Selection: Environment and Weather

Did you observe Earth Hour and turn off your lights for an hour?

I am a bit disappointed that of the Canadian cities that observed the power out, Edmonton was not among them.

From the website:

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. View cities involved around the world.

Yesterday it first snowed, then the temperature dropped overnight. This morning I left the house in -18° Celsius (0°F) and it warmed up to only -15°C. With the wind chill, it felt like -26°C. I did not pay attention to weather forecasts this weekend, so that was a rude reality check.

The "cool" scene is the result of an Arctic high that usually hangs around for 10 days.

I'm glad to get this one out of the way early. In January or February, these Arctic highs are typically 10 degrees C colder, -30°C...

Sure, it was a nice day, and rain is forecast, but what's up with the thunder? It's the end of August...

Dang kids lighting firecrackers does not change the situation. How did they know? Oh well, they are gone now and the "weather" is still here.

I have a question that may not have been asked, at least not that I know.

Watching the oil spill off the coast of Vancouver Island and the potential effect on the killer whales, would a BIO fuel spill have different effects? 

Now that it has been determined that the production of bio fuels uses more water (increasing the rate of global warming) and raises food prices, are we really on the right track or are we just fooling ourselves that we are helping to save the planet?

Comments are appreciated. 

The nice weather today caused a lot of snow to melt in my northern faced backyard. Helping it along with a hose is gratifying also.

It seems spring is late. Some spring bulbs are actually forcing themselves through ice and snow. Through snow I have seen before, but not through ice...

Being gone next week, I expect all snow and ice to be gone from the backyard when we come back on the 22nd. 

Watching Al Gore's video.

Surely we, as a global community need to do something. The question is "what?"

What will reverse these trends? Are they even reversible? 

Al Gore sounds like a doomsday sayer, but where are the answers? 

A week ago I was starting to help snow melt by moving it around.

Today, I look outside and I see a new layer of snow. April is supposed to be warm according to the farmers almanac, but the prediction for this week is COLD...

Hoping our week in Fairmont will be warmer...

Although not a new article, people keep basing their environmental position on studies like this...

Current levels of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere are higher now than at any time in the past 650,000 years.
That is the conclusion of new European studies looking at ice taken from 3km below the surface of Antarctica.
The scientists say their research shows present day warming to be exceptional.
...
Over a five year period commencing in 1999, scientists working with the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (Epica) have drilled 3,270m into the Dome C ice, which equates to drilling nearly 900,000 years back in time.
Gas bubbles trapped as the ice formed yield important evidence of the mixture of gases present in the atmosphere at that time, and of temperature.

I am sure the scientists believe what they are saying, but I remain a skeptic when somebody drills down 3km in the ice and says it's 900,000 years old. To me that's like carbon-14 dating which has been disputed. See this article in All About Archaeology and this one in Answers in Genesis.

So far the Farmers Almanac has predicted our winter weather reasonably accurately.

Winter temperatures will be about 2 degrees colder than normal, on average. Precipitation and snowfall will be near or slightly below normal in Alberta, and above normal in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The coldest temperatures will occur in early and mid-December, early and late January, and early and mid- to late February. The heaviest widespread snowfalls will occur in mid-December, in late January, and in early to mid-February.
April and May will be a bit warmer than normal, on average, with above-normal precipitation.
Summer temperatures will be near or slightly below normal, on average, ...

Global Warming must be happening elsewhere...

Received a link to Carbon Footprint, an interesting website...