[Vision2020] Fw: USAToday: Warming trend visible in the trees

[Tony]

Wayne, no need to panic with regard to minor fluctuations in climate, as they are normal and inevitable.  Recall that the climate changes gradually from one extreme to another over eons.  We had several ice ages as well as several periods of tropical climate and desert climate, all in their turn.  The Earth is a dynamic, living and changing environment, and humans are amazingly adaptable.  I hope that you do not let a natural and unremarkable climactic fluctuation ruin your mood.

Cheers,   -Tony
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Art Deco 
  To: Vision 2020 
  Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 2:53 PM
  Subject: [Vision2020] Fw: USAToday: Warming trend visible in the trees


  Missing Link to article:  http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2007-01-15-weather-trees_x.htm

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Art Deco 
  To: Vision 2020 
  Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 2:49 PM
  Subject: [Vision2020] USAToday: Warming trend visible in the trees


        Warming trend visible in the trees 
  Updated 1/16/2007 12:08 PM ET 
  By Patrick O'Driscoll, USA TODAY


  Rising temperatures are allowing Southern trees to thrive farther north and stressing trees used to colder weather, according to new national guidelines issued by planting experts.
  The National Arbor Day Foundation last month updated the Agriculture Department's "hardiness zones" map, which was last issued in 1990. The group acted after noticing that some tree species were thriving where they had not before, while others were doing poorly in what had been a suitable region on previous maps.

  The shift in zones may allow people in northern areas to experiment with flowering Southern trees such as apple and cherry where they used to plant only fir, spruce and pine, says group spokesman Woodrow Nelson.

  The map divides the nation into 11 planting zones tied to average low temperatures. It shows significant boundary changes as the continent has warmed. For example, in southern Texas, the edge of one zone moved more than 200 miles north to the Panhandle. A few locations jumped two zones.

  The map is based on 15 years of minimum temperatures from 5,000 observers used by the National Weather Service.

  Last year was the warmest on record for the USA. Twelve of the top 25 warmest years have been since 1990.

  The foundation cautions not to dig up gardens or cut down trees just because zones have shifted. The map is a guide for new plantings, especially for seedlings, which are more vulnerable to temperature change than mature trees.

  The Agriculture Department has been reworking its map for several years using 30 years of data instead of 15 but has set no release date. The department's Kim Kaplan says the 1990s "were a very warm decade, but is that a weather cycle or is that a climate cycle? We think 30 years represents the best compromise, smoothing out the natural fluctuations of weather."

  Nelson says the foundation will distribute 10 million seedlings this year. "Those need to be planted under the most up-to-date information."



  See entire article with interesting comparisons using maps.





  W.



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