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Potholes, road salt and climate change: Warmer Maine winters raise new concerns
Portland Press Herald ^ | March 13, 2022 | BY PETER MCGUIRE

Posted on 03/13/2022 7:15:46 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Instead of diverting road tax money to all sorts of superfluous garbage, how about spending the money on road maintenance?


41 posted on 03/13/2022 8:48:51 AM PDT by Parmy
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To: stanne

Do we get 3 weeks less of winter ? That would vary from year to year, and I would say on average winter has been the same. The time preceding the solstice can be unpredictable and the time near to the equinox is also unpredictable. We’ve had 2 feet of snow before Christmas than doesn’t melt, and 4 feet of snow on March 21 that melts super fast and floods everything low.

In reading further down the story the ultimate target is the salt used to de-ice the roads. The subheadings of “Salt Use is Unsustainable” and “Lowering Expectations” give up the game.


42 posted on 03/13/2022 8:59:01 AM PDT by Ouderkirk (The democRATS are not looking to govern, they intend to RULE.)
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To: Ouderkirk

Ok. I was referring to her claims. I don’t think you’re following. But I think I got the answer anyway


43 posted on 03/13/2022 9:04:48 AM PDT by stanne
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
It's a good thing gas is going through the roof and everybody is switching to electric cars. That means the roads won't be used much and road maintenance will be much less.

See? There is an upside to all this global warming climate change!

44 posted on 03/13/2022 9:18:55 AM PDT by Gritty (Follow the money in politics, you find the criminals. Is it now true in the medical profession?)
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To: stanne

To answer the question directly, her claim is preposterous. 3 weeks less of winter is nonsensical on it’s face. Winter runs from Dec 21 to March 21.

I have lived in Western NY all my life, and is winter less harsh overall? I don’t think so. I think it is pretty much as it has always been in my lifetime, up and down. My parents recollection of coldness is based on the crappy winter clothing that they wore in comparison to the clothing available now. We have average temperatures, with a delta being a few degrees on any given day.


45 posted on 03/13/2022 9:28:26 AM PDT by Ouderkirk (The democRATS are not looking to govern, they intend to RULE.)
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To: Ezekiel

LOL! Exactly!


46 posted on 03/13/2022 9:30:33 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Ouderkirk

There’s not three weeks less of winter in western NY. Thanks. Pretty close to Maine.
Not less winter in Texas either. Pretty close to Maine. Same country. Same globe.

“ My parents recollection of coldness is based on the crappy winter clothing that they wore in comparison to the clothing available now”

That’s interesting. It’s a huge difference.

Same as air conditioning. Back in the day we did not have it. We got acclimated. Walking out into heat fro AC is jarring

But to state there’s global warming, people do need to give us numbers and data.


47 posted on 03/13/2022 9:35:07 AM PDT by stanne
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Just another typical winter here in New England. Been around 60 years and typically mid-March sees a lot of variability. Had some wind and snow yesterday. Tomorrow will be around 50 for daytime high.

Perfectly normal for this time of year. "Global Warmning" is almost a big a scare as the so called COVID pandemic.

48 posted on 03/13/2022 9:36:15 AM PDT by SamAdams76 (I am 19 days from outliving Robert Reed (the father of the Brady Bunch))
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To: stanne

When Galveston Bay Froze Over

https://texasreader.com/2020/12/texas-history-newsletter-when-galveston-bay-froze-over%E3%80%80%E2%80%AF%E2%80%88%E2%80%84%E2%80%8A%E3%80%80%E2%80%82/

It is rare for the upper Texas Coast to drop below freezing on any given Winter. But even in the relatively short written history of the area, severe weather anomalies other than occasional hurricanes and tornados have struck.

In 1821, Jane Long, known to posterity as “The Mother of Texas,” had been left behind on Bolivar Peninsula with only her 5-year-old daughter and a young slave girl. They had little to eat except the scant diet of oysters they were able to harvest. One day, a Blue Norther blew in that froze over Galveston Bay, such that Mrs. Long observed a large bear walking to Galveston Island from the mainland. The cold also stunned large numbers of fish, which the women stored away, helping them survive until new settlers arrived.

January 7, 1886, another Norther dropped temperatures as low as 7 degrees. An area newspaper described the Bay as “a sea of ice.” Boats in the Bay became frozen over; their masters either managed to light a fire or froze to death.

Again a record snow fell February 13-14, 1895. Twenty-six inches of snow were recorded at Liberty, about 20 miles inland, and temperatures as low as 9 degrees. Area ranchers lost an estimated one-quarter of their livestock. A herd of about 6,000 cattle south of Anahuac, driven by the wind, walked right off into the East Bay, and most were drowned. The point of land at that site is called Frozen Point to this day.

These extremes, we note, did not at all become the norm: we did not suffer long-term changes in the climate. They serve as outliers in the history of the local climate. Like the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, to the more recent drought cycles, and the occasional uptick in the frequency of major hurricanes such as we experienced in the 2005 season, these are exceptions which do not make the rule.

Copyright ©2018 Paul A. Hughes


Hale: We may be due for a big snowfall
Photo of Leon Hale
Leon Hale
,
Copyright 2011 Houston Chronicle
Jan. 10, 2011
https://www.chron.com/life/hale/article/Hale-We-may-be-due-for-a-big-snowfall-1684843.php


49 posted on 03/13/2022 5:06:21 PM PDT by muffaletaman (IMNSHO - I MIGHT be wrong, but I doubt it.)
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To: muffaletaman

Interesting!


50 posted on 03/13/2022 5:27:43 PM PDT by stanne
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To: muffaletaman

Well, after the 1979 ice storm on Long Island two weeks of no power, below freezing, I learned a couple of things a teenager can always remember after such an ordeal.

Always be prepared food something that could happen even if it never happened before

Never live in a house without a working fireplace

Never trust in the power companies or the government to save your life
They might want you to believe they can. They might even want to think they can. But that’s not their job. They don’t always have the means.

Know how to drive in snow

Know you can’t drive in ice No one can. Not the New Yorkers and definitely not the Texans.

The gas fireplace kept us at 61. The gas oven and stove kept us at close to normal ops

Don’t trust the gas to always hold out


51 posted on 03/13/2022 5:36:02 PM PDT by stanne
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To: muffaletaman

“ The gas fireplace kept us at 61. The gas oven and stove kept us at close to normal ops

Don’t trust the gas to always hold out.”

That is —during the freeze in Texas last year.

In the teens with precipitation


52 posted on 03/13/2022 5:38:20 PM PDT by stanne
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

This January was brutal up here. Warmer my butt.


53 posted on 03/13/2022 5:43:37 PM PDT by Shqipo (Pronouns: Mister/Sir/Lord)
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