Another Reminder

The Dreaded Climate Change....

Recently yet another world leader is calling for immediate action to combat man made climate change. These wonderful calls to action seem to be occurring more frequently each year. They demand action be taken by governments all over the world to stop our extreme weather. I see just a few issues with these demands.

#1...Who Makes the Demands

Each time there is some type of weather phenomenon that results in destruction of property, crops or the loss of human life, someone undoubtedly will blame it on climate change. A MAJOR problem with this is the fact that many of these people are self appointed experts. I don't know if you realize this, but I am spending a lot of money and time to become an actual expert in this field. The weather and our climate is an extremely complex and mysterious system that has more power than we ever will. It has so many secretes that we have yet to discover and yet every politician, president, celebrity, and apparently now the Pope are instantly experts in this complex science. It gets even more blurred when people like Bill Nye (not a meteorologist or climatologist) make statements about climate change, saying it is an accepted scientific fact and that all "deniers" are ignorant and blind. He is a scientist after all, so doesn't he know what he's talking about? He couldn't be more clueless! He hasn't the slightest idea how weather and climate patterns work and he has been caught numerous times failing to answer basic questions about the field of study. So, when you hear someone demanding something be done about climate change, make sure you think about and determine whether they even know what they are talking about. 

#2...Is Extreme Weather New?

WE ARE NOT THE FIRST PEOPLE TO EXPERIENCE EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS. Don't ever let that thought creep into your mind. The climate is, by definition, an average of extremes. Heat waves, cold snaps, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, large hail, and damaging wind events, have all occurred in the past and will continue to occur in the future. But aren't they getting more frequent and intense? NOPE. That's the simple answer. And I know a lot people just don't believe that because, after all, the world leaders and politicians know everything and they say it's getting worse. If you simply look at the facts in front of you, you would find that tornado frequency in the United States (the country with the most tornadoes on average across the world) has seen three years with well below normal tornado counts and even a decrease in intense tornado numbers. This is not simply a decrease from the very active 2011 season, but a drop-off that has set records for the least tornadoes ever recorded in a single year for three years in a row. This year we remain well below normal and continue to see less intense tornadoes. Hurricanes are also not more frequent or intense. We haven't seen a major hurricane make landfall in the US since 2005...that's the longest stretch in recorded history. Florida has also set a record for the longest period between hurricane landfalls. The Eastern Pacific has been far more active than the Atlantic ocean, but this is explained by the current El Niño and warmer SST. It is not, however, unusual or caused by humans. Flooding (come on) is NOT more frequent or intense either. Texas just ended a 5 year drought and now people are saying that the flooding in Texas is proof that climate change is happening? Really? Come on, that is not a logical argument. Drought and flood cycles in the Plain States (and all over the world) are a natural occurrence and has been documented as such for many decades. The drought wasn't the worst they have seen and it also isn't the last one they will have. It will happen again and they will flood again, it's just the way it goes. Just look at California, they are currently in year 4 of a severe drought, but it WILL NOT last forever. They are right next to the largest water source on the planet and it will drive moisture into the State eventually. Just be patient and stop wasting the water you do have on your lawns, pools and golf courses!! 

#3...Missing Data

This will be my last category just so I don't end up writing a novel. Missing data is a huge problem when it comes to studying the climate. Reliable weather records only go back to the late 1800's at best and even those are sparse. The ice cores that are pulled out of the arctic are also a problem because we don't know how long CO2 lasts in the ice. We can't say with absolute certainty that those are accurate measurements of past CO2 levels and we have nothing to accurately computer them to. Not to mention CO2 is such a small part of our atmosphere that even with the recent changes in its levels, the impacts are undetectable. Water vapor is a far more dangerous and influential greenhouse gas than CO2 is, so you stop worrying about that too. 

I will just leave it at that for now. As you can tell, I am very passionate about this topic and get really offended when people with power seem to become experts in the field that I am studying so hard for. They have a louder voice than I do, but hopefully people will use their common sense when it comes to the weather and just leave it to the experts to discuss. If something is going on that you need to know about, I will certainly keep you updated. The weather we experience is crazy and powerful and that is the way it always has been and how it always will be. Thanks for reading. 

P.S.

Be on alert for severe storms across the entire Buckeye State today with damaging winds and flooding rainfall being the main concerns.