WP, pg. 1: Climate Experts Worry as 2006 Is Hottest Year on Record in U.S.

[DeepModem Mom]

Climate Experts Worry as 2006 Is Hottest Year on Record in U.S.
By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 10, 2007; Page A01

Last year was the warmest in the continental United States in the past 112 years -- capping a nine-year warming streak "unprecedented in the historical record" that was driven in part by the burning of fossil fuels, the government reported yesterday.

According to the government's National Climatic Data Center, the record-breaking warmth -- which caused daffodils and cherry trees to bloom throughout the East on New Year's Day -- was the result of both unusual regional weather patterns and the long-term effects of the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

"People should be concerned about what we are doing to the climate," said Jay Lawrimore, chief of the climate monitoring branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Burning of fossil fuels is causing an increase in greenhouse gases, and there's a broad scientific consensus that is producing climate change."

The center said there are indications that the rate at which global temperatures are rising is speeding up.

Average temperatures nationwide in 2006 were 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the mean temperatures nationwide for the 20th century, the agency said. It reported that seven months in 2006 were much warmer than average, and that last month was the fourth-warmest December on record. Average temperatures for all 48 contiguous states were above or well above average, and New Jersey logged its hottest temperatures ever....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010901949.html

[Hekate]

1. Kick this. Thanks DMM

[Bicoastal]

2. Shoot, it ain't THAT warm out....

Sure, there was a heat wave across the entire country, over 90 in each of the lower 48 states but North Dakota. Sure, there were simaultaneous heatwaves going on in Europe, Asia, and in Australia during the corresponding winter. Sure, December was strangely temperate across the country, and it was 70 degrees in NYC last weekend. Sure, there was that one mass of ice in Canada that broke off and drifted away. Sure, every credible scientist on record believes that the world is warming at an alarming rate, even the small minority who don't necessarily believe it's being caused by humans. Sure, I'll give you all that....

But were there as many hurricanes as there were in 2005? Or a huge tsunami like the one in late 2004? Hey, I live in Bumpusville, and when I went outside at approximately 1:30 AM yesterday to let in my cats, it was pretty dang cold out. What do all of you fancy nobel prize winners have to say about THAT?

Sorry, not convinced. Until It reaches 90 in the winter and my swimming pool boils over in the summer, and there are at least 20 hurricanes and 5 major tsunamis going on all at once, and dying polar bears start coming down to Bumpusville from Canada and knock on my door pleading to sleep in my freezer, well....maybe THEN I'll think about giving this Global Warming business a little thinking about. Until then, I'm not sure I can believe such wild, baseless speculations.

That's all I have to say about that....now if you'll excuse me, I'm taking the ol' Hummer for a scenic drive around the block.

[NYC]

3. Is your swimming pool boiling over yet?

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[NJCher]

5. funny post

Welcome to DU.



Cher

[BootinUp]

6. I think you wrote a good epitaph

for the human species there. ;)

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Oh, that's GOOD! nt

[antiimperialist]

8. Good point. And I should add

that El Niño conditions that have magnified warm temperature in 2006 were resopnsible for the low amount of hurricanes in the Atlantic.

El Niño=Few Atlantic Hurricanes.

[Pierzin]

4. Let's hear for DeepModem Mom Again! woohoo!

I actually heard a guy on CNN say it wasnt the cause of Global Warming last night. Why do we have to listen to those bastards???

[Uncle Joe]

9. Thanks for the post DeepModem Mom

Kicked and recommended

[Megahurtz]

10. And 2007 is supposed to be Even Hotter.

[Megahurtz]

11. Or....

[bamacrat]

12. But according to some it isnt getting hotter, we need an alternate view.

makes me sick.