goes toward your larger point, that it's really difficult to form the needed public consensus in favor of action when the issue is so complicated and effects so hard to perceive and sort out. I certainly hope that we find a way to overcome this. (What we really need is more elitism: One reason that Europe is moving faster than us on this is that political elites have more power there, and it's easier to persuade political elites that action is necessary than it is an entire country. An example of this is that majorities in most European countries still support the death penalty, but it is off the table as far as political leaders are concerned.)Teaguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09459066358653082806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15347688.post-1138662517217787642006-01-30T18:08:00.000-05:002006-01-30T18:08:00.000-05:00Whenever people mutter "global warming" in referen...Whenever people mutter "global warming" in reference to the unusually warm January we're having, I can't help pointing out that Eastern Europe and Russia are having a record *cold* winter. I almost feel like I'm helping the enemy, since climate change desperately needs to be taken more seriously--there seem to be scarier and scarier reports mentioned in the news every week, while Bush fiddles away. But <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4660938.stm" REL="nofollow">said reports</A> are talking about changes on the scale of 2 degrees Celsius in average future global temeperature, or about sea level change over the next 1000 years, not 40 deg F swings in daily temps in mid-North America.<BR/><BR/>Which I suppose is why it's so hard to get people to pay attention: the things we're doing right now have far-reaching and irreversible consequences, but people living anywhere except the Artic aren't going to feel those consequences for dozens or hundreds of years. People, especially Americans, I think, don't look far enough ahead.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com