Not really cycling . Just mother nature throwing the weather people curve balls . Note they haven't hit one yet .

Yeah just wait until it snows in the Caribbean and then tell me there is no climate change.

No more lip service please, just the facts sir!

LoriLea66 I learned of an interesting phenomenon. It's called Solar Maximum. Apparently around every eleven years the sun creates huge solar flares which then increase the temperatures on earth. The next Solar Maximum date is guess when??? Yes, 2012.

I suspect Solar Maximum, along with global warming is contributing to unusual weather patterns this year. In Chicago so far this winter we have had temperatures from 40 to 60 degrees, only two light snow days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjF8fk6hjZE

Exactly, Brian! Glad to see someone isn't afraid to face the facts.. But, like you said, it will probably have to snow in the Caribbean and rain buckets in the Sahara before people will FINALLY pay attention to the damage we have done to this planet! BUT, there will STILL be those, like ostriches with their heads buried deep in the ground, that will NEVER admit it's anything but nature doing it's thing.. Fools!

What was the weather like BEFORE the dinosaurs and the ice age that killed them?

Climate Change is nothing more than saying "Since we only have the weather records of the last 150 years out of 4.5 to 4.6 billion years, it must be the fault of mankind because al gore & michael moore said it was true."

PS

"The fluctuations in the solar cycle impacts Earth's global temperature by about 0.1 degree Celsius, slightly hotter during solar maximum and cooler during solar minimum. The Sun is currently at its minimum and the next solar maximum is expected in 2012", said Thomas Woods, solar scientist at the University of Colorado.

yes there's climate change DUHHH that's what happens. Over the last 600 million years it gets cold it gets hot it gets cold it gets hot....in a ice age you have warm spells. People do not realize we are still in a ice age called the Cenozoic period and have been in it for the last 70 million years. in the last 70 million years the glaciers have advanced and retracted over 20 times in north America. We are in a warm interval between each glaciation. So the last 19 times the ice retracted over the last 70 million years must of been from the cave mans cars and and trucks and four wheels right? Do you people not realize there was atleast 3 times where the was an ice-free earth? ITS NATURAL QUIT FREAKING OUT!

I live in the Deep South and I'm thinking we used all their snow up during last year's winter. I mean, dang!! I had never seen so much white stuff and slick, painful, cold stuff in my life. SO GLAD WE'RE NOT GETTING A REPEAT IN GEORGIA THIS YEAR.

Brian and Susie, give me your cars!

...and then tell me there is no climate change.

I don't think anybody has disputed that there has been climate change. It's a cycle just like LoriLea66 mentioned. What is very disputable is the propaganda that the hypocritical "inventer of the internet" was/is spreading all the while getting very rich off of it.

George Washington experienced the Little Ice Age. It was warmer before that occurred.

Longhair, ever hear of ice cores and tree rings? We have scientific evidence of what the earth's climate was like for millions of years. While I'll admit that there is fluctuations in weather the fact is we scientifically (with peer review) know way more about the climate on than you think. A lot longer than 150 years. Paloebotany (the study of ancient plants) also tell scientists what the climate was like "before the age of dinosaurs". You can ignore the SCIENCE behind climate studies just like you can believe that dinosaurs and man walked the earth together or that a man named Noah built a ark the size of a WW2 aircraft carrier gathering up 2 of EVERY animal. But your religious and political prejudices don't hold up to scientific peer review.

to longhair,

just a little education for you. paleoclimatologists(scientists who study the history of climate on earth-yes, they exist) have been studying the earth's climate back millions of years. they do this by taking ice cores from the arctic and antarctic amongst other places. they know how to "read" these ice cores by the elements existing in them. they can tell how much oxygen was in the air, how much carbon dioxide and yes, what the weather was like.

you're right in the idea that climate has changed drastically throughout the history of the earth. they don't have all the answers to why some of the changes took place, others they do. it's true also that we aren't CAUSING the climate change, but we are exacerbating it(making it worse and happen faster than normal) there is so much evidence for this, that if you would read about it, you would see. really, not to insult you or anyone else here who thinks climate change is a conspiracy, you should do some real research. i mean, if you're interested in the truth and not a political agenda. one of the best places to get information is readily available to everyone-scientific american. it's a publication that has been in print for more than 150 years and is one most celebrated layman's magazines out there. i mean, really, just pick up an issue. you might be surprised. also, discover magazine. did you know they had an article in discover last year that dealt with the idea that some scientists believe that the universe was created by and for life? yeah, there was. not all science is slanted towards the left. i would say, while some scientists do declare their atheism loudly, they are no more in the majority than any other group. there are just as many scientists who believe in a universal power that we don't understand and call God.

you would do yourself a service and who knows, maybe even free yourself from the grip of the narrow minded right wing mindset, just by doing a little reading. you don't even have to tell anyone. i promise, God won't throw you into a burning hell for reading.

How do we know that the science behind reading the ice cores isn't fundamentally flawed.

For all you non-scientist, "science is bad", "scientists are part of a global conspiracy to kill fossil fuels to make money" and Koch brother lovers:

FACT - The sun's rays travel to earth and get TRAPPED in the atmosphere because of greenhouse gases causing the temperature to rise. Example: Go to your local greenhouse and see how warm it can be due to this effect.

FACT - Atmospheric conditions can be determined via ice core drilling on glaciers, ice sheets in both Antarctica and the Arctic. These ice cores provide data that goes back as far as 160,000 years. See NOAA website for more info.

FACT - From 1940 to 1970 we thought that the ocean was so large that any pollutants were poured into it world be so diluted that no negative effects would be seen. WE WERE WRONG!!! now our tuna, and other top predatory fish/mammals have enough mercury, benzene, etc. in it to warrant warnings for consumption by pregnant women. The atmosphere is not capable of absorbing the increasing amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Example - Coral bleaching due to increase acidity of the oceans due to increased absorption of C02.

I do not expect to change your minds but rather force you to face FACTS.

Last, but definitely not least, what if global climate change is real and irreversible? Do we simply bequeth to our children/grandchildren a desolate, polluted planet so that they can clean it up?

AMF

If man IS to blame for climate change, i do not believe it is the output of co2 we create rather than the planets ability to scrub the air. i.e. deforestation.

EROCK... how do you know the science behind ice cores isn't? How do you know that mathematical theory of calculus is correct? How do you know the research done by pharmacuetical companies isn;t flawed or biased? How do you know the environmental studies conducted by nat gas industry (fracking), oil industry (drilling in the gulf), etc. aren't flawed?

The ability to "scrub" the atmosphere is part of the issue as well.

It is all about the Jet Stream and where it goes. It's just been dipping down south lower than usual. I remember in 1960, Northern Wisconsin had no snow all winter. The next year we had so much it was drifting over the house.

EROCK17

Because we can compare ice cores to other climate indicators like the ocean floor cores, tree rings and paleobotony studies, amoung others.

@Devil's Son

But your religious and political prejudices don't hold up to scientific peer review.

I was with you right up til the end. Sadly, YOU are the one bringing your religious and political prejudices to the discussion, longhair mentioned neither.

Longhair, I don't know why I am even commenting to you, but we do have records of weather and climate dating back MILLIONS of years. What has happened in the last 100 to 150 years has never happened in that time frame before except in unusual times of volcanic activity or huge meteors. These new patterns are accelerating. While it is true weather patterns do exist, they are much different than in the past. Can you, in a straight face, tell me that 7 billion people on this planet has NO effect and that with all those brains we can't figure out how to at least slow the effects we cause?

All this being said, now for my weather report from MY neck of the woods in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I live in a small town called Escanaba. To date this winter we had less than 5" of snow. We have virtually none on the ground right now. We should have had closer to 20" by now. The average snowfall a year is said to be 55" here, and much more in other parts. Up to 300" in the Keewanaw Peninsula. We haven't seen snows like that for the past 10 to 12 years. Summers have been drier and warmer than normal too.

Climate change and temps are measured in tenths of degrees over time, not in the natural short term swings. I have talked with many 70 to 90 year old people around here and they say without exception, they have never seen it like this in their lifetime. I have been either coming here or lived here for the past 55 years myself and have never seen such mild winters or many summers warmer. Whereas this is rather nice, the drier springs and summers aren't good for my garden and yard and I am sure not all that great for farmers either.

@Longhair: far from the truth. We have climate records of the past 4 billion years, obtained through deep drilling of polar ice caps and studies of different earth geological layers that clearly show how climate behaved millions of years ago.

In addition, it has been proven that the dinasours where not necessarily extinguished due to climate change - in fact, that was just the proverbial icing on the cake - since the main cataclysmic event was an ansteroid that hit the Earth. The huge dust cloud and relatively quick heating and then cooling of the Earth (10 thousand years) was the follow up event that impacted climate, finally taking care of most plants and creatures that survived the asteroid impact.

If you refuse to believe in science and choose to ignore the facts, that's your problem, but you are not fooling the sane among us.

@ chuck

thank you for responding without the typical sarcasm as seen in notlibrocons reply.

btw: notlibrocon

we don't do we. that was my point.

@DelFairchild-1968594

It is all about the Jet Stream and where it goes. It's just been dipping down south lower than usual

Actually the jet stream is staying North (as was mentioned in the article), that's why here in South Dakota we've got no snow and todays temp will be 25 degrees above the average for this time of year.

Susie,

The Earth will take care of herself. It has for over 3 billion years.

It is conceit on the part of mankind to think we can keep the Earth looking like today for the next 10,000 years when we have only been here for about the past 200,000 of the 3 billion years.

About 8,000 years ago the Northern States in America had an ice shield about 3 miles thick all the way down to Mid Wisconsin. No industrial gases in the air during that time. This area will have another Ice sheet in about 10,000 years or so whether we use carbon based fuels or not. Tell your kids to make sure they wear their coats and cover their heads. It will be getting colder.

So Alessa, reading periodicals is where the true lies? Also, you mention the narrow minded right wing mindset; I was under the impression you weren't mixing politics with your - oh so unbiased educational reply to longhair.

I have no idea what a narrow minded right wing mindset is, let alone a wide minded left wing mindset, do you?

Have you met God?

To each their own.

Ok real scientist talking now. Yes we have indirect evidence pointing towards a changing climate. Scientists can estimate the climate of the past within margins of error. It is far from an exact science. Do we have global climate change? Probably. Is it man made or a naturally occuring cycle? Yes to both. Dont make this an issue of politics or open versus closed minded. Stop treating science as if it were another religion. We (scientists) make reasonable conclusions based on the evidence we have. The farther back in time we look the larger the margin of error because of the increasing number of variables effecting the situation, which cannot be known because they occured thousands of years before recorded history. The bottom line is that yes we are polluting the planet and it has a detrimental effect on living organisms. The earth will be fine however. Once we pollute our own habitats to the point of killing ourselves the earth will begin to slowly clean itself and new life will once again take hold; it just wont be human life. So instead of saying save the panet you should really be saying save humankind.

Let's see, Lori (Msg. # 1) asked a direct, straightforward question, which then became a forum for people's political and religious and philosophical views, along with the usual mudslinging and name-calling and aspersions.

SO, Lori, it was a good question. It deserves an answer. The answer is that, yes, this is the "earth cycling". The "cycle" which has the greatest effect on our weather in the US is the so-called "Southern Oscillation" and/or the "El Nino/La Nina" fluctuation (having to do with mid-Pacific ocean temperatures). The current weather pattern seems consistent with a developing La Nina situation, which basically takes my weather in Oregon and gives it to Texas and vice-versa (we're having a very mild, rather dry winter, whereas the El Nino phenomenon causes us to pack on snow like crazy).

Climate change is something that is measured in decades, centuries, and millennia, not on a year-to-year basis. The weather from one year to the next has always fluctuated wildly. Actual "climate change", on the other hand, is measured in terms of fractions of a degree over years and years. As a kid I can remember winters where we had a ton of snow in Indiana, and other winters where we had little or none. Some hot dry summers and some cooler wetter ones. While we currently are enjoying a mild winter in the midwest, it's not necessarily indicative of any long term change. It just means that this year is warmer (so far) than normal. That may change in a month or it may not.

Using current warm temperatures to try to prove anything about long term trends is like passing a fat person on the sidewalk and deciding that, "Wow. People in this town sure are fat." Then after passing a skinny person, declaring, "Now they are losing a lot of weight!"

What about the fact that evidence has shown no causal relationship between CO2 concentration and temperature rises over time?

Brilliant, Bruce (Msg. #1.28)!

It's not just a compelling analogy, but also accurate science and a good rejoinder to those who, confronted by historical evidence of (natural) climate change, argue that "yes, but NOW it's happening faster". How would you know? You can't take an ice core and count the years, one by one, all you can see are broad trends which might take over 150 years (about the total extent of our recorded climate data) to reveal themselves.

There is a very strong relationship between CO2 concentration and temperature rise. Causal is always very difficult to prove.

It's not just how much hotter the earth is getting (2011 was the 6th hottest. 2008 was the hottest), it's how quickly it's getting hot. The ice ages people bring up took a thousand years to get cold; now it's taking 100--following the path of the industrial age.

CO2 rises years after temperatures increase, instead of causing temperature increases, as the global warming prophets of doom are saying.

CO2 is just the hammer used to beat people into submission.

The left wing warm-ongers believe that American Government policy will change the climate of the entire planet. Because, when you get right down to it, that's all there is; government policy. Even some liberals begin to understand that when it is stated in that context, how silly the notion sounds: American government policy will change the climate of the planet. How ridiculous.

But, the irony I love best is that whenever someone wants to increase drilling or production of gas and oil, liberals always say "but that will take decades"...while conveniently ignoring the fact that they are the very ones putting up road blocks that would make faster production possible.

However, when that same argument about it taking decades is used against them, i.e., "it will take decades for government policy to have any affect", then liberals are perfectly happy to go along with the argument, because the more time it takes, the more time they have to enact controls over people and increase their taxes to pay for worthless programs that won't have any affect on the climate, but will make liberals feel much better about themselves, because then they think they are doing something.

And make no mistake, making liberals feel better about themselves, by using the climate change hoax as a method of wealth redistribution, is what it is all about to the left. Otherwise, if the crisis was real, why give ANY country any exemption?? But isn't it funny, the liberals are always willing to make exceptions for some "under developed country", so they can increase their standard of living, while the rest of us must lower ours.

Except for the liberal elite, of course, who feel that they should be allowed to contiune flying around in their private jets and using their SUV's, while the rest of us must make the sacrifices they deem appropriate, because they think the politically correct way. And as we all know, if you think the right way, then the fact that you are an absolute hypocrite makes no difference at all.

How convenient.

I hope we don't get as much ice an snow as we did last year. Bad year for global warming. We could use some rain right now though. Things have been a little bit different since the huge earthquake in Japan. Remember when a small piece of earth moved. What and Who caused that. lol

The next Solar Maximum date is guess when??? Yes, 2012.

Wrong. The last solar minimum was in 2009.

Why does it seem that deniers don't have a single intelligent person on their side?

I'm surprised nobody has blamed it on the End of the World coming in Dec 2012....lol

I remember many times of running around in shorts in December, and sunbathing in February, and then sleet in April here in Louisiana (i'm only 42) The weather has always been crazy and fluctuates. But I can say I have Never seen it this warm in January (76 here the other day) but still, I'm not freaking out. I'm sure next year will be another average year for winter weather.

Don't know what causes it and I'm not going to pretend to but it does make a person wonder :)

Retired..."What and Who caused that."

Are you kidding me? Everyone knows it was Bush's fault! Have you been sleeping under a rock?

to government worker,

boy, i must have hit a nerve! what a pompous, holierthanthou answer! yes, periodicals like scientific american DO tell the truth. they also go back and visit those truths as more knowledge is uncovered which sometimes changes what we know. you prove to me that this magazine is does not deserve the accolades it has received over that last 150 years! i never said i wasn't biased. we ALL are! are you going to sit there and try and tell me that you alone are being fair and balanced? right. i'm biased towards the truth, whatever it might be. i'm biased to finding out the answers, and not just following some preacher or politician like a sheep, because it's easier than taking responsibility for my own thoughts and decisions. i am trying to help longhair, not insult him. i really believe that if he and others would just be willing to do a little research, they would find out they're being lied to. don't believe me, longhair. think i'm the biggest liar in the world. just go find out. open up a book that wasn't written by a political or religious pundit.

as for my knowing God...yes, actually, i have and do know God. i doubt is you would understand my personal belief system. (yeah, that's an insult) i don't believe God is some guy sitting on a cloud somewhere waiting to strike me dead with his finger! the power that is the universe is so far beyond our understanding that we have had to personify it, so we can relate to it. but, the archaic ideas of the establishment church(all faiths) isn't there to truly spread the philosophy of God, but to control the masses and make money for the rich.

Jesus, who was enlightened from birth, understood the true nature of God and that consciousness was within him. what other prophets and philosophers spent volumes explaining, Jesus was able to state in simple, beautiful, perfection. "There are two great laws, saith the Lord. Love the Lord, thy God with all thy soul. love thy neighbor as thyself."(that's a paraphrase) and then He said, "These two commandments go before all the laws and the prophets." there you have it. that's all we need to know to live in peace and brotherhood. love one another and love God. God is everything around you-the trees, the wind, the rocks, the water-the Earth itself, the universe beyond. if we TRULY love God, then regardless if we believe that we are contributing to global climate change, shouldn't we be doing everything we can to keep our planet clean and beautiful? so, i would think that people of great faith would be the most ardent conservationists, and yet the religious right has seemed to do everything it can to fight the idea, back politicians who are hip deep in the pockets of the oil barons and put people into power who would rape this planet for a profit. yeah, i'm biased. i'm biased towards God, which yeah, i have met. everytime i look in the mirror, there He is because He is in every single of one us and all you have to do is be quiet and listen. i realize that God is not in control of my life, I am. he isn't some monster waiting for me to slip up so he can toss me in a burning fire, rather He is that part of my consciousness that wants only goodness. you can tune into it, or you can turn away. you have free will.

In regard to the comment that "CO2 rises years after temperatures increase," this is not always true, it can go both ways. And even when CO2 is not the first cause of a temperature increase (for example, when ice ages end), it plays an important feedback role.

The disturbing thing about this phenomena is that no one knows what is happening. All our human knowledge cannot explain what is happening. We have a reasonably good record of past climate cycles from a broad array of sources - ice cores, tree rings, coal beds, geologic formations, etc. Yet what is happening now is beyond our understanding of the past and beyond our present ability to describe the present. That should be worrisome to everyone.

It is apparent the climate is changing. Animals are migrating to areas where they have not been recorded. The make up of forest, grassland, and even ocean environments are changing. The question is not who or what to blame for the changes that are occurring - the question is what do we do about it.

Climate change will require more energy - that is apparent - for heating/cooling in particular. Climate change will require modifications in how we use water resources - some areas becoming more prone to drought and some less. Climate change will affect our ability to harvest natural resources - fisheries will be affected, forests will be affected, our food crops will be affected - some for better and some for worse.

As a species, we should be preparing for the coming changes.

You know, we live on a constantly changing planet. It's said that the only constant is change, and while it sounds like a cliche', it's completely true. Niagara falls erodes backward at a rate of (I believe) about 6" a year, meaning that at some point it will either cease to exist or will exist in a very different format. I am surprised we have not mounted a "save the falls" effort to try to keep this natural change from happening.

For some reason, humans have this tremendous desire to take a snapshot in time (NOW) and keep everything exactly the way it is. From this point forward, the planet should get no warmer or cooler. No animals should migrate do different areas or go extinct, etc. Things are going to change folks, and there is NOTHING that we can do to stop them. Of course, most of the efforts are REALLY all about power and pushing political agendas, and have much less to do with the actual problem they pretend to address.

The disturbing thing about this phenomena is that no one knows what is happening. All our human knowledge cannot explain what is happening.

That's not really true. There are a lot of people that understand and can explain what is happening. They've even warned us that weather would become more severe in the temperate zones (where most people live).

@Z1P2

The next Solar Maximum date is guess when??? Yes, 2012.

Wrong. The last solar minimum was in 2009.

Why does it seem that deniers don't have a single intelligent person on their side?

Before you question the intelligence of others you should spend 30 seconds verifying your own info. The last solar minimum was in '06 not '09 (http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/10mar_stormwarning/) and the solar maximum was originally predicted to be in late 2011-2012, and most recently pushed back to the beginning of 2013.

@Backcountry164,

You mean check data like this:

http://cjonline.com/news/local/2009-09-20/earth_approaching_sunspot_records

The sun is at a low point of a deep solar minimum in which there are few to no sunspots on its surface.

Written September 30, 2009. I think the word you're looking for here is DOH!

ARRGG! You people are ridiculously dense! Climate changes do happen, of coarse! There are cycles and always have been! Brian and I weren't disputing that.. But these changes you are talking about do NOT happen in the space of 100 or 200 years, they happen over a period of THOUSANDS of years! Those of you who claim all the climate changes we are experiencing now are just mother nature or solar winds or the sun moving further away can't seem to get that point through your thick skulls! The Earth doesn't work that way, it takes eons for land masses to shift and for weather to turn upside down.. That is it did before WE came along!

For decades we have been dumping fossil fuels and other poisoness gases in the air.. Try to picture it like this.. Pretend the Earth is surrounded by a big bubble, a bubble of life-giving oxygen and other vital gases.. Now that bubble, while very large is also very fragile and all the bad gases we've been pouring into the bubble have been damaging it, very, very badly.. See, children? This is bad for us, it can, in fact, and probably will, sooner then later kill us.. That's all on top of creating some very nasty climate changes..

Now do all you kiddies understand a little better just WHY some of us, who read books, understand that a great deal of what is happening is NOT due to natural cycles? If not, I give up and will leave you to keep your heads buried in the sands until they consume you like the lost city of Ubar!

@ Z1P2

ROTFLMAO! I post a link to NASA and you counter with the Topeka Capitol Journal. Seriously? An article that quotes a research hydrologist who studies sun spots in his spare time. LOL! A guy who doesn’t believe global warming is caused by co2 pollution but rather by cosmic rays? Weren’t you the one saying the deniers were idiots? And then you link to an article quoting one? OMG too funny!

Btw- here’s a quote from the article you posted- “The complete solar cycle is about an 11-year process. Perry says the current solar minimum could continue into 2010.” And what do you suppose comes after the minimum? Durrrrr

Here’s another article from 2009, again I’ll stick with NASA if you don’t mind.- "May 29, 2009: An international panel of experts led by NOAA and sponsored by NASA has released a new prediction for the next solar cycle. Solar Cycle 24 will peak, they say, in May 2013 with a below-average number of sunspots." - http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/29may_noaaprediction/

I think the word you're looking for here is DOH!

I think the words you're looking for is DOUBLE DOH! I'll stick with LOL!

Btw- here's a quote from the article you posted- "The complete solar cycle is about an 11-year process. Perry says the current solar minimum could continue into 2010." And what do you suppose comes after the minimum? Durrrrr

Durr was a fitting word for you to use there... you'll figure out how stupid you were just being eventually if you think about it long enough. Math obviously isn't your strong suit, I'm not surprised.

@Z1P2

I'm sorry, you're right. I was so incredibly amused that you were basing your info on someone you believe to be an idiot that I didn't stop to do the math at all. The guy who, in the article you quote, says the exact same thing, as the person here (climate change due to solar activity) who, in your own words, lacks intelligence. Oh wait, that's not quite right either is it. The poster here thinks the Earth is getting warmer while the guy you quote believes the opposite- "Perry said there is anecdotal evidence the Earth's temperature may be slightly decreasing". It was just sooo funny, I'm sure you can understand.

So again, going by what the idiot says, if the solar minimum ended in 2010 the maximum would be somewhere around 2015. You sure got me there, boy don't I feel dumb. LOL!!! Next time why don't you quote Nostradamus and really make me feel stupid. Ha!

and you think 2011 is closer to 2015 (maximum), or 2010 (minimum)?

Yes, I do have you, dead to rights.

No I think I'll stick with NASA's observation of solar minimum in 2006 and their prediction of solar maximum in may 2013. The only thing you have dead to rights is that you're get your info from someone who you think is an idiot. What exactly do you suppose that makes YOU?

It's going to be over 50*F today in Minneapolis. That's basically all the proof I need.

I know Ruken. How great is that. This winter will hopefully be easy on us.

Idaho and Montana getting snow today.

Yes, climate change. It's been changing, primarily warming, since the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago. Have you kids not been paying attention?

Bull$h!t!! Wow, you have 100 years worth of junk versus millions of years of earth's natural climate cycle. When your boys come out of their hiding spot and conduct a full scientific debate then I'll listen.

lugg - and when they find a climate model that explains the last 10-15 years of actual data that debunks all previous models, I might start listening too.

Ruken, what is the data from the other 9,900 years?

What I am trying to say is how do we know that this is not a normal cycle that happens every 250 or 500 or 1000 or 2000 or 5000 years?

Ruken,

I'm also very concerned about the warming patterns seen in the last several years. Each month seems to be warmer than the last. The weather started warming up in March and kept getting warmer and warmer. This is all the proof I need to decide that global warming exists...

I love the arguments from people lacking information; Earth's CO2 is currently 3 times higher than it has EVER been (in the last 500 million years, that is).

This thing will not let me post a link, but search for "Phanerozoic Carbon Dioxide" for details.

1.9 inches of snow in Chicago? not by my house. 40 miles south of downtown we haven't had 1/16 of a inch.

Last year was one of the coldest in NY history from the time i graduate 6 years ago till now we have had at least 1 day a year (3 when my sister was in 6th grade and 2 last year when my sister was in 8th) that school was cancled due to temps being so cold exsposed skin would get frost bite in under 3 mins. I never had that growing up here the previous 19 years so to me it seems its got colder over the last 25 years. and we live next to PA its not like were super north NY. 

Wow- A warm winter and suddenly it's evidence of "Global warming". Last year we had an unusual amount of Snow in Jersey and that was evidence of "Climate Change." A colder than average summer..."Climate Change" an hotter than usual summer? back to "Global Warming"

Convenient that no matter if it's colder or hotter it still backs up your theories that it's all our fault.

Don't get me wrong, I recycle and drive a vehicle that gets good milage and use a programable thermostat and those awful CFL lightbulbs that make everything look sterile and blue. I beleive in taking care of the environment and picking up after yourself. Littering makes the Indians cry. Give a hoot- don't pollute etc.

But sometimes the environmentalist lobby goes a bit overboard with the scare tactics that we're all gonna die because it's a pleasant 60 degrees out in January. Enjoy the warm days! Relax. It's all going to be fine.

I love the arguments from people lacking information; Earth's CO2 is currently 3 times higher than it has EVER been (in the last 500 million years, that is).

This thing will not let me post a link, but search for "Phanerozoic Carbon Dioxide" for details.

We can't argue with these people Oscar. They don't want to listen.

Ashley, in NYC it was actually one of the warmest winters ever last year. This year looks to follow suit as it was 60 degrees over the weekend...in January.

Ruken...kindly quote where I said man was having no affect on climate change. Jump to conclusions much?

Oscar, here is a quote from Wikipedia on Phanerozoic Carbon Dioxide

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Phanerozoic_Carbon_Dioxide.png)

"Direct determination of past carbon dioxide levels relies primarily on the interpretation of carbon isotopic ratios in fossilized soils (paleosols) or the shells of phytoplankton and through interpretation of stomatal density in fossil plants. Each of these is subject to substantial systematic uncertainty."

Take special note of the last sentence.

(You probably cannot post links because you are new. Once you've been here a while and shown you're not a troll or obnoxious fool, you'll be able to post links.)

Ruken,

50 in January in Minneappolis is not that rare.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/daily/USMN0503

@Spike: It is when it is happening consistently. I am not talking about one occurrence. We haven't had one sub-zero night yet.

We have been consistently in the 40's for weeks.

longhair, that's a good question and it's nice to see that you may be wanting to know answers. the truth is that your question is one a lot a scientists are tackling. there are cycles in climate change and have been going on for millions of years. sometimes those changes take place slowly but a few times, these changes took place quickly. i have a book called Catastrophe. it is one man's idea that the drastic change in the climate starting in 536 ad was caused by a volcano in indonesia. he makes a pretty good case for how the climate can change drastically and quickly and stay that way for decades or even hundreds of years. the 'little ice age' of the 17th-18th century is another change that happened relatively quickly, although i'm not sure we know what caused that yet.

but, the problem we are having today isn't that we are CAUSING climate change. we are AFFECTING it adversely. we are making things happen faster than they should be happening-like we are a volcano spewing dirt into the air. by taking care to keep our atmosphere clean and our waters clean, we can hopefully put nature back on track to its normal change. there is still going to be climate change. There is always climate change going on-that's nature. but, if we don't do something to remove OUR footprint from the change, it is happening faster than we can adapt to it. like i said before, maybe we have nothing whatsoever to do with the changing climate and it's all a mistake. isn't keeping the air cleaner a good thing? do you think it's a coincidence that asthma is now rampant in industrial countries? when i was growing up, i didn't know one kid who had asthma. today, practically everyone i know either has it or has a family member with it. our oceans are becoming more acidic by the decade. corals are dying at an alarming rate. coral creates the basis for ecosystems that support millions of life forms. those corals are dying as a direct result of pollution. should we ignore that just because we can't make a profit off of saving them? really. should we just continue to rape our world because we might not really be causing anything? another illness-autism. isn't it odd that in the last 100 years this disease has become epidemic? along with the polluting of our water, food sources and air?

all i'm saying, is that you don't have to be a liberal, or an atheist to understand that we should take care of what we have. in fact, i would think that the more spiritual you are, the more you would want to protect this beautiful planet that God gave us. wouldn't a clean earth be better than a dirty one? wouldn't clean air be nicer to breath? wouldn't it be nicer to know that you're not living on top of a sewage dump? what is so terrible about wanting to have a clean earth? make me understand why i'm wrong about this?

"...We have been consistently in the 40's for weeks."

Weeks? Hardly, I checked. 11 days 40 or above since December 1, 2011. That is six weeks.

But sometimes the environmentalist lobby goes a bit overboard with the scare tactics that we're all gonna die

Yeah, and then you've got swollen ticks like Al Gore and Michael Moore that don't practice what they preach but expect us to.

"...We have been consistently in the 40's for weeks."

Weeks? Hardly, I checked. 11 days 40 or above since December 1, 2011. That is six weeks.

"I love it when the facts hit the board" right ruken?

Well said Jay the Earth will survive anything man can do to it (unless he totally blows it up) it will just reboot itself and start from scratch. People need to stop calling it save the planet and say save mankind because the planet will do just fine without us.

Jay...according to astrophysicist, the Sun will swell into a read giant and incinerate the entire solar system in about 5 billion years. People are worried about climatologist getting their numbers right. I'm hoping the astrophysicist math isn't off by about 5 billion years.

It cooled off? When did that happen? It's over 50*F outside in Minneapolis in January.

I suppose when there is a heavy rain, you think the world is flooding. Can't see the forest for the trees?

I live in Mpls. & it's wonderful. winter carnival starting soon and no snow. I have lived here all my life and this is GREAT I'll take it.

apparently ruken has payed no attention to any side but his/her own.

Remember a year ago.. yes weather does change. And WTF I'd rather have it 50 than -15. Drink the koolaid douche.

Acid rain was mitigated by?????????? You guessed it- cap and trade. And millions of dollars in health care cost and tourist dollars were saved.

apparently ruken has payed no attention to any side but his/her own.

You mean paid? You know as they say: "You can argue with stupid."

oops, gawd i hate that.

i think i got the point across either way spell check.

Actually, acid rain was denied by the industry. Proof in the form of decaying stone buildings made governments take notice and pass laws to stop it. Acid rain went away.

Industry will do anything to keep its cash rolling in. It denied acid rain; it denied tobacco causes cancer; now it's lined up to deny climate change.

oops, gawd i hate that.

i think i got the point across either way spell check.

The point I gathered was this:

This poster cannot even formulate a sentence, so I probably shouldn't place any stock into what he's trying to say.

Yet another victim of 'No Child Left Behind'.

I've noticed grammar police like this often sound pompous and sarcastic. Why is it the more people pay attention to grammar the more narrow minded they appear to be?

I have skimmed through your vine and you offer no questions, just smart aleck responses and theories that you claim to be factual.

Like i said, I think i got my point across.

Yup, About the best we can hope for is that we aren't among those killed by natural selection. When the environment can no longer sustain a growing population, things happen that kill off a significant portion of that population. Eventually equilibrium us reached or the species goes extinct.

Xina, Sometimes even Mother Nature needs to flush.

According to the doomsayers the world ended 12 times in 2011 alone. Yet here we are!!!!!!!!

I totally agree!!!!!!

Me either Retired. Grand Rapids, MN. 47 degrees currently and Thank you for your service!

My kids got all the new gear this year for christmas, hats, gloves, boots, snow pants, sleds, shovels, those snow brick makers.... lol... and no snow....

This is why I carry a poncho on cloudy days. Ponch= no rain. No poncho= torrential downpour!

that's why i wash my car during a drought lol

WE don't want to share. Last year and the year before between the hurricanes and the snow, I lost most of my trees. What the winds didn't pull out the snow killed. Finally got a garden growing again and I do not need snow. Used to live in Fairbanks and I have seen all the snow I ever want to see.

Was assigned to Fort Wainwright Alaska saw more snow there in an average winter than most people see in a lifetime. Snow is fun until you have to shovel it!

We got it last year, thanks. But I don't begrudge you some spring-like weather in January - we're having it too! But we need some freezing days to kill all the ticks, etc. before "real" spring/warm weather gets here...

So, what is happening? Global cooling? Global warming? Climate Change. We have had climate change ever since we have had climate. Read a geology book.

HAARP - Everyone should research it. It's time for that "rude awakening."

Can it truthbecoming. No one cares about your geoengineering conspiacy. Count me a fool.

Conspiracy? You are a fool. GeoEneineering is a science that Universities give Doctorates in. Weather Modification has been going on since man took flight. Cloud seeding!!! There are 100s of weather modification companies in existence, laws on the books for Military to use biological, chemical and other compounds on US civilian populations (NATO), HAARP, DARPA, NASA, Operation Clover Leaf, and tens of other programs and agendas that are PUBLIC and admitted by OFFICIALS in government. What I suggest you do is get off your ass and contribute to something good, rather than wasting peoples time. But, I do thank you for letting me have this opportunity to state facts and details for others to learn by.

Dave / New Mexico

A number of different countries may be playing with the weather...HAARP

you can also look up chem trails. A lost of activity lately.

GeoEngineering...high altitude aerosol spraying...David Keith....DARPA, NASA, Operation Clover Leaf...and the list goes on....

Govt isn't hiding their weather modification program anymore. They're proud of it! The water resource board in CO admits to doing it. Private companies such as Evergreen are doing it. It has been going on for many years, used to be from ground only but now they have taken to the skies. All one has to do is go outside now and then and look up. A CONtrail dissipates, weather modification applications do not.

www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_64217.shtml for all you need to know...

www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_64217.shtml for all you need to know...

I'm in Midland, MI and I couldn't agree with you more!! LOVING IT!!

I'm in MA, and we had one big snowstorm on October 29th (which was a huge pain that knocked out power for most of MA and CT for up to a week and half), but beyond that, we've only gotten a few flurries here and there. We had a dusting this morning. But last weekend, we hit 60. I'm not complaining. After last winter where we got hit with a snowstorm once a week for five weeks straight, I'm okay with a mild year.

Let's call Al Gore and have him do something about this horrible global warming. Maybe he can that law passed that outlawed cows passing methane gas, which is certainly the reason for all that snow.

Sorry glenbo, but Gore is too busy zooming back and forth across the planet spewing tons of CO2 into the atmosphere and then getting paid millions a year telling everyone the earth is warming and CO2 is the reason.

(It's probably too late for you to get in on this scam...)

No, Al Gore didn't invent global warming. In the 1950s, physicists using data gathered for the military had already calculated a climate sensitivity to doubling CO2 of about 3 deg C, which is still approximately valid today. Gore was only a few years old at the time. See the aip.org website for the history.

yeah interesting. I remember when I was a kid, the really nice weather was always 4 inches away.

Did the nice weather keep moving 4" away when you moved?

That may mean something else entirely.