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The Impact of Global Warming

This entire book is online -- for anyone interested in reading about global warming.

I have been talking about the wildfires in TX in my discussions here. There is a new fire just about everyday here in TX.

Another fire has erupted in Bastrop County!

"Wildfire frequency and danger are closely tied to weather. Although one might
assume that the greatest wildfire danger is associated with the most severe droughts,
wildfires are most dangerous when a few months of very wet weather produce heavy
vegetation growth and are followed by a few months of very dry weather that cause the fuel to dry out. When the fuel is in place, dangerous wildfires are most likely to occur on days with very strong wind and low humidity. Dust storms are favored under similar weather conditions but with longer-term dryness."

Wildfire Update – October 5, 2011

Current situation:

Yesterday Texas Forest Service responded to 11 new fires for 1,047 acres, including a new large fire in Bastrop County.
In the past seven days Texas Forest Service has responded to 104 fires for 5,731 acres.
251 of the 254 Texas counties are reporting burn bans.
Daily detailed fire information can be found here or at inciweb.org.

OLD POTATO ROAD, Bastrop County. 1,000 acres, 25 percent contained. 50 homes threatened and evacuations are in occurring with structure protection in progress. Multiple dozer task forces, heavy airtankers, helicopters, SEATs and an air attack are heavily engaged in suppression efforts. This fire is burning in heavy fuels approximately 7 miles northeast of Bastrop.

How is global warming affecting where you live?

http://texasclimate.org/Books/ImpactofGlobalWarmingonTexas/tabid/48...

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on October 11, 2011 at 3:54pm

What a cute LOL! Made me laugh!

Permalink Reply by Chris G on October 16, 2011 at 10:52pm

I guess that's what's important is that we learn to make energy with the least amount of pollution.

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on October 16, 2011 at 11:11pm

Agreed Chris!

Permalink Reply by Chris G on October 17, 2011 at 7:26pm

Wars are started over energy policy which is a waste of money and human capital. Wall Street doesn't want to flex for non-pollution energy because as they say it will cost jobs - meaning profit.

Permalink Reply by Chris G on October 17, 2011 at 7:43pm

Texas and the South West in general is heading into a drought.

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on October 17, 2011 at 7:54pm

Thanks for the link Chris!

Permalink Reply by Ruth Anthony-Gardner on November 1, 2011 at 6:28pm

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is finally focusing attention on climate extremes. APNewsbreak: Top climate scientists predict grim future of more ext...

The report also notes "...how climate is also connected with other manmade issues such as population growth, urban development and river management."

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on November 1, 2011 at 9:55pm

Thanks for the link to that article! I enjoyed reading it! I cut and pasted some really good information from the article below:

APNewsbreak: Top climate scientists predict grim future of more ext...

“The extremes are a really noticeable aspect of climate change,” said Jerry Meehl, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “I think people realize that the extremes are where we are going to see a lot of the impacts of climate change.”

The opposite type of disaster — a drought such as the stubbornly long dry spell gripping Texas and parts of the Southwest — could also happen more often as the world warms, said Schmidt and Meehl, who reviewed part of the climate panel report.

Studies have not yet specifically tied global warming to the continuing drought, but it is consistent with computer models that indicate current climate trends will worsen existing droughts, Meehl said. Scientifically connecting a weather disaster with global warming is a complicated and time-consuming task that can take more than a year and involve lots of computer calculations.

Permalink Reply by sk8eycat on November 1, 2011 at 10:14pm

One pecculiar thing...The Weather Channel, and every local and network weather commentator totally ignores the rest of the world unless something truly dreadful happens. If you look at their maps you'd think the USA was an island...no Canada, no Mexico...not even Alaska or Hawaii...just the lower 48, really. Flat Earth-thinking.

I noticed a long time ago that when we are having a terribly wet el Nino winter here, Australia is usually having a drought. People use the phrase "Global Warming," but do they really understand what "Global" means?

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on November 1, 2011 at 10:44pm

That's a good observation. I notice that too --especially after you called attention to it. It seems they do think of us as a island.