By: Todd Wheatley
(c) IQ-2k   12-30-12

Despite technology and the growing ease of obtaining weather information it seems there is no greater appreciation for the weather in our lives. In fact there's probably less. Today we know the temperatures, wind, and rain well in advance to mitigate the effects. It's only those times we depend on the weather that we actually appreciate its creation. Still, it's a daily miracle.

Unfortunately meteorology (aka atmospheric science) gets precious little coverage, if any, during primary education. Yet it profoundly affects each and every one of us. My indoctrination to atmospheric science began at an early age. In 1980 I became a licensed pilot and was off to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. That year I thankfully missed a RECORD HEAT WAVE in Texas. On the other hand, the weather in Colorado couldn't have been nicer.

Three years later I was home during a RECORD ICE STORM. No ice storm since (1983) has come close. In fact the number of ice storms pales to the number of heat waves in the past thirty years. A couple of heat waves have even surpassed 1980. But the issue that prompted this article was an hours long series of thunderstorms on Christmas (2012). The pista de resistance came later that afternoon ... snow and ice. It brings to mind the old saying, "If you don't like the weather in Texas... wait five minutes".

Extreme weather of this sort evokes strong feelings, but working in the weather brings a more intimate relation. Sadly, aviation never panned out and while I have been an information specialist for 25 years it troubles me to admit that construction pays my bills -- For the past 21 years I have worked as a geotechnical / environmental driller. Long hard hours in the Texas sun. Not to mention wind, rain, sprinkles & mist that last all day, and biting cold. Many years in the weather rather than blissfully above it.

So take heed, a Texas Summer can cripple the ill prepared and even if you are it's no picnic. Yet regardless of the troubles working outdoors has it's rewards. You experience the subtle moods of weather, it's rapid changes, and it's raw power. Though at times there's too much power as the inhabitants of Tornado Alley can attest. And while the full breadth of extreme weather remains a local phenomena many still become connected. Air travelers, for example, are especially vulnerable. Flights can be delayed for hours or days.

Historically hurricanes have the widest range of effects and become big news. The biggest was the un-named hurricane in Galveston Texas, September 8, 1900. The 1930s also saw a number of hurricanes. Later in 1953, well after the invention of radar, the National Weather Service started naming hurricanes for tracking and data gathering. And while decades of data beyond 1900 could have proved interesting one should note the alphabetical difference in names from past major hurricanes.

Several decades ago hurricanes (C)amile, (A)lesia & (G)loria grabbed the headlines. In 1992 (A)ndrew. Later in 2006, (K)atrina & (W)ilma. Katrina was not only a huge catastrophe, but that year we went through the alphabet and beyond. Twenty-seven (27) named storms. Now in 2012, Superstorm Sandy .. S .. and the Christmas craziness.

Weather in the extreme! Though whether such weather represents the "norm" is the question. It's a debate spanning 30 years following the initial acceptance of GLOBAL WARMING. Herein lies the problem. Climate scientists originated the idea, but former Vice President Al Gore championed and popularized the topic. After that many science challenged politicians attempted to kill the debate, but later shifted the language to Global Climate Change. It became an issue without a problem!!

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE ??? Who cares !!! The climate changes just like the weather.

The media immediately latched on and so began a coordinated campaign to dupe the public. Industry, politicians, and right wing activists flooded the media with disinformation, half truths, and terms of obfuscation (i.e. global climate change) to dissuade the public from the reality of GLOBAL WARMING. By altering the argument to climate change a single hard number (the global TEMPERATURE) became many soft numbers. Not surprisingly coverage waned. With the issue all but dead Hurricane Sandy hits the Jersey shore late in October. The Storm took many by surprise and reopened the debate. But given another late season hurricane in the next five years and the debate will be closed.

Once again, however, naysayers argue, "that the weather is always changing" ... AND THEY ARE CORRECT!! Here in North Texas cloudless skies turn to complete overcast during a morning commute. Small clouds can build to 50,000 feet over a lunch break. Blue Northerns turn 70 degree weather into 30 degree weather in a matter of hours.

NEWS FLASH ... weather changes ... it's a daily miracle.

CLIMATE, on the other hand, deals with averages. The average number of hurricanes in a season, for example. The average amount of rain in a year, the average highs ... the average lows ... and so on ... and so on. Soft numbers that change with timeframes and regions. Hence, there is no global climate!!

Also keep in mind that anomalies happen with regularity. A rogue volcano, sun spots, shifting tectonics, El Nino or La Nina, ice flows ... any number of variables that CHANGE the weather from the "norm". And because these deviations happen so regularly people discount the "norm". But what is normal?

For nearly all of human existence the "norm" ... the "average" ... the CLIMATE ... has changed slowly. Though slow or not, it changes just like the weather. So the "politically correct" term, global climate change, serves only to confuse, obfuscate, or otherwise mislead the public. Clarity, therefore, demands proper definition.

If you think of the planet like a human body anything above 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit can eventually kill the patient. Similarly an abnormally high global TEMPERATURE can turn our daily miracle into a daily curse. Weather that kills the planet.

GLOBAL WARMING is melting the polar regions. More importantly, GLOBAL WARMING creates global climate change. Consequently, GLOBAL WARMING is the problem. So GLOBAL WARMING is the term that should be used.
GLOBAL WARMING ...
GLOBAL WARMING ...
GLOBAL WARMING ...


(c) 2012    DR-KNOW
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