Winter and Global Warming

coyote, the record high in the Antarctic is pretty insignificant. The low in the NH was *very* significant. So the media echo is quite justified. See a nice summary by tamino.

Send them down to Florida.

Yes, people don't seem to grasp that "global warming" is about a couple of degrees everywhere. (simplified, of course) 112 would be 116, and 99 would be 103, yes, but 26 would be 30, and -10 would be -6. Wow. I guess if it can still get cold enough to snow, there can't be any "warming" going on.

But this is one reason I prefer to say "climate change".

I would take people much more seriously when they say "A climate is not weather" on cold days if they said the same things on warm days. However, I instead see 5000 major media stories on "record low arctic ice" and the implications for global warming but zero stories on the record high antarctic ice which occurred on nearly the same day.

"However, I instead see 5000 major media stories on "record low arctic ice" and the implications for global warming but zero stories on the record high antarctic ice which occurred on nearly the same day."

Do you have a citation for this story?

but zero stories on the record high antarctic ice which occurred on nearly the same day.

The "record high Antarctic ice" extent was statistically insignificant (i.e. barely above the mean extent). The situation with the Arctic, however, is much different.

This is not unexpected, given that the Antarctic is surrounded by a giant heat-sink known as the Southern Ocean. Climatologists (and their climate-models) have long predicted that the Antarctic would warm more slowly than the Arctic. But warm it has: recent satellite-based measurements are now showing that the Antarctic as a whole is losing ice-mass.

So take your regurgi-talking-points elsewhere, please.

Obviously, a cold winter month, or even a cold winter season, is completely irrelevant to the larger scientific consensus on global warming. A climate is not weather. But I think it's interesting, and perhaps a little sad, that this urgent discussion about the future of earth can only take place when it's not snowing outside.

I have found that there is a beautiful elegance when you can synergistically tie the mitigaiton or solution to more than one problem to one course of action.
Even if people are shivering from the cold and can't be persuded to care about global wamring at the moment, they are still going to care about foreign oil imports and smog, cancer incidence, the national economy and other things.
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If you can't get people to care about a problem try to tie it into one or more other things they are caring about, and present an amelioration or solution to all the problems at once.
Dave Briggs :~)

I retract my previous statement. It got really cold Yesterday and snowed a little on the coast. On the news a resident interviewed stated "they're talking about global warming and its snowing in florida."

No doubt that global warming is very debated. I, however, have never heard that man is causing global cooling. For this - all I can say is that I hope that the people that believe this is natural are not wrong. But if man is causing at least part of the problem then why not do all we can. One thing not in dispute is that we cannot continue to use non-renewable sources on energy forever.
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warm it has: recent satellite-based measurements are now showing that the Antarctic as a whole is losing ice-mass.