The Continent-Size Canary

"Trust me, matey...it is getting hotter down under." Bill Fintel photo

Measuring global warming, if it is occurring, is a task burdened with highly variable data, and hence frequently questioned results. So through the eyes of National Geographic, lets take a look at Australia, "the continent-size Canary".

The rough-hewn sandstone buildings perched atop Observatory Hill have been keeping an eye on Sydney Harbor since 1858. They've pretty much seen it all—from the installation of the city's first gaslights to the construction of the now iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge.

But at 2:55 p.m. on January 18, 2013, meteorological equipment in the observatory registered something new: a read-out marking the hottest day in the city's history: 45.8°C (114.4°F). (Note this link takes you to the current month, to see Jan data, select the month of Jan 2013.)

Much of the continent was languishing in the grip of a heat wave that would break 123 heat and flood-related records in 90 days—among them, the hottest summer on record and the hottest seven consecutive days ever recorded.

Now why the Canary analogy? Because of a very nice scientific phrase, called "signal to noise ratio".

The anomaly stood out. Numbers like those break through what climate scientists like David Jones, manager of climate monitoring prediction at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, call the "signal to noise" ratio.

"One of the first places on the planet where the global warming signal is easy to discern is actually Australia, because of this low temperature variability," Jones said. "And that's exactly what we're seeing. The Australian warming trend is very clearly apparent in our records. It pops out quite quickly from the background noise of weather patterns."

I think my next line of research will be to see how the Australia wine growing regions are faring.

Going Green for Our Health.... and Our Grandchildren's Future

 Lettuce and parsley in Fintel garden, May 2013, Bill Fintel photo

Salads grown locally. They make sense, and they are happening. The more greens we eat, and the less beef we eat, the better off we and our planet will be, and also the better off will be our grandchildren.

It is really very simple math. We can be very healthy eating a plant based diet...in fact much more healthy than eating a lot of plant fed animals. And we improve upon the energy conversion efficiency of taking in directly the solar energy processed by plants, instead of allowing it to pass through a second inefficient energy converting process of the cow or the chicken or pig, etc.

So who is making this all the more possible in the busy northeast? Bright Farms!

But you too can also grow and consume your own greens, or you can buy from a local organic gardener, like Hattie's Garden, and she also sells starter organic vegetable plants.

 Pirat Butterhead lettuce from Hattie, a Fintel favorite, Bill Fintel photo

Moore Oklahoma Tornadoes - Climate Change link???

I think not. Tornadoes are events which are driven by weather patterns...like warm moist air from the Gulf interacts with cool air from the NW. And it has happened many, many times over Oklahoma, and no doubt it will happen many more times...and perhaps the intensity will increase....but forecasters also say the frequency will probably decrease.

OK,  I do not have a degree in climate science, but I hope I just have enough science background and common sense to assess the evolving climate situation...and provide you with some informative links:

From Andrew Revkin: A Survival Plan for America's Tornado  Danger Zone

And from NASA Earth Observatory: Moore Oklahoma from satellite May 20

And if you want to contribute to Moore's recovery, here are recs from Charity Navigator.

Tornadoes...and Hurricanes, can be SO devastating, we should pay more attention to our options for protecting lives and property. That is something we can do more or less short term.

What's New???... 400 ppm CO2, and an aggresive approach to combat it

So 350.org just became 350.400 org

The leaders are very aggressive, and they are also very strong and knowledgeable leaders, Bill McKibben and James Hansen. However, they and all of us, face huge barriers from fossil fuel companies, reluctant governments, and apathetic populations.

How will this all play out for our grandchildren and beyond???

In my opinion, prospects are presently not good.

Bill