20 thoughts on “Very Cool”

  1. There are icebergs in Lake Michigan.

    No, there aren’t. The article calls them ‘ice “bergs”‘, but they are really ice floes and not icebergs. There have been ice floes in Lake Michigan every year since the last ice age. If the ice floes are smaller than usual, that could indeed be associated with global warming. However, it is an insignificant detail compared to the massive summer ice depletion in the Arctic Ocean and the possible destabilization of Greenland’s ice sheet.

  4. Jim, did someone excise your sense of humor at birth

    No, but maybe you should chill out.

    Actually I had a whole line of jokes prepared, unfortunately the Clintons stole my manuscript.

  5. No, but maybe you should chill out.

    What a strange non sequitur.

    Physician, heal thyself.

    Actually I had a whole line of jokes prepared…

    If so, it would be a first in our experience.

    unfortunately the Clintons stole my manuscript.

    It’s hard to imagine that they’d be worth stealing by anyone.

  6. No, but maybe you should chill out.

    Apparently your sense of irony was removed at the same time.

  9. Green Bay has had record snowfalls this year. Eighty inches I just heard. I am in Michigan up on Lake Superior and my county (Alger) has a number of 180 inches listed by the road commission thus far. It’s snowing today. I pray for global warming.

    It isn’t looking good for the warming advocates from where I shovel. I hope to see the ground this year by the end of May. Last year was a light snowfall year and by mid April most snow had melted. Not much in life or weather is certain and people should realize the same.

  10. It isn’t looking good for the warming advocates from where I shovel. I hope to see the ground this year by the end of May. Last year was a light snowfall year and by mid April most snow had melted. Not much in life or weather is certain and people should realize the same.

    Just remember, when it’s cold, it’s weather, but when it’s warm, it’s climate.

  12. “Hope they aren’t a problem for the whales.”

    Heck with the whales – won’t anybody think about the polar bears?!

  13. Who can you trust? AlGore, or NOAA? Personally, I subscribe to the Church of Long Time Anthropogenic Warming – “Heatin’ it Up for 8000 Years” – but this is a bit chilling…

    NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – NOAA: Coolest Winter Since 2001 for U.S., Globe

    The average temperature across both the contiguous U.S. and the globe during climatological winter (December 2007-February 2008) was the coolest since 2001, according to scientists at NOAA

  14. And here’s a clue for you, Jim:
    More Ice than Ever

    I’ll even do the rebuttal for you:
    – Pat Michaels is a “denialist”
    – Cato is funded by the oil industry
    – The article is an “opinion piece” so can be dismissed as the unscientific rantings of a nonbeliever

    There…now that I’ve done the easy work for you, you can focus your replies on rebutting the studies Michaels references in the piece.

  16. Anonymous: Actually, Pat Michaels isn’t mainly a denialist. He’s really a retiree. He retired from science to become a political pundit. His opinion piece for the Cato Institute — obviously a political organization — certainly is an unscientific rant, but it has little to do with whether he believes or disbelieves any specific thing. Now that Michaels is retired from actual thinking, he can offer any fatuous opinions he pleases, whichever way the wind blows.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cato Institute does get some oil money, but that too is beside the point. The real point is that the mandate of Cato is ideology rather than science. They are defense lawyers for American capitalism.

    Michaels does make a small valid point. Even though Arctic ice is in very bad shape, Antarctic ice has been doing slightly better in some ways than 30 years ago. It is a net negative, and I’m sure that Michaels understands that point, but since he is a defense lawyer for American capitalism, it’s not in his interest to say it.

    JLawson: As the article says about global temperature for this winter, the coldest since 2001 is not very cold. When the coldest winter of the decade is still warmer than the average over the past century, that tells you something. Global warming is a century-long process, and not an 8-year story.

  17. >Global warming is a century-long process,

    Presumably caused by all those SUVs we were driving during the McKinley administration?

    Of course, if you actually _look_ at the century-long figures, we are in fact back at the long-term average. I guess the steps we have taken to curb Global Warming have worked, and we don’t need to consider any more.

  18. Presumably caused by all those SUVs we were driving during the McKinley administration?

    No, caused by burning coal, which not only released CO2 but also laid down a global ring of soot. But it is true that we have since stepped on the gas pedal.

    Of course, if you actually _look_ at the century-long figures, we are in fact back at the long-term average.

    It depends on what you mean by “we”. Yes, the United States had an average winter for once. But global warming is not about the weather report in Peoria, it’s about the globe as a whole.

    “junkscience.com”, by the way, is an aptly named web site. The site manager, Stephen Milloy, is another politico like Pat Michaels, except that he is much more bombastic and not as smart.

  19. In twenty years, when it has been proven beyond doubt that Global Warming is the biggest fraud ever perpetuated, I am *so* going to sue Al Gore, Maurice Strong, and David Suzuki, for the damage that they have done (are doing) to the world economy.

  20. Lab Write-Up

    Part 1
    Will overcrowding make the Wisconsin Fast Plants shorter?

    Part 2
    If the amount of Wisconsin Fast Plants increases by one per cell, the height of the overcrowded Wisconsin Fast Plants will decrease.

    Part 3
    1. 1 tray
    2. 1 spoon
    3. 1 planter quad
    4. 1 cup of potting mix
    5. 4 wicks
    6. 12 fertilizer pellets
    7. 8 Wisconsin Fast Plant seeds
    8. 1 toothpick
    9. 1 planter label
    10. 1 paper towel
    11. 1 pair of forceps
    12. 1 dropper

    Part 4
    1. Number each cell of the planter quad 1-4
    2. Place one wick in each cell of the planter quad. Use your forceps to pull the wick through the hole until the tip sticks out 1 cm.
    3. Using the spoon, fill each section of the planter quad halfway with the potting mix.
    4. Add three fertilizer pellets to each cell. Look closely. The fertilizer pellets are larger than the seeds so you shouldn

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