Next time some right-wing moran says "Global Warming is a myth..."

[Archae]

Show him this, the forecast here in Sheboygan WI, today and tomorrow.

This Afternoon...Breezy. Occasional rain ending early...Otherwise cloudy with some fog and drizzle. Highs in the low 40s. Southeast winds 15 to 25 mph.

Tonight...Areas of fog in the evening. Occasional rain and slight chance of thunderstorms in the evening...Then rain after midnight. Near steady temperature in the upper 30s. South winds 5 to 10 mph shifting to the west 5 to 15 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 90 percent.

New Years Day...Mostly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of rain and light snow in the morning. Highs around 40. Northwest winds 15 to 20 mph.

[calzone]

1. I understand what you're saying but.....

....most wingers don't argue against the reality of global warming, they argue the cause.
Their position is that it's not due to human activity, that it's simply a cyclical natural process that we don't yet fully understand and have no control over. The reason they take this tack IMO is b/c it's difficult to refute, and the core motive for many of them is the same core motive for most of their positions....commerce & profit. To acknowlege that global warming is our fault does 2 things...puts the onus on business and industry, and since the implication is that we made it and we can unmake it, the second thing it does is cut into the free market exploitation of resources and the pollution of the environment. Both cut into profits.
In my experience, rightwingers never concede core issues, they simply fall back a step, draw a new line in the sand, and modify their argument with fix-a-flat.
IMO, your average winger isn't looking for the truth, they are looking to win. To them, there are only 2 kinds of people---winners and losers, and nothing is more important than winning, no tactic or effort too extreme or inappropriate to keep from losing. To lose is the ultimate disgrace, whether it's an argument over global warming, WMD's, morality, or the best anti-perspirant.

[Selatius]

2. To be sure, conservatives adopt both arguments in schizophrenic order

The truly calculating conservative adopts the latter argument of global warming being a cyclical issue. Less discerning conservatives are--I would bet--more likely to assert that no global warming exists compared to the latter argument. We call these guys "true believers." Others may call them "cannon fodder." Still more call them "idiots" following the malicious. Most of these kinds aren't big business types but average people with average means who trust what they are told by authority.

[gollygee]

3. 48 right now in Kalamazoo, Michigan

it's been rainy all day. Bizarre.

[gristy]

4. Warm in the Northeast too

average high temp is 6.9F above normal
average low temp is 7.5F above normal
:(

[LostInAnomie]

5. It warm here in SW Indiana too.

December is usually nothing but high 20's to high 30's. This year the lowest we've hit has been the high 30's and the rest have been between high 40's and low 60's.

It has also been the wettest year on record. This has caused the ground to become a swamp that never dries.

[gristy]

7. Your high temps have been 6F above normal, on average for December

Evansville being as SW as you can get in Indiana, pretty much.

[Pavulon]

6. Some fluctuation is normal, same temp 20 years ago

http://www.almanac.com/weatherhistory/oneday.php?number=726408&wban=99999&day=28&month=12&year=1987&searchtype=

Obviously this does not mean there is no global warming. However when people start talking about hurricane seasons and temps (micro weather events) and linking them to global warming it can be a problem.

[gristy]

8. Give me any northern US city - randomly selected.

I'll make another graph. Micro weather, indeed.

[Pavulon]

10. You can use the almanac

I did. Any city will show highs and lows. It is not over average here because of global warming. Warming trends are in the 1 to 2 degree range. not 15 - 20.

Just because there were no major hurricanes does not mean that warmer ocean temps will not contribute to future weather patterns.

Again my point is that keeping the science right keeps the debate on track.

grammar

[gristy]

13. Yes, I agree that the more data, the more convincing the hypothesis

For fun, I did your city:

average high temp is 6.7F above normal
average low temp is 2.9F above normal

[Pavulon]

14. The best data

is spread over 20 years. There will be fluke patterns in weather. Global warming is not a 6 - 10 degree shift. It is a 2 or 3 degree shift that does not correct. That is not as dramatic as a warm day or a hurricane but it has massive impact.

[gristy]

17. And I have seen that data.

A couple years ago the NY Times had a long article with a graph of global temps over the past 100 years. That graph showed that since 1950 average global temperatures have been on an inexorable and significant trend upwards.

I have not seen that graph since then, though I have looked for it only sporadically. I do not understand why every article on global warming does not include it.

[Pavulon]

21. Agree

here is one i found

[leftchick]

9. Cherry Blossoms and Forsythia BLOOMING in December

in NC! Unprecedented! And now I want to puke.

:puke:

[hashibabba]

11. Unseasonably warm all December in Northern Virginia. I guess

10 or more degrees above normal all month. More of the same to come, too.

[sillyphoenix]

20. uh

that can't be normal.

[Danmel]

12. Gonna be 55 in NYC

I can't stand it- it's too freaking warm. I want it to be cold, it's making me more nervous than I normally am (and that's saying something!)

[bonito]

15. And

My f-----G tomato plants are nine feet tall shadowing out my banana plants and I'm getting pissed.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

16. Know What? Damned If I Know What's Due To Global Warming And What Isn't, But

damned if my daylilies ain't all budding anew out of the fucking ground right now, in North Jersey, in friggin January.

I couldn't believe it when I saw them all comin up. Really really strange. Course, damned if I know how much this is gonna fuck em up come spring.

[gristy]

18. I did your town

average high temp is 7.7F above normal
average low temp is 5.4F above normal

[shadowknows69]

19. We just climbed 15 degrees in like 10 minutes

30F to 45F. Now some serious wind and rain going on.