7 Comments:

Wierd enough, indeed. Read Falk's editorial in the NYT today (after you read Krugman's).

By  Anonymous, at 2:18 PM  

I assume you are talking about this:

"A BLAST FROM THE PAST To find out whether human activities are changing the atmosphere, scientists took ice cores from ancient glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica. Bubbles of air trapped in the ice provided a pristine sampling of the atmosphere going back 650,000 years. The study, published last month in the journal Science, found that the level of carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases that can warm the planet, is now 27 percent higher than at any previous time. The level is even far higher now than it was in periods when the climate was much warmer and North America was largely tropical. Climatologists said the ice cores left no doubt that the burning of fossil fuels is altering the atmosphere in a substantial and unprecedented way.

THE DAY AFTER TODAY One of the more alarming possible consequences of global warming appears to be already under way. The rapid melting of the Arctic and Greenland ice caps, a new study finds, is causing freshwater to flood into the North Atlantic. That infusion of icy water appears to be deflecting the northward flow of the warming Gulf Stream, which moderates winter temperatures for Europe and the northeastern United States. The flow of the Gulf Stream has been reduced by 30 percent since 1957, the National Oceanography Center in Britain found. Perhaps you'll remember that in the film "The Day After Tomorrow," the collapse of the Gulf Stream produces a violent climate shift and a new ice age for much of the Northern Hemisphere. Climatologists don't foresee a future quite that catastrophic, but something worrisome, they say, is afoot."


Don't like the sound of that.

By  Jambo, at 4:11 PM  

Actually, Zeta is the 6th letter of the Greek alphabet. Tropical Storm Omega would be the end of the alphabet (and probably the world...)

By  Smartie, at 8:55 AM  

Crap, not only am I not a meteorologist I obviously don't know my Greek alphabet either. Which is pretty embarrassing considering I lived in Greece for a couple years. If I had taken the time to think about it I would have realized Omega was the last letter but I still would have had to look up Zeta to know where it fell. Thanks for the correction.

By  Jambo, at 12:25 PM  

The real problem is what passes for a name worthy storm these days. I live in Green Bay, affectionately known as the frozen tundra. Yet, when a front passes through that may drop at a maximum 3" of snow, and in actuallity drops 1" of snow, that front is deemed worthy of a name. What a load of crap and sensationalism.

By  Anonymous, at 3:47 PM  

You know what, I like the idea of naming snow storms. Why should the Gulf coast get to have all the glory? After the December we had here in Minnesota, I think we deserve a little sympathy. Just imagine the newscasts:

"In other news, Artic Storm Sven is expected to bury the northland under an impenetrable blanket of snow and freezing rain tomorrow. Wind speeds are expected to reach as high as five miles an hour, which when combined with flying ice chunks, means the authorities are urging everyone to bundle up or stay indoors."

Sounds a lot more interesting than, "chance of 3-5 inches of snow", huh?

By  Smartie, at 8:29 AM  

Couple that with stories of people too defiant/foolish to leave their ice fishing houses and you'd really have something. As they pull the frozen bodies out W could fly over and say "You're doing a heck of a job, Pawlie."

By  Jambo, at 11:21 AM  

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