Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Colder winter this year, with the most snow since '66

Well, guess what, many parts of the world are having a colder winter this year, with more snow. Lorne Gunter, in a column in Canada's National Post asks, does this mean global warming isn't real?

According to the U.S. National Climatic Data Center, many American cities and towns suffered record cold temperatures in January and early February. Snow cover over North America, Siberia, Mongolia and China is greater than at any time since 1966. The Arctic Sea ice has not only recovered, according to the Canadian Ice Service, but it's 10 to 20 cm thicker in many places than at this time last year.

Gunter makes this point, "If environmentalists and environment reporters can run around shrieking about the manmade destruction of the natural order every time a robin shows up on Georgian Bay two weeks early, then it is at least fair game to use this winter's weather stories to wonder whether the alarmists are being a tad premature."

Obviously, this is all much more complicated than isolated data points, and scientists agree that global warming is real and is happening. On the flip side, Gunter's collection of observations contrasts with what Nigel Taylor, one of the UK's most respected gardeners, concluded this year, "There is no winter anymore."

[Via PlanetSave]
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