Minnesota Fishing Opener. This is how I'll be
spending my Saturday. Not sure why, but I seem to have better luck
fishing potholes. Odd. I'm cautiously optimistic for the weekend
weather, although I expect complaints about:
a). too much sunshine, and
b). a rising barometer.
* Expect sunrise temperatures in the mid to upper 40s Saturday and
Sunday morning. Saturday morning may start out cloudy and damp, but
skies should be mostly clear Sunday morning.
Saturday: Damp, gray start giving way to partly
sunny conditions. Winds: West 10-15. High: 64 (Gull Lake) to 68 (Lake
Minnetonka and White Bear).
Sunday: More sun, fewer clouds - beautiful.
Winds: Southwest 5-15. Highs: 69 (Pelican and Round Lake) to 71 (Mille
Lacs) to 75 (Lake Pepin)
Fishing Opener + Mother's Day: What Can Possibly Go Wrong?
The European ECMWF model is fairly encouraging for next weekend,
hinting at clouds and a little drizzle early Saturday, giving way to a
mix of clouds and sun, a northwest breeze. Sunday looks sunnier and a
few degrees milder by afternoon, highs reaching the low 70s for Mother's
Day. BTW, the high temperatures above (in red) are in Celsius. Don't
want to trigger any heart-palpitations.
Weekend Details. The ECMWF prints out .3 mm early
Saturday, between 1 am and 7 am. We may wake up to clouds and drizzle,
but a west to northwest wind should provide partial clearing.
Miraculously, Mother's Day looks dry, sunny and lukewarm with a light
west to northwest breeze. Apparently Mother Nature will be celebrating
as well.
Cartoon courtesy of Brian Zalkowski.
A (Temporary) Break In The Action? Long-range
guidance is hinting at a return to drier, slightly cooler weather for
much of America east of the Mississippi. Details from CPC and Ham
Weather below. No major storms or frontal passages are expected through
the middle of next week.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." - Albert Einstein.
" A stream of highly charged particles from the sun is headed
straight toward Earth, threatening to plunge cities around the world
into darkness and bring the global economy screeching to a halt." - excerpt from an L.A. Times story; details below. Have a nice day.
A Month's Worth Of Rain Last Weekend. These are Doppler radar estimates from
NOAA's AHPS
(Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service). Much of central and
southern Minnesota picked up 2-5" of rain from Friday into Sunday
morning - pretty impressive. Over 6" soaked the Wisconsin Dells from the
same stalled frontal boundary. We dry out this week - no more excessive
rainfall amounts in sight.
A Drier Week. A few instability showers are likely
this afternoon and evening, dry weather returns Wednesday and Thursday
with a few fleeting T-showers on Friday. Right now the weekend looks
dry. I know - I'll believe it when I see it.
Sunrise Temperatures Saturday. Getting up early for
Saturday's Fishing Opener? Expect temperatures in the low 40s (north) to
mid and upper 40s (metro lakes). Details from
NOAA.
Spring (For Real).
No more cold fronts until further notice. The GFS is predicting 70s,
even a couple of low 80s, between May 15-23. The next chance of
significant rain may not come until May 21, give or take.
High Winds Cause Damage In Las Vegas Area. Details and video from
KTNV-TV in Las Vegas: "
High
winds sweeping through the Valley caused damage to businesses and power
outages at homes on Monday afternoon. The first report of damage came
from a building on Flamingo near Eastern at about 3:30 p.m. A
spokesperson for Clark County said the structure lost tiles from the
roof and the building appeared to be unoccupied. A dollar store near
Flamingo and Owens also suffered wind damage."
Record Highs on May 6
Springfield, IL 90
Galveston, TX 85 (tie)
Greenville, MS 92 (tie)
Jacksonville, FL 96
Alma, FL 95
New Iberia, LA 92 (tie)
North Little Rock, AR 90 (tie)
Batesville, AR 91
Monticello, AR 91
Little Rock AFB, AR 91
Jonesboro, AR 94 (tie)
Paducah, KY 91
Evansville, IN 91 (tie)
St Louis, MO 92
Fort Smith, AR 91 (tie)
* thanks to Earth Networks for passing these reports along.
Welcome to "La Nada". What happens when there's no
La Nina (cooling) or obvious El Nino (warming) of the Pacific? La Nada,
which is a nickname for who-the-heck-knows what will happen next? At
least with El Nino or La Nina changes in Pacific Ocean currents can
nudge the weather downwind, over North America, in one direction or
another.
The L.A. Times has more: "
La
Niña, the demon diva of drought, has ended, but what comes next could
be even more foreboding: La Nada. La Nada, or "nothing" in Spanish, is
climatologist Bill Patzert's nickname for when surface sea temperatures
in the equatorial Pacific Ocean are about normal. That means ocean
temperatures are not too warm, which would trigger an El Niño and would
typically mean a rainy winter in Southern California. The sea also is
not too cold, which produces a La Niña and usually means a dry season."
May 4 Kiester, Minnesota Tornado. An
update from Twin Cities National Weather Service: "
A tornado touched down two miles west of Kiester on Friday, May 4th. It traveled east-northeast, and dissipated two miles northeast of Kiester in eastern Faribault County. The tornado was on the ground four miles and had a maximum width of 50 yards. The tornado was rated an EF-0, with winds of around 75 mph. It damaged trees, took down three barns, and destroyed a number of sheds and other outbuildings. A few windows were blown out. Power poles were also knocked down. This tornado occurred between about 5:50 PM and 6:00 PM. The precise time of the touchdown is yet determined."
Photo courtesy of Stephanie
Crock & KAAL
Kansas City Funnel. Here is
YouTube footage of the funnel that threatened Olathe, a suburb of Kansas City, courtesy of UneGosseFolle.
Palm Beach County Funnel. From the Miami National Weather Service via
FB: "
No
tornado Warning was issued as the funnel cloud did not reach the
ground. However, a significant weather advisory was issued for northern
Broward and southern Palm Beach counties for possible funnel cloud
development."
Tornado Near Tokyo Kills One, Injures Dozens.
Amazing. The USA experiences more tornadoes than any other nation on
earth (average of 1200 to 1500/year). It's rare to get such a big,
long-lasting tornado in Japan. Details from
U-T San Diego: "
A
tornado tore through a city northeast of Japan's capital on Sunday,
killing one person, injuring dozens of others and destroying scores of
houses. Firefighters and medical teams rushed to the area after the
tornado struck Tsukuba city, 60 kilometers (40 miles) from Tokyo. The
city is a science center, with dozens of research and academic
institutes, but the tornado appeared to mostly hit residential areas."
Photo credit above: "This photo was taken by an anonymous
Tsukuba resident,showing a tornado in Tsukuba City, northeast of Tokyo,
on Sunday, May 6, 2012. The tornado tore through the area, injuring at
least 30 people, destroying dozens of homes and leaving thousands more
without electricity (AP Photo/Kyodo News). AP Photo.
Japan Tornado - Another Perspective. Folks living
northeast of Tokyo must have been flabbergasted: an EF-2 or EF-3
strength tornado in Japan? The raw YouTube footage is
here.
This Will Put A Dimple In Your Prius. Good
grief: that's 3-4" diameter hail, hitting the ground at over 100 mph.
Details from the Chicago office of The National Weather Service
Facebook site: "
The
same supercell thunderstorm over Iroquois County when it was near
Watseka produced extremely large, baseball-sized hail! This photo was
sent by Steve Peters to Tammie Souza, who shared it with us."
Photo Of The Day: "Wall Cloud". Here is a terrific photo of a rotating "supercell" thunderstorm that went on to spawn large hail; details from the
Chicago office of The National Weather Service. They've been busy down there in recent days. More info: "
Here's an impressive photo of a wall cloud southwest of Ashkum in Iroquois County on Sunday afternoon."
You've Been Warned: Wireless Providers Enroll In Emergency Alerts For Severe Weather. Here's an interesting article from
The Carroll County Times: "
They
are short and to the point. They warn of potentially life-threatening
weather, Amber Alerts and messages from the president in case of
emergency. They are sent to mobile phones via text message immediately.
Wireless emergency alerts, sent immediately after warnings are issued,
are being implemented in a joint effort by the Federal Communications
Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This month, the
National Weather Service will start utilizing wireless emergency
alerts for tornado, flash flood and blizzard warnings, among others.
They will go directly to wireless users in an affected county
automatically."
Illustration above: Carroll County Times.
Storm Warnings For Ships. Here's an excerpt of an interesting article (at least I thought so) from
Tampa Bay Online: "
The
trip from McKay Bay to the Sunshine Skyway in a chugging freighter
can take as long as five hours, so the weather along the way can change
a couple of times. It could be sunny and balmy in Tampa while
thunderous storms rage near Egmont Key, said Capt. Mike Buffington, a
harbor pilot for the Port of Tampa. Ships heading in and out of the
port travel some 42 miles to get to the Gulf of Mexico. So the new
initiative by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
National Weather Service to provide real-time, pinpoint weather
analysis to harbor pilots guiding ships on marine routes through the
Bay is being warmly received."
"Think It'll Snow?" The short answer is yes. Here's more from the
Crater Lake National Park Facebook site: "
About
2 miles of West Rim Dr is plowed but still closed to motor vehicles.
Good place to walk with Fido or go for a bike ride. Improvised bike
racks provided."
Snow Drought That Hammered Skiers Now Threatens Farmers. The story from
USA Today, KUSA-TV and AP: "
The dearth of snow that set back Colorado's ski areas this winter is now taking its toll on farmers,
KUSA-TV reports. It could cost farmers millions of dollars and
translate to higher prices for consumers. Snow runoff traditionally
fills up the ditches and ponds that farmers tap to irrigate crops. Not
this year. The "terrible year" for ski resorts
is translating to a lack of surface water for farmers who say their
options for water are limited. "It's a huge issue. I consider water
more valuable than gold," Weld County farmer Glen Fritzler tells KUSA.
"We can't survive without it."
Cooler, Drier Bias Next 2 Weeks. The good
news: weather will be largely siren-free east of the Mississippi through
the third week of May. CPC, the Climate Prediction Center (division of
NOAA) is predicting cooler weather through May 18 for much of the east, a
warm bias out west. Details from
Ham Weather.
Space Weather Expert Has Ominous Forecast. Great, as if we didn't all have enough on our plates. Now the sun may be interfering with our lives? Here's an excerpt from
The Los Angeles Times: "
A
stream of highly charged particles from the sun is headed straight
toward Earth, threatening to plunge cities around the world into
darkness and bring the global economy screeching to a halt. This isn't
the premise of the latest doomsday thriller. Massive solar storms
have happened before — and another one is likely to occur soon,
according to Mike Hapgood, a space weather scientist at the Rutherford
Appleton Laboratory near Oxford, England. Much of the planet's
electronic equipment, as well as orbiting satellites, have been built
to withstand these periodic geomagnetic storms. But the world is still
not prepared for a truly damaging solar storm, Hapgood argues in a
recent commentary published in the journal Nature."
Photo credit above: "
A massive explosion on the sun's
surface has triggered the largest solar radiation storm since 2005,
hurling charged particles at Earth.
(NASA / May 4, 2012)."
"Ask Paul". Weather-related Q&A:
Paul,
"Is there a good website that you can direct me to that will show the amount of precipitation in area on a specific date?"
Thanks,
Steve
Steve - the "
Puddles Page"
at the Minnesota Climatology Working Group is the best resource I've
found for tracking down map-based and text-based rainfall amounts. Check
it out.
______________________________________________________________________
Hi Paul,
"Thanks
for being a great meteorologist and congratulations on your own weather
company. I realize this is not the most earth shaking question you've
gotten, but I'm interested in your thoughts.
I've noticed that most local TV
meteorologists do not give rain or snow amounts and high and low
temperatures from the day before. I'm always asking the TV what the
weather was like yesterday and never get an answer. ( Of course, today
when I bring it up I see that channel 4 is covering it because of the
deluge we got last night.)
A lot has changed in weather
forecasting over the last 50 years, most of it for the better. While
growing up on our dairy farm at New Market, my father was always
watching the weather. We talked about weather a lot. I do miss the
good old days when we got the weather stats from the day before from
folks like Bud Krieling. It seems they could add it to the charts they
display. Does it take too much time? Or do they think people are not
interested?
I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you."
Na zdravi!
Barbara Mahowald
Savage, MN
Thanks
Barbara - appreciate the kind words. Did my mom set you up to write
this letter? Either way, thank you. To be honest, when I was working in
local TV the consultants ("news doctors") shared research that showed
most viewers don't care so much about climate/almanac information - most
viewers tend to care most about what will happen, not what
already happened. Here on the blog I have the luxury of time (and space)
and start out every blog with a recap of what happened yesterday in the
Twin Cities. Here are a few sources you can tap to get the latest
climate data for the Twin Cities:
2).
Daily/Monthly Data For The Twin Cities.
This is a good source to get a recap, day by day, month by month, going
back to 2000. Both sites are great places to start if you're looking
for specifics on what just happened, weatherwise. Thanks for reading -
feel free to send your weather observations, comments and anecdotes.
3).
Storm Reports.
The local NWS in Chanhassen does a great job updating this site. Check
this to see reports on hail, tornadoes, high winds, record high or low
temperatures, etc.
1 Week's Worth Of Storm Reports.
Speaking of storms, it's OK to exhale - we get a break in the severe
storm area through Friday. According to NOAA there have been near 3,000
individual severe storm reports in just the last week.
Click here to navigate an interactive map, courtesy of Ham Weather.
| Total Storm Reports: |
2984 |
| Wind: |
695 |
| Rain: |
513 |
| Snow/Blizzard: |
17 |
| Tornado: |
103 |
| Hail: |
1637 |
| Fire: |
4 |
| Lightning: |
9 |
| 14: |
1 |
| Tides: |
5 |
KVOA Puts More Eyes Around Tucson. A visual
surveillance system called "SkyNet"? Wasn't there a movie about that,
with a certain famous California governor? Yes, life is immitating art,
and described in this article at
The Arizona Daily Star which caught my eye; here's an excerpt: "
Seeking
an edge over the competition, KVOA-Channel 4 put together a network of
remote-controlled HD cameras throughout the city to capture live
footage of news as it occurs. News 4 Tucson Skynet lets the station
instantly pull up footage of traffic problems, weather and other news as
it breaks. Jeff Clemons, KVOA's marketing director, said the system,
which went online April 25, gives the station access to footage others
might need a helicopter to get. "We're able to scan the streets for
pretty much whatever's out there." Clemons said he's not aware of any
negative legal ramifications of having the system in place."
Air Force Pilots Blow The Whistle On F-22 Raptor's Mysterious, And Dangerous Flaw.
Did you see the 60 Minutes story on Sunday? Amazing - these pilots were
very brave to step up and talk on camera. Here's a good summary of the
nagging issues related to F-22's, courtesy of
Huffington Post: "
Two
elite Air Force pilots are seeking protection under the federal
whistleblower law for revealing safety problems on the F-22 Raptor, and
refusing to fly until those issues are resolved. On Sunday night, Maj.
Jeremy Gordon and Capt. Josh Wilson risked their careers by appearing on the CBS news program "60 Minutes,"
in uniform and without permission to discuss the stealth fighter's
flaw. Both pilots, who flew combat missions in the Iraq War, said they
love flying the $400 million jets. But a faulty oxygen system that is
suffocating the pilots and causing blackouts is making them fear for
their lives and for the lives of people on the ground."
Photo credit above: "This June 22, 2009
photo released by the U.S. Navy shows an Air Force F-22 Raptor
executing a supersonic flyby over the flight deck of the aircraft
carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Gulf of Alaska. (AP Photo/US Navy -
Ronald Dejarnett, File)."
Psychology Of Fraud: Why Good People Do Bad Things. I thought this was a thought-provoking article; here's an excerpt from
NPR: "
Enron,
Worldcom, Bernie Madoff, the subprime mortgage crisis. Over the past
decade or so, news stories about unethical behavior have been a regular
feature on TV, a long, discouraging parade of misdeeds marching across
our screens. And in the face of these scandals, psychologists and
economists have been slowly reworking how they think about the cause of
unethical behavior. In general, when we think about bad behavior, we
think about it being tied to character: Bad people do bad things. But
that model, researchers say, is profoundly inadequate."
Illustration credit above:
Adam Cole/NPR .
Bill Keller: Fox News "Murdoch's Most Toxic Legacy". Here' an excerpt of an article at
TVNewser.com: "
Former New York Times editor Bill Kellerhas written an op-ed column focused on Fox News Channel. Keller notes that it is a financial juggernaut for News Corp. and discusses a pair of Roger Ailes and Fox News biographies, one written without FNC’s consent by journalist Gabriel Sherman,
and another by Ailes himself (along with a co-author). The issue Keller
takes is not financial, but rather with how the network represents
itself, and facts. That, he says, is Rupert Murdoch‘s “most toxic legacy”:
"I doubt that people at Fox News really believe their programming is
“fair and balanced” — that’s just a slogan for the suckers — but they
probably are convinced that what they have created is the conservative
counterweight to a media elite long marinated in liberal bias. They
believe that they are doing exactly what other serious news
organizations do; they just do it for an audience that had been left
out before Fox came along."
* Keller's full Op-ed in the New York Times is
here.
Teal Camper Assembles And Breaks Down Like A Puzzle.
Just what I want when I go camping - a puzzle. But, for those with more
technical determination and tenacity than me - here's a clip from an
article at
gizmag.com: "
The
Teal Camper gives campers an interesting way of combining the sturdy,
hard-sided living quarters of a camping trailer with the easy storage
of a smaller pop-up or tent. The camper is shipped to your door as a
series of panels, and assembles into a two-person dwelling within about
90 minutes. When your camping season is over, you break it back down
and store it neatly."
Put Away The Bell Curve: Move Of Us Aren't "Average". Here's a clip from
NPR's Morning Edition: "
For
decades, teachers, managers and parents have assumed that the
performance of students and employees fits what's known as the bell
curve — in most activities, we expect a few people to be very good, a
few people to be very bad and most people to be average. The bell curve
powerfully shapes how we think of human performance: If lots of
students or employees happen to show up as extreme outliers — they're
either very good or very bad — we assume they must represent a skewed
sample, because only a few people in a truly random sample are supposed
to be outliers."
Photo credit above: "
Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's record
for career home runs as he hits No. 715 at Atlanta-Fulton County
Stadium on April 8, 1974, on his way to a career 755 home runs.
Research suggests that in a wide variety of professions, including
collegiate and professional sports, a small but significant number of
individuals perform exceedingly well and the rest of individuals'
performance trails off." Photo: AP.
Dubai Water Discus Hotel Will Allow Guests To Sleep Underwater.
Truth: all I really need is clean sheets, a TV and free Wi-Fi. But
Dubai tends to do everything over the top, as described in this
gizmag.com article: "
It
seems the construction boom in bustling Dubai is far from over –
already home to several world record-holding projects, including the
tallest building (for just a little while longer), the largest shopping
mall and biggest man-made island,
plans are now afoot to construct what will likely be the world's
largest underwater luxury hotel, the Water Discus. Several years ago, we
reported on another such ambitious project, Hydropolis,
which sadly never got past the blueprint stage. If Polish company Deep
Ocean Technology's (DOT) plans come to fruition, however, guests could
one day find themselves asleep beneath the waters of the Persian Gulf."
Cautiously optimistic
Here's how I started my Monday, stumbling into
the office. "Paul, why are Mondays amazing, while weekends suck?" Did I
mention we need the rain? Fact: there's no scientific evidence that rain
is more likely to fall on a Saturday than a Monday.
Man-made pollutants seeding clouds have been
linked to more showers and T-storms downwind of some urban centers
during the work week. Perception becomes reality right? More of us are
outside on weekends - more weather-sensitive; at the mercy of the
elements.
4.2 inches of rain fell on the metro during the
first 6 days of May. That's a June's worth of rain! Some towns picked up
closer to 6 inches, and lake water levels are beginning to respond.
We're not entirely out of the woods with drought, but I'm feeling better
about the weather maps.
A minor Canadian Relapse arrives today as a
whirlpool of chilly, unstable air sloshes overhead - a few PM clouds and
showers. Wednesday and Thursday look stunning, only a fleeting T-shower
Friday.
A damp start Saturday gives way to intervals of
sun; highs: 65-70 F. Not bad for a Minnesota Fishing Opener. Mom may
need extra sunscreen on her big day: low 70s on Sunday. Good
timing...for once.
"We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Climate Stories..
Why Don't TV Meteorologists Believe In Climate Change.
First of all, the headlines is misleading. Many TV meteorologists do
"believe" in science. The data is the data. I'm one of them, in case
you've just emerged from a cave - that hardly comes as breaking news,
right? Some of my colleagues on the TV side have been burned
(repeatedly) by weather models, and they apply that same logic to
climate simulations. Others have replaced science with ideology and
politics. I suspect others enjoy being the "local science experts" in
their markets, and don't like climate scientists hogging the limelight.
Just a gut. I want to give some of these men and women, experts in
short-term weather prediction, the benefit of a doubt: some may not have
taken the time to dig into the climate science and rely on denier blogs
and talk radio (God help us). Here's an excerpt of a story from
InsideClimate News: "
In
recent years, the world's scientists have begun to show that climate
change is altering the magnitude and frequency of severe weather, and polls say
a majority of Americans now link droughts, floods and other extremes to
global warming. And yet, this country's TV weather forecasters have
increasingly taken to denying evidence that warming is affecting
weather—or is even happening at all. Only 19 percent accept the
established science that human activity is driving climate change, says
a 2011 report by the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, making TV meteorologists far more skeptical than the public at large."
Photo credit above: "
Mark Johnson, meteorologist for WEWS
ABC in Cleveland, Ohio. Johnson is one of several climate skeptic
forecasts who says there is no convincing evidence of global warming."
The Climate Fixers. Is there a technological fix (or
Bandaid) to climate change? The subject of geoengineering has been
getting considerable traction in recent years - injecting chemicals into
the atmosphere to counter observed warming. What can possibly go
wrong? Here's an excerpt of a long, but excellent article at
The New Yorker: "
The
heavy industrial activity of the previous hundred years had caused the
earth’s climate to warm by roughly three-quarters of a degree Celsius,
helping to make the twentieth century the hottest in at least a
thousand years. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, however, reduced global
temperatures by nearly that much in a single year. It also disrupted
patterns of precipitation throughout the planet. It is believed to have
influenced events as varied as floods along the Mississippi River in
1993 and, later that year, the drought that devastated the African
Sahel. Most people considered the eruption a calamity. For geophysical
scientists, though, Mt. Pinatubo provided the best model in at least a
century to help us understand what might happen if humans attempted to
ameliorate global warming by deliberately altering the climate of the
earth. For years, even to entertain the possibility of human
intervention on such a scale—geo-engineering, as the practice is
known—has been denounced as hubris."
Photo credit above: "Geoengineering holds out the promise of
artificially reversing recent climate trends, but it entails enormous
risks." Illustration: The New Yorker.
To Repair The Shore, Or Retreat? Rising sea levels are already impacting the New York City area - here's an excerpt of a
New York Times story focused on coastal Connecticut: "
EIGHT months after Tropical Storm Irene
slammed into Cosey Beach Avenue in East Haven, ripping off parts of
some houses and washing others away, many property owners are still
adrift. “Some have been able to rebuild, but others don’t have
the resources,” said State Senator Len Fasano, a Republican whose
district includes East Haven. “A lot of these homes have been passed
down from generation to generation. A few people have cleaned up their
lot, removed the debris and put their property up for sale.”
Opinion. World's Faith Groups Agree That Climate Change Is A Growing Concern. Here's an excerpt of an Op-Ed at
NJ.com: "
Late
last year, my mother asked me to make a collection of statements by
various faith groups on the subject of climate change. She volunteers
for the Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL), an international, nonpartisan,
nonprofit group that is urging Congress to pass legislation to curb
U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. CCL foresaw that the world’s religious
communities might be a valuable ally. I agreed to take on this task and
began by looking up a number of Christian and Jewish groups on the
internet."
Photo credit above:
AP Photo/John McConnico. "An iceberg is seen in Disko Bay, Greenland above the arctic circle in this 2005 file photo."
An Open Letter To State Farm About Climate Denial. Here's a post from Shawn Lawrence Otto at
Neorenaissance: "
Climate science professor Scott Mandia has been insured by State Farm Insurance for 21 years, but when he read that State Farm has apparent given hundreds of thousands of dollars (PDF)
to climate denial propaganda outfit The Heartland Institute, he began
to question his loyalty to the insurer. Last week, Heartland rolled out
a hate-oriented billboard campaign that compared scientists, science
organizations, and federal agencies who acknowledge that science
suggests human behavior is warming the planet to "murderers and madmen"
like Charles Manson and Osama bin Laden."
State Farm Ends Support Of Heartland Institute. Kudos to State Farm! More on their
Facebook Page.
Heartland's Unabomber Fiasco Is Par For The Course. Here's a snippet from
Forbes.com: "
So, the Heartland Institute has battle fatigue, and that’s what drove it to erect a billboard along a suburban Chicago
expressway with the Unabomber’s mugshot and the caption, “I still
believe in Global Warming. Do you?” That’s what serial Heartland
apologist Anthony Watts says: the make-believe “think tank” is
shell-shocked, and that’s why they’re behaving strangely. Hmmm… I’d
have thought that if anyone should be suffering battle fatigue, it’s
the scientists and reporters who receive the hate-mail and death
threats fueled by Heartland’s campaign of distortion and innuendo."
Climate Ship Plots Course Through The Battering Waves. Here's an excerpt of a
BBC story: "
Last December's UN climate summit,
in the South African port of Durban, saw heated discussions on a
proposal that governments should commit to agreeing a new comprehensive
global emissions-limiting deal with some kind of legal force before
2015. Reluctant nations found themselves up against a burgeoning
coalition of principally small countries from the developed and
developing worlds alike, which found common interest in tackling climate
change as quickly as possible. The rainbow coalition included the EU,
the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), small islands vulnerable to
impacts such as rising sea levels, and progressive Latin American
countries such as Costa Rica."
Photo credit: AFP.
Sales of Hybrid, Electric Cars Take Off. An update from
EagleTribune.com: "When a new hybrid Prius is delivered to the Rockingham Toyota Scion dealership in Salem, N.H., it sells almost immediately. "
Every
time we get one on the lot, it lasts about five hours," said Marc
Smith, the general sales manager. "Most times, it's gone before it even
reaches the dealership." High gas prices and consumers' desire for
greener vehicles are driving sales of efficient gas, hybrid and
electric cars, dealers and customers said."
Are We In The Midst Of A Sixth Mass Extinction? Tuesdays are tough enough - now I have to worry about another mass extinction - thanks Paul. Here's a blurb from a
New York Times article: "
NEARLY
20,000 species of animals and plants around the globe are considered
high risks for extinction in the wild. That’s according to the most
authoritative compilation of living things at risk — the so-called Red List
maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This
should keep us awake at night. By generalizing from the few groups that
we know fairly well — amphibians, birds and mammals — a study in the
journal Nature last year concluded that if all species listed as
threatened on the Red List were lost over the coming century, and that
rate of extinction continued, we would be on track to lose
three-quarters or more of all species within a few centuries."
Petroleum Companies Urged To Increase Adoption Of American-Made Renewable Energy. Here's an excerpt of a story from
imperialvalleynews.com: "
Washington,
DC - Agriculture Secretary Vilsack called on petroleum companies to
help increase the percentage of ethanol in America's gas tanks in order
to reduce dependence on foreign oil, boost job creation and promote
development of renewable energy from farm-produced feedstocks. Recent
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action approved the use of E15, a
fuel blend that is 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline, up from
the current 10 percent blend level."
