Let It Snow - Global-warming hysteria flies south for the winter

WSJ ^ | December 6, 2002

[Tailgunner Joe]

Is there anything more oppressive than the global-warming debate? Well, there is campaign-finance reform. But for the layman, who must contend with wind and rain--and, this week, snow--more than with the Federal Election Commission, the warming debate is the more painful one. It has the effect, in a world already overburdened with politics, of politicizing even the weather.

[Fish out of Water]

bump

[jigsaw]

I've got several inches of Global Warming on my driveway right now!

And several weeks ago I bought a Global Warming Blower to clear off the bigger piles of it.

[CanisMajor2002]

Alas, there are those who will see in traditional winter weather more signs of global warming. This is known as eating your cake and having it too, or verifying a theory with opposing evidence. We cannot help remembering a January 1996 Newsweek cover story, "The Hot Zone," in which global warming was blamed for winter's blizzards, among other things. But why believe Newsweek? Two decades before, in April 1975, it had noted "ominous signs that the earth's weather patterns have begun to change dramatically"--toward global cooling. The magazine predicted "a new ice age."

Hey, a new Ice Age won't be such a bad thing. I liked the first one!

[Anarchist]

The global-warming panic is no different than the warnings of the robed and bearded folks with signs saying the end of the world is coming because of the wicked ways of mankind.

First it was an offense to God; now it's an offense to Nature.

Same old thing, different wrapper.

[Prodigal Son]

often (the Sydney Herald reports) people who had been drinking too much and had neglected to find shelter.

I was in Iceland a while back for hiking. The first day we got there we went to downtown Reykjavik. It was cold. It was trying to make up its mind whether to sleet or snow. We passed a drunk guy who was a$$ed out on a bench on the sidewalk. He didn't have on a coat. His mouth was hanging open and I mean literally snowflakes were falling right down into this orifice and into his nostrils. Judging from the accumulation on his shirt, he had been there a little while. He was snoring...

The article just made me think of it. I was worried about him a little but he seemed quite comfie.

[Kay Ludlow]

Good editorial.

The Global Warming crisis is really about an excuse to let government control how you live - just like urban sprawl is. Make something sound like a crisis, and say strict rules are needed to fix the problem. Those rules, of course, require that everyone live the way the "rules proponents" think is the right way.

Slow down, walk instead of drive, don't have too big of house, don't have too many children, be a vegetarian, be with people instead of watching tv, don't buy from Big Box stores, etc etc etc.. All those things they think are the right way to live end up as the planned outcome of the rules they want government to impose.

They claim to the the open-minded ones, but in fact they have little tolerance for those who are different from them. They usually support the right to choose when it comes to babies, but when it comes to lifestyle... Can't have people choosing their own way to live, they might not make the "right" choice!

Personally, I really value the right to be eccentric and live my own way. That's why I'm a strong supporter of the constitution and the Bill of Rights. I keep hoping the Republicans in power will be too. I voted for them, because it's a better choice than the democrats, but a lot of republican congressmen are supporting all the "green" programs that are really about changing the way people live, from what they choose to what someone else chooses for them.

[maranatha]

Thanks, very well said.

[MinorityRepublican]

I've got several inches of Global Warming on my driveway right now!

You got it! Global warming is the reason for all this freezing weather!

Really, the earth is warming up so that is why we are freezing our a$$es off!

[MinorityRepublican]

I've got several inches of Global Warming on my driveway right now!

You got it! Global warming is the reason for all this freezing weather!

Really, the earth is warming up so that is why we are freezing our a$$es off!

[jigsaw]

#9 &10 - Dang, you're so cold you're shaking, aren't you! [grin]

[MinorityRepublican]

Severe Weather Alert from the National Weather Service

...RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON 825 AM EST SAT DEC 7 2002 117 YEAR OLD RECORD LOW FALLS AT BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

AT 5:04 AM THE TEMPERATURE FELL TO 6 DEGREES AT BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON AIRPORT. THIS EXCEEDS THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 15 DEGREES SET IN 1885.

[MinorityRepublican]

Even colder...

Severe Weather Alert from the National Weather Service

...RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON 829 AM EST SAT DEC 7 2002 RECORD DAILY LOW TEMPERATURE AT WASHINGTON DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

AT 7:25 AM THE TEMPERATURE FELL TO 1 DEGREE ABOVE ZERO AT DULLES AIRPORT. THIS EXCEEDS THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 18 IN 1977.

[fone]

Got a little colder there in DC then they anticipated...

all the hot air left town when Congress was ajourned.

[advocate10]

LOL!

I have no clue as to whether global warming is genuine, but while you were freezing your cajones, Alaska was having record high temperatures. Go figure.

[Garth Rockett]

I would be more than willing to trade Pittsburgh weather for Alaska's, without having to move. I'd rather shovel snow that mow the lawn.

[advocate10]

Only problem with Alaska is the DARK winters. I lived in Norway for several years. Summers were glorious, but wintertime, the sun comes up at about 10:30, just skirts above the horizon, then sets about 3:30. Also, it's not as cold there as you might expect.

Anchorage is about the same latitude as Oslo.