Another epic blizzard is bearing down on New England. There is a big part played by human-induced climate change, especially warming-fueled ocean temperatures.
In winter it is cold over the continent. But it is warm over the oceans and the contrast between the cold continent and the warm Gulf Stream and surrounding waters is increasing. At present sea surface temperatures are more the 2F above normal over huge expanses (1000 miles) off the east coast and water vapor in the atmosphere is about 10% higher as a result. About half of this can be attributed to climate change.
Science deniers, please take out a post-it note and write down the following:
Now stick the post-it on your bathroom mirror and read it every morning.
LINK
I predicted there would be many stupid threads this winter for the far-right anti-science folks, so I post this as a public service.
Enjoy!
In winter it is cold over the continent. But it is warm over the oceans and the contrast between the cold continent and the warm Gulf Stream and surrounding waters is increasing. At present sea surface temperatures are more the 2F above normal over huge expanses (1000 miles) off the east coast and water vapor in the atmosphere is about 10% higher as a result. About half of this can be attributed to climate change.
Science deniers, please take out a post-it note and write down the following:
Climate and weather are not the same.
All weather is a function of one thing - HEAT.
All weather is a function of one thing - HEAT.
Now stick the post-it on your bathroom mirror and read it every morning.
Like a baseball player on steroids, our climate system is breaking records at an unnatural pace. And like a baseball player on steroids, it’s the wrong question to ask whether a given home run is “caused” by steroids. As Trenberth wrote in his must-read analysis, “How To Relate Climate Extremes to Climate Change,” the “answer to the oft-asked question of whether an event is caused by climate change is that it is the wrong question. All weather events are affected by climate change because the environment in which they occur is warmer and moister than it used to be.”
One of the most robust scientific findings is the direct connection between global warming and more extreme precipitation or deluges. “Basic physics tells us that a warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture — at a rate of approximately 7 per cent increase per degree [Celsius] warming,” as the U.K. Met Office explained in its 2014 update on climate science. “This is expected to lead to similar percentage increases in heavy rainfall, which has generally been borne out by models and observed changes in daily rainfall.”
LINK
I predicted there would be many stupid threads this winter for the far-right anti-science folks, so I post this as a public service.
Enjoy!