global warming

… my scrawny, white, hairy arse. 

Guess what that white stuff is on the ground around the palm trees?  And guess where that image was taken?  Santa Clarita, West Los Angeles, and Malibu, California.  Well, that picture was not taken in all three places, but what it shows was evident in all of them.  Do not believe me?  Check out the news article.  Let me provide you with the high points. 

Residents told NBC4 that several inches of snow fell in their yards…

The last snowfall recorded at Los Angeles International Airport was in January 1962, according to the National Weather Service…

"One of our sergeants said he hadn’t seen anything like this in 20 years," said California Highway Patrol Officer Leland Tang at the West Valley Station…

And, guess what?  The cold weather is only going to stick around, at least for a few more days, if not longer, posing more freezing-precipitation problems for the roads, highways, and cities in general. 

Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the geography of America (which, these days, includes a disturbing number of Americans), let me fill you in on a few details.  Los Angeles itself is located almost exactly on top of the 34 degrees North latitude.  This probably does not mean a whole lot to you, but we can put it in further perspective – That puts it half a latitude north of Phoenix, a degree north of Dallas, and just a little north of Atlanta.  Got your attention now?  Places like this are not meant to have snow, much less temperatures in the 20s.  Hell, I only live a few degrees south of 34N, and I have not seen temperatures below 30 yet, and we are over halfway through January. 

So is this wonderfully obvious proof of "Global Warming", or what?  Sure, one outlier does not a statistic make, but it sure does make one wonder what the proponents of that theory are smoking. 

Of course, this news article was coincidentally timed along with this particular article.  Something of a long read, but the real meat of the writing is in the first few paragraphs.  Basically, and in summation, it amounts to Heidi Cullen (The Weather Channel’s most prominent climatologist) has stated that she believes any meteorologist who disagrees with the scientific "fact" of "Global Warming" be stripped of their American Meteorological Society "Seal of Approval".  Furthermore, she desires the implementation of "Nuremberg-style trials" for those skeptics who speak out against the theory. 

So, what, meteorologists are now stuck with an agree-with-us-or-lose-your-job (-or-potentially-your-life) ultimatim?  Sure, you will suddenly acquire many, many more proponents of your theory – but proponents garnered by the threat of force are less than useless.  Am I the only one who realizes just how extraordinarily idiotic this kind of tactic is? 

However, while completely moronic this move may be, it reveals, in its full glory, the weakness of the arguments put forward by the climate alarmists, and shows just how aware they are of that growing weakness.  You only attempt to completely squelch the opposition, be it through loss of job, loss of face, or loss of certification, when you realize that your stances, viewpoints, opinions, and theories are incapable of withstanding anything approximating criticism, scrutiny, or examination.  It is nothing more than a case of, "Are your viewpoints so weak that they cannot withstand mine being expressed?"  And since this is the situation for the climate alarmists, they are following along logically-plotted paths, and going to extremes to try and squish the opposition. 

I suppose you cannot really blame them… I mean, if it ever came out that the theory they had been proclaiming as God’s Truth Handed Down To Them By Glorious Angels is, in reality, nothing more than a whole lot of (not-so-hot) air…  well, the world would pretty much be over for them.  Can you really blame someone for operating along the lines of self preservation?  Honestly?  [/sarcasm]

If you honestly want to educate yourself on the details of the matter, instead of listening to the hype, screaming, and squealing of the Chicken Little activitists, I strongly recommend this version of the "Inconvenient Truth".  There are quite a few good articles scurrying about it, such as here, here, and here, and I strongly recommend just browsing around it, seeing a slightly saner perspective on the matters, as opposed to the idiocy of the Kyoto Protocol proponents, and other, similar, AlGore sheep.  You never know what educational, honest, and realistic information you might stumble across. 

Now, before some of you go away with the wrong image in your mind, allow me to say this:  I do not believe in the popularized viewpoint of "Global Warming", in the slightest, tiniest bit.  However, I do believe that we, as a species, do have an impact upon our planet – just not one as large as some people might like everyone to believe we do.  Yes, we most certainly could do some things much more "cleanly" than we do right now (I am all about alternate sources of power – wind, solar, and *shock* nuclear, as well as trying to get hybrid vehicles to be actually useful, instead of the absurdly expensive and ineffective toys they are now), but it is hardly the do-or-die scenario that yellow meteorologists might try and convince you it is.  Read your information, draw your own conclusions, and try not to be cowed by the posturing of little people with too much power and a big-sounding degree.  Sure, that degree does add a certain degree of credence to their words…  but, just like anyone else, they thrive on attention (and the associated money), and if they adopt a popularized viewpoint (especially one this charged, both politically and economically), well…  I do not need to describe what can and will happen to you.