Like the illusion of Wall Street, with its vast and powerful investment banks, now shuttered, China too is an illusion perpetuated by the Globalists that gave us the 15,000 mile Caesar salad, poisoned cat food and lead based paint on babies' pacifiers. Like the illusion that money would come from thin air to always push housing prices higher, China has spent a generation pursuing its illusion. Pursuing an unattainable dream to be like the West, while 6000 years of its carefully shepherded top soil blows into the sea.
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 10:50 am Post subject: Heatwave with a Global Grip
I repost here the news that appeared in this site's news section.
Times Online wrote:
Times Online - IT looks like being the hottest July on record but Britain is not alone in experiencing extreme conditions, write Jonathan Leake and Alex Delmar- Morgan.
Hot, arid weather is afflicting millions in America and in dozens of countries across Europe and parts of east Asia.
The phenomenon has surprised meteorologists who are used to seeing drought as a regional, not global, problem. This weekend they said early analysis of the hot weather, together with the size of the areas affected, suggested it was linked to global climate change.
I didn't realize until now that the hot weather we are facing now is all over the world.
There's more at the link above. The text is very much straight to the point.
Times Online wrote:
Last week Spain and France, hit by temperatures 7-9C above average, had to shut down nuclear power stations as the rivers supplying water for cooling became too warm.
In California the temperature in Death Valley reached 56.5C and in many west coast towns it exceeded 40C. An estimated 130 people have been killed by the heat and demand for power to run air-conditioning overloaded power stations, leaving some areas without electricity for up to three days.
Joined: Dec 02, 2005 Posts: 6757 Location: Oil-addicted Southern Californucopia
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 12:25 pm Post subject: Re: Heatwave with a Global Grip
It's really going to be interesting to see what the global temperature average is by the end of the year, and how it compares to previous years. It has to be shaping up as far and away the hottest on record.
If next year is like this, we can all turn our doomerosity gauges up to about 9.7 or so. It will undoubtedly mean that all the very most pessimistic worse-case-scenario climate models of Global Warming have turned out to be vastly too optimistic. _________________ "Thank you for attending the oil age. We're going to scrape what we can out of these tar pits in Alberta and then shut down the machines and turn out the lights. Goodnight." - seldom_seen
The smart brainy humans are going down the gurgler and it looks like the smartest and most "advanced civilizations" might just be the cause of the problem. Oh the irony. _________________ "Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box."
-Italian Proverb
Joined: Mar 18, 2006 Posts: 1263 Location: Off with the Fey Folk
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 3:03 pm Post subject:
Concerned wrote:
hahahahaha
The smart brainy humans are going down the gurgler and it looks like the smartest and most "advanced civilizations" might just be the cause of the problem. Oh the irony.
Yet last winter was the coldest here in parts of Europe in living memory. Our local weather station recorded 16.6 centegrade below zero which smashed the old record low by 4 degrees. Our house turned into a ice-ball as liquid rain froze on contact with the walls and the whole thing just turned into a big shiny glass palace. (This is France not Finland, BTW!)
Maybe Co2 was more important in regulating global temperatures than we thought? Maybe instead of adjusting the feed to the boiler we have simply smashed the thermostat?
Joined: Oct 23, 2004 Posts: 5928 Location: New Jersey
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 3:22 pm Post subject: Re: Heatwave with a Global Grip
It may well become the warmest US summer on record, and it seems the northeast portion of the US has entered some type of tropical cycle (heavier than average rain with very warm temparatures). Although the weather is a bit quirky - like the severely cold European winter. It virtually didn't rain at all in the two month period associated with Spring time in the Washington DC to New York City megalopolis.
It appears GW may cause unpredictable changes while the world in general heats up. I won't say this to anyone in person, but they'd be a fool to buy shore front property anywhere on the Atlantic Ocean coast (unless they plan to sell within 5 years or so).
Personally I believe when the solar cycle enters a warming phase and peaks in about three to four years, all high temperature records will be broken across most all of the US. Let's hope the electrical grid doesn't fail under that strain.
Joined: Mar 18, 2006 Posts: 1263 Location: Off with the Fey Folk
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 3:59 pm Post subject: Re: Heatwave with a Global Grip
Any street news from the US / Canadian grain belt on how harvest is bearing up under all this sun?
There have articles all week in the press here about how our European grain crop is going to be hit by the heatwave, plus a lot of seasonal crops as well. For example Poland is going to be up-to 40% down on several crops this year, and counting.
There were articles on PO.com back in spring telling how global grain stocks were getting low & everyone was hoping for a good harvest.
My main interest right now is possible effects on biofuels production next year. All feedback welcome...
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 4:25 pm Post subject: Re: Heatwave with a Global Grip
JPL wrote:
Any street news from the US / Canadian grain belt on how harvest is bearing up under all this sun?
Not so good here.
Drought plagues harvests across the Prairies
Updated Sun. Jul. 30 2006 2:15 PM ET
Canadian Press
To farmers across the Prairies, it looked like it was going to be an ideal growing season - warm temperatures combined with just the right amount of moisture to create what could have been a bumper crop.
At least until the beginning of July.
Since then, the three Prairie provinces have been plagued with varying degrees of heat and drought, leading to early harvests, small yields, a lack of topsoil and poor crop conditions.
Joined: Mar 18, 2006 Posts: 1263 Location: Off with the Fey Folk
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 5:03 pm Post subject: Re: Heatwave with a Global Grip
lateralus wrote:
JPL wrote:
Any street news from the US / Canadian grain belt on how harvest is bearing up under all this sun?
Not so good here.
Drought plagues harvests across the Prairies
Updated Sun. Jul. 30 2006 2:15 PM ET
Canadian Press
To farmers across the Prairies, it looked like it was going to be an ideal growing season - warm temperatures combined with just the right amount of moisture to create what could have been a bumper crop.
At least until the beginning of July.
Since then, the three Prairie provinces have been plagued with varying degrees of heat and drought, leading to early harvests, small yields, a lack of topsoil and poor crop conditions.
Thanks, I had my suspicions. Well there (possibly) die some of the European/ North American Biofuels plans for the coming year. Corn will come in later but that too, needs rain.
Joined: Apr 28, 2006 Posts: 2897 Location: East Texas
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 5:35 pm Post subject: Re: Heatwave with a Global Grip
JPL wrote:
Thanks, I had my suspicions. Well there (possibly) die some of the European/ North American Biofuels plans for the coming year. Corn will come in later but that too, needs rain.
Nooooooo.. It provides the perfect cover story for buying down more of the world's stockpile of grain; same rule as with oil, as that buffer gets tighter, the price should start to ramp up. Difference is, we, the US and Canada, are big time exporters of grain.
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 5:46 pm Post subject: Re: Heatwave with a Global Grip
Organic farmers are bellwethers of climate change, because we follow it on a daily basis, and our crops are a direct reflection of the weather.
I've NEVER had such huge eggplant, the plants that is. Still no fruit. And the tomatoes are breeding like it's jungle conditions. I am in Southern New England. The peppers look mighty good too, although still no fruit.
I'm not experiencing drought, because very violent thunderstorms come along about once a week, even if they only drop a fraction of an inch, it wets the whistle. I can tell by the color of the leaves that I don't need to water.
My cabbages wilted. Kohlrabi are heat tolerant, by the way. I didn't read that from a seed packet, I saw it with my own eyes. The Kohlrabi went massive. They don't bolt, they don't wilt, they just grow. They are such a rare vegetable no one knows what to do with them, but they grow like gangbusters for me.
I have too many yellow squash. The melons are cruising along for a late August and early September harvest.
It's HOT. It's hard to work outside. I was dying out there today, absolutely dying.
Red potatoes were finished about a month ago, but there's still some in the ground. White potatoes are done. I'll pick 'em when I feel like it. Garlic and onions are done.
I have had one small ripe tomato. In another week, I'll have mountains of red tomatoes, but as of July 30, just a lot of green tomaters.
Yeah, this is anomalous weather, from my relatively short experience.
Yet last winter was the coldest here in parts of Europe in living memory. Our local weather station recorded 16.6 centegrade below zero which smashed the old record low by 4 degrees. Our house turned into a ice-ball as liquid rain froze on contact with the walls and the whole thing just turned into a big shiny glass palace. (This is France not Finland, BTW!)
JPL
What you experienced was normal continental weather for your latitude. It's ironic as GW may disrupt the ocean current which gives europe its warm winters, though overall the planet will be warmer.
Joined: May 24, 2004 Posts: 3429 Location: California, USA
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 11:49 pm Post subject: Re: Heatwave with a Global Grip
Having to shut down nuclear reactors due to river water being too warm to use for cooling: Oh... crap....! This is very bad indeed, because no matter what else we do, we are going to need more nuclear reactors in the energy mix. This may be solvable with a change in reactor design. (Any reactor experts here?)
--
Farming in the US: Major crop outages across the midwest, and ranchers unable to keep their cattle fed, having to sell all or most of their herds early. This translates into higher prices for grains and grain products, temporarily lower prices for beef etc., and higher prices for beef etc. later this year.
Meanwhile, farmers are getting wiped out due to the nature of the commodity-trading system for foodstuffs.
---
I have to believe there is a way to deal with this that preserves freedom of private enterprise at least for the farmers and grocers, i.e. the point of origin and the last point of contact before the final users (IMHO commodity speculators can go get stuffed). Seems to me the way to handle this is via relocalization. For example, a farm has contracts with grocers (vegetables, fruits, meats). Dairy processing companies, bakeries, and suchlike, would have contracts with farms (milk, cream, etc.; grains) and contracts with grocers (milk, butter, ice cream; cereals, baked goods, etc.).
Now you have market fluctuations and competitive forces acting locally rather than nationally, so there are inherent boundaries on the overall system to prevent it going unstable and crashing. All of this without need of a whole lot of regulatory interference.
(In your dreams...)
---
Realistically: hotter summers, colder winters, carrying capacity down, and soon enough, the dieoff.
Joined: Jun 02, 2004 Posts: 1078 Location: Bristol, UK
Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 12:27 am Post subject: Re: Heatwave with a Global Grip
gg3 wrote:
This may be solvable with a change in reactor design. (Any reactor experts here?).
The only real solution is to locate them on the coast and try not to think too much about sea level rise! _________________ "Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen." The Emperor (Return of the Jedi)
The Oil Drum: Europe
Joined: Nov 24, 2005 Posts: 743 Location: The ever shrinking wilds of Norway
Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 1:03 am Post subject: Re: Heatwave with a Global Grip
Could it be that the Gulf Stream is failing that is responsible for this new type of climate (in Europe)?
If the Gulf Stream failed we would get less moisture from the sea. We would get an inland climate with more extremes. Higher temperatures in the summer and lower temperatures in the winter.
The GS works as an equalizer for our climate, making it quite gainly for habitation and agriculture, maybe we are getting the same climate they have furter east?
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