E.J. Dionne, the voice of liberalism on National Public Radio and in the Washington Post, in his admiring column on Barack Obama's second inaugural address, points out that — like FDR before him, not to mention Ronald Reagan — the re-elected President unapologetically laid out his agenda, and linked it to that of the Founding Fathers. ButContinue reading “The winds of chance and the hurricanes of disaster: FDR”
Category Archives: climate
Obama promises action on warming in 2nd Inaugural
In his second Inaugural Address this morning, President Obama promised action on climate change: We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and futureContinue reading “Obama promises action on warming in 2nd Inaugural”
2012 Was Once Considered Hottest Year On Record, Man In 2024 Remembers Wistfully
NEW WASHINGTON—Marveling at how dire things seemed in the relatively stable days of 12 years ago, Alan Gibson, 41, a local man of the year 2024, wistfully recounted on Wednesday the then-record temperatures recorded in the United States in 2012. "To think that we were concerned about a 55.3-degree average is almost comical, but then,Continue reading “2012 Was Once Considered Hottest Year On Record, Man In 2024 Remembers Wistfully”
Wall Street Journal vs. James Hansen on 2012 temps
In an editorial this weekend in the Wall Street Journal, columnist Holman Jenkins scoffed at the reporting of the NOAA statement that 2012 was the hottest year ever in the instrumental record in these United States. Jenkins wrote: When the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says 2012 was the hottest year on record in theContinue reading “Wall Street Journal vs. James Hansen on 2012 temps”
Allegation: White House to act on global warming
Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reporter Eric Holthaus put out a truly epic series of tweets from a briefing on the all-time heat records set last year here in these United States. Let me cite just a couple: BREAKING: NOAA announces 2012 officially the warmest year on record for the United States. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/  NOAA: "Every stateContinue reading “Allegation: White House to act on global warming”
Seasonal Forecaster: Cold winter for Eurasia, Northeast
In his talk at the American Meteorological Society convention Tuesday, Judah Cohen repeated a forecast made in December — that Eurasia and New England — will likely have a cold winter this year. He' laid it out the fundamentals of his new prediction idea about ten years ago in the Journal of Climate, although since then he's broughtContinue reading “Seasonal Forecaster: Cold winter for Eurasia, Northeast”
How to deny climate change with Antarctic sea ice record
A recent study, brilliantly explained in November by the Guardian, lays out the story of a slight but consistent rise in the extent of Antarctic sea ice. The mystery of the expansion of sea ice around Antarctica, at the same time as global warming is melting swaths of Arctic sea ice, has been solved using data from US military satellites. TwoContinue reading “How to deny climate change with Antarctic sea ice record”
A to Z in the environment in 2012
A is for ARCTIC, once ice-bound year round, but no longer, as ice and snow coverage this summer in the Arctic this year plunged to an all-time low. This will amplify warming over time, but in the short-term, forecasters say warming summers in the far north tends to bring cold winters to Europe and theContinue reading “A to Z in the environment in 2012”
The “fiscal cliff” and the climate cliff: Tom Toles
A month ago the environmental Time reporter Bryan Walsh, commenting on Paul Krugman and the fiscal cliff, laid out the basic equivalence between these two crises, one manufactured, the other real: The fiscal crisis and global warming are both, to put it bluntly, problems for tomorrow. Even if Congress can’t come to an agreement toContinue reading “The “fiscal cliff” and the climate cliff: Tom Toles”
To wipe out coastal cities, burn the fossil fuels: Hansen
In his latest posting, James Hansen looks at ice sheet loss in Greenland and Antartcia, and warns of the possiblility of an exponential ice sheet loss rate. Posing the question, he asks: A crucial question is how rapidly the Greenland (or Antarctic) ice sheet can disintegrate in response to global warming. Earth's history makes itContinue reading “To wipe out coastal cities, burn the fossil fuels: Hansen”
Kit Stolz 