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Feds: Cold winter is not ‘global cooling’
March 10th, 2010, 12:28 pm · 63 Comments · posted by Pat Brennan, science, environment editor
Photo courtesy NOAA
Temperatures were colder than normal across the United States this winter, according to the latest assessment from the nation’s climate-monitoring agency.
But the cold weather, including heavy snow on the East Coast, is not a sign of ‘global cooling’ — an assertion made in recent weeks by some who take issue with the idea that the climate is warming.
The winter temperature assessment from the National Climatic Data Center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says 63 percent of the nation experienced below-normal temperatures during the winter season, December to February.
The average temperature for February was 32.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 2.2 degrees below the long-term average of 34.6.
The cold air was the work of several Arctic air masses moving over much of the nation in February, making things especially cold in the deep South, and bringing below-average temperatures to the Plains and mid-Atlantic states.
Southern California also saw temperatures slightly below normal to about normal during the same period, said National Weather Service meteorologist Stefanie Sullivan.
A quick check of temperatures in Fullerton showed it was 3.5 degrees below normal in December, about a degree above normal in January, and about a degree below normal in February.
And while monthly climate assessments shed little light on long-term climate trends over decades, the National Climatic Data Center also released a separate statement debunking the notion that snow and cold weather — such as heavy snowstorms in the nation’s capital — were evidence of a global cooling trend, or against a long-term warming trend that most climate scientists agree is occurring.
“Although record-low temperatures were experienced in February 2010 in some regions, these are part of the short-term regional variability that has always been a characteristic of weather and will continue to be even as the Earth’s climate experiences an overall warming trend,” the statement reads.
“The data showing that the world as a whole has been warming on the average are unequivocal, and over time this means there will be fewer (but not zero) cold spells and more (but not constant) hot spells,” it says. “In the 1950s, the number of record hot days was about the same as the number of record cold days, but in the 2000s we saw twice as many record highs as record lows.”
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hmmmm…sounds like the same argument the global warming enthusiast use to debunk that this is not occuring….i guess it just depends on the side of the coin your on…..you can use the same excuse both ways “for or against” the argument..hahahah
“Global Warming” is a hoax. Mankind caused “climate change” is a hoax.
This issue has proven that society cannot trust governments, scientists or the media to honestly report news and events of the 21century.
You’re on your own out there. Be careful.
I agree. This whole hoax is just another way to tax everyone even more. Such BS!
I couldn’t agree w/you MORE, gouscoc!!! Well said!
Shame on all the cavemen for causing the last ice age. But really who cares our country is going so far in dept our children will need global warming just to stay warm warm in the winter.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Also in a couple of years they’ll say “What cold winter?” because the data will magically disappear.
I love it, they get caught fudging all the raw data and they are still trying to spin it. Why not focus on real human impact like industrial waste and smog, not a building block of life.
Global Warming is not a Hoax. I am firm believer of it. AND WE CONTRIBUTE SOME OF IT TOO>
Well Chris, you are simply wrong. My guess is you would have been a firm believer in the coming ice age hoax of the 70′s.
You choose what you want to believe in but please don’t be a zealot or a fool.
Well I don’t think I am wrong in anyway. What can you prove to me- to make me believe your right?
How about the fact that carbon dioxide only makes up about 5% of the greenhouse gases, with water vapor making up the vast majority of the rest. Add to that the fact that anthropomorphic sources only account for about ten percent of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. So if we were to totally cripple the economy worldwide and decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 20%, we would only decrease the greenhouse gas capacity in the atmosphere by 0.1%.
On the other hand, most of what passes for global warming science has been shown to be fraudulent or blown out of proportion. Since the global warming hysteria appears to be nothing more than an attempt by environmental extremists to gain control, I would say that the burden of proof is on you, and has not yet been met.
Actually, we have been warming for roughly 10,000 years now. Know how the great lakes were formed? One of the biggest glaciers on the planet covered north america. Every year they would shift due to melting and being reformed, and this cut out portions of the northern US, including the great lakes. Once the glacier vanished completely, the holes filled and created the great lakes.
Try an education gouscoc.
Well JohnAdams, you are correct. Global Warming and Global Cooling do occur and is proper science. However the contributions of the human species to this overall ebb and flow within the planet thus far appears to be only minor at best. In fact 100,000 years ago the planet was several degrees warmer on average than it is now, but that certainly can’t be attributed to human causes now can it?
Further more, I think being situationally aware is extremely important. I would agree that anything we can do as human to less our personal impact on our surroundings can only be for the better. However you and I, cannot make governments stop their authorized exemptions.
What you see happening here is several things. One, global warming fear is being hyped through the media and many aspects of our lives. This fear is being used to generate support for drastic measures that will “save the planet”, or at least so they tell us…which is all based on the consensus of the IPCC. Turns out the IPCC isn’t really a consensus and is more or less a panel of Government heads of state, and UN supporters. In addition you have the UN calling for a global Carbon Tax, and is threatening to inforce this tax on everyone regardless of congressional approval. To top all of this off, you have various Carbon trading companies being setup to not only handle in the trading of carbon credits, but to profit from this business as well. One of the largest companies majority share holders is none other than Al Gore, who of course has gone around peddling his junk science, creating a movie, winning an Oscar, about his views on Global Warming.
Need I continue?
I mean it should not take a rocket scientist to realize this is one big giant scam to further the transfer of wealth and power from one group to another, or in this case like it always is, from everyone else to the rich.
The problem is not that the earth is simply warming, because you are right, it has been warming for 10,000.
The problem is that in the past 150 years, and particularly the last 50 years, the earth is warming at a MUCH faster pace. This time frame corresponds with the same time frame during which humans have been putting greenhouse gasses into the air.
Corey K. Just curious. Did you think you wrote something I wasn’t already aware of? You kind of singled my comment out and basically said what I said. That’s why I included the “10,000″ years part because Henry Ford wasn’t born yet. I just chose to make a comment instead of a book report.
So you’re saying our impact on the environment is negligible? If you can truly say that we, humans, have a negligible impact on the planet, then global warming is a hoax. If you agree that what we do does impact the planet, then global warming is happening. Anyway, what about that giant hole in our ozone? I doubt it was there since the beginning of Earth’s existence. Prove me wrong.
There’s a huge difference between global warming and human caused global warming. One is natural and AGW is political.
attn. Chris, I got baaad news for you. There is NO Easter bunny!!!
But your totally right about the mmgw, its a proven fact, the science is settl BBUUUWWWAAAHHHHHhahahahahahahaaha.
Sorry I tried be I just couldn’t do it. Your a tool.
you can f off for all I care.
Hey Chris: Is that the most intelligent response you can make? Let me guess: You’re about 18 years old, unemployed and a h.s. dropout. But you read a lot of comic books.
Lets see I don’t think it’s any your damn business- and FYI I am very successful. Piss off I DO NOT DESERVE ANYMORE ATTACKS FROM YOU LOSERS> speak for yourself!
LOL… YOU GOT MONEY AND THINK YOUR VERY SUCCESSFUL… LOL… YOU NEED TO HAVE A MIND TO, LOOK OUT SIDE… ARE PLANET IS STILL HERE… I WILL PRAY FOR YOU… AND GLOBAL WARMING
just use duct tape it will fix anything… out of all the things done to are planet if they really think we are killing it they would stop using china for everything we use… they are poisoning us slowly… and stop using gas… many things can be used like Hemp…… YOUR MIND IS TWISTED SO BAD THEY THINK FOR YOU… I FEEL BAD FOR YOU
… JUST GIV THEM ALL YOUR MONEY AND YOU SHOULD FEEL SAFER…
You should duct tape your comments. Your stupidity is not wanted here. Or even better get a job!
Feds: “No, No, No, things are NOT getting better. Global warming is still a go”! How funny!
Notice how the american press, especially the associated press (lower case on purpose) has blocked all reporting on the meltdown of the IPCC and the total crash of the climate research unit (CRU) at East Anglia. NOAA NCDC and NASA GIS is under heavy fire for manipulating data for political purposes. Not a good thing for the AGW crowd.
I’m still wondering when the drought is going to make headlines for being “officially” over. The million dollar question is: “WHY is the good news so under reported?”
i believe climate change is real, and can change suddenly, we know that from the natural historical record. and that we are in a period of climate change that we need to be prepared for. however how much we actually contribute to climate change itself as a species is debatable.
Notice this is written by the OCR’s “green living” columnist, not “The Science Guy.”
To think that man can affect the planet in any significant way is silly. Look at what happened in Chile 10 days ago. Mother Nature can toss us around like a ragdoll anytime she chooses. “Global warming’s” much more likely cause is sunspot activity, and that has nothing to do with human activity.
Joe Friday: I would love to see the scientific research that supports the conclusion that warming is “much more” likely to have been caused by sunspots.
why not? cause it would completely make you idiots look like idiots??? just curious. why dont you go back 170 trillion years in your research to study the trends too. a watse of money and a waste of your talent.
Wow- now you are name calling- really you BIG SAP. Take your STUPID comments somewhere else
mmgw is happening on MARS too!!!
Damn that GWBush.
WOW you are dumb. I know there is no EASTER BUNNY. I didn’t ask for your cruel comments now did I. How old are you 5? By the sound of your comments you act like a child.I am entitled to believe what I want same with everyone else on this thread. Are you saying the same thing about everyone else on here? I guess soo- You can go to (#
Wasn’t someone in this space a week or so back claiming Jan. or Feb. of this year was the warmest on record? Facts are so inconvenient for the left.
Global Warming is as real as our President! NOT!!!!
no such thing as man made global warming just an indirect taxation on the world.
Everything on this planet dies, has anyone noticed this. People, animals, plants . . .Things in the solar system die . . .stars . . comets . . . hmmm PLANETS!! Could it be that everything is just meant to die and we cannot stop it from dying.
For people to think that WE are so powerful that we can stop something from dying is ridiculous!!!
If anyone has figured out how to live forever please let me know . . .LOL
Hello commenters….great discussion but please no personal attacks, including on other commenters….
Also since plants breath in Carbon Dioxide and breath out Oxygen . . .Wouldn’t we just be overrun with plants if there is so much extra Carbon Dioxide. They would be growing everywhere, because there would be so much “food” for them to breath.
The point is “Global Warming” which has now been changed to “Climate Change” (because they could not prove Global Warming) is just about POWER. It is about who can control the economies of countries.
Oh and the reason they are using “Climate Change” is that the climate always changes, so no one can prove that wrong. But can anyone prove that climate change is hurting us . . .NO!!! Read history, Greenland is called GREEN-land because it was GREEN when it was discovered not ICE . . .So why is it so terrible that the ice is melting in Greenland?? There has always been climate change and there always will be until the planet dies.
Some days are kids are going to be laughing about “Global Warming” the way we laugh about the world being Flat!
Hey Loveie Bunnie quit smoking your medicinal marijuana and read a book. Stop reading off the web and try to actually plant something. If you think plants only need Carbon Dioxide to live, you are insane. Hence your statement of being overrun by plants just fell on its face. I will give you props on the statement about power and control, however that still pretty loose.
Dinosaurs were found with food still in their stomach, they were walking and then they died – frozen to death.
Fraud, fraud, fraud. Gore is a fraud, and every witless politician who pushes for GW legislation is a fraud.
National Geographic and Scientific American both did cover articles within the last year or so, accumulating scientific opinions on the issue and concluding that the earth is warming faster than is historically normal and that the warming is caused in part by human activity.
Unless and until someone points to similarly reputable sources that say otherwise, I am going with National Geographic and Scientific American.
I am not going to listen to politicians, Al Gore, Rush Limbaugh, crazy people who make unsupported postings on this website and others who are not scientists and have an agenda.
Joe Friday: I would love to see the scientific research that supports the conclusion that warming is “much more” likely to have been caused by sunspots.
PCarey: You say: “most of what passes for global warming science has been shown to be fraudulent or blown out of proportion….” I know there has been the recent incident in Britain, but to get to your conclusion that “most” data is bad, you need to come up with literally hundreds of more examples of bad data; please do that.
Climategate…look it up.
Basically the models the IPCC and UN have been basing their data off of has shown to be falsified and lacking key data points to reach a pre-determined outcome.
FYI, National Geographic and Scientific American are both publications…you should look at who owns and controls those publications.
Here is some help..
http://freedomforthepeople.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/climate-change-data-dumped/
“In one leaked e-mail, the research center’s director, Phil Jones, writes to colleagues about graphs showing climate statistics over the last millennium. He alludes to a technique used by a fellow scientist to “hide the decline” in recent global temperatures.”
http://freedomforthepeople.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/study-ocean-net-heat-flow-is-connected-with-climate-shifts-%E2%80%93-co2-not-correlated-%E2%80%93-no-%E2%80%9Cwarming-in-the-pipeline%E2%80%9D/
“a conclusion not consistent with the idea that the oceans may be harboring “warming in the pipeline.” Douglass further notes that the team found no correlation between the shifts and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.
“An interesting aspect of this research is that no reference to the surface temperature itself is needed,” says Knox. “The heat content data we used, gathered by oceanographers, was gleaned from temperature measurements at various ocean depths up to 750 meters.”
http://freedomforthepeople.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/climategate-read-all-about-it/
“A tiny clique of politicized scientists, paid by unscientific politicians with whom they were financially and politically linked, were responsible for gathering and reporting data on temperatures from the palaeoclimate to today’s climate. The “Team”, as they called themselves, were bending and distorting scientific data to fit a nakedly political story-line profitable to themselves and congenial to the governments that, these days, pay the bills for 99% of all scientific research.”
Gabe, your a tool too….just ignore the truth & follow your spiritual leader(algor). Every major arguement has been debunked.
no melting glaciers, no dieing polar bears, no rising sea levels.
with out these thing you got nothing. BS that has been spewed for years & you fell for it, hook, line & sinker. If these stupid “facts” had not been repeated over & over & over & over & over until minions like you believed them, there would not be this mmgw religion. But now that they have, the ones with the wool pulled completely over their eyes (like you) say “just a few small details”. Its called chicken little syndrome, & you got it.
Your right, the scientists at Scientific American magazine who have PhD’s have it all wrong and you have somehow have it all figured out, good one.
It is a fact that glaciers are melting, anyone who says otherwise can’t be taken seriously.
And, if you read my post closely, you would see that I dismissed Al Gore.
Look, I listen to scientists, (not politicians or people who post comments in this website). So, unless you are a climate scientist and you can explain to me how Scientific American got it wrong, I can’t really take you seriously.
just use duct tape it will fix anything… out of all the things done to are planet if they really think we are killing it they would stop using china for everything we use… they are poisoning us slowly… and stop using gas… many things can be used like Hemp……
I find it interesting the current satellite data being collected since the early 90′s concerning this story. There’s constant software updates to the satellites enabling better and better resolution of the data.
However, to make pronouncements on short term data is disturbing. It would be amusing if we had the same satellites and software back in the 1930′s to compare with the data today. I hope the earth is warming since the little ice age, oh wait a minute, that was disappeared by Mike Mann and the IPCC along with the medieval warm period.
When is the press going to do real journalism and ferret out the political manipulation or is this another symptom of J-schools concept called social justice.
“against a long-term warming trend that most climate scientists agree is occurring” This is only an assumption and your statement is incorrect. Most climate scientists do not agree.
Not sure I’m interested in believing climate information from a guy with a ponytail that calls climate warming critics “climate-change contrarians.”
Geez Mr. Brennan, at least try to stick to the facts.
I thought that phrase was clever as well and also not necessary in writing a impartial, unbiased article.
Maybe Mr. Brennan should take his own admonition concerning name calling.
Mr. Brennan, I am NOT a “contrarian” of ANY kind, thank you very much.
P.S. there is no such word.
That’s a good point about use of the word ‘contrarian’ (though it does exist). Many with dissenting views would not necessarily see themselves as contrarians. I will alter that sentence.
You are right, the word (label) does exist but it seems to be tied to “investors” in it’s main application. I am definitely not a “investor” in anything to do with the notion of climate change, (good or bad).
I do drive a Prius and but I can’t really consider that a “investment”.
“You are” is properly abbreviated “you’re.” “Your” refers to something that belongs to you. If a sentence begins in plural mode it should remain in plural; same for singular. Tense should remain the same throught the sentence. People who can’t write a coherent sentence feel they can opine on the complexities of global climate. It would be funny if it weren’t so pitiful.
Do you think “majoring on the minors” helps to distract from the fact that you contributed NOTHING else to the forum?
Trying to discredit others doesn’t make you look smarter, it just makes you look desperate and that sir, is “pitiable”.
Looks like the feds are jumping into bed with global-warming zealots. Wouldn’t want to upset the apple cart and have the Nobel committee rescind Al Gore’s Nobel Prize now, would we?
Their argument? More moisture and water vapor in the air due to “man-made” warming of the earth causes cold weather. That’s as good as it gets: Warming causes cooling. No matter what happens, they win. By logical extension of their own argument, however, there is no warming. What are the alarmists so afraid of? Not getting their way?
Global warming is a hoax, pure and simple. It is a political and financial power-play that cloaks New-Left totalitarian dictates in such new-think terms as “climate change,” “carbon footprint,” “sustainability,” and “cap-and-trade.”
Global warming is all about money and power: your money and their power.
It’s good to see more and more people and especially politicians waking up to the HOAX that is man-made global warming … er … “climate change”.
Even if you believe that man can dump millions of tons of C02 into the atmosphere every year without warming the earth, and even if you believe that scientists with no knowledge of one another working in different fields coming to the same conclusions can somehow be considered a conspiracy, we do not have unlimited carbon-based fuel resources on this planet.
So, do we act or not? If not, why not?
@failboat,
.
As always, we act. And those actions should be based on REALITY, and not on fantasies and scare tactics.
That’s my point. We have scientists from across many different disciplines all over the world coming up with data that all converges on the same conclusion- that the earth is now warming much more rapidly than it has in the past. This can’t be a conspiracy. It is the reality.
The problem with this entire discussion is that no one has any facts or data or the will to analyze them. Just lefties and righties choosing sides without knowing anything about the science. Ideally, I’d like to see the actual science and data discussed in terms ordinary people can understand.
Still, in the absence of such a discussion, a thoughtful person really has no choice but to side with the “deniers”.
A bunch of scientists with computer models screaming “trust me, I have a Phd” is not science, it is arrogance.
A UN commission? When was the last time anyone associated with that corrupt political body of third world America haters said anything honest about anything?
A nobel prize winner? Excuse me, remember when those senile swedish morons gave a prize to Jimmie Carter for preventing North Korea from getting nukes?
Before we redo the world economy to eliminate greenhouse gases, at the predictable cost of vastly increased poverty, world hunger and starvation, global warming advocates have a huge burden of persuasion. They are nowhere close to meeting that burden.
There are five separate questions that need to be answered before one tries to “solve” global warming:
1. Does human caused global warming exist?
2. If so, what is the magnitude of the human caused portion of global warming?
3. If the magnitude of human caused global warming is significant, can it be prevented?
4. If global warming can be prevented by limiting or eliminating greenhouse gases?
5. What are the comparative risks, costs and benefits of embarking on a massive program to restructure our economy and way of life to limit greenhouse emissions, versus doing nothing at all?
The debate, so far has really only been about question one and two. As for question one, a “consensus” of environmental scientists believes that the answer is yes. Interestingly, the UN reports that there is no similar consensus of climatologists and meteorologists, many of whom believe the data is just not that persuasive or reliable. And we know now that most of the data on global temperature changes is highly compromised because many weather stations are in areas that got warmer simply because the immediately surrounding neighborhoods became urbanized, which has nothing to do with greenhouse gases.
There is a huge amount of uncertainty as to the answer to question 2, and our inability to predict the future–will the world be one degree hotter or ten degrees hotter in ahundred years? — makes it impossible to realistically answer questions 3, 4 and 5.
The only certainty is that transforming our world economy to limit greenhouse gases is going to cause a lot of suffering, especially in poorer nations, by raising the cost of all manufactured and agrcultural goods in the short term.
That is why the entire global warming debate is ridiculous. Because there is no convincing evidence that doing absolutely nothing about the problem will be any worse than throwing trillions of dollars at it.
This is not even a close call. The environmentalists need to do their homework and then learn some economics. Then come back with a proposal that is not so completely laughable and people may listen.