<div>You mention the impacts on "our grandchildren" of fossil fuel use. And given I am reading NASA climate scientist James Hansen's new book "Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity," (<a href="http://www.stormsofmygrandchildren.com/">http://www.stormsofmygrandchildren.com/</a> ), which I highly recommend, where Hansen discusses anthropogenic climate warming impacts on snowfall, discussed in this thread, his comments are relevant.</div>
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<div>I would offer a few direct quotes, but I don't have the book with me... But I recall very well some of his main points on this issue, so I will paraphrase. Hansen is adamant that climate computer models are not the primary evidence nor basis for scientific theory regarding the physics of climate. He points out that some of the computer climate models predict lower sea level (not higher, as we hear often as an future impact) from anthropogenic warming, because though there will be increased ice mass loss on the edges of Greenland and Antarctica (the primary sources of potential sea level rise) from melting due to higher temperatures, the very much increased snowfall resulting from anthropogenic warming will cause the interior ice sheets to grow so much higher, water in total will be removed from the ocean and stored as ice, lowering sea level. Hansen states that we know this will not happen because of the evidence from paleoclimate data, which he believes is the primary empirical evidence to understand the climate forcing of human CO2 emissions. </div>
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<div>One of the most startling errors made based on climate computer models was the fact they failed to predict the rapid decline in Arctic sea ice in recent years. In this respect, the IPCC erred on the side of less climate impacts, not more. Arctic sea ice has recovered some from the record low of 2006, but despite the exaggerated claims of some who question anthropogenic warming, the recovery does not indicate the planet is not continuing to warm from continuing human impacts, but is merely responding to natural variables that will result in year to year climate variability, given the Arctic sea ice still remains below the 1979-2000 average, and the long term trend still indicates Arctic sea ice decline, as the following NSIDC (National Snow Ice Data Center) data reveals:( <a href="http://nsidc.org/images/arcticseaicenews/20100303_Figure3.png">http://nsidc.org/images/arcticseaicenews/20100303_Figure3.png</a> )</div>
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<div>Year to year precise seasonal climate variability is usually difficult to predict exactly, of course. In some cases, such as massive volcanic activity or an asteroid strike, the climate forcing is so powerful that short term predictions in these cases can be more reliable.<br>
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<div>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett<br></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 9:56 AM, Garrett Clevenger <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:garrettmc@verizon.net">garrettmc@verizon.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 13px Arial">Paul writes:</p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 13px Arial">"Did anyone predict the massive snowfall seen in the rest of the world?"</p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 13px Arial">It's called "climate change" for a reason. So in the sense that more unpredictable anomalies are predicted, then I suppose the massive snowfall was predicted, though not as specifically as some would like.</p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 13px Arial">Those who claim that massive snowfall proves "global warming" wrong lack an understanding of climate dynamics and greenhouse gas theory.</p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 13px Arial">Afterall, with greater temperature differentials due to a warming equator comes increased storm intensity. Warmer temperatures also increase evaporation that will eventually precipitate. If it's cold enough, that precip will be as snow. That snow will be historically massive.</p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 13px Arial">It doesn't seem rational to think that all the pollution were spewing out there would have no effect on climate.</p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 13px Arial">It also isn't rational to believe the real conspiracy is from "warm mongers" and not from those who are raking in enormous sums of money peddling their green house gasses.</p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 13px Arial">Industry has a lot to lose if people start accepting the fact that our gluttony and overuse of fossil fuels is slowly making this planet uninhabitable for our grandchildren. They will fight changing the status quo with whatever weapons they can.</p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 13px Arial">But it's probably too much for me to assume humans are rational because by and large most people are irrational.</p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 13px Arial">That's why humans are their own (and every other living creature's) worst enemy.</p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 13px Arial">Garrett Clevenger</p></font></td></tr></tbody></table><br></blockquote></div>