Global Warming: why isn't it warm? :(

[MidKnight]

1 degree Celsius here. Pretty okay IMO.

[TradeMark]

HOLY SHIT, ITS ONLY -2 celsius HERE NOW, GLOBAL WARMING!!!!

[AF]

I think its a safe thing to say that

CONTINENTS MOVE

[bobthedinosaur]

Don't worry. We got your arse taken care of:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSurvivaBall

[SwiftSpear]

Russia has gotten scarily freezing it seems. Interestingly enough it seems the temperature of Antarctica is colder than usual.

[Peet]

It snowed today >:(

[Caydr]

Hasn't "global warming" been rebranded "climate change" now? I can't tell what to believe anymore, there's so much lying and obfuscation on both sides of the argument.

[JohannesH]

Hasn't "global warming" been rebranded "climate change" now? I can't tell what to believe anymore, there's so much lying and obfuscation on both sides of the argument.

The climate changes, believe it or not!

[Erom]

Actually, this isn't surprising if you know a bit of climate science. As the equator heats up, it increases the amount of energy in the Hadly cells (those big toroids of atmosphere that are responsible for things like the jet stream and the horse latitudes). The equatorial Hadly cell tends to expand when this happens, shrinking the polar Hadly cells. This decreases the amount of circulation in the atmosphere - essentially, the equator gets hotter, but less heat makes it to the poles, so past a certain latitude the average temperatures actually drop.

If this gets bad enough, you get super low average polar temperatures, increasing snow retention and glaciation. This increases reflectivity keeping the polar band even colder and reducing the average solar heating planet wide. This can actually push the planet toward an ice age, even while the equatorial region is still above "normal" temperature.

In other words, global warming causes ice ages. At least, in theory :) No one's been alive to actually see it happen before, so I guess we'll find out.

The environmentalist that actually have a clue what they are talking about are actually worried because of how fast this cycle could happen due to man made heating - the cycle will occur eventually, naturally (assuming the theory is correct) but if we "super charge" it with a lot more heat, it'll happen faster and more violently. "Faster" being a relative term :)

[Caydr]

IMHO if things got out of control one of those crazy instant-fixes would be done.

If we don't kill ourselves in the process by accidentally making things worse, we could theoretically eliminate long-term climate change altogether now that we're smart enough and have enough industrial backbone.

For example, that guy who suggested blasting a shitton of some readily-available gas (methane?) into the atmosphere to reflect heat. It's the stuff of science fiction, but actually not at all out of our reach if it's done carefully and in moderation.

If done on a sufficiently precise scale, the technology could even mature into a weather control system! I just hope we can experiment with that kind of idea on Mars or something before we bring it home...

[Satirik]

Hasn't "global warming" been rebranded "climate change" now? I can't tell what to believe anymore, there's so much lying and obfuscation on both sides of the argument.

The climate changes, believe it or not!

and how do you know that ?

[Caydr]

Hasn't "global warming" been rebranded "climate change" now? I can't tell what to believe anymore, there's so much lying and obfuscation on both sides of the argument.

The climate changes, believe it or not!

and how do you know that ?

Is that a serious question? My troll detector is going crazy, but you're one of them foreigners... hmm... hard to tell...

Regardless, things like glaciers and studying layers of the earth's surface are plain-as-day evidence that the climate has gone through many kinds of changes in the past. More recently, I know I read about people finding old records of extended cold periods in Europe even during the last thousand years or so.

The earth's climate goes through cycles every few hundred years, I don't think anyone's disputing that.

[Satirik]

cycle = no change you nOOb ! otherwise it's always changing and there is no point in telling people it's changing

[SwiftSpear]

Actually, this isn't surprising if you know a bit of climate science. As the equator heats up, it increases the amount of energy in the Hadly cells (those big toroids of atmosphere that are responsible for things like the jet stream and the horse latitudes). The equatorial Hadly cell tends to expand when this happens, shrinking the polar Hadly cells. This decreases the amount of circulation in the atmosphere - essentially, the equator gets hotter, but less heat makes it to the poles, so past a certain latitude the average temperatures actually drop.

If this gets bad enough, you get super low average polar temperatures, increasing snow retention and glaciation. This increases reflectivity keeping the polar band even colder and reducing the average solar heating planet wide. This can actually push the planet toward an ice age, even while the equatorial region is still above "normal" temperature.

In other words, global warming causes ice ages. At least, in theory :) No one's been alive to actually see it happen before, so I guess we'll find out.

The environmentalist that actually have a clue what they are talking about are actually worried because of how fast this cycle could happen due to man made heating - the cycle will occur eventually, naturally (assuming the theory is correct) but if we "super charge" it with a lot more heat, it'll happen faster and more violently. "Faster" being a relative term :)

"more violently" also being theoretical. Man made global warming could result in the lamest, least destructive ice age ever in terms of death and destruction.

Good thing we have no clue what will actually happen.

[SwiftSpear]

IMHO if things got out of control one of those crazy instant-fixes would be done.

If we don't kill ourselves in the process by accidentally making things worse, we could theoretically eliminate long-term climate change altogether now that we're smart enough and have enough industrial backbone.

For example, that guy who suggested blasting a shitton of some readily-available gas (methane?) into the atmosphere to reflect heat. It's the stuff of science fiction, but actually not at all out of our reach if it's done carefully and in moderation.

If done on a sufficiently precise scale, the technology could even mature into a weather control system! I just hope we can experiment with that kind of idea on Mars or something before we bring it home...

It's not a gas, it's sulfur powder. It has a similar effect to planetary ice coverage. It just reflects a bunch of sunlight.

[Caydr]

Ahh, methane, sulfur, I knew it was one of those knee-jerk "oh shit!" chemicals.

Guy should've seriously picked a different one, even if it wasn't as effective, sulfur is just too close to things like brimstone and dragons for my liking.

cycle = no change you nOOb ! otherwise it's always changing and there is no point in telling people it's changing

Even if something's cyclical, that just means it's in a constant state of change. The public at large however is unaware that the climate is constantly changing, so they need to be made aware of the reality of the situation. On the other hand, if the climate change hysteria kicks into high gear it will only mean less pollution and better energy-related technologies, so maybe paranoia isn't such a bad thing.

What I was proposing earlier was that we could use our super duper technology and negate the effects of natural climate change. Or maybe employ artificial climate change in a more localized way (if that's even possible) to make weather less severe.

For example, make a low-density cloud of reflective particles - preferably not dragon bait, but whatever - over places that are too hot to be useful for anything, like deserts. Or make a similar high-altitude cloud over areas at risk of flooding to temporarily prevent or reduce rainfall. Or you could manipulate temperatures in such a way as to increase rainfall in areas where farming is difficult.

[tombom]

cycle = no change you nOOb ! otherwise it's always changing and there is no point in telling people it's changing

you do not understand the word change

i still think environmentalists focusing on climate change is a poor idea; issues like oil running out etc are probably far more obvious to people (OURR PETROL PRICES GOIN' UP!) and completely non-controversial, while changes at that level will cause changes that would reduce the impact of global warming

[bobthedinosaur]

This is where the cold war turning hot would help global warming, if it ever gets out of control. Nothing like man saying "it's okay nature we got the helm" like a thermonuclear induced winter.

[KDR_11k]

Hasn't "global warming" been rebranded "climate change" now? I can't tell what to believe anymore, there's so much lying and obfuscation on both sides of the argument.

And on today's episode of "how to spot an American"...

[SwiftSpear]

Hasn't "global warming" been rebranded "climate change" now? I can't tell what to believe anymore, there's so much lying and obfuscation on both sides of the argument.

And on today's episode of "how to spot an American"...

Caydr is Canadian, I am ashamed to say...