Typical Winter Global Warming Misinformation

Go anywhere on the internet and in light of the cold weather in the South and the heavy snow hitting the Midwest, you will find people joking about Global Warming, but not in a polite way.

It doesn't matter if you browse Twitter, Facebook, or a forum. People still do not understand what it is that constitutes Climate Change. Even worse is when people take literal components of Climate Change and twist them to disprove Global Warming in 140 characters or less. We as a people are no longer thinking. We are no longer taking the information given to us and processing it effectively.

So here are some points to keep in mind this winter.

Climate Change dictates that colder seasons will shorten and warmer seasons will lengthen. Growing seasons will become longer. Winter will not last quite as long. Snow generally aids in reflecting the radiation from the sun during the winter months. A shorter winter means that snow will not be on the ground come February and March. Shorten this time period and the Earth absorbs more of that radiation, perpetuating the problem even further.

Ocean temperatures are warmer. That results in more precipitation coming on land. Precipitation just does not magically appear over the mainland. Anyone who lives around the Great Lakes knows this all too well.

Because of temperatures and more energy feeding storms, the severity of such storms will be enhanced. This goes for hurricanes and your run of the mill thunderstorm.

What one person experiences in Minnesota will not be as pronounced as someone living in a coastal city where ocean levels are rising. The impact of Climate Change is felt more apparent in areas where subtle changes have profound effects. As Climate Change worsens, those of us living on the United States mainland will feel the full brunt of these effects. Americans tend to only think in terms of their own little world and disregard all that happens beyond our shores. This is one reason why the notion of Global Warming has been ridiculed.

So...

Individual weather events do not speak to the problem of Climate Change as a whole, but aspects of these individual events speak to the effects Climate Change is having on our planet. When you live in Iowa and Mother Nature dumps a lot of snow on you, first, you must remind yourself this is winter. Climate Change has not rid us of all four seasons yet. We still get cold in the winter time. The amount of snow depends on the moisture that has traveled across from the West Coast. That moisture, for the most part, came from the ocean.

Keep a sane perspective and you will continue to receive sane answers to your questions. Learn that the "warming" part of Global Warming is not as simple as saying it's going to be warm. Just because it's cold does not mean Global Warming is not real. It's winter. It's supposed to be cold. Just realize that winter may not last as long as it previously did. Anyone who confuses "Warming" with expecting December to feel like Florida in Minnesota is posing an idiotic view.

A curious, humorous, and rather entertaining link:
Darryl Cunningham Investigates: Climate Change
(Link added 1-9-2011)

Stop Calling Independents "Moderate"

Moments ago, David Gregory on Meet The Press asked a question of the panel, reflecting back on the 2010 midterm election. He phrased it in terms of the moderate voter moving away from President Obama and more to the Right. There's just one thing wrong with that comment. Referring to Independents as Moderates is no longer a legitimate perspective. The political spectrum has changed and our media talking heads have yet to make the adjustment.

I wrote a post about this a long time ago, yet no one seems to be catching on.
See A New Trend: Being an "Independent" Voter

Visit any Conservative web site where a forum is in place. Ask the Conservatives if they identify themselves as Republicans or Conservatives. Ask them!!!

Their answer will be the following.

They no longer associate themselves with the Republican party. They are Independents. THAT'S RIGHT. Those Conservatives are now calling themselves Independents. Conservatives who do not align themselves with the Republican party are not moderate Conservatives. They are fringe Conservatives. They believe in far Right policies. They will never support a Democratic agenda, let alone a moderate agenda. When news organizations conduct their polls and end the questionnaire by asking if participants identify themselves as a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent, do you see now how these polls can suddenly make it seem as though the general public is against what Barack Obama and the Democrats are doing? The terminology needs to change. An Independent and a Moderate voter are not one and the same.

Leading up to the 2008 presidential election, we saw this trend. After Barack Obama won, we continued to see this split on the Conservative side of the fence. Our news outlets have not fully recognized the trend. They are asleep at the wheel. This sort of trend has existed on the Left for some time now. Only until recently has the "Independent" voice on the Right gained any traction.

So...will someone in the media shake some screws loose and stop referring to Independents as people who vote from the middle? It's misleading. Even top Conservatives in Washington, from Mitch McConnell to John Boehner have used this "statistic" to spin politics in their favor, claiming middle America is on their side when in fact, this is not the case.

Who the hell is Robert Caspar Lintner?

Thanksgiving is upon us and while many are scrambling to make a flight, cook a turkey, and put up with family members, I'm standing here wondering who the hell Robert Caspar Lintner is.

Go ahead, do a Google search. Look on Wikipedia.

Nothing.

Well, except for the sites which provide two quotes about Thanksgiving. Why do you think I'm asking who this person is in the first place? Yeah. THAT quote is popping up everywhere. It's almost as if someone made the guy up. There are no other mentions of Robert Caspar Lintner, except in reference to either of the two quotes below.

Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.
and
Thanksgiving is nothing if not a glad and reverent lifting of the heart to God in honor and praise for His goodness.

Did I miss a lesson in History class? Am I not religiously well connected enough? Who is this guy? I do not pass along a quote unless I know who it is that coined the phrase.