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<TITLE>Keep up the good work, Ted!</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Hi Ted,<BR>
<BR>
I just wanted you to know that I'm saving every one of your posts on climate change in preparation for a column with the provisional title "Update on Climate Change." I'm going to wait until the data is in on Arctic ice.<BR>
<BR>
Keep up the good work!<BR>
<BR>
Nick<BR>
<BR>
Nicholas F. Gier, Professor Emeritus<BR>
Department of Philosophy, University of Idaho<BR>
President, Idaho Federation of Teachers, AFT/AFL-CIO www.idaho-aft.org/ift.htm<BR>
208-882-9212, 1037 Colt Rd., Moscow, ID 83843<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
-----Original Message-----<BR>
From: vision2020-bounces@moscow.com on behalf of Ted Moffett<BR>
Sent: Thu 7/29/2010 11:05 AM<BR>
To: Moscow Vision 2020<BR>
Subject: [Vision2020] July 28,2010: NOAA: Past Decade Warmest on Record According to Scientistsin 48 Countries<BR>
<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100728_stateoftheclimate.html">http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100728_stateoftheclimate.html</A><BR>
<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate/">http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate/</A><BR>
<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate/2009.php">http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate/2009.php</A><BR>
NOAA: Past Decade Warmest on Record According to Scientists in 48<BR>
Countries Earth<BR>
has been growing warmer for more than fifty years<BR>
<BR>
July 28, 2010<BR>
<BR>
The 2009 *State of the Climate* report released today draws on data for 10<BR>
key climate indicators that all point to the same finding: the scientific<BR>
evidence that our world is warming is unmistakable. More than 300 scientists<BR>
from 160 research groups in 48 countries contributed to the report, which<BR>
confirms that the past decade was the warmest on record and that the Earth<BR>
has been growing warmer over the last 50 years.<BR>
<BR>
Based on comprehensive data from multiple sources, the report defines 10<BR>
measurable planet-wide features used to gauge global temperature changes.<BR>
The relative movement of each of these indicators proves consistent with a<BR>
warming world. Seven indicators are rising: air temperature over land,<BR>
sea-surface temperature, air temperature over oceans, sea level, ocean heat,<BR>
humidity and tropospheric temperature in the "active-weather" layer of the<BR>
atmosphere closest to the Earth's surface. Three indicators are declining:<BR>
Arctic sea ice, glaciers and spring snow cover in the Northern hemisphere.<BR>
<BR>
"For the first time, and in a single compelling comparison, the analysis<BR>
brings together multiple observational records from the top of the<BR>
atmosphere to the depths of the ocean," said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under<BR>
secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "The<BR>
records come from many institutions worldwide. They use data collected from<BR>
diverse sources, including satellites, weather balloons, weather stations,<BR>
ships, buoys and field surveys. These independently produced lines of<BR>
evidence all point to the same conclusion: our planet is warming,"<BR>
<BR>
The report emphasizes that human society has developed for thousands of<BR>
years under one climatic state, and now a new set of climatic conditions are<BR>
taking shape. These conditions are consistently warmer, and some areas are<BR>
likely to see more extreme events like severe drought, torrential rain and<BR>
violent storms.<BR>
<BR>
"Despite the variability caused by short-term changes, the analysis<BR>
conducted for this report illustrates why we are so confident the world is<BR>
warming," said Peter Stott, Ph.D., contributor to the report and head of<BR>
Climate Monitoring and Attribution of the United Kingdom Met Office Hadley<BR>
Centre. "When we look at air temperature and other indicators of climate, we<BR>
see highs and lows in the data from year to year because of natural<BR>
variability. Understanding climate change requires looking at the<BR>
longer-term record. When we follow decade-to-decade trends using multiple<BR>
data sets and independent analyses from around the world, we see clear and<BR>
unmistakable signs of a warming world."<BR>
<BR>
While year-to-year changes in temperature often reflect natural climatic<BR>
variations such as El Niņo/La Niņa events, changes in average temperature<BR>
from decade-to-decade reveal long-term trends such as global warming. Each<BR>
of the last three decades has been much warmer than the decade before. At<BR>
the time, the 1980s was the hottest decade on record. In the 1990s, every<BR>
year was warmer than the average of the previous decade. The 2000s were<BR>
warmer still.<BR>
<BR>
"The temperature increase of one degree Fahrenheit over the past 50 years<BR>
may seem small, but it has already altered our planet," said Deke Arndt,<BR>
co-editor of the report and chief of the Climate Monitoring Branch of NOAA's<BR>
National Climatic Data Center. "Glaciers and sea ice are melting, heavy<BR>
rainfall is intensifying and heat waves are more common. And, as the new<BR>
report tells us, there is now evidence that over 90 percent of warming over<BR>
the past 50 years has gone into our ocean."<BR>
<BR>
More and more, Americans are witnessing the impacts of climate change in<BR>
their own backyards, including sea-level rise, longer growing seasons,<BR>
changes in river flows, increases in heavy downpours, earlier snowmelt and<BR>
extended ice-free seasons in our waters. People are searching for relevant<BR>
and timely information about these changes to inform decision-making about<BR>
virtually all aspects of their lives. To help keep citizens and businesses<BR>
informed about climate, NOAA created the Climate Portal at *<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.climate.gov*">http://www.climate.gov*</A> <<A HREF="http://www.climate.gov/">http://www.climate.gov/</A>>. The portal features a<BR>
short video <<A HREF="http://www.climate.gov/#understandingClimate">http://www.climate.gov/#understandingClimate</A>> that summarizes<BR>
some of the highlights of the State of the Climate Report.<BR>
<BR>
*State of the Climate* is published as a special supplement to the Bulletin<BR>
of the American Meteorological Society and is edited by D.S. Arndt, M.O.<BR>
Baringer, and M.R. Johnson. The full report and an online media packet with<BR>
graphics is available online: *<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate*">http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate*</A><<A HREF="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate">http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate</A>><BR>
.<BR>
<BR>
------------------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett<BR>
<BR>
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