This Last August was the hottest August ever on record

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Amazing how the weather in one geographical location 'defines' a person's concept of a global phenomenon.

When I look at the horizon, I see a flat earth...and sometimes that's all it takes, baby.

Exactly!

Here we go again with that petition again.

Was it 'petition' or 'scientists' or the 'PNAS' format??

It doesn't matter to Joseph....as long as his church handed it out to him, it's as good as gold.

Attacking my faith once again when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

When you're all living like Total Recall you'll change your tune.

That was a cool movie. As long as the alien with 3 boobs is there.

One for each hand and one for the mouth. It doesn't get much better.

[R and F 34]

It is still hot hot hot here in Texas, humid also.

[Joseph & Ana 0]

It is still hot hot hot here in Texas, humid also.

Thats Texas for you. Its been cold here in Michigan for 2 months.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Amazing how the weather in one geographical location 'defines' a person's concept of a global phenomenon.

When I look at the horizon, I see a flat earth...and sometimes that's all it takes, baby.

Exactly!

Here we go again with that petition again.

Was it 'petition' or 'scientists' or the 'PNAS' format??

It doesn't matter to Joseph....as long as his church handed it out to him, it's as good as gold.

Attacking my faith once again when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Churches that hand out literature attacking science are fair target. Tell me that it isn't your church in fact that is feeding you your understanding of science.

[HAL 9000 96]

Amazing how the weather in one geographical location 'defines' a person's concept of a global phenomenon.

When I look at the horizon, I see a flat earth...and sometimes that's all it takes, baby.

Exactly!

Here we go again with that petition again.

Was it 'petition' or 'scientists' or the 'PNAS' format??

It doesn't matter to Joseph....as long as his church handed it out to him, it's as good as gold.

Attacking my faith once again when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

When you're all living like Total Recall you'll change your tune.

That was a cool movie. As long as the alien with 3 boobs is there.

I have to agree with you on that one, Joseph. Your indoctrination has nothing to do with your not knowing about that petition.

[Joseph & Ana 0]

Amazing how the weather in one geographical location 'defines' a person's concept of a global phenomenon.

When I look at the horizon, I see a flat earth...and sometimes that's all it takes, baby.

Exactly!

Here we go again with that petition again.

Was it 'petition' or 'scientists' or the 'PNAS' format??

It doesn't matter to Joseph....as long as his church handed it out to him, it's as good as gold.

Attacking my faith once again when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Churches that hand out literature attacking science are fair target. Tell me that it isn't your church in fact that is feeding you your understanding of science.

Oh I forgot you've attended my church before, so that means you can attack me. Ok.. This has a lot to do with the topic now doesn't it? Nice way of changing the subject as liberals ALWAYS do.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Amazing how the weather in one geographical location 'defines' a person's concept of a global phenomenon.

When I look at the horizon, I see a flat earth...and sometimes that's all it takes, baby.

Exactly!

Here we go again with that petition again.

Was it 'petition' or 'scientists' or the 'PNAS' format??

It doesn't matter to Joseph....as long as his church handed it out to him, it's as good as gold.

Attacking my faith once again when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Churches that hand out literature attacking science are fair target. Tell me that it isn't your church in fact that is feeding you your understanding of science.

Oh I forgot you've attended my church before, so that means you can attack me. Ok.. This has a lot to do with the topic now doesn't it? Nice way of changing the subject as liberals ALWAYS do.

You certainly didn't get that list from your science teacher. Did you even have science at your Christian Madrassa?

Edited September 18, 2009 by Col. 'Bat' Guano

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Amazing how the weather in one geographical location 'defines' a person's concept of a global phenomenon.

When I look at the horizon, I see a flat earth...and sometimes that's all it takes, baby.

Exactly!

Here we go again with that petition again.

Was it 'petition' or 'scientists' or the 'PNAS' format??

It doesn't matter to Joseph....as long as his church handed it out to him, it's as good as gold.

Attacking my faith once again when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Churches that hand out literature attacking science are fair target. Tell me that it isn't your church in fact that is feeding you your understanding of science.

Oh I forgot you've attended my church before, so that means you can attack me. Ok.. This has a lot to do with the topic now doesn't it? Nice way of changing the subject as liberals ALWAYS do.

So you attack everything liberal, you're even.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Amazing how the weather in one geographical location 'defines' a person's concept of a global phenomenon.

When I look at the horizon, I see a flat earth...and sometimes that's all it takes, baby.

Exactly!

Here we go again with that petition again.

Was it 'petition' or 'scientists' or the 'PNAS' format??

It doesn't matter to Joseph....as long as his church handed it out to him, it's as good as gold.

Attacking my faith once again when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Churches that hand out literature attacking science are fair target. Tell me that it isn't your church in fact that is feeding you your understanding of science.

Oh I forgot you've attended my church before, so that means you can attack me. Ok.. This has a lot to do with the topic now doesn't it? Nice way of changing the subject as liberals ALWAYS do.

So you attack everything liberal, you're even.

Jesus was a librul commie....that's gotta make his head spin.

[alienlovechild 75]

Churches that hand out literature attacking science are fair target. Tell me that it isn't your church in fact that is feeding you your understanding of science.

What percent of churches hand out literature at church against science? Never heard of that before. They're usually too busy pushing the Bible on you.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Churches that hand out literature attacking science are fair target. Tell me that it isn't your church in fact that is feeding you your understanding of science.

What percent of churches hand out literature at church against science? Never heard of that before. They're usually too busy pushing the Bible on you.

That'd be a hard stat to find out, but I know they do. I've been given pamphlets from churches that I don't even go to - telling me the Pope is the anti-christ, Darwin was a soldier of Satan...good stuff. I should have kept some of them.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Col. 'Bat' Guano

[dalegg 143]

it was freaking hot here.. for about two to three weeks or so it was over 100 every day and no this is not normal for the area we live..

Brace yourself, cuz its coming back this weekend. I don't know how abnormal it was though. We do get heat waves here. All in all I probably had my A/C on less this August than any other year except last year when it was broken. Just be glad you don't live in Kenya.

[Marilyn. 340]

it was freaking hot here.. for about two to three weeks or so it was over 100 every day and no this is not normal for the area we live..

Brace yourself, cuz its coming back this weekend. I don't know how abnormal it was though. We do get heat waves here. All in all I probably had my A/C on less this August than any other year except last year when it was broken. Just be glad you don't live in Kenya.

well, I have been here for 4 years and I don't recall it ever getting over 100 degrees in the area we live...

[dalegg 143]

it was freaking hot here.. for about two to three weeks or so it was over 100 every day and no this is not normal for the area we live..

Brace yourself, cuz its coming back this weekend. I don't know how abnormal it was though. We do get heat waves here. All in all I probably had my A/C on less this August than any other year except last year when it was broken. Just be glad you don't live in Kenya.

well, I have been here for 4 years and I don't recall it ever getting over 100 degrees in the area we live...

Mmm. Maybe not in the past 4 years. We have actually had some pretty mild summers lately. I've been here for most of my life and believe you me, this will happen again.

[Pooky 3,847]

Pause in Arctic's melting trend

By Richard Black

Environment correspondent, BBC News website

This summer's melt of Arctic sea ice has not been as profound as in the last two years, scientists said as the ice began its annual Autumn recovery. At its smallest extent this summer, on 12 September, the ice covered 5.10 million sq km (1.97 million sq miles). This was larger than the minima seen in the last two years, and leaves 2007's record low of 4.1 million sq km (1.6 million sq miles) intact. But scientists note the long-term trend is still downwards. They note that at this year's minimum, the ice covered 24% less ocean than for the 1979-2000 average. The analysis is compiled from satellite readings at the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado.

Colder front

Among the reasons for the less drastic melt are that Arctic temperatures have been cooler this year than last, researchers said, and that winds have helped disperse sea ice across the region. NSIDC scientist Walt Meier said the reasons for the somewhat cooler temperatures this year were not entirely clear yet.

"We had cloudier conditions and low pressure zones in late summer that probably helped keep temperatures down," he told BBC News. "It's something we need to look at in more detail. But it certainly wasn't as warm as 2007, which was in the order of 2-3C warmer than the average in a lot of places."

The question now, he said, was whether 2007 turns out to be a "high-melt blip", or whether 2009 turns out to be a "low-melt blip" - which will not become evident until next summer at the earliest. What continues to have scientists worried is that a significant proportion of the cover consists of young, thin ice formed in a single winter. This is much more prone to melting than the older, thicker ice that dominated in years gone by.

"If we get another warm year, anything like 2007, then the ice is really going to go," said Dr Meier. "And the chances are that at some point in the next few years we are going to get a warm one."

White heat

In recent decades, the Arctic region has been warming about twice as fast as the average for the Earth's surface. Recently, scientists specialising in reconstructing past temperatures released data showing that the current decade is the warmest in the Arctic for at least 2,000 years. Melting ice is a "positive feedback" mechanism driving temperature rise faster. Whereas white ice reflects sunlight back into space, dark water absorbs it, leading to faster warming. The NSIDC team cautions that this is a preliminary analysis and that further melt is possible, though unlikely, this year. Next month they will publish a full analysis including more details of how temperatures, currents and winds affected the sea ice this summer.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8261953.stm

Now what I like about the report above, apart from the balanced perspective, is the honesty of the scientist quoted. The "blip" came out of the blue and was completely unexpected. The reason behind it is still under investigation. He didn't try and fob it off, with a "well, it's an anomaly, but our model accounts for it", because it's obvious that this is a deviation from the expected.

But most of all, they will keep working at the problem. The Earth's climate is a far more complex beast than even the vast majority of the scientists, both for and against global warming/climate change, give it credit for. Which is why I scoff at most of the reports that shout "We Know What's Happening!", because it's quite clear that they think they know, but less clear that what they think matches what is really going on.

For me, I'm hedging my bets. The Farmer's Almanac reckons this winter is going to be a cold one and they, reportedly, have an 85% accuracy rate for their seasonal predictions.

Now where are my thermals?