Carbon Cycle
Global Warming Update: With the chaos created by the “climategate” scandal involving hackers releasing controversial emails obtained from supposed communiques between scientists who have been pushing the anthropogenic global warming position, it’s possible that the media missed this little item. The idea has been that the massive increase in carbon dioxide over the decades has over taxed the earth’s natural ability of absorption. NASA released news that evidence shows that the balance between airborne and absorbed carbon dioxide has not changed since 1850 in spite of an increase of 1750% of carbon dioxide emissions. Most of the global warming support data has been based on the assumption that the earth is not able to absorb the extra emissions. Dr. Norman Wagner was one of my meteorology professors and he always said that a problem that modern forecasters have is that they spend all their time looking at the computer and never look out the window to see what’s really going on. Climatologists might have done well to have a class with Dr. Wagner. This should cause everyone to go back to the drawing board. But, instead, this bit of news looks like it was released in the cone of silence.
Is The Lady A Spy?
Apparently, Yes!
On This Date In History:
The British could have used Control’s Cone of Silence. By this time in 1777, General William Howe had his army occupying Philadelphia. When his headquarters proved too small, he commandeered an upstairs room across the street at the Darragh home. The story is that Mrs. Lydia Darragh, a nurse and mother, would eavesdrop on the conversations and sew her notes into her coat lining. She would then pass the notes on the colonials. On December 2, 1777 she found out that Howe was planning an attack on General Washington’s army nearby. She sewed the message into the lining and went through British lines saying she was getting flour. She passed on the information to Lt. Col. Thomas Craig who forwarded the information to General Washington. When the Redcoats marched toward Washington’s position, they were surprised to find the Continental Army facing them down. A three day event of skirmishes made Howe return to Philadelphia to think up another plan….presumably from a new headquarters.
Was Joe Right?
On this date in 1954, Senator “tailgunner Joe” Joe McCarthy was condemned for his snooting about for communists in the government. An ironic twist to the story not typically told; many historians now suggest that there were in fact a number of communist influences in the government. Maybe if McCarthy used honey to attract flies instead of…well….you get the point.
Good Bye Chicago?
On this date in 1942, Enrique Fermi produced the first nuclear fission chain reaction in Chicago. The place? Under the grandstands of the University of Chicago football stadium. Fermi’s work led directly to the development of the atomic bomb and later nuclear power. Thing is, Fermi wasn’t exactly certain that the reaction could be controlled and many physicists were concerned such an attempt would result in an uncontrolled reaction which would mean an explosion….as in an atomic explosion. I don’t think that the Bears were playing for that day or they may have had two potential disasters in one stadium.
Wed Eve...Low Pressure will exit before the cold air comes into place
Weather Bottom Line: Well, the big threat of snow is here. Even the Weather Channel took it out of their forecast. My position remains the same. If it snows it won’t be much and it won’t matter because the ground will be too cold. The NAM has zero in the way of snow but has a saturated layer from about 900 mb to 975 mb but the temperatures in the lower 25 mb remain above freezing. Also, after Thur 10 am, that saturated layer begins to disappear. Now, the GFS has a little different solution in that it has that saturated layer but it has light rain falling almost throughout the overnight and into the morning and through Thursday. Then, by Thursday evening, it turns over to snow and takes the surface temperature down close to freezing. It would put out less than a half inch of snow. That is the only supporting data for snow…and Thursday night seems a bit late. I don’t buy it, but there it is. Basically, the moisture leaves before the cold air at all levels gets here. About that time, I’ll be the emcee at Light Up Jeffersonville so I can give a pinpoint observation. I think we stay too warm and its no big deal. We still don’t warm up for Friday or Saturday with highs in the upper 30′s and low 40′s. Don’t look for any major warm ups after that any time soon.
