Reprieve

   The summer was not kind to Climate Guy 73. During the past year, I saw monthly increases in site visits, culminating in the all-time high of 12,436 in April. Ever since, the numbers have dropped so fast you would think you were looking at the temperature graph of the stratosphere for the past 40 years. (Look it up. That was my best science joke ever.)  I figured that people were just probably outside more, it being late Spring and then Summer.  Now, the green of Summer is giving way to the brilliant colors of Autumn as we speak. There is so much to do and see and experience in the world, why waste it sitting  inside on a computer? That has got to be the reason my loyal readers stopped coming by. (I'm sure it would have nothing to do with my erratic blogging, week long absences, or precipitous decline in the quality of my writing. Hey, you have a baby while living in a foreign country, all the while taking german classes to learn a new language.)

     The break was cathartic in a lot of ways, in all honesty. In this business, you can have your throat handed to you in the snap-hiss of a lightsaber. I have been read the riot act by many who think I am too radical, too "Left", that say I taint my message with "environmental alarmism" which damages my credibility. After awhile, I'll be honest, it can get to a person. There is a dread deep down, when it comes to the future of the planet, that this all maybe for naught. Am I making a difference? Are people reading? Am I doing enough?

    Then I look at my son: five months of smile and drool. The kid is easy going and sweet, the center of my universe. One smile from that toothless wonder and I realize that "Fuck yes it is all worth it!" People have to understand that we are damaging our rivers and oceans, leveling our forests, and killing millions of species every year. I owe it to my son to raise that red flag so it does NOT go unnoticed before it is too late, if it isn't too late already. I owe it to everyone's kids to do that! Even if I only get one person every few weeks to stop in and say, "Wow, that guy was funny! And I'm going to look into this Climate Reality Project, or the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards, or the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. " That's real all that matters.

     So I amble on. Reading new articles and watching new interviews everyday. Dropping into online communities and sharing what I know and have learned, while trying to learn more. Starting the conversation and reaching out to fill in the gaps for those who want to know more. Of course, this means lots of people rolling their eyes and shaking their heads when they don't like what I have to say. I have been told on more than 734 occasions (not that I'm counting) that I am wrong about the Climate, that Climate Change isn't real. Those people that say this to me ignore the science, the facts, the evidence. I even had a few people tell me that since they KNEW they were right, they didn't HAVE to prove it. It was up to ME to prove them wrong. What?! These are the people that take part in a scientific discussion and ignore the parameters set forth by science to state one's case. Instead, they just dismiss me as a brainwashed liberal who wants to trick people into buying clean renewable energy and plant more trees. They say I am a tree-hugger, a hippie, an Alarmist.

     Look, if you don't believe that Climate Change is real, that it is happening right now and will continue to happen in the future, and that we are the cause...this is not the blog for you. Especially now, with me back from a few weeks break and ready to type! I am trying to open the eyes of people on this planet so they can see how they are affecting the world today with their actions, and how they can affect the future by altering our present course. Some out there call me an Alarmist. I don't agree. Why? Well, it's not Alarmist if it's true, right?

Good Advice

Isaac Asimov

President Obama Wants to #ActOnClimate

     If you haven't yet seen the White House video featuring President Obama and Climate Change, it is below. Do yourself a favor and take a look.

     The action we take now (or fail to take) will determine the state of the world for centuries to come. We must act now!

Meme Predicts Study Results

     I posted this meme last year sometime. I think I posted it again some time early this year. Here it is again just to refresh your memory.

     And for those of you that always brush aside memes as silly internet speak with no basis in fact, here's the article that provides documentation that the meme is indeed real. Suck it.

     Its the truth. We can measure this accurately because its only been a few hundred years since we started doing it.

   

How About Something Positive?

     The Christian Science Monitor article about turning brownfield into Solar Power Generation Facilities is pretty great. Not only does this offer empty and unused properties the opportunity to become productive, it also has led to the clean up of these sites. Without solar power, these sites might have still been left to rot and contaminate.

     I just thought it would be nice to share something that showed the reversal of human environmental destruction and share something that shows some hope.

Have a great weekend!

Climate vs Weather

     I think everyone is familiar with this photo of Senate Climate-Change-Denier James Inhofe using a snowball as evidence that climate change doesn't exist. It was snowing outside in Washington that day in the winter, so climate change can't be real, he posited. Which of course is ridiculous. Weather isn't climate. Weather patterns over long periods of time are climate. Besides, there is more to Climate Change than just global warming, which if the Senator would talk with a science teacher, he may understand.  

     Climate Change doesn't mean that the Earth is ONLY getting warmer. It means that due to global warming brought upon by ever increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, which can and has been directly traced to the burning of fossil fuels by humans, weather patterns over time begin to change. Summer gets longer, Spring and Fall get shorter. Winters can get nastier, storms get stronger. Places around the world get more rain than the normally get on average and there are floods, while others get less and suffer droughts. Sure, these things happen and have happened for millions of years. But, the frequency and the magnitude is increasing. The Extremes get more extreme. The Earth is warming much faster than at any other time that scientists can determine. We can look back at the climate changes over the past million years or so and what we see happening now is unprecedented. Rapid change makes it harder for life to adapt, which leads to mass die offs of species, which is taking place all over the world. 

     This report shows that 2015 is on its way to becoming the hottest year on record, beating the previous record year, which was...2014. Ouch. Not good. Hotter temperatures change the local environment and can shift weather patterns, creating a different climate. Where I grew up in Southern Maryland, you could set your watch by the 4 year snow storm that brought us 20+ inches of snow. Every four years. I vividly remember as a kid those years because we were usually out of school for a week! '79, '83, '87, '91, '96, '00. But, now storms like that are becoming more frequent and the four year interval is less predictable. 2010 saw the four year storm, but then we had another winter with heavy snows in 2013. And again in 2014. The winter of 2015 saw a ridiculous amount of snow in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (just ask my cousins) and they prediction for this coming winter is again looking like heavy snow along the Eastern Seaboard due to a VERY strong El Niño. As you can see, all of this gets complicated.

     What I have noticed is that when discussing weather patterns, people get angry and things can get contentious. Some dismiss weather changes as normal and ignore the new emerging patterns. But weather patterns aren't the only way to recognize climate change. It can also have an effect on the local flora and fauna. Trees that once thrived in your area with what the local climate used to be are now stressed and struggling to survive. Too much water, extended drought. Too much rain or not enough has thrown their health out of whack. Animals that were once plentiful in an area suddenly decline in numbers, which has a domino effect on other plants and animals. Warmer temperatures can create ideal conditions for certain bacteria and fungi to grow, which can kill plants and trees. Everything is connected. 

     Where we live now, in Southern Germany near the Alps, I have talked at great length the locals about the weather: is it the same as it was 20 years ago? Has anything changed? Is it warmer in the Summer? In the Winter? Does it snow more often or less? Are the thunderstorms more frequent and more powerful? What about insects? Everyone that I have talked to says the same thing: 20 years ago, Autumn started at the end of August but now it starts closer to the end of September. Mosquitoes are a much bigger pest than ever before, they say. Local trees (in yards and in the forests) are struggling in the Summer months due to the reduced rainfall. House fly and Wasp populations have exploded; no one remembers them being so bad, and we live deep in cow country so flies have always been around. This is a place where they don't normally have screens for their windows, but now most people are installing them because these insects have become a major issue. 

     Of course, this is all unscientific. I have to admit that. I'm just out asking questions, getting to know people and trying to improve my crappy german. But, the people I am talking to have lived here most if not all of their lives. We are talking about old farmers, bent-backed from hard work, school teachers, gray-haired and stress-wrinkled from years in the schoolroom. People who's families have lived here for generations. People who learned how to work the land from their parents. That's DECADES of experience, observing the environment and refining methods to be a successful farmer. And now, their methods are not enough due to the changing climate. 

     I find it all fascinating and worrisome. Which is why Inhofe's snowball really frosts my little red wagon. The naysayers always focus on one thing, and that's weather. But it's not about weather, not really. Weather is a factor, but its the weather patterns that we are talking about and studying. They are changing, which bring about other more measurable changes like increases in insect populations or declining plant populations. So if you notice that there are more mosquitoes or a certain weed is suddenly everywhere and you can't fight it back, it may be because where you live the climate has changed enough to create different conditions, conditions that those insects of weed just so happen to thrive in. Something to consider the next time someone throws a snowball and tells you the world is getting colder. 

Climate Reality Thursday

     It's been a few weeks since I posted a video. So, what better way to break that streak than with a video of young Climate Leaders striving to make a difference? Enjoy.

The Difference Between Fact and Opinion: Take 2

     Do you want to know the true difference between a Climate Change Alarmist and a Climate Change Denier? I will use this simple example to illustrate.

- A man sitting in a house looks out the window, sees that it is raining and suddenly remembers that he left the newspaper on the front porch, the windows down in his car and the patio door open. He thinks about all of these things and realizes that the newspaper will probably get ruined, his car seats will get soaked and water will blow in through the patio door.

- Another man sitting in the same house listens to the first man tell him what is happening outside. Without looking, the second man says "Its not raining." When questioned by the first man why he won't get up and look to see it for himself, the second man replies, "Because its too much work to look outside. Besides, its against my beliefs. So, in my opinion, it is not raining."

     And I wonder why I am always pulling out my own hair.

Bubkis

     The planet is getting warmer, as we know. The warming is change climate patterns, as we all know. So, imagine my surprise when I read an article this week that said the opposite was true. A report out there this week that says the Earth will have a "mini Ice-Age" by 2030. Yeah, that report is bubkis. I just wanted everyone to be clear on that.

Jeb Bush Steps Out

     Jeb Bush, American Royalty and Republican Presidential Candidate, the other day said he believes that Climate Change will probably be solved by a guy tinkering in his garage. Of course, media outlets are having a field day with this, ridiculing Bush for his statements. I mean, what can a guy in his garage do to combat climate change, invent a freeze-machine like the one Mikkos Cassadine created that threw Port Charles into a sudden winter during the summer of 1981? (General Hospital fans know how close were are to the end.) Or maybe Bubba in Georgia will convert his three wheeler into a salt vaporizer that makes salt disappear when turning sea water into fresh water?

     Instead of focusing on how silly it sounded, I think we should focus on the fact that Jeb admitted Climate Change is real, is happening, and it is an issue that needs to be addressed. This is a small victory for those of us who recognize we must take action before it is too late. The fact Bush recognizes global warming and climate change as an issue is a step toward. Instead of just ignoring it or dismissing it, Bush's statements have pushed the door ajar toward working toward real progress on combating something that threatens out way of life and the health of our global society.

     In a field of ostriches--most with their heads stuck in the sand--it's nice to see one potential Republican candidate looking at what's going on in the world around him. Its easy to poke fun of another Bush and say his idea that some guy tinkering in a garage would end the climate crisis, but many breakthroughs throughout history have come from unlike places. Sure, it is unlikely that Cletus in his shed in Mississippi is going to invent a freeze-pistol that can restore the melting glaciers to their pre-Industrial Revolution condition. But who knows? I would like to think that Bush's comments mean he is open to funding research and finding solutions, moving forward instead of falling farther behind. Sure, he may be against government regulations (which is is short-sighted and unfortunate), but the fact that he acknowledges what is happening is reason to have hope. Its a departure from the other ostriches in the "Climate Change isn't real and is a vast conspiracy to get people to buy solar panels" group.

     It should be fun to see if his acknowledgement of Climate Changes the rhetoric of the other candidates if Bush's statements appeal to conservative voters who want action on Climate Change. It could change the course of the 2016 election, considering the majority of Americans believe we must do something before it is to late. Of course, he may just be saying this to get elected. But I will take the small step forward. Anything to help Jethro distill a new carbon-absorbing moonshine that cools the Earth and saves us all.

Friday Meme

Let's all take the time to really understand what we are talking about before waxing poetic about how much we know.

Climate Reality Friday

Thursday Movie

     Check out this great little video about the effects we are having on Climate Change and the Planet. Its only a few minutes long. Leaner what you can do to make a difference and Save the World.

Following Up On the Senate Snowball

     If you read the my last post, you probably saw the video of Senator James Inhofe dismissing Climate Change  by showing everyone in the Senate Chamber a snowball. He insisted that because it snowed in DC, that global warming was not happening. As usual, the Senator (R-OK) was talking out of his ass by choosing to ignore data from his very own state.

     The Capital Weather Gang pointed out last month that while the polar vortex has descended on the Northeast, bringing record cold temperatures and snowfall, Senator Inhofe's home state of Oklahoma was breaking records for the hottest day ever recorded in January. That's right, temperatures in Oklahoma and throughout the Midwest were more than 30 degrees ABOVE normal, breaking records that have stood for over 100 years (or at least since records have been taken).

     Then, to my complete delight, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) took Inhofe to task. Whitehouse pointed out how many organizations and scientific societies accepted that climate change is real and were taking steps to deal with the repercussions. Senator Whitehouse pointed out that people like Inhofe ignore the facts and the actions being taken by companies like Ford and Miller Brewing company...shit, even Walmart accepts that climate change is happening!

     Senator Inhofe thinks God is going to fix all this for us. He better hope so, since the Senator from Oklahoma isn't doing anything to address it, besides attacking science and ignoring the best scientific minds in the world.

Plant More Trees!

As the human population continues to grow, we should be planting more trees than we cut down.

Paid to Deny?

     Dr. Willie Soon apparently has been paid by some of the biggest greenhouse gas emitting companies in the fossil fuel industry to say that Anthropogenic Climate Change is not happening. Multiple media outlets have written about the story. Senator is calling for a hearing to get to the bottom of this. Some of you may ask, "is that really necessary? A Senate hearing?" Yes, it is necessary. Why is it a big deal that the scientists that is the darling of conservative politicians and the fossil fuel industry has been paid over $1.2 million dollars while he says climate change isn't happening? Well, here are a few reasons:

1. He didn't report the "funding" for over $1 million given to his research since 2008. It speaks to his integrity and suggests that he was hiding something, which takes more than a chunk out of his credibility. It also suggests that he is in it for the money, which would explain why he is in the minority who dismiss Climate Change as a hoax.

2. The companies and organizations funding his "research" are the same companies who stand to lose billions of dollars if climate change regulations are enacted. Exxon Mobile, the American Petroleum Institute and one of the Koch brothers charitable foundations, to name a few. Why aren't they funding real scientists who study climate? If their claims that global warming and climate change aren't happening, why not spend millions to fund the 97% of the leading climate scientists to discover that on their own? Because it is happening, that's why.

3. The Tobacco companies did this very thing back int he 1960's. They paid doctors to say smoking didn't cause cancer and did not kill you. We see how all of that turned out.

4. Finally, its a big deal because it means people are being paid to lie. To you, to me, to the American people, to the rest of the world. These companies are trying to make it seem like there is an equal debate about the facts and findings about Climate Change. 97-3 is not an equal and healthy debate. Its a landslide. even with a margin for error of +/- 3%, those scientists not being paid by Big Oil and Big Coal win.

     What Soon is doing is illegal. He has been lying and now there is a money trail that many suspected was there. Disclosing it before now and standing up for his scientific opinions on Climate Change would have lent him more credibility. Now, he just looks like he was less than honest.

     

Friday Round Up

     President Obama this week designated three new National Monuments, which promptly prompted Congressman Ken Buck (R-CO) from calling the president "King Barack". No, President Obama is not acting like a king, he's doing the job the people elected him to do...twice. Teddy Roosevelt (a Republican) started this land preservation over a century ago, and every president since has used it. What's wrong with preserving wilderness from time to time? I don't think I will ever understand how someone could look at the immense and powerful beauty of the natural world, only to want to dig it up to make a buck.

photo by John Murray

     Governor Scott Walker has made almost $2 billion in tax cuts since becoming Governor of Wisconsin in 2011. Now, the state faces a shortfall next year that will most likely reach--wait for it--$2 billion! (Governor Walker is skipping state debt payments due this coming May, which he is allowed by the terms of the loan to do one time.) It helps cash flow right now, but it could come back to bite them in the ass next year, when the shortfall is expected to grow. In order to make those initial tax cuts, Walker cut spending to education, public media and--SURPRISE!--the Department of Natural Resources, among others. I know balancing budgets is important, as well as controlling costs. But why is it always schools, clean water and NPR that have to cut back?

Photo: Forbes

     The Lenten Fast for Climate Justice is a 40 day fast during Lent, and many Catholics using the opportunity to demand action on the climate crisis. Catholics from around the world will be fasting in hopes to raise awareness and get people to take climate change seriously. It warms my heart to see the Catholic Church be all in on the subject of Climate Change. See, everyone, there is hope!  Even Pope Frank is on board!

 
Thanks to #ThinkProgress for giving me such great articles to read everyday. 

Friday's Quote

Vaccines, Wind Turbine Syndrome and the War on Science

     There is a large group of people in the US that believe vaccinating your kids can cause autism. While the majority (I don't know the exact number, but its a very BIG majority) don't believe this--because the science says its safe--and vaccinate their kids, many refuse because of a very small sample of studies that link vaccines and autism. Those studies have been debunked and there is no proof that vaccines can cause autism in any child. Yet, since Jenny McCarthy says vaccinating causes autism, people listen.

     The part that really pisses me off with this is that ignorant people who don't even understand what a vaccine is are putting other people's kids in danger. (I still don't know what to say about the smart people who don't vaccinate their kids.) Kids can die from things like diphtheria, rubella and