[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Yeah. How about conservation of angular momentum?

There is a gradual braking of the earth’s rotation rate caused by the Moon, which amounts to a lengthening of the rotation period by about 0.002 seconds per century. Angular momentum is transferred from the earth's rotation to the moon's orbit.

The worst the atmosphere could do is briefly store some angular momentum, but the peak effect would be minuscule and short lived.

[darkwing104]

The atmosphere rotates with the earth thus making the reduction nill.

Besides that the article is satire. Got me too...