Getting hotter in the desert southwest

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A report released today by the National Resources Defense Council and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization shows that while the globe warmed by an average of one degree between 2003 and 2007, eleven western states warmed by 1.7 degrees and Arizona by 2.2 degrees for the last five years (2003 through 2007), the global climate has averaged 1.0 degree Fahrenheit warmer than its 20th century average while temperatures in the southwest averaged 1.7 degrees warmer (and those in Arizona were 2.2 degrees warmer). The full report is available here.

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Be interesting to do a chi squared test on that map, wouldn't it?

By justawriter (not verified) on 28 Mar 2008 #permalink

It figures. Up where we could *use* a little more heat, nothing, while the people who are already quite hot enough get it all. See the Keeweenaw Peninsula, jutting into Lake Superior? See the white county at the tip? That's us.

Temperature is given in Fahrenheit here, not centigrades? But even then, an increase by an average of one degree between 2003 and 2007 seems incredibly large to me, for such a short time span?

Stefan,

Fixed a stupid error on my part. Thanks.

By John Lynch (not verified) on 29 Mar 2008 #permalink

Ah, that makes more sense, now I also understand how they got the new, current average - Thanks! The differences in, and the total amout of warming are amazing, anyway!

Saw something on television awhile back, and apologies because I can't remember where or what. Anyway ...
A group of people went out to find where the temperature stations were that were reporting the temperature changes. (sorry, scientist I'm not).
What they found was improper placement of the recorders. Two Examples: in the middle of an asphalt parking lot and at a fire station next to two fan units blowing air out of the air conditioning units.

My question would be: we do realize the planet is warming but how accurate is this information we're getting?
I especially question the info we receive after seeing the story on television.

What they found was improper placement of the recorders. Two Examples: in the middle of an asphalt parking lot and at a fire station next to two fan units blowing air out of the air conditioning units.

Did they also report where the rest of the recorders were?
Realclimate.org has addressed this strawman on more than a few occasions.

By Fernando Magyar (not verified) on 31 Mar 2008 #permalink

Are the red states warming faster then the blue states?

Ah, it seems a bit reactionist to compare 100 years to 4 without some sort of mention of "anomaly", doesn't it?

Er, uh, but it's a dry heat, right?

Of course it is in the southwest. But that brings its own problems; nothing encourages fire more than a dry heat. There's also loss of water supplies from intense evaporation.
And finally, note the north central plains, around the Dakotas and Minnesota. The additional heat there is *not* a dry heat.

They didn't report where the rest of the recorders were. Going on memory alone, they chose random locations and this is what they came up with.

Just don't buy all this global "warming" hyperbole.

If you have Freeman J. Dyson's book A Many-Colored Glass ~ Reflection on the Place of Life in the Universe, go to page 46 and start reading his words on climate.
Not that I completely agree with him either yet found his analysis interesting. From page 49 he say: When I listen to the public debates about climate change, I am impressed by the enormous gaps in our knowledge, the sparseness of our observations, and the superficiality of our theories. Many of the basic processes of planetary ecology are poorly understood. They must be better understood before we can reach an accurate diagnosis of the present condition of our planet. When we are trying to take care of a planet, just as when we are taking care of a human patient, diseases must be diagnosed before they can be cured. We need to observe and measure what is going on in the biosphere, rather than rely on computer models.