Report says climate change harming Great Lakes parks (WTF?)

Chicago Tribune ^ | 7/14/11 | AP

[Thebaddog]

Some of the Great Lakes' treasured national parks are showing ill effects of climate change that are likely to worsen in coming decades, from shoreline erosion to decline of certain wildlife and plant species, a former park system administrator said Wednesday.

Without changes in public policies and personal habits that pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the parks could lose qualities that attract visitors and support unique ecosystems, Stephen Saunders, former deputy assistant secretary of the Interior Department, said in a report released by two advocacy groups.

"Human disruption of the climate is the greatest threat ever to America's national parks," Saunders said. "Threads are being pulled out of the tapestry of these parks and the parks are beginning to lose their luster."

The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the Natural Resources Defense Council helped produce Saunders' report, which focused on five parks or lakeshores in the region: Indiana Dunes in Indiana; Isle Royale, Sleeping Bear and Pictured Rocks in Michigan; and Apostle Islands in Wisconsin. Together, they drew more than 4 million visitors in 2010.

Using federal temperature data and previous scientific studies, Saunders and colleagues said climate change was at least partially responsible for a series of unfavorable developments in the parks, which can serve as early warning systems for the wider environment.

The decade that ended last year was the hottest on record at Indiana Dunes on Lake Michigan, where records from a nearby weather station showed the average temperature from 2001-2010 was 1.6 degrees above the average for the 20th century, the report said. At Pictured Rocks on Lake Superior, the average from the most recent decade was 2.7 degrees higher than for the last century.

The worldwide average for the decade was 1.5 degrees above the average for the 20th century.

[cripplecreek]

The Feds want Michigan.

That's exactly what it is. The fact is that Michiganders are so protective of the lakes is why they want us out. They can't control and distribute the water (or underlying gas) with us greedily hoarding it all. Their claims of wanting to protect it for us is crap.

While I would never be willing to sell the water, I'm all for directional drilling under the lakes to get that gas.

[CSM]

“could” and “likely to” is scattered all over the excerpt, yet I didn’t see one negative attribute that now exists in these parks.

[CSM]

I just ask them why they fight so hard to teach Darwinism if they don’t actually want to live by it.

[netmilsmom]

We dug a well and pump our yard water.

[Still Thinking]

;-)

[Beowulf9]

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2011/07/volcanoes-may-cause-more-rain-than-realized/1

[Gondring]

Given that those who actually know the data say that we’ve cooled during the past decade [...]

IF you cherry-pick the outlier peak in 1998, it looks like that--but, regardless, the temperature during the overall 20th Century was lower than this decade because of the late-20th-Century climb.

Oh, and I'm eating fewer donuts than I used to, as this graph shows...

...I mean, just look at 1998 and see!

The problem is, we shouldn't be "keeping nearly steady" if our temperature supposedly correlates with insolation. The insolation drop should have plunged temperatures, not keep them nearly the same. It seems that there's an overall warming trend.

And that tends to lead to more snow, as the Great Lakes don't freeze as soon in the winter, so there's more lake-effect precipitation and greater erosion.

Of course, there's the isostatic rebound still occurring, too.

[Gondring]

Try swimming in lake superior sometime. Lake Michigan is like bathwater compared to superior.

Yeah, but Lake Superior is warming faster than the surrounding climate, so try again later. :-)

[Gondring]

Doesn’t he think that anyone remembers how long and miserable last winter was for most of us in the north?

Gee...those extremes are exactly what the models have predicted for two decades...if there's Global Warming as they expected.

[Abathar]

They predicted arctic ice thickening at a rate far faster than average? My point is we have heat waves and droughts all the time, and they publish many of the stories like this during one. This story never would have been published last January is what I’m saying because it never would have had the impact on as many readers then.

[mewzilla]

What happened to the 'warmest year on record': The truth is global warming has halted

Global Warming shocker! Climategate scientist admits no warming since 1995 UPDATED: Or did he?

Climategate U-turn as scientist at centre of row admits: There has been no global warming since 1995

Phil Jones does an about face on “statistically significant” warming

[cpdiii]

The worldwide average for the decade was 1.5 degrees above the average for the 20th century.

This is what drives me insane about the Media. They will report anecdotal evidence and sometimes outright lies as legitimate news and without validating the accuracy of the story.

Any stories that point out global warming is a hoax are immediately challenged, as they should be. However, almost without exception the challenge consists of more anecdotal evidence or out right lies, as in this article that claims 1.5 degree warming above the average. It is a lie. In fact the so called scientists lead by Dr. Mann and the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) discussed in Emails on how to hide the decline

[PENANCE]

It seems that there's an overall warming trend. Define "trend". How long a "trend"? If it's warmer this year than last, is that a trend? Is it meaningful? Define "Full Dataset" as used in your humorous graph.

[PENANCE]

Yeah, but Lake Superior is warming faster than the surrounding climate, Is that how Global Warming ...oops, I mean "Climate Change" is determined? How fast IS the surrounding climate warming? Is THAT how Global Warming ...darn (did it again), I mean "Climate Change" is determined?

[Gondring]

How fast IS the surrounding climate warming?

Here's the citation: J. A. Austin and S. M. Colman (2007), Lake Superior summer water temperatures are increasing more rapidly than regional air temperatures: A positive ice‐albedo feedback, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L06604, doi:10.1029/2006GL029021.

If you can't do the doi route, try clicking here. Sorry, but I'm not an AGU member.