The Irony Element
Perhaps they should have planned their protest for a warmer part of the planet. Tucson is nice this time of year. Still, a blizzard put the dampers on a global warming protest as the Salt Lake Tribune reports:
“Not many people showed up because of the blizzard conditions,” said organizer Clea Major, an international studies student at the University of Utah.
It didn’t take long for the six friends to pack up a bullhorn and posters they’d planned to use for their “scream-in,” an outlet for their frustration about the failure of the Copenhagen climate talks earlier this month to curb the pollution blamed for climate change.
Where’s the “Global Warming” Dividend?
Happy Snowman! Sad snow removal budgets.
You know, like the peace dividend? We’ve been hearing for a very long time now that the Earth is getting warmer. Wouldn’t that mean, you know, warmer? Usually when it’s warmer you have less snow, not more! In fact, the blog Watts Up with That dug up a quote in The Independent dated March 20, 2000. The article quotes noted Scientist Dr. David Viner ( with the agency now embroiled in Climategate) as saying:
According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia, within a few years winter snowfall will become “a very rare and exciting event”.
This rare and exciting event has blanketed much of the nation. Many places saw a rare event indeed… as in the most snow ever from a December storm. Places like Oklahoma City, Washingto D.C. and almost the entire state of Iowa. Instead of getting a “Global Warming” dividend, many states are already straining under snow removal bills with over 3/4 of the Winter still to go. From today’s Wall Street Journal:
Maryland’s State Highway Administration has spent more than $27 million this year on snow removal, the bulk of that clearing away a massive pre-Christmas storm. But the agency’s annual snow-removal budget is just $26 million.
Officials will have to “make adjustments in other areas of their operating budgets” to cover the overrun, the state’s transportation secretary, Beverley Swaim-Staley, said in a statement.
Similar adjustments are going on across the country — and they often mean less plowing.
Colorado officials recently notified residents in rural areas that they will let snow sit overnight on 2,800 miles of sparsely traveled state highways to cut down on overtime costs.
The bad news for Maryland, and other snow weary locales? The AccuWeather Winter Forecast is tracking true. That means more snow for the south and especially the mid-Atlantic for the next couple of months. The only part that they are missing is the warm part for the Pacific Northwest… but I digress.
The good news is the Democrats in the Senate have all but given up on trying to pass Cap & Trade. they are recognizing the political danger of passing a bill that would cripple an already severely ailing economy. Perhaps they are also realizing that it’s getting colder, not warmer.
BBC – Europe cold snap kills dozens
Go Green, Ride Your Bike!
and the snow is falling still in places like London. Train service has been affected, and very cold temperatures have claimed lives in Poland. Germany is setting records for cold weather. The BBC has the story:
At least 29 people froze to death in Poland as temperatures fell far below freezing, while in southern Germany a figure of -33C (-27F) was recorded.
Moscow said it was deploying 9,000 snow ploughs to clear the city’s streets.
Air, rail and road transport links were disrupted across northern Europe where more snow was expected in coming days.
Eurostar services between the UK and the continent were suspended on Monday for a third day, as the company launched an immediate review into train breakdowns which have stranded and delayed tens of thousands of passengers since Friday.
This is not the kind of news you would expect if the planet was warming is it? Combine the cold and snow in Europe with the cold and snow in the U.S. and you gotta wonder. Why are the leaders of the world pushing for limits on carbon? You would hope that President Obama having to leave Copenhagen early because of a huge snowstorm that hit Washington, D.C. might wake a few people up. Then again, maybe it’s not about global warming at all.
UPDATE: The Peninsula online reports heavy snow and cold from England, including southern England, France, Germany, Brussels, Russia and more:
More than 220 villages and towns in Bulgaria were left without electricity, and toppled trees cut power in several mountainous suburbs in the capital Sofia.
An overflowing dam in the town of Zlatograd, southeast of Sofia, flooded the basements of several apartment buildings, the town’s mayor told news agency Focus.
Four Serie A soccer matches were postponed in Italy.
In France, the heavy snowfall was not expected to end until Monday evening at the earliest, according to weather bureau Meteo France.
Minimum temperatures hovered close to record lows in some areas overnight, with the minimum reading in the Jura department of eastern France reaching minus 23C.
Temperatures in Moscow rose to about minus 15C yesterday after the mercury dipped to below minus 26C on Wednesday.
The relatively warmer temperatures brought heavy snow falls in the Russian capital, blanketing Red Square and the Kremlin.
It really is to start thinking about the affects of global cooling, not global warming!
Snowstorm breaks records for D.C., Baltimore
From the National Weather Service office in Washington D.C. forecast discussion this morning:
MULTIPLE SNOWFALL RECORDS WERE BROKEN FROM THIS SNOWSTORM AT
DCA...BWI...IAD. DAILY SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR DEC 19 WERE SMASHED AT
ALL THREE AIRPORTS. THESE DAILY SNOWFALL REPORTS ON DEC 19 ALSO
BROKE RECORDS FOR THE MOST SNOWFALL FOR ANY CALENDAR DAY DURING
THE MONTH OF DEC.
DAILY DECEMBER SNOWFALL (IN INCHES)
NEW RECORD OLD RECORD
DCA 15.0 11.5 (1932)
BWI 20.5 11.5 (1932)
IAD 16.0 10.6 (1982)
ADDITIONAL CLIMATE TIDBITS FROM THE PAST STORM...
DCA...
THE 15.0 INCHES OF SNOW MEASURED YESTERDAY WAS THE THIRD
HIGHEST DAILY SNOWFALL ON ANY CALENDAR DAY AT WASHINGTON DC SINCE
SNOWFALL RECORDS BEGAN IN 1884.
THE STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 16.4 INCHES OF SNOWFALL ON DEC 18-19
2009 MARKS THE 6TH HIGHEST TWO-DAY SNOWFALL RECORD FOR WASHINGTON
DC...PUTTING IT JUST BELOW THE PRESIDENT/S DAY STORM IN 2003 AND
AHEAD OF THE JAN 1996 STORM.
FOR THE MONTH SO FAR...A TOTAL OF 16.6 INCHES OF SNOW HAS BEEN
RECORDED AT DCA. THIS MAKES IT THE SNOWIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD FOR
WASHINGTON DC (PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 16.2 IN 1962).
BWI...
THE 20.5 INCHES OF SNOW MEASURED YESTERDAY WILL GO DOWN AS THE FIFTH
HIGHEST DAILY SNOWFALL ON ANY CALENDAR DAY AT BALTIMORE SINCE
SNOWFALL RECORDS BEGAN IN 1893.
THE STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 21.0 INCHES OF SNOWFALL ON DEC 18-19
2009 MARKS THE 6TH HIGHEST TWO-DAY SNOWFALL RECORD FOR BALTIMORE.
FOR THE MONTH SO FAR...A TOTAL OF 22.2 INCHES OF SNOW HAS BEEN
RECORDED AT BWI. THIS MAKES IT THE SNOWIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD FOR
BALTIMORE (PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 20.4 INCHES IN 1966).
Snow Around the World
Lots of snow around the planet. Some places that rarely get snow like Nice in the South of France and Venice, Italy. Enjoy the sites from CTV.ca
Global Warming Conference cut short
Funny Video, “Let it Snow – Global Warming Farce”
Disagreement on Copenhagen Agreement
Once again, HotAir.com does an excellent job of spelling out the details. It seems that the agreement that President Barack Obama was so proud of in Copenhagen is so weak that other leaders are complaining. Sudan is even busting out the hyperbole, which makes sense since this debate has been about hyperbole all along.
One representative from Sudan compared Obama’s agreement to the Nazi death camps, which prompted a barrage of attacks. Since the Copenhagen conference requires unanimous approval, it seems that Obama’s agreement has as much chance of passage as his cap-and-trade bill does this year.
Of course Sudan would stand to collect millions, maybe even billions of dollars if an agreement is ever reached. Who would pay? Why the big “polluters”, of course.
Opponents said the document, which sets a target of limiting global warming to a maximum 2 degree Celsius rise over pre-industrial times and holds out the prospect of $100 billion (62 billion pounds) in annual aid from 2020 for developing nations, was too weak.
Too bad for Sudan that much of the world’s citizenry is realizing that CO2 is not a pollutant.
Valdez, Alaska gets 5′ 8″ of Snow!
Yep. Maybe more, reports the Alaska Dispatch.
Moulton said the National Weather Service estimate was probably already a little low; on Wednesday evening they’d reported 63.5 inches, but, he said, “we easily got (another) foot last night.”
The biggest problem? Snow removal from the streets, where berms are piled something like three or four feet deep.
It’s been cold too. Kind of unusual for an El Nino year that usually means warmer weather in Alaska. Of course then there is the question of why global warming isn’t leading to less snow around the world? Blizzard Warnings are up tonight for Long Island, NY. Washington, DC is expecting 10-20″. Atlanta may see a few snowflakes mixed into their rain by Christmas. Oh, and there has been heavy snow in England and other parts of Europe.
Perhaps more people will realize that it’s the Sun driving the weather and as long as it’s in a quiet period, we can expect more snow and shorter growing seasons. Not the other way around.
Rudolph Goes Green
A funny Christmas barb from Political Cartoons.com:
Otherwise Al wouldn't let poor Roudolph play in any global government games
Climate Talks in Copenhagen Fail. UPDATE: Meaningless agreement reached
Yippee!
HotAir.com does a great job covering this breaking news. In the end, China and India refused to have their CO2 emissions monitored and their economies halted. What a concept!
I will say that this development is a victory for the world and for those of us who would rather not throw billions of dollars at a problem that doesn’t exist.
Meanwhile, President Obama leaves a rare snowstorm in Copenhagen to land in a huge snowstorm in D.C.
In related news, Gerald Warner makes fun of the latest failed ploy by global warming alarmists in this article in the Telegraph.
