British Environment Minister Elliot Morley predicted that the notion of a White Christmas for England (and by extension, the middle lattitudes) is 65 percent less likely over the next 50 years.
Norman Baker, the British Parliament's Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, summed up the analysis this way: "Britons will soon be left with only dreams of a white Christmas, as the chances of it actually happening become more remote."Global warming. Feh.Despite the fact that London has experienced only six white Christmases in the past 45 years, Baker said any future lack of snow could be blamed on only one factor. "Global warming is the main reason for this shift in seasonal weather and is responsible for changing the world as we know it," Baker said.
Baker believes the analysis should prompt a call to action on climate change.
"It is not only Christmas that will be affected. In the New Year we can expect more of the extreme weather, floods and gales suffered across the Continent this year. This is a global issue, but the government needs to make reducing greenhouse gases one of its top New Year's resolutions," Baker said.
This morning's low here in Atlanta? 18 degrees. And of course, it was even colder out away from the city, and up toward the North Georgia Mountains.
It's 42 this afternoon here, and we're expecting an even colder blast early next week, and the weatherman actually mentioned a possibility of snow for that timeframe.
Posted by mhking at December 15, 2004 02:02 PMThe next time some whiny tree-hugging hippy starts blathering about global warming, calmly hand them this speech from Michael Chrichton, and stand back as their head explodes....
http://www.crichton-official.com/speeches/speeches_quote05.html
Posted by: Tman at December 15, 2004 04:19 PMWow. I stumbled on this site by accident while researching a paper. I read this post, and at first, I was sure I was misunderstanding you, because I couldn't believe there were actually still people around who weren't aware global warming is real.
I am not a religious person. I do not think nature is wonderful, I am not a "Tree-hugger", I am sure Eden never existed. As someone interested in science, I am simply in concurrence with the vast majority of the scientific community who are trying to give warnings concerning the existence of global warming. There is proof. It is that simple. I am sorry you don't see it, really.
http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/041108.asp
http://www.mng.org.uk/green_house/threat/threat6.htm
mountain glaciers the world over are receding
the Arctic ice pack has lost about 40% of its thickness over the past four decades
the global sea level is rising about three times faster over the past 100 years compared to the previous 3,000 years
there are a growing number of studies that show plants and animals changing their range and behavior in response to shifts in climate
The mainstream scientific consensus on global warming is becoming clearer every day: changes in our climate are real and they are underway. Now.
I'm probably not going to convince you two. But I hope someone sees this, and goes out and decides for themselves.
Posted by: Lara at December 15, 2004 09:36 PMLara, yes, there are changes in the climate, underway, as we speak. A few things to keep in mind,
1. There always are changes in the climate.
2. One of the recorded climate changes that had the greatest effect in history took place during the late Middle Ages.
3. Climate changes are cyclical, and deducing the cause of the changes is extrememly difficult. Blaming global warming, for instance on carbon emmissions might not be good science since, for instance, the very large volcanic explosion of Aug. 26, 1883 in Krakatoa resulted in lower temperatures around the world because of the ash particulate in the atmosphere, and you can't get more carbon emissions that that.
Meanwhile, here in Princeton, it's 28oF. Global warming, Feh, as Michael said.
Posted by: Fausta at December 16, 2004 09:10 AM