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Quote by: EnragedParrot Not really. Global warming means an increase in the planet's temperature. Climate change refers to any long term change in average weather patterns over an area. So the two terms are related, but not the same. |
They are the exact same thing. "Climate Change" is simply the politically correct euphamism for deniers who can no longer deny that the earth is warming, but who refuse to accept the idea of anthropogenic global warming. Without the "Global Warming" that is now occurring, there would be no discussion of your definition of "Climate Change", because the climate wouldn't be significantly changing.
Environmental Protection Agency
Recent Climate Change --"Since the Industrial Revolution (around 1750), human activities have substantially added to the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels and biomass (living matter such as vegetation) has also resulted in emissions of aerosols that absorb and emit heat, and reflect light.
The addition of greenhouse gases and aerosols has changed the composition of the atmosphere. The changes in the atmosphere have likely influenced temperature, precipitation, storms and sea level (IPCC, 2007). However, these features of the climate also vary naturally, so determining what fraction of climate changes are due to natural variability versus human activities is challenging."--
Note this last sentence... this still is, after all, George Bush's EPA
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Quote by: Praxius drought's have little to do with global warming in this context. |
Says who?
--"Global warming probably made the recent drought in the USA worse than it otherwise would have been, say the authors of a study published today in the journal Science. It also could increase the risk for future severe droughts."-- --"The percentage of Earth's land area stricken by serious drought more than doubled from the 1970s to the early 2000s, according to a new analysis by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Widespread drying occurred over much of Europe and Asia, Canada, western and southern Africa, and eastern Australia. Rising global temperatures appear to be a major factor, says NCAR's Aiguo Dai, lead author of the study."-- Quote:
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Quote by: Praxius Wow... and didn't Texas and a few other States, just get through major flooding? Or was that another part of the country? |
Global warming future: Drought, wildfire, floods, pestilence Quote:
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Quote by: Praxius What about this big ice/snow storm which just past over most of the US and is about to hit my area tomorrow? |
--"A region accustomed to plentiful rain from tropical storms and hurricanes is experiencing its second straight year of less rain in the summer and fall.
--"Through September, it is the region's driest year in 113 years of record-keeping. In five of the six worst-hit states, rain totals this year are close to a foot below normal."--
--"Water rationing has hit the capital. Car washing and lawn watering are prohibited within city limits. Harvests in the region have dropped by 15-30%. By the end of summer, local reservoirs and dams were holding 5% of their capacity. [b]Oops, that's not Atlanta, or even the southeastern U.S. That's
Ankara, Turkey, hit by a fierce drought and high temperatures that also have had southern and southwestern Europe in their grip."--
--"Over the last decade, 15-20% decreases in precipitation have been recorded. These water losses have been accompanied by record temperatures and increasing wildfires in areas where populations have been growing rapidly. A fierce drought has settled in -- of the hundred-year variety. Sound familiar? As it happens, that's not the American Southeast either; that's a description of what's come to be called "The Big Dry" -- the unprecedented drought that has swept huge parts of
Australia, the worst in at least a century"--
--"Or how about Morocco, across the Mediterranean, which experienced 50 percent less rainfall than normal? Or the Canary Islands, those Spanish vacation spots in the Atlantic Ocean known to millions of visitors for their year-around mild climate, which, this summer, morphed into 104 degree days, strong winds, and fierce wildfires. Eighty-six thousand acres were burnt to a crisp, engulfing some of the islands in flames and smoke that drove out thousands of tourists?
Or what about Mexico's Tehuacán Valley, where, thousands of years ago, corn was first domesticated as an agricultural crop. Even today, asking for "un Tehuacán" in a restaurant in Mexico still means getting the best bottled mineral water in the country. Unfortunately, the area hasn't had a good rain since 2003, and the ensuing drought conditions have made subsistence farming next to impossible, sending desperate locals northward and across the border as illegal immigrants -- some into Southern California, itself just swept by monstrous Santa Ana-driven wildfires, What happens if Atlanta's faucets go dry? The Bush administration doesn't want to know Quote:
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Quote by: Praxius What about that other big snow storm following right up after this storm the US is about to get hit by? |
What about it? Did anyone suggest the end of winter was imminent? No, but they did suggest that while winters are getting shorter, storms could be more severe.
Report: Shorter lake and river ice seasons confirm global warming Global warming placing ski industry at risk -- Dec. 2007
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