Apparently global warming is failing in China
My daughter came home with a Weekly Reader from her class and was telling me about how bad global warming is. I almost lost my mind. With articles like this in the news all the time, and surviving the hole in the o-zone layer, I'm just not falling for it.
China battles "coldest winter in 100 years" By John Ruwitch
Mon Feb 4, 12:09 PM ET
Millions remained stranded in China on Monday ahead of the biggest holiday of the year as parts of the country suffered their coldest winter in a century.
Freezing weather has killed scores of people and left travelers stranded before the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival -- the only opportunity many people have for a holiday all year.
It has also brought China unwanted negative publicity six months before the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
President Hu Jintao chaired an emergency Politburo meeting on Sunday for the second time in a week to discuss rescue efforts.
"We have to be clear-minded that the inclement weather and severe disaster will continue to plague certain regions in the south," said a statement issued after Sunday's meeting. "Relief work will continue to face challenges, posing a tough task."
The China Meteorological Administration said the weather was the coldest in 100 years in central Hubei and Hunan provinces, going by the total number of consecutive days of average temperature less than 1 degree Celsius (33.8 degrees Fahrenheit).
But it expected brighter weather ahead, though fog could become a problem and temperatures at night would likely still be below freezing, slowing the thaw.
"It is still necessary to remain alert for possible low temperatures, frozen rain, snow, freezing and heavy fog," said administration head Zheng Guoguang.
He added the cold snap had caught the country off guard, in an area unprepared for such heavy snow. But climate change could see more extremes in weather in China, Zheng warned.
Four people died after a snow-laden roof collapsed at a fuel station in the eastern city of Nanjing on Sunday, Xinhua news agency said. One person was killed in a stampede at Guangzhou railway station in the south as people rushed to board trains.
Roads and railways, some of which have been blocked for days, have started to move again, and fewer flights were being cancelled, state media said, offering a glimmer of hope.
The United States and Singapore pledged emergency aid of $150,000 and $500,000 respectively, Xinhua said, as several other countries sent condolence messages.
CAJOLED TO SKIP HOLIDAY
Authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou said their priority was to clear the backlog of travelers, having cajoled millions of migrant workers to stay put and skip the holiday.
Elsewhere, efforts turned to restoring power and water, which some cities, such as Chenzhou in the south, have been without for more than a week, causing some to question China's ability to handle emergencies months before Beijing holds the Olympics.
"Without power the only information we have been getting is by SMS from the government," said Chenzhou resident Zheng Ninghong, tending a fruit stall amid the slush.
"There was one, I think, that said it would get warmer, but what we need is electricity."
China has largely avoided unrest throughout the crisis, in part due to the 519,000 soldiers and more than 1.6 million paramilitary police that have been deployed throughout the country to help with disaster relief and crowd control.
The government continued to lionize those working to restore normalcy, giving three policemen who died during the storms the title of "hero and model of all Chinese policemen."
Pictures from Wuhan, capital of the central province of Hubei and lying at the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers, showed cars blanketed not by snow, but by ice. Riverside barriers and trees were draped in huge icicles.
The China Daily quoted an economic planning official as saying power plants in Beijing and Shanghai had only enough coal for less than seven days.
"But top economic planners said the country had reversed a sharp decline in coal reserves. There was enough coal on Saturday to generate electricity for the entire country for the next eight days," the newspaper added.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Jason Subler in Beijing)
China battles "coldest winter in 100 years" By John Ruwitch
Mon Feb 4, 12:09 PM ET
Millions remained stranded in China on Monday ahead of the biggest holiday of the year as parts of the country suffered their coldest winter in a century.
Freezing weather has killed scores of people and left travelers stranded before the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival -- the only opportunity many people have for a holiday all year.
It has also brought China unwanted negative publicity six months before the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
President Hu Jintao chaired an emergency Politburo meeting on Sunday for the second time in a week to discuss rescue efforts.
"We have to be clear-minded that the inclement weather and severe disaster will continue to plague certain regions in the south," said a statement issued after Sunday's meeting. "Relief work will continue to face challenges, posing a tough task."
The China Meteorological Administration said the weather was the coldest in 100 years in central Hubei and Hunan provinces, going by the total number of consecutive days of average temperature less than 1 degree Celsius (33.8 degrees Fahrenheit).
But it expected brighter weather ahead, though fog could become a problem and temperatures at night would likely still be below freezing, slowing the thaw.
"It is still necessary to remain alert for possible low temperatures, frozen rain, snow, freezing and heavy fog," said administration head Zheng Guoguang.
He added the cold snap had caught the country off guard, in an area unprepared for such heavy snow. But climate change could see more extremes in weather in China, Zheng warned.
Four people died after a snow-laden roof collapsed at a fuel station in the eastern city of Nanjing on Sunday, Xinhua news agency said. One person was killed in a stampede at Guangzhou railway station in the south as people rushed to board trains.
Roads and railways, some of which have been blocked for days, have started to move again, and fewer flights were being cancelled, state media said, offering a glimmer of hope.
The United States and Singapore pledged emergency aid of $150,000 and $500,000 respectively, Xinhua said, as several other countries sent condolence messages.
CAJOLED TO SKIP HOLIDAY
Authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou said their priority was to clear the backlog of travelers, having cajoled millions of migrant workers to stay put and skip the holiday.
Elsewhere, efforts turned to restoring power and water, which some cities, such as Chenzhou in the south, have been without for more than a week, causing some to question China's ability to handle emergencies months before Beijing holds the Olympics.
"Without power the only information we have been getting is by SMS from the government," said Chenzhou resident Zheng Ninghong, tending a fruit stall amid the slush.
"There was one, I think, that said it would get warmer, but what we need is electricity."
China has largely avoided unrest throughout the crisis, in part due to the 519,000 soldiers and more than 1.6 million paramilitary police that have been deployed throughout the country to help with disaster relief and crowd control.
The government continued to lionize those working to restore normalcy, giving three policemen who died during the storms the title of "hero and model of all Chinese policemen."
Pictures from Wuhan, capital of the central province of Hubei and lying at the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers, showed cars blanketed not by snow, but by ice. Riverside barriers and trees were draped in huge icicles.
The China Daily quoted an economic planning official as saying power plants in Beijing and Shanghai had only enough coal for less than seven days.
"But top economic planners said the country had reversed a sharp decline in coal reserves. There was enough coal on Saturday to generate electricity for the entire country for the next eight days," the newspaper added.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Jason Subler in Beijing)
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Hey kiwi, don't you know Gl*bal W*rming doesn't just mean it's getting warmer?
It could be warmer, colder, drier, wetter, cloudier, sunnier, calmer, stormier, etc. Whatever it turns out to be, it's our fault.0 -
Global warming is not a science issue anymore...it is now a religion. 0 -
2 extreme cold winters in a row here in CO. I wish that coal burner up the road would take off all the filters, I'm sick of it!
They are going to push this for the sole purpose of getting the "Carbon Tax" pushed through. This will be an international tax used to finance the creation of the global government. Fight it tooth and nail!0 -
Fact: The polar icecaps are melting at an accelerating rate. 
I can understand the argument that it's not our fault. But to act like it's not a real issue that will have very real consequences for all life is utterly assinine.
It's not about being a republican or a democrat.
Ben0 -
ben, you know this could be just part of a normal earth cycle? The greenhouse gases at other times in earth's history have been enormous compared to now, and she survived. Remember when they were calling for an ice age in the 70's. Yea, those winter were mighty cold, followed by 30 years of mild winters, and appears to be headed cold again. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by fishermanben
Fact: The polar icecaps are melting at an accelerating rate.
I can understand the argument that it's not our fault. But to act like it's not a real issue that will have very real consequences for all life is utterly assinine.
It's not about being a republican or a democrat.
Ben
So, where did the 20% go? Not trying to be a wise @$$, just curious. I would expect that we would have lost some shore line here.
-Edit for location of my comment in your quote[:I] oops.0 -
quote:Originally posted by jpwolf
ben, you know this could be just part of a normal earth cycle? The greenhouse gases at other times in earth's history have been enormous compared to now, and she survived. Remember when they were calling for an ice age in the 70's. Yea, those winter were mighty cold, followeed by 30 years of mild wintrs, and appears to be headed cold again.
Yes, it COULD be just a part of a normal cycle. I'm not arguing that. In all honesty, I worry more about air pollution poisoning our lakes/rivers/streams more than global warming.
I'm sure our earth's atmosphere at one time was comprised of dangerous levels of methane. They say that if the permafrost were to decompose that we could once again have toxic levels of methane in our air.
I'm not arguing what is causing global warming. All I'm saying is it is really happening.
Ben0 -
Ben-
http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1281
Read-up, come away from the dark side....
Polar Ice Cap Studies Refute Catastrophic Global Warming Theories
by James M. Taylor (December 16, 2001)
A series of recent studies shows that the polar ice caps, which should be shrinking if dire global warming theories are correct, are maintaining their mass and in fact growing slightly. The studies suggest satellite temperature readings, which indicate no global warming of the lower atmosphere, are more reliable than surface temperature readings, taken by humans under varying conditions, that had indicated a slow, gradual warming.
A study published in the December 3, 1999 issue of Science magazine, authored by Ola Johannessen, Elena Shalena, and Martin Miles, reported Arctic sea ice had declined by 14 percent from 1978 through 1998. In a related story, columnist Richard Kerr pondered "Will the Arctic Ocean lose all its ice?" The mainstream press ran with the story, giving dire warnings that global warming was upon us.
However, CO2 Science Magazine later noted that in the Johannessen study, "essentially all of the drop . . . occurs rather abruptly over a single period of not more than three years (87/88-90/91) and possibly only one year (89/90-90/91). Furthermore, it could be argued from their data that from 1990/91 onward, sea ice area in the Arctic may have actually increased."
More recent studies of the polar ice caps verify CO2 Science Magazine's skepticism, and show the polar ice caps are holding their own and actually growing slightly.
Antarctic sea ice edge expanding
A study published in the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate (Yuan, X. and Martinson, D.G., "Antarctic sea ice extent variability and its global connectivity," Volume 13: 1697-1717 (2000)) demonstrated the Antarctic polar ice cap has been expanding. According to the study, 18 years of satellite data indicate the mean Antarctic sea ice edge has expanded by 0.011 degrees of latitude toward the equator each year.
A later study, also published in Journal of Climate (Watkins, A.B. and Simmonds, I., "Current trends in Antarctic sea ice: The 1990s impact on a short climatology," Volume 13: 4441-4451 (2000)) reached a similar conclusion. The study reported significant increases in Antarctic sea ice between 1987 and 1996. The study further indicated the 1990s exhibited increases in the length of the sea-ice season.
Arctic ice thickening, expanding
A study published in Geophysical Research Letters (Winsor, P., "Arctic sea ice thickness remained constant during the 1990s," Volume 28: 1039-1041 (2001)) found the same to be true in the Arctic. The study concluded, "mean ice thickness has remained on a near-constant level around the North Pole from 1986-1997." Moreover, the study noted data from six different submarine cruises under the Arctic sea ice showed little variability and a "slight increasing trend" in the 1990s.
Just off the Arctic polar ice cap, ice coverage in Greenland was also shown to be steady and likely increasing. A study in Journal of Geophysical Research (Comiso, J.C., Wadhams, P., Pedersen, L.T. and Gersten, R.A., Volume 106: 9093-9116 (2001)) concluded that, annual variances notwithstanding, the Odden ice tongue in Greenland exhibited no statistically significant change from 1979 to 1998. Moreover, proxy reconstruction of the ice tongue utilizing air temperature data indicated the ice covers a greater area today than it did several decades ago.
Viewed as a whole, the new ice cap studies indicate no global warming has occurred in recent decades, at least not in high latitudes. These findings also offer an important insight into one of the more significant controversies surrounding global warming theory.
Surface vs. satellite readings
Surface temperature readings taken by humans indicate the Earth has warmed by approximately 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past 100 years. This warming is certainly not much, but it is often cited as evidence that global warming is occurring, even if it is merely in its initial stages.
However, precise satellite readings of the lower atmosphere (a region that is supposed to immediately reflect any global warming) have shown no warming since readings were begun more than 20 years ago.
"We have seen no sign of man-induced global warming at all. The computer models used in U.N. studies say the first area to heat under the 'greenhouse gas effect' should be the lower atmosphere, known as the troposphere. Highly accurate, carefully checked satellite data have shown absolutely no warming," explained Tom Randall of the National Center for Public Policy Research.
Global warming skeptics have pointed out that most of the surface temperature readings indicating a warming have been taken in underdeveloped nations, where reliability and quality-control are questionable. In developed nations such as the United States, by contrast, the readings tend to show no warming. Moreover, skeptics note, surface temperature readings are influenced by artificial warming associated with growing urbanization, which creates artificial heat islands around temperature reading stations.
"While the greenhouse gases, especially CO2, have grown in the last 50 years, the correlation with a warming of the world's climate is weak and far from being generally accepted by the scientific community," James L. Johnston, a member of The Heartland Institute's Board of Directors, observed in the August 4 Chicago Tribune.
Global warming proponents, on the other hand, now counter that warming, despite prior consensus to the contrary, might occur in the lower atmosphere only after a general warming of the Earth's surface.
Models shown to be inaccurate . . . again
The recent polar ice studies, which measured surface rather than atmospheric temperature trends (and which were far removed from the effects of urban heat islands and questionable third-world temperature readings), lend weight to the argument that satellite readings, not surface monitoring stations, are correct.
"In considering all of the above results, it is likely that the global extent of sea ice is on the rise. Such observational evidence flies in the face of model predictions of global warming that say climate will change first and to the greatest extent in the Earth's polar regions," concludes CO2 Science Magazine.
CO2 Science suggests that self-regulating mechanisms, such as clouds, enable the Earth to keep a relatively steady climate despite the changes in CO2 concentration that have been a regular part of Earth's history.
Viewing the new data in conjunction with other studies that properly filter out the imperfections of human-collected temperature readings, CO2 Science concludes, "There has been no global warming for the past 75 years."0 -
can you believe with the enormous trade imbalance with china that we are so stupid as to send money for anything????????????? 0 -
I read that once, and will read it again later. I find some of the stuff hard to believe, but I promise not to discredit it without contradicting evidence.
Ben0 -
Codename Paul,
Your information is a little outdated. The discrepancy between satellite and surface trends was worked out a few years ago. Main point is that the satellite records show a similar degree of warming as the surface met stations. You can check the IPCC's latest executive summary which distills the last 7 or 8 years of climate and environmental sciences to support this argument.
Moreover, there is now no question that the Arctic is warming and that there has been substantial loss of seasonal sea ice. Granted, the trend in the Antarctic is not as clear. Some place warming (the Peninsula) some places have exhibited less clear trends for the period for which direct temperature observations are available.
None of this speaks to the issue of natural variation which has resulted in very different climates, from hot-house to ice-house over the past 3 billion years or so. This argument is trotted out on these threads and other places to support the argument that humans aren't influencing climate. What I don't understand is how the existence of natural climate variation is a slam-dunk case against evidence for anthropogenic climate change, especially when the current GCMs can only reproduce observed climate patterns when both anthropogenic and natural climate forcings are added. Here's the kicker, these studies indicate that the dominant climate forcer since 1860 are changes in atmospheric CO2 resulting from fossil fuel combustion and land clearing. So yeah, sun-spots and volcanoes do influence climate, but right now the dominant climate forcers are tailpipes and smokestacks.0 -
Jusy a faze the earth is going thru, we are still warming up since thelast ice age. Here is more stuff for all to consider.
http://www.iceagenow.com/0 -
funny how those that deny it will not hear of it, nor consider it with an open mind, mostly because the hatred for al gore runs to deep, and are willing to cut off there own nose to spite al gore
1-2 degrees over the entire globe is all it takes 6 degrees and we are in deep doo doo, it doesn't mean a super hot summer or a warm winter, it's not about a polar bears habitat, it is about the arctic circle, which helps filter the ocean, and regulates it's temperature, a warn Atlantic ocean is not good, a ocean raising 10-30 feet is not good
and yes it has happened before, but do you know why?
i don't understand how anyone could not believe we are helping it, we are turning the earth into concrete and steel, we are still cutting down rain Forrest, but still cannot fathom the tons of crap we are sticking into the air because my car has a catalytic converter
just my 020 -
quote:Originally posted by 1911a1fan
funny how those that deny it will not hear of it, nor consider it with an open mind, mostly because the hatred for al gore runs to deep, and are willing to cut off there own nose to spite al gore
+1
Couldn't have said it any better0
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