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Now tracking the new emerging South Africa Omicron Variant

Global Climate Change (Temperature Puzzle)

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Mahshadin View Drop Down
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    Posted: February 26 2010 at 5:47pm
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 26 2010 at 6:46pm
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 26 2010 at 7:01pm
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mary008 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 26 2010 at 11:27pm
hi... I enjoyed the videos...  our summers have been like a rain forest the past 5 yrs.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Turboguy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2010 at 9:02am
Pfft, we could use the heat up here. It's been ridiculously cold here all year.

You bring Al "The Hypocrite" Gore here to Minnesota and we'll hang his arse for telling us it was going to get warmer when it's not.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2010 at 9:36am
Another recent and important tool
 in understanding some of the remaining questions (SUN-Solar System)) 
 (Launch 02/11/2010).
 
 
 
 
 

About The SDO Mission

SDO: The Solar Dynamics Observatory is the first mission to be launched for NASA's Living With a Star (LWS) Program, a program designed to understand the causes of solar variability and its impacts on Earth. SDO is designed to help us understand the Sun's influence on Earth and Near-Earth space by studying the solar atmosphere on small scales of space and time and in many wavelengths simultaneously.

SDO's goal is to understand, driving towards a predictive capability, the solar variations that influence life on Earth and humanity's technological systems by determining

  • how the Sun's magnetic field is generated and structured
  • how this stored magnetic energy is converted and released into the heliosphere and geospace in the form of solar wind, energetic particles, and variations in the solar irradiance.

SDO Science

SDO will help us to understand the how and why of the Sun's magnetic changes. It will determine how the magnetic field is generated and structured, and how the stored magnetic energy is released into the heliosphere and geospace. SDO data and analysis will also help us develop the ability to predict the solar variations that influence life on Earth and humanity's technological systems.

SDO will measure the properties of the Sun and solar activity. There are few types of measurements but many of them will be taken. For example, the surface velocity is measured by HMI. This data can be used for many different studies. One is the surface rotation rate, which must be removed to study the others. After subtracting the rotation, you have the oscillation and convective velocities. The latter look like billows of storm clouds covering the Sun. Hot gas moves outward at the center of the billows and downward at the edges, just like boiling water. By looking at these velocities you can see how sunspots affect the convection zone. By looking at a long sequence of data (more than 30 days), you see the oscillations of the Sun (like the picture). These patterns can be used to look into and through the Sun.

Mission Science Objectives
The scientific goals of the SDO Project are to improve our understanding of seven science questions:
  1. What mechanisms drive the quasi-periodic 11-year cycle of solar activity?
  2. How is active region magnetic flux synthesized, concentrated, and dispersed across the solar surface?
  3. How does magnetic reconnection on small scales reorganize the large-scale field topology and current systems and how significant is it in heating the corona and accelerating the solar wind?
  4. Where do the observed variations in the Sun's EUV spectral irradiance arise, and how do they relate to the magnetic activity cycles?
  5. What magnetic field configurations lead to the CMEs, filament eruptions, and flares that produce energetic particles and radiation?
  6. Can the structure and dynamics of the solar wind near Earth be determined from the magnetic field configuration and atmospheric structure near the solar surface?
  7. When will activity occur, and is it possible to make accurate and reliable forecasts of space weather and climate?

SDO Instruments

SDO contains a suite of instruments that will provide observations leading to a more complete understanding of the solar dynamics that drive variability in the Earth's environment. This set of instruments will:

  1. Measure the extreme ultraviolet spectral irradiance of the Sun at a rapid cadence
  2. Measure the Doppler shifts due to oscillation velocities over the entire visible disk
  3. Make high-resolution measurements of the longitudinal and vector magnetic field over the entire visible disk
  4. Make images of the chromosphere and inner corona at several temperatures at a rapid cadence
  5. Make those measurements over a significant portion of a solar cycle to capture the solar variations that may exist in different time periods of a solar cycle

The Science Teams will receive the data from SDO. They will process, analyze, archive, and serve the data.

HMI (Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager)
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager will extend the capabilities of the SOHO/MDI instrument with continual full-disk coverage at higher spatial resolution. PI: Phil Scherrer, PI Institution: Stanford University.
AIA (Atmospheric Imaging Assembly)
The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly will image the solar atmosphere in multiple wavelengths to link changes in the surface to interior changes. Data will include images of the Sun in 10 wavelengths every 10 seconds. PI: Alan Title, PI Institution: Lockheed Martin Solar Astrophysics Laboratory.
EVE (Extreme Ultraviolet Variablity Experiment)
The Extreme Ultraviolet Variablity Experiment will measure the solar extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) irradiance with unprecedented spectral resolution, temporal cadence, and precision. Measures the solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral irradiance to understand variations on the timescales which influence Earth's climate and near-Earth space. PI: Tom Woods, PI Institution: University of Colorado.

Image Resolution Comparison

The following image illustrates the resolution capabilities of the SDO, STEREO, and SOHO spacecrafts. SDO's AIA instrument (right image) will have 1/2 greater image resolution than STEREO (middle image) and 3/4 greater imaging resolution than SOHO (left image). The image cadience also varies. SDO takes 1 image every .10 of a second. At best STEREO takes 1 image every 3 minutes and SOHO takes 1 image every 12 minutes.

 

 
 
More information available
 
 
 
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 02 2010 at 8:11pm
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 03 2010 at 7:19am
Eyes ion the Earth
 
Very Neat 3d interactive animation of the 12 or so current satelites collecting data related to Global Climate Change.
 
 
Current Situaltional Website with 5 measurables posted.
 
 
 

Amazing how much actual data they collect in a single day

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 06 2010 at 7:15am
3-2-1 and Liftoff of GOES-P!
The Delta IV carrying GOES-P lifted off at 6:57 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

After reaching orbit, GOES-P will become GOES-15. The satellite will be used to monitor and predict weather, measure ocean temperatures, perform climate studies, and detect hazards with its emergency beacon support and Search and Rescue Transponder.

GOES-P was built by Boeing for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.
GOES-P%20launches%20aboard%20a%20Delta%20IV%20rocket Image above: A Delta IV launch vehicle lifts off carrying GOES-P into orbit. Image credit: NASA/Kenny Allen
› Larger Image

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-P, or GOES-P, is the latest in a series of meteorological satellites designed to watch for storm development and weather conditions on Earth. From its location in Earth orbit, GOES-P's state-of-the-art instrumentation will supply data used in weather monitoring, forecasting and warnings. It also will detect ocean and land temperatures, monitor space weather, relay communications and provide search-and-rescue support.
_____________________________________________________________________
 
Night Video of Launch
 
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mary008 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 06 2010 at 12:51pm

....designed to watch for storm development and weather conditions on Earth.

............

Thanks Mahs... very interesting info...( still long on going green. )

............

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 07 2010 at 7:46am

Nasa's Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captures a rare solar event.

_________________________________________________________________

 

CME Lashes Out

STEREO (Ahead) watched as a strong coronal mass ejection (CME) and an eruptive prominence rose up and stretched way out above the Sun's surface (Feb. 28, 2010). The composite image and movie show the action in both extreme UV wavelength (orange Sun) near and just above the solar surface overlaid on the frames from STEREO COR1 coronagraph that shows the material as it rises out into the corona. The video clip shows about 8 hours of activity. This is one of the brightest and most substantial CMEs we have seen in several years. And the presence of such bright prominence material in COR1 is very rare and has only been seen twice before.

 
 
To watch short video
 
 
l
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 07 2010 at 6:50pm
Originally posted by Mary008 Mary008 wrote:

....designed to watch for storm development and weather conditions on Earth.

_________________________________________________________________l
 

Hey Mary008, yes I have enjoyed many of the incredible earth based satellite loops & images provided by these satellites and the NOAA.

GOES satellite(s) are involved in more than just (On Earth) weather

 

Space Weather Prediction Center

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/index.html

 

Sample

Current Space Weather Conditions (Pic)

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2010 at 11:05am
Whats going on with the planets oceans
Low Oxygen levels creating (Dead Zones), quickly becoming more acidic, and losing salinity.
 
Short Video on the Northwest (USA)
 
 
Interview with Oregon State University (Jack Barth)
 
_______________________________________________________________________
Growing low-oxygen zones in oceans worry scientists
 
By Les Blumenthal, McClatchy Newspapers Les Blumenthal, Mcclatchy Newspapers Sun Mar 7, 12:01 pm ET

WASHINGTON � Lower levels of oxygen in the Earth's oceans, particularly off the United States' Pacific Northwest coast, could be another sign of fundamental changes linked to global climate change, scientists say.

They warn that the oceans' complex undersea ecosystems and fragile food chains could be disrupted.

In some spots off Washington state and Oregon , the almost complete absence of oxygen has left piles of Dungeness crab carcasses littering the ocean floor, killed off 25-year-old sea stars, crippled colonies of sea anemones and produced mats of potentially noxious bacteria that thrive in such conditions.

Areas of hypoxia, or low oxygen, have long existed in the deep ocean. These areas � in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans � appear to be spreading, however, covering more square miles, creeping toward the surface and in some places, such as the Pacific Northwest , encroaching on the continental shelf within sight of the coastline.

"The depletion of oxygen levels in all three oceans is striking," said Gregory Johnson , an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle .

In some spots, such as off the Southern California coast, oxygen levels have dropped roughly 20 percent over the past 25 years. Elsewhere, scientists say, oxygen levels might have declined by one-third over 50 years.

"The real surprise is how this has become the new norm," said Jack Barth , an oceanography professor at Oregon State University . "We are seeing it year after year."

Barth and others say the changes are consistent with current climate-change models. Previous studies have found that the oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

"If the Earth continues to warm, the expectation is we will have lower and lower oxygen levels," said Francis Chan , a marine researcher at Oregon State .

Entire Story
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 09 2010 at 10:34pm
Originally posted by Turboguy Turboguy wrote:

Pfft, we could use the heat up here. It's been ridiculously cold here all year.

 
TG
The weather has been wacky here as well, we have gotten more rain in first 2 months of this year than the entire previous year (2009).
 
the Desert is green (Literally), we dont see this very often. It is quite the sight, a brown to black environment converted into a blanket of green. I need to get out and take some pictures.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 6:21am
Recent Greenland ice loss responsible for one sixth of sea-level rise

van%20de%20broeke%20Greenland%20ice%20loss

Between 2000 and 2008, Greenland lost 1500 cubic kilometres of ice, which is responsible for one-sixth of global sea-level rise, says scientists.

Michiel van den Broeke of Utrecht University in the Netherlands and colleagues say that the bad news is that the rate of ice loss is increasing.

To reach the conclusion, researchers began by modelling the difference in annual snowfall and snowmelt in Greenland between 2003 and 2008 to reveal the net ice loss for each year. They then compared each year's loss with that calculated from readings by the GRACE satellite, which "weighs" the ice sheet by measuring its gravity.

The researchers found that results from the two methods roughly matched and showed that Greenland is losing enough ice to contribute on average 0.46 millimetres per year to global sea-level rise.

The loss may be accelerating: since 2006, warm summers have caused levels to rise by 0.75 millimetres per year, though van den Broeke says we can't be sure whether this trend will continue.

Sea levels are rising globally by 3 millimetres on average.

The researchers said that half the ice was lost through melting and half through glaciers sliding faster into the oceans.

"The study gives us a really good handle on how to approximate how much ice Greenland is going to lose in the coming century," New Scientist quoted Ted Scambos of the US National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, as saying.

 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 4=laro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 7:20am
Good Grief Charlie Brown, lets panic, give up Cap and Trade.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Turboguy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 9:58am
No no no, bring out cap and trade!

Let's seal the deal and kick the Dems out of office for the foreseeable future. The Dems think they've taken a pounding over healthcare? Just wait for them to unveil the largest, economy destroying tax hike in world history! Nothing like $4 a gallon gasoline to get the people screaming for blood!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 9:05am
TG & 4=Laro
 
Whats your answer then?   Do Nothing
 
TG we have already had $4.00 gas and we will get there again and even more with or without cap and trade if we do not chaange our mindset on Oil.
 
I know how bout we give a tax break to people who buy this
Estimated at over 200 MPG, which sounds like fuzzy math but even if it ends up at a 100mpg is a significant improvement.  Due out November 2010
File:2011%20Chevrolet%20Volt%20--%202010%20DC.jpg
 
Instead of like Bush giving Tax Break for buying this
10 to 14 MPG
 
File:Ab%20car%2007.jpg
 
Just a thought
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mrmouse Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 10:14am
I thought we need $7.00 a gallon gasoline to reduce CO2 emissions? Oh, wait a minute it's not about reducing CO2 emissions, it's about further taxation and repressions! Why do I say repressions, because I won't be able to afford the $10,000 airfare to fly my family to Kauai in the future.    


http://blog.heritage.org/2010/03/03/7-a-gallon-gas-needed-to-meet-government’s-co2-cuts/


George Carlin - Saving the Planet! George uses some fowl language, so be warned if you are of the faint of heart!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mrmouse Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 10:24am
I don't know why the previous hyperlinks didn't work?

$7-A-Gallon Gas Needed to Meet Government's CO2 Cuts

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/03/03/7-a-gallon-gas-needed-to-meet-government’s-co2-cuts/

George Carlin - Saving the Planet! George uses some fowl language, so be warned if you are of the faint of heart!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technologist Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 3:12pm
mrmouse: I fixed one of your links but the other link has a weird character in it.


Originally posted by Mahshadin Mahshadin wrote:


TG we have already had $4.00 gas
.........................................................................
Instead of like Bush giving Tax Break for buying this10 to 14 MPG


Gas hit $5 a Gallon where I live.

I'm guilty!

I bought a 2008 8,200 pound (empty) Twin Turbo Diesel Truck because of that $25K 179 deduction. With all write-offs I "saved" money by buying that truck. With my tax bracket its like, Hey you want a free truck and some extra cash?

If the savings were for a 100-200 MPG vehicle I would jump on that instead.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Turboguy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 4:08pm
Originally posted by Mahshadin Mahshadin wrote:

TG & 4=Laro
 
Whats your answer then?   Do Nothing


How about not laying the vast majority of the pain on the lowest wage earners? Isn't that what the Democratic party, and in particular the Liberal position happens to be? When gasoline hit $4 a gallon it didn't hurt the rich, it far disproportionally affected the Lower Middle class and the poor. The entire position that healthcare is necessary is to control costs on the poor, but then the Dems are toying with the idea of raising the costs of everything else 75% to 150% or more. I'm at a loss as to how that's a net gain...

Right now it costs me right around $75 a month to heat my house, and I am a warm blooded person that leaves the thermostat at 63. If the cost of natural gas is raised as little as 50% my wintertime heating bill jumps well over $100. In this part of the country you absolutely must have heat just to live as life in -30f is extremely difficult.

Then the price of electricity jumps 100%, and gasoline jumps 150% to let's say a conservative $4.65 a gallon, if you think people are struggling now, wait six months after Cap and Trade is enacted! You see, the problem with gasoline jumping 150% or even 100% is that the cost of everything must also jump as those trucks that haul the grub to the shelves just don't run on "Hope" and "Change." They run on Diesel, which will also jump dramatically. Truckers don't drive when they're not going to make any money by doing so because they had to spend $700 filling up. $5.75 a gallon for diesel is the zero point, the event horizon if you will, where truckers stop making money by hauling. Beyond this point they are actually going to start losing money hauling even the lighter goods.
 
Originally posted by Mahshadin Mahshadin wrote:


TG we have already had $4.00 gas and we will get there again and even more with or without cap and trade if we do not chaange our mindset on Oil.


Cap and Trade isn't just about oil, or gasoline that we put in our cars so we can get to and from work. It's about trying to fund a bloated boondoggle with another boondoggle and acting like they're helping anyone out in the process.

Don't get me wrong, we are in for a major oil-tastrophe in our lifetimes and there simply isn't any real way out of it. Is jacking up the price of everything going to help anyone or anything in the end? Probably not. Regardless of what anyone wants to say, there isn't going to be a "Soft Landing." There's not going to be any super technology that's going to pop in at the last second and save our way of life. It's just not going to happen. I suppose if your position that by raising the price of gas you're going to get all those dirty poor people off the road is the goal, then that's exactly what you're going to get, along with extreme crime, further dichotomy of rich and poor, and extreme classism.

Quote
I know how bout we give a tax break to people who buy this
Estimated at over 200 MPG, which sounds like fuzzy math but even if it ends up at a 100mpg is a significant improvement.  Due out November 2010


And I'd buy me one if the price isn't astronomically high and the car could fit my 6'1" 195 frame comfortably. I totally agree that we should be giving tax breaks for buying more economical vehicles as that will drive the price of gasoline for our cars down and I wouldn't have to spend all my hard earned cash burning it in my engine. That still doesn't solve the problem I touched on above with the truckers and the heat and whatnot though.
 
Originally posted by Mahshadin Mahshadin wrote:


Instead of like Bush giving Tax Break for buying this
10 to 14 MPG
 


Yeah that was a stupid one wasn't it? So was bailing out the manufacturer of that pink beast that not many people wanted in the first place...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 17 2010 at 9:54am
[QUOTE=Technologist]

Gas hit $5 a Gallon where I live.

I'm guilty!

I bought a 2008 8,200 pound (empty) Twin Turbo Diesel Truck because of that $25K 179 deduction. With all write-offs I "saved" money by buying that truck. With my tax bracket its like, Hey you want a free truck and some extra cash?

If the savings were for a 100-200 MPG vehicle I would jump on that instead.[/QUOTE]
 
______________________________________________________________________

So would a lot of Americans, now that it looks as though our transportation costs will stay 35% higher and rising (Gas).

I have a larger vehicle as well (2008 Tahoe), and also a more economical (2006 Prius). The Tahoe we have because we need the room when transporting family (Large Extended Family) and 4X4 excursions.  The Prius I used to commute to and from work 48 miles round trip. That Vehicle was very good on gas (Depending on your lead foot). I got to the point where could average around 45-50 miles to the gallon with it. The some young kid whaled into the back of me going 55-60 while I was sitting at a red light (Toast). The amazing thing is the car was totaled but the battery was in perfect condition as was the back and front seating (I walked away). I bought it just before the gas thing went through the roof. When gas was in the mid 4 dollar range Toyota called me back wanting to buy the car back for 5 grand more than I paid (Guess I should have sold it)

I have not replaced the car yet and am now driving the Tahoe and wow what a difference in (Money) (Gas). The Prius I would fill up once ever 2 to three weeks, and it was a small tank. The Tahoe, well I don’t have to tell you, I might as well just buy the frickn gas station, I am there so much, but it is still useful 4X4, and seating for 8, just not a good everyday commute car. It is a flex fuel vehicle so if I go to the Midwest or brazil I guess I could use that but in the desert here the closest gas station that carries it is 30 miles away.

Times they are a changing.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 17 2010 at 10:54am
Originally posted by mrmouse mrmouse wrote:

I thought we need $7.00 a gallon gasoline to reduce CO2 emissions? Oh, wait a minute it's not about reducing CO2 emissions, it's about further taxation and repressions! Why do I say repressions, because I won't be able to afford the $10,000 airfare to fly my family to Kauai in the future.    

_______________________________________________________________________
We the People (Government) have very little to do with pricing of gas mrmouse. We have spent the past 30 years derugulating these idustries. When we give up our control it does not disappear it just shifts into other hands, in this case Corps who have but one mission
 
Profits
More Profits
Add a little greed
Excesive Profits
In this case Economy Crippling Profits
 
But hey everythings good right, especially if your at the top of that pyramid scheme. You even get the Government (The People) to fight the wars to secure your supply & Contracts.
 
WOW
 
What A Deal 
 
Where do we all sign up
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr.Who Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 17 2010 at 5:10pm
Anti corporate paranoia can be irrational sometimes.

Corporations work against each other but they work hand in hand with congress. The one who holds the puppet strings is more likely to be congress than an imaginary coalition of corporations.

Restore the proper role of congress to police people and corporations who do wrong and not to micromanage our lives and the actions of corporations, get congress out of bed with the lobbyists and we will all be better off.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 17 2010 at 6:21pm
Originally posted by Dr.Who Dr.Who wrote:

Anti corporate paranoia can be irrational sometimes.

Restore the proper role of congress to police people and corporations who do wrong and not to micromanage our lives and the actions of corporations, get congress out of bed with the lobbyists and we will all be better off.
_____________________________________________________________
 

Corporate Paranoi-izm (Where)? I havent heard any

 

All I hear is .Gov Paranoi-izm (Over & Over & Over). Must be something to that whole repetition thing huh

 

We just spent 30 years taking the handcuffs off thus crippling .gov (The People) from overseeing Corps in any significant way. Perhaps we should blame ouselves instead of others, we all got conned together.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sjf53 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 17 2010 at 10:25pm
 
 

During the years 800-1200, Iceland and Greenland were settled by the Vikings. These people, also known as the Norse, included Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, and Finns. Fig. 12 shows the various routes the Vikings took to these locations and others.

Routes%20various%20Vikings%20traveled
Figure 12: Routes various Vikings traveled. (Source: McGovern and Perdikaris, 2000)

Fig. 13 illustrates a knorr, the type of ship Vikings used to travel these long distances.

A%20Viking%20knorr
Figure 13: A Viking knorr. (Source: McGovern and Perdikaris, 2000)

The warm climate during the MWP allowed this great migration to flourish. Drift ice posed the greatest hazard to sailors but reports of drift ice in old records do not appear until the thirteenth century (Bryson, 1977.)

The Norse peoples traveled to Iceland for a variety of reasons including a search for more land and resources to satisfy a growing population and to escape raiders and harsh rulers. One force behind the movement to Iceland in the ninth century was the ruthlessness of Harald Fairhair, a Norwegian King (Bryson, 1977.)

Icelandic Vikings

Vikings travelling to Iceland from Norway during the MWP were probably encouraged by the sight of pastures with sedges and grasses and dwarf woodlands of birch and willow (Fig. 14) resembling those at home.

Sedges,%20grasses,%20and%20dwarf%20woodlands%20of%20birch%20and%20willow
Figure 14: Sedges, grasses, and dwarf woodlands of birch and willow. (Source: McGovern and Perdikaris, 2000)

Animal bones and other materials collected from archaeological sites reveal Icelandic Vikings had large farmsteads with dairy cattle (a source of meat), pigs, and sheep and goats (for wool, hair, milk, and meat.) Farmsteads also had ample pastures and fields of barley used for the making of beer and these farms were located near bird cliffs (providing meat, eggs, and eiderdown) and inshore fishing grounds. Fishing was primarily done with hand lines or from small boats that did not venture across the horizon (McGovern and Perdikaris, 2000.)

Greenland Vikings

In 960, Thorvald Asvaldsson of Jaederen in Norway killed a man. He was forced to leave the country so he moved to northern Iceland. He had a ten year old son named Eric, later to be called Eric Röde, or Eric the Red. Eric too had a violent streak and in 982 he killed two men. Eric the Red was banished from Iceland for three years so he sailed west to find a land that Icelanders had discovered years before but knew little about. Eric searched the coast of this land and found the most hospitable area, a deep fiord on the southwestern coast. Warmer Atlantic currents met the island there and conditions were not much different than those in Iceland (trees and grasses.) He called this new land "Greenland" because he "believed more people would go thither if the country had a beautiful name," according to one of the Icelandic chronicles (Hermann, 1954) although Greenland, as a whole, could not be considered "green." Additionally, the land was not very good for farming. Nevertheless, Eric was able to draw thousands to the three areas shown in Fig. 15.

Ancient%20Norse%20settlements
Figure 15: Ancient Norse settlements. (Source: Bryson, 1977)

The Greenland Vikings lived mostly on dairy produce and meat, primarily from cows. The vegetable diet of Greenlanders included berries, edible grasses, and seaweed, but these were inadequate even during the best harvests. During the MWP, Greenland's climate was so cold that cattle breeding and dairy farming could only be carried on in the sheltered fiords. The growing season in Greenland even then was very short. Frost typically occurred in August and the fiords froze in October. Before the year 1300, ships regularly sailed from Norway and other European countries to Greenland bringing with them timber, iron, corn, salt, and other needed items. Trade was by barter. Greenlanders offered butter, cheese, wool, and their frieze cloths, which were greatly sough after in Europe, as well as white and blue fox furs, polar bear skins, walrus and narwhal tusks, and walrus skins. In fact, two Greenland items in particular were prized by Europeans: white bears and the white falcon. These items were given as royal gifts. For instance, the King of Norway-Denmark sent a number of Greenland falcons as a gift to the King of Portugal, and received in return the gift of a cargo of wine (Stefansson, 1966.) Because of the shortage of adequate vegetables and cereal grains, and a shortage of timber to make ships, the trade link to Iceland and Europe was vital (Hermann, 1954.)



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 18 2010 at 9:44am
This years Sun-Earth day focuses on Magnetism (Our Solar System)
________________________________________________________
NASA
 
SUN-EARTH DAY   (March 20, 2010)
 
 
______________________________________________________________________
Good look at the sun (near real time) and other various measurements (SOHO Mission)
______________________________________________________________________
 
NASA's New (Space Weather Media Viewer)      (Near Real-Time)
 
 
 
 
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 18 2010 at 4:20pm
NASA IceBridge Mission Prepares for Study of Arctic Glaciers
03.18.10
 
NASA's Operation IceBridge mission, the largest airborne survey ever flown of Earth's polar ice, kicks off its second year of study when NASA aircraft arrive in Greenland March 22.

NASAs%20DC8%20sits%20on%20the%20runway%20at%20Dryden

NASA's DC-8 sits on the runway at Dryden's Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., prior to the Operation IceBridge test flight on March 17, 2010. Testing objectives for each instrument were successfully met during the 5.8-hour flight. Credit: NASA/Tom Tschida
The IceBridge mission allows scientists to track changes in the extent and thickness of polar ice, which is important for understanding ice dynamics. IceBridge began in March 2009 as a means to fill the gap in polar observations between the loss of NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite, or ICESat, and the launch of ICESat-2, planned for 2015. Annual missions fly over the Arctic in March and April and over Antarctica in October and November.

"NASA's IceBridge mission is characterizing the changes occurring in the world's polar ice sheets," said Tom Wagner, cryosphere program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The mission's goal is to collect the most important data for improving predictive models of sea level rise and global climate change."

Researchers plan to resurvey previous flight lines and former ground tracks of ICESat while adding new areas of interest. Scientists also will target some areas that have been undergoing mysterious changes. The major glaciers in southeast Greenland once thinned simultaneously, but some of those glaciers have been thinning at an accelerated rate -- as much as 40 feet per year -- while others have thickened. And glaciers in northwest Greenland, once a stable region, have mostly begun to thin.

NASA%20research%20pilots%20Dick%20Ewers%20and%20Bill%20Brockett%20%20of%20Dryden

NASA research pilots Dick Ewers (center) and Bill Brockett (right) of Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., and crew are briefed prior to an Operation IceBridge "shake down" test flight on March 17, 2010, from Dryden's Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. Credit: NASA/Tom Tschida
In preparation for approximately 200 science flight hours during the spring 2010 campaign, engineers have been outfitting NASA's DC-8 aircraft with an array of science instruments. On March 21-22, the aircraft will travel to Thule, Greenland, where researchers and crew will spend about five weeks making 10 to 12 science flights. The first priority is to survey Arctic sea ice, which reaches its maximum extent each year in March or early April. High- and low-altitude flights also will survey Greenland's ice sheet and outlet glaciers.

In mid-April, the engineers will transfer the science instruments to the smaller, more maneuverable P-3B aircraft. The crew will spend May making another 10 to 12 science flights from Kangerlussuaq and Thule, Greenland.

Both aircraft will carry the Airborne Topographic Mapper, or ATM -- a laser altimeter similar to those on ICESat. ATM measures changes in the surface elevation of the ice by reflecting lasers from the ground back to the aircraft and converting the readings into elevation maps. Another laser altimeter, the Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor, operates at higher altitudes and can survey larger areas quickly.

The spring flights are led by project scientists Lora Koenig of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and Michael Studinger of Goddard Earth Science and Technology Center at the University of Maryland. The mission also includes scientists, crew and technicians from Goddard, Wallops, NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.; The Earth Institute at Columbia University in Palisades, N.Y.; the University of Kansas; and the University of Washington.

NASAs%20Operation%20IceBridge%20mission%20will%20make%20science%20flights%20in%20and%20near%20Greenland
 
NASA's Operation IceBridge mission will make science flights from Kangerlussuaq and Thule, Greenland, in spring 2010 to survey the area's ice sheet, outlet glaciers and sea ice. Credit: NASA The versatility of the planes will allow some new observations not currently possible from satellites. Radar instruments from the University of Kansas and a gravimeter from Columbia University will allow scientists to "see" snow, ice, and bedrock characteristics at depths below the surface. Such information will enhance our understanding of glacier and ice sheet processes and will help scientists predict a glacier's future behavior.

"NASA has a unique capability to look at these things from a bird's-eye perspective, not only from space but also from multiple long-range, high performance aircraft," said John Sonntag, a senior scientist with URS Corporation in Wallops Island, Va., and member of the IceBridge management team. "If not for IceBridge, the global science community and the public would miss out on a great deal of knowledge about Greenland and Antarctica."

Kathryn Hansen
NASA's Earth Science News Team
 
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Turboguy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 18 2010 at 6:01pm
Originally posted by Mahshadin Mahshadin wrote:

 
NASA's New (Space Weather Media Viewer)      (Near Real-Time)
 
 


COOL WEBSITE MAN!!!

Imma favorite that one. Astronomy has always interested me like nothing else.

In other news: My leg




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 18 2010 at 10:57pm
Originally posted by Turboguy Turboguy wrote:

  

In other news: My leg
_______________________________________________
 
Whats up with the leg?
 
That looks like some serious workmanship!
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Turboguy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2010 at 12:20am
Trimalleolar break of my ankle.

I snapped my Fibula right where the gap in the screws is on the eight hole plate and the two longer screws is where I snapped off the side of my Tibia and then another chip. The doctors have me moving it around to regain the range of motion and whoo boy does it hurt when I move it around.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mrmouse Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2010 at 8:39am
I feel your pain Turboguy! I had my right knee joint crushed, tibial plateau fracture in April of 2000. I had a O.R.I.F. with nine screws and a four and half inch t-plate. Scare tissue was a huge issue for me because I was none weight bearing for six months, and stuck in a hinged brace. Time heals all wounds brother, and never give up the fight!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Turboguy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2010 at 10:15am
Six times in war, two before OIF/OEF, five after eight deployments to hotspots including Sudan, Rwanda, Colombia and Bosnia. Never got hurt.

Wrestling around with my younger (Not necessarily little) brother and I break my leg.

Mouse, it's interesting that your procedure was called the same thing as mine. ORIF. The after surgery pain was like nothing I've ever experienced before. It was absolutely incredible! I couldn't even form a coherent thought it was so intense. I thought getting shot in the leg hurt like a bitch, but in comparison, it was nothing.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2010 at 11:33am
Originally posted by Turboguy Turboguy wrote:

Trimalleolar break of my ankle.

I snapped my Fibula right where the gap in the screws is on the eight hole plate and the two longer screws is where I snapped off the side of my Tibia and then another chip. The doctors have me moving it around to regain the range of motion and whoo boy does it hurt when I move it around.
__________________________________________________________________ 

Ouch, I feel your pain just looking at that x-ray (Thats gotta hurt). My thoughts and prayers go with you in what looks to be a bit of a recovery time and therapy.

 

On the positive side:  You will probably be able to tell when the weather is changing before the weather man.  SmileSmile

 
_____________________________________________________________  

NASA's New (Space Weather Media Viewer)      (Near Real-Time)

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/spaceweather/FlexApp/bin-debug/index.html#


COOL WEBSITE MAN!!!

Imma favorite that one. Astronomy has always interested me like nothing else.

________________________________________________________________
 
Myself as well
 
Heres a few of my favorites
 
 
Incredible shot of Saturn
 
 
A rare alignment of three of Jupiter's largest moons
 
Two spiral galexies that appear to be colliding but are actually just passing by each other.
 
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2010 at 11:36am
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hotair Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2010 at 12:32pm
I am so sorry, Turbo! Your leg must of been in a really wierd position to do all that damage. So how are planning your revenge?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Turboguy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2010 at 6:14pm
Originally posted by Hotair Hotair wrote:

I am so sorry, Turbo! Your leg must of been in a really wierd position to do all that damage. So how are planning your revenge?


Naw, if you're laying on your side with your legs crossed just above the ankles and have a 265 lb beefcake fall on your foot and you too can enjoy a trimalleolar break.

I dunno, but since he really didn't mean to, and I kinda slipped and kicked his legs out from under him so at worst I can do something funny, not quite painful.

Awesome sites and pick Mahshadin.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 20 2010 at 8:13am

NOAA: U.S. Winter and February Cooler Than Average

March 10, 2010

NOAA�s State of the Climate report for the winter season (December through February) and the month of February, state that temperatures were below normal for the contiguous United States. The winter season was wetter than normal; however precipitation in February alone was slightly below average.

Based on data going back to 1895, the monthly analyses, prepared by scientists at NOAA�s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., are part of the climate services that NOAA provides to businesses, communities and governments so they may make informed decisions to safeguard their social and economic well-being.

U.S. Temperature Highlights


  (Credit: NOAA)

  • For the winter season, 63 percent of the country experienced below normal temperatures. In contrast to this national trend, Maine experienced the third warmest winter.
  • February�s average temperature was 32.4 degrees F, which is 2.2 degrees below the long-term average.
  • Cold air in the wake of several reinforcing Arctic air masses dominated much of the United States during February, creating temperatures that were much-below average in the Deep South and below average in the Plains and mid-Atlantic states. Both the South and Southeast climate regions experienced their seventh coldest February on record. Meanwhile, warmer-than-average temperatures dominated the Northwest and Northeast climate regions.
  • Florida had its fourth coldest February, Louisiana its fifth coldest, and Alabama, Georgia and Texas each had their sixth coldest. It was the seventh coldest February in Arkansas, while both Mississippi and South Carolina experienced their eighth coldest.

U.S. Precipitation Highlights


 (Credit: NOAA)

  • Precipitation for the winter season was above average while it averaged slightly below the long term mean for the month of February.
  • The season-long wet spell was notable for the Southeast, as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina each had their eighth wettest winter. Precipitation was also much above normal for South Dakota, Virginia, New Jersey and Maryland. Wyoming and Idaho experienced their eighth and ninth driest winters, respectively.
  • Regionally, the active weather pattern in the South, Southwest, and Northeast created above normal precipitation for the month. The Northwest, West North Central, East North Central, and Central climate regions each had below-normal February precipitation. On the state level, New Mexico experienced its seventh wettest February on record. Conversely, Idaho had its seventh driest, and Wyoming its eighth driest.

Other Highlights

  • Major snowstorms on Feb. 4-7 and Feb. 9-11 plagued the Atlantic states. These storms ranked as Category Three (major) and Two (significant) storms respectively on the Northeast Snow Impacts Scale (NESIS). Combined and treated as one storm, they would become only the third Category Five (extreme) storm (the most extreme category) of the NESIS record.
  • A third storm, also ranking as a Category Three on the NESIS scale, occurred across southern New England on Feb. 23-28. February 2010 is the first month during the NESIS period of record, since 1956, to place three storms of Category Two or greater.
  • Several seasonal snowfall records were set: (previous record)
    • Baltimore: 79.9 inches (62.5 inches, 1995-96)
    • Washington (Dulles): 72.8 inches (61.9 inches, 1995-96)
    • Washington (National): 55.9 inches (54.4 inches, 1898-1899)
    • Wilmington, Del.: 66.7 inches (55.9 inches, 1995-96)
    • Philadelphia: 71.6 inches (65.5 inches, 1995-96)
    • Atlantic City, N.J.: 49.9 inches (46.9 inches, 1966-67)
  • In several eastern cities, February was the snowiest month on record: (previous record)
    • Washington (Dulles): 46.1 inches (34.9 inches, February 2003)
    • Central Park, N.Y.: 36.9 inches  (30.5 inches, March 1896)
    • Pittsburgh: 48.7 inches (40.2 inches, January 1978)

Background information on this winter�s snowstorms and the links to climate change is available online: http://www.noaa.gov/features/02_monitoring/index.html.

NCDC�s preliminary reports, which assess the current state of the climate, are released soon after the end of each month. These analyses are based on preliminary data, which are subject to revision. Additional quality control is applied to the data when late reports are received several weeks after the end of the month and as increased scientific methods improve NCDC�s processing algorithms.

Scientists, researchers, and leaders in government and industry use NOAA�s monthly reports to help track trends and other changes in the world's climate. This climate service has a wide range of practical uses, from helping farmers know what and when to plant, to guiding resource managers with critical decisions about water, energy and other vital assets.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth�s environment, from the depths of the oceans to surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
 
 
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 20 2010 at 8:34am

Short-term Cooling on a Warming Planet

By Michon Scott

Dec 31st, 2009

There IS a problem with global warming, one headline recently quipped, it stopped in 1998. Making the same argument about declining temperatures since 1998, another headline proclaimed, Alarmists still heated even as world cools.

These articles suggest that climate scientists have misled the public. While climatologists warn that greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are warming our planet, some people argue that Earth is actually cooling: they point to declining temperatures since 1998 as proof that global warming has stopped.

But this argument about global cooling begs an important question: Why measure temperatures since 1998? Why not 1997 or 1999?

1992-2008_Hadley

Global temperature anomalies from 1992 through 2008 as estimated by the Hadley Centre. Temperatures are shown as the difference from the 1961-1990 average. The colored lines drawn on the graph illustrate how temperatures for 1997, 1998, and 1999 compare to 2008.

The answer might lie in the fact that 1998 was arguably the warmest year on record. The reason we had such a warm 1998 is that we had a very, very strong El Nino, probably one of the strongest El Ninos of the twentieth century, explains David Easterling, Chief of the Scientific Services Division at NOAAs National Climatic Data Center. If you have a very strong El Nino an extensive swath of the oceans surface with much-warmer-than-average temperatures that tends to warm the globally averaged air surface temperature.

If global temperatures from subsequent years are compared to those of 1998, warming since that time is certainly difficult to detect. Easterling himself pointed out in a 2009 paper that a linear trend line from 1998 to 2008 shows no statistically significant trend up or down. While a straight line drawn from 1998 to 2008 does indicate that 2008 was cooler, a line from 1999 to 2008 shows that the planet warmed, and a line from 1997 to 2008 is almost flat. But Easterling doesnt advocate starting the measurements from either of those years. Instead, he suggests looking at the bigger picture.

DavidEasterling

David Easterling of NOAA�s National Climatic Data Center.

The bottom line is that current temperatures are way above the long-term average, Easterling says. The United Kingdoms Met Office and the World Meteorological Organization concur; in December 2009, the organizations described the first decade of the twenty-first century as by far the warmest on record.

Decadal_HadCRUT3_w_uncertainty

Average global temperature anomalies by decade, estimated by the Hadley Centre, shown as the difference from the 1961 � 1990 average. Vertical lines indicate the upper and lower 95% uncertainty ranges for each decade.

The cooling argument is challenged even further in that not every estimate pegs 1998 as the warmest year. One group of climate researchers instead finds 2005 to be the warmest year. The difference doesn�t result from error or whim, but from the inherent difficulty in measuring global temperatures.

The Challenge of Measuring the Past
Schlesinger3

Michael Schlesinger, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Michael Schlesinger is a professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he has devoted almost four decades to studying global climate. He has worked extensively with global temperature records, and he recognizes their limitations. “The observations of temperature over Earth were not made for the purpose of climate, they were made for the purpose of weather,” he says. People naturally built weather stations where weather conditions would affect human activity, which excluded sparsely populated or rarely traveled areas. The addition of new weather stations over the years has enhanced recent temperature records, but not historical records. Meanwhile, some older weather stations have been moved, for instance, from city centers to airports. More importantly, the weather stations have focused on land even though oceans cover 70 percent of our planet.

“Earth is unique in our solar system in that it has an ocean,” Schlesinger explains. “The atmosphere stirs the ocean by wind, and as warm surface waters mix with cooler waters below, they take heat away from the surface. This reduces the amount of surface warming that would occur if Earth were all land.” This complicates the task of calculating a representative average temperature for the entire globe, and different research groups choose different methods to account for the complexities.

“If you had the ability to uniformly distribute thermometers over the planet, and gather measurements from this regular grid, then I think everybody would analyze the data in the same way,” Schlesinger says. On our real world, however, climatologists must work with “a hodgepodge of measurements over the continents.” Not surprisingly, climatologists have developed more than one approach to understanding historical temperature records based on weather station measurements.

Hadley_GISS_1994-2008

Global temperature anomalies estimated by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISTEMP) and the UK Met Office and the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (HadCRUT3). The consistently higher temperature indicated by GISTEMP is the result of the two groups measuring anomalies from different base periods: GISTEMP values show how much the world has warmed compared to the average from 1951 – 1980 while HadCRUT3 values show the change from the 1961 – 1990 average. Differences in how each group calculates global temperature result in differences in each year’s ranking. HadCRUT3 lists 1998 as the warmest year, followed by 2005 and 2003. GISTEMP shows 2005 as the warmest year, followed by 2007 and 1998.

Two of the world’s foremost global temperature data sets are from the Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom, and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Sciences (GISS) in the United States. Both groups use a combination of land-surface air temperature and sea-surface temperature records, incorporated from satellite observations and historical records, to calculate values for global temperature. Though the groups use different equations in processing the data, they do so consistently so their successive values indicate how global temperature has changed over time.

One area that has experienced some of the most dramatic warming in recent years—but lacks permanent weather stations—is the Arctic, and the Hadley Centre and GISS handle the lack of observations in the region differently. The Hadley Centre offers a data set that works only with existing temperature measurements, essentially excluding the Arctic from its global temperature calculations. GISS offers a data set that accounts for Arctic temperatures by interpolating from the surrounding region. Like the Arctic, the high-latitude region around it has seen greater rates of warming than the global average over the last decade, including substantial warming in 2005. As a result, the Hadley data set identifies 1998 as the warmest year on record whereas the GISS data set identifies 2005 as the warmest year on record.

“It’s a question of whether you interpolate or not, and different people handle it differently,” observes Easterling. “There’s no exactly right or wrong way.” And his overriding conclusion remains: Recent years rank among the warmest on record.

Deciphering Natural Variability

“There are two components influencing temperatures over time,” Easterling says. “You have a trend due to increasing greenhouse gases and you have natural variability superimposed on that trend.”

Beyond our control, natural variability includes large-scale oceanic changes affecting regional and global temperatures. Cooling between 2006 and 2008, for instance, has likely been driven by La Niña. Opposite of El Niño conditions, the area of cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures that defines La Niña conditions can push global temperatures downward, if the phenomenon is strong enough.

Schlesinger, who has served as a co-author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, knows quite a bit about natural variability. In 1994, he described the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation, an alternating pattern of heat-distributing ocean circulation that brings warmed waters from the tropics to high latitudes. “On average, ocean circulation transports a petawatt of heat,” Schlesinger explains. “A petawatt is the numeral 1 with 15 zeros after it, or a million billion watts of heat energy. If you could just acquire one percent of that heat, you could satisfy all your energy needs for planet Earth.” One cycle of the oscillation takes about 65 to 70 years. Over that time, the amount of heat moved northward along the western side of the North Atlantic Ocean waxes and wanes, increasing and decreasing temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding continental margins.

Although not directly dictated by this decades-long phenomenon, global temperatures are influenced by the oscillation, just as average temperatures can be driven up or down by El Niño and La Niña events. The transport of such a massive quantity of heat helps explain some counterintuitive temperature trends during the twentieth century. Despite the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations that began in the mid-1800s, between 1850 and 1900, global temperatures showed little significant change. Between 1900 and 1940, temperatures rose. After 1940, temperatures declined for 35 years. The lack of a direct correlation between greenhouse gas concentration and global temperature over this time span “was confounding understanding of the observed temperature record,” Schlesinger recalls, “and it was allowing people to make the argument, ‘If there was this early twentieth-century warming when humanity was putting relatively fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, why wasn’t there a larger temperature increase later when humanity was putting vastly more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere?’ By discovering this oscillation, we were able to refute this argument.”

AMO%20&%20Temp_1880-2008

This graph shows Global Average Temperature compared with the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) Index. The AMO Index is the average sea-surface temperature over the North Atlantic Ocean. The roughly parallel curves of the two parameters show that they are related: the increase in global temperature over time, coincident with the increase in greenhouse gases observed since the Industrial Revolution, is alternately obscured and enhanced by the AMO.

Like Schlesinger, Easterling is also familiar with natural variability, and his knowledge of such variability caused him to question the cooling-since-1998 argument. Working with his co-author Michael Wehner, Easterling examined both observed temperatures and model simulations. Confident that the “cooling” was a short-term trend, Easterling wanted to see if he could find periods of no trend or with slight cooling over other time spans. He could.

For observed temperatures, Easterling relied on a data set generated by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, incorporating globally averaged surface air temperatures from 1901 to 2008. In that data set, he found two periods—1977 to 1985 and 1981 to 1989—that showed slight cooling, similar to what appears in the Hadley Centre’s data set from 1998 to 2008.

Easterling_%282009%29_Fig1

Global temperature anomalies calculated by NOAA for 1975 through 2008. Despite the long-term warming trend evident in the graph at the bottom, global temperature decreased slightly from 1977 to 1985 and from 1981 through 1989, as shown by blue arrows in the insets. Graph modified from Easterling, 2009.

For model simulations, Easterling used a database of predicted temperatures, validated by its ability to retroactively “predict” temperatures for years past. He assumed a “business-as-usual” scenario in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, with little future reduction. When projecting temperatures for the twenty-first century, he found two more periods—2001 to 2010 and 2016 to 2031—that showed no trend, again similar to 1998 to 2008. Every one of these no-trend periods occurred against a backdrop of rising temperatures.

“The supposed cooling is really a non-issue,” Easterling explains. “It’s just natural variability.”

What the Future May Hold

Easterling’s finding that natural variability can cause short-term cooling, or no-trend periods within longer-term warming, correlates with other predictions about future temperatures.

In May 2008, a group of climate modelers in Germany published projections that incorporated current understanding of natural cycles to make a climate forecast for the next decade. The group forecast that global surface temperatures might not increase much over the next decade, as cooling driven by natural variability offsets human-caused warming. After a decade or so of stability, however, the model indicates that temperatures would begin to rise. In contrast, the UK Met Office predicted warming beginning in a few years from 2009. Both groups, however, agreed that after a short period of negative or no trend in the early 2000s, global temperatures would begin to rise, perhaps quickly.

In other words, the no-trend period in the Hadley Centre’s data set not only doesn’t surprise these climatologists, it’s consistent with what they have predicted. “You’re going to see these episodes where you don’t get warming in the surface air temperature and then it starts back warming very strongly,” Easterling says.

“If it kept cool for the next 25 years, I’d think maybe I was wrong,” Easterling continues, “but you can see periods as long as 16 years in our model run where temperatures stay the same without changing the long-term trend.”

npseaice_ams_2009255
npseaice_ams_2009255_palette

Each year, the area covered by Arctic sea ice melts to its smallest extent by the end of summer in September. This map shows the median extent of sea ice during September from 1979-2000 (in yellow), and the minimum extent observed in 2009. Image courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory and National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center also offers an animation of images showing ice extent each September from 1979 to 2009.

Besides global temperatures, other lines of evidence point strongly to a warming planet. Since 1998, the extent of Arctic sea ice reached new record lows in 2002, 2005, and 2007. Arctic sea ice retreated so dramatically in 2007 that it broke all previous records a month before the end of melt season. And dramatic changes haven’t been unique to the Arctic. In 2002, some 3,250 square kilometers of the Larsen B Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula shattered over a period of just five weeks. In the wake of the ice shelf disintegration, glaciers feeding the shelf accelerated on their route into the Weddell Sea. “The reason people believe strongly that Earth has warmed is not just the temperature record, but all these other things,” Easterling explains.

seaice_min_max_2009_465px

Maximum Arctic sea ice extent for 2009 occurred in March, and minimum Arctic sea ice extent occurred in September 2009. In each image, the magenta line indicates the median extent of ice cover for that month for the period 1979–2000. View larger version in a new window. Images courtesy of National Snow and Ice Data Center.

seaice_min_max_trends_465px

Both minimum and maximum sea ice extents have decreased over the period of satellite observation. This graph shows the trends in minimum extent (red) and maximum extent (black) from 1979–2009 as the percentage difference in ice extent compared to the mean from 1979-2000. View larger version in a new window. Graph courtesy of Arctic Report Card.

seaice_age_thickness

The colors on these maps show Arctic sea ice distribution in March 2007, 2008, and 2009. Multiyear ice is shown as white, mixed ice is aqua, first-year ice is teal, and ice with melting on the surface is red. Dark blue represents open water and gold is land. These images were prepared using a combination of satellite observations and drifting ice buoys. Courtesy of Son Nghiem and Arctic Report Card.

“When you’re in a court of law, you have to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The people who have been focusing on the ‘cooling’ have not been telling the whole truth,” Schlesinger remarks. “Natural variability may mask the effects of greenhouse gas emissions in the short term, but once an oscillation changes back to a mode that increases global temperatures, it will reinforce the effects of burning fossil fuels, and we could face a double whammy. So the worst mistake we could make is to confuse short-term cooling for a reversal of global warming.”

 
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 20 2010 at 9:19am

NOAA: Imminent Flood Threat in Midwest, South and East Also at Risk

March 16, 2010

Major flooding has begun and is forecast to continue through spring in parts of the Midwest according to NOAAs National Weather Service. The South and East are also more susceptible to flooding as an El Nino influenced winter left the area soggier than usual.

Spring 2010 Flood Risk map.

(Credit: NOAA)

Overall, more than a third of the contiguous United States has an above average flood risk  with the highest threat in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa, including along the Red River Valley where crests could approach the record levels set just last year.

Supporting the forecast of imminent Midwest flooding is a snowpack more extensive than in 2009 and containing in excess of 10 inches of liquid water in some locations. Until early March, consistently cold temperatures limited snow melt and runoff. These conditions exist on top of: above normal streamflows; December precipitation that was up to four times above average; and the ground which is frozen to a depth as much as three feet below the surface.

Its a terrible case of deja vu, but this time the flooding will likely be more widespread. As the spring thaw melts the snowpack, saturated and frozen ground in the Midwest will exacerbate the flooding of the flat terrain and feed rising rivers and streams, said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. We will continue to refine forecasts to account for additional precipitation and rising temperatures, which affect the rate and severity of flooding.

In the South and East, where an El Nino-driven winter was very wet and white, spring flooding is more of a possibility than a certainty and will largely be dependent upon the severity and duration of additional precipitation and how fast existing snow cover melts, said Jack Hayes, Ph.D., director of the National Weather Service. Though El Nio is forecast to continue at least through spring, its influence on day-to-day weather should lessen considerably.

Without a strong El Nino influence, climate forecasting for spring (April through June) is more challenging, but NOAAs Climate Prediction Center says odds currently favor wetter-than-average conditions in coastal sections of the Southeast; warmer-than-average temperatures across the western third of the nation and Alaska; and below-average temperatures in the extreme north-central and south-central U.S.

 The Rockwell Aero Commander (AC-500S) is one of the aircrafts used by NOAAs National Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center to collect snow data to develop accurate flood forecasts.

Meteorologists and hydrologists with the National Weather Service issue timely and accurate flood forecasts and warnings from local weather forecast offices and regional river forecast centers across the nation. They constantly monitor precipitation, temperature, snowpack and waterway levels using a network of gauges, some of which are operated by vital partners such as the U.S. Geological Survey, and using NOAA aerial surveys of snowpack and its water content.

The National Weather Service provides a suite of decision support services ranging from direct briefings with emergency management agencies at all levels to its graphical Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service available at weather.gov/water.

This is also national Flood Safety Awareness Week. Floods are the deadliest weather phenomena  claiming an average of 100 lives annually. Many of these deaths occur in automobiles and are preventable. If confronted with a water-covered road on foot or in an automobile, follow National Weather Service advice: Turn Around, Dont Drown.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
 
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Turboguy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 20 2010 at 11:22am
I have a lot of family out in the Red River area of Minnesota and they're flooded out every single year.

Some of them even bought land on the flood plain! When they told me about it I was flabbergasted! Why the hell would you buy land and build a house on the flood plain? It's not called a flood plain for nothing! Now they're scrambling to save their house. They need to move their house and just have a family garden where the house is now.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mrmouse Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 20 2010 at 12:33pm
"But hey everythings good right, especially if your at the top of that pyramid scheme. You even get the Government (The People) to fight the wars to secure your supply & Contracts."

Gerald says it so well!

http://eclipptv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=10844
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 20 2010 at 1:38pm

rmouse

Good video, although I dont agree with some of politics.
 
Hey if you click and put your insertion point at the end of that link and then hit enter it will fuction as a link.
 
The whole bit on Wages (Right On). We have been told every mythical story about free trade or fair trade as reasons for the removal of 30 or so percent of our manufacturing base and now there seems to be an awakening to the reality (It was just GEED)
 
I would write more but I volunteered to do a health fair today so must get going
 
Thanks, very good vid
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mahshadin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 20 2010 at 10:00pm
Excelent site for accurate and up to date information on the climate
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."   G Orwell
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