You might ask “what does increased levels of CO2 have to do with peanuts?” Well, the climate experts that blog at World Climate Report have a baseball-related explanation:
For many citizens in the USA, this has been a winter for the ages. From no end of storms in the Southwest to record-breaking snow in the Northeast, this has been one long winter. But in Arizona and Florida, the boys of summer are dusting off their bats and balls and spring training is now underway. Fans are flocking back to the ballparks, and our consumption of peanuts is on the rise. American will eat more than 600 million pounds of peanuts this year at ballparks around the country (and elsewhere), we will eat over 700 million pounds of peanut butter, and we will spend over four billion dollars on our peanut habit.
What’s the climate change rub? Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are enhancing peanut productivity and protecting the crop from the harmful impacts of atmospheric pollutants such as ozone. Which means more peanuts to go around. So next time you raise your hand and call out “Hey Beerman, how about a cold one and jumbo bag of peanuts!” remember that elevated atmospheric CO2 is helping to keep your bag full. [more]
We have been hearing from climate alarmists lately that all this colder-than-usual winter weather is a result of global warming. In particular, winter storms and cold weather in Europe, like that which immobilized ferries and other vessels in the Baltic Sea this week. They argue that science has concluded it to be so - climate change is causing all this to happen.
Well, uh, no. It seems that even the liars at the IPCC haven’t tried to pass that crap off . . .
The winter of 2009-2010 has produced its fair share of winter storms in the Northern Hemisphere – recall that President Obama arrived back in Washington from his appearance at the Copenhagen climate conference only to find the White House grounds buried under near-record amounts of snow. Europe and Asia have seen their share of large winter storms as well during the 2009-2010 winter. Hardly a large storm goes by without someone, somewhere suggesting that whatever we are seeing, it is related to “climate change”.
If one looked no further than the Technical Summary of the IPCC, they would discover that the IPCC is rather quiet on this subject with no claims whatsoever that winter storms will increase in frequency, magnitude, duration, or intensity due to the ongoing changes in atmospheric composition. [read the rest]
SOHO Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) solar images last summer and today:
Solar activity is starting to increase again after what has been a relatively long quiet spell associated with the minimum part of the solar cycle. February was the first month in quite some time where there were sunspots every day of the month. In the image above from last July (left), the lone bright area below the equator near the center was not associated with a sunspot, but was in an area of magnetic activity.
Remember that the sun is a star, like all stars, whose business is to fuse lighter elements into heavier ones; our sun fuses hydrogen into helium. This process results in chaotic magnetic behavior of the solar plasma which fluctuates in intensity over an eleven year cycle. We wrote “Ultimate Global Warming - SPF 2 Million Won’t Be Enough” to describe the process.
Evidently, we’re on the upswing after what some scientists (real ones, not climate liars) say was a very extended inactive period, which some feared would put the sun into many years of minimal activity. It is likely that such an extended period, the Maunder Minimum, was the cause of the “Little Ice Age” during the 1600s and 1700s. We wrote “Correlating Sunspots to Global Climate” which illustrates the phenomenon using animations and graphics.
Personally, after the winter we have been having in North America this season, I will be glad to see the sunspots bring us back to our subtropical weather patterns. Old folks like warmer weather, y’know. C’mon global warming!
Planet Gore posted an item today about wind turbine wake (’propwash’) causing turbines downwind to have reduced output because of the turbulent air generated by upwind turbines.
Image: Wind Turbines In Banning Pass. One of the largest wind turbine farms in the world is here near Palm Springs, CA. Photo courtesy Damsel. Click to enlarge.
I have always been skeptical about the reliability, efficiency and cost-per-generated-kilowatt of wind turbines. We recently were on a road trip and saw two different convoys of trucks carrying the estimated fifty foot long blades either to a new installation or to maintenance. I couldn’t believe the way the immense turbine blades dwarfed the big-rig tractors hauling them.
Downstream wind turbines may lose 20 percent or even 30 percent of their power compared to their fellows in front, according to a study on wake effects at Horns Rev that MacKay highlights on his blog. The paper also emphasizes that different wind directions make it practically impossible to gauge an overall “steady state” for large wind farms, unless researchers can sample wind speeds and directions at multiple points throughout the array.
This shows that wind energy may represent a highly visible form of alternative energy, but certainly not one without its quirks and controversies. Still, better technology can squeeze more juice out of each gust, and cooperative energy-sharing efforts can help offset the fickle nature of wind power.
A satellite image shows a snow-covered Britain; record snowfall and cold weather wreaks havoc with the European Continent, Northeastern U.S. and Canada.
Last week when NASA’s Terra satellite orbited over Europe, it saw something very unusual. The normally temperate British Isles were completely covered by snow. From an altitude of 420 miles, Terra’s MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) camera snapped the picture to the right.
It’s not only Britain. Heavy snowfall and record-low temperatures have spread across Europe, closing schools, paralyzing airports, and downing power lines. Much of North America and parts of Asia are experiencing the same brutal cold.
The cause of the phenomenon could be the Arctic Oscillation (AO). The AO is a seesawing strengthening and weakening of semi-permanent areas of low and high atmospheric pressure in the Arctic and the mid-latitudes. One consequence of the oscillation’s negative phase is cold, snowy weather in Eurasia and North America during the winter months. The extreme negative dip of the Arctic Oscillation Index in December 2009 was the lowest monthly value observed for the past six decades. [more]
The Buffalo Bills defeated the Indiana Colts in Gorechard Park, NY, by a score of 30 to 7. While the outcome of the game had no effect whatsoever on the post-season playoffs, it did punctuate the fact that it still gets cold and blizzards still happen.
Oh, I forgot . . . Global Warming sometimes makes it colder.
For many citizens in the USA, this has been a winter for the ages. From no end of storms in the Southwest to record-breaking snow in the Northeast, this has been one long winter. But in Arizona and Florida, the boys of summer are dusting off their bats and balls and spring training is now underway. Fans are flocking back to the ballparks, and our consumption of peanuts is on the rise. American will eat more than 600 million pounds of peanuts this year at ballparks around the country (and elsewhere), we will eat over 700 million pounds of peanut butter, and we will spend over four billion dollars on our peanut habit.
ISLAND SNOW
