I'm Dreaming of a White..... Tomorrow?

The past couple of weeks have been marked by record lows across the United States, Europe, and China. Much of the northern hemisphere is suffering from the coldest winter in decades. Stunning evidence can be seen here: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=42237. In Florida, temperatures have not risen above 60, even in Key West, which experienced its coldest day in over 150 years. Tampa, Florida may even receive its first flurries in decades tomorrow!

I guess all this hullabaloo is a good opportunity for me to express my views on Climate change. Is it real? Obviously. The Climate has varied tremendously over time, from the heat of the Cretaceous, to the Ice Age-Interglacial cycle we're in now. Even short periods have trends, like the Little Ice Age of the 17th-19th centuries.  The warming trend from 1850-1990ish is due to a variety of factors, including a return to equilibrium from the Little Ice Age and, to some degree, human carbon emissions. Records from ~1990-2009 seem to indicate a cooling trend, but scientists are unsure of how that fits into the big picture, as evidenced by some of the "Climate-gate" statements.

Now all that's left to determine is which is the fluke, the warming or the cooling. Once we figure that out, we as a species must learn to cope with the consequences. Limiting our role in Climate change is a good start, and non-fossil fuel energy sources, like nuclear fission, fusion, wind, solar, hydro-electric, and others must be funded, if not to save the environment, then at least to keep us going once the oil runs out. In case the warming theory wins out, research on flood control technologies must be accelerated as well.


My biggest political story this week is the Majority in Congress's plan to shut the Republicans out of Health Care debates as the House and Senate bills are reconciled. Normally, a Conference Committee would be formed with bipartisan membership to "iron out" bill differences. The Democrats plan to skip this process, and  use informal "ping-pong" negotiations to pass identical bills in both houses, allowing them to get by with few or no Minority votes as they did the first time they got HC legislation passed. Skipping the Conference process in a bill as important as this is a dangerous idea. Democratic policymakers insist that reform must pass immediately, and I agree that the system needs reforming, but does urgency make up for alienating the representatives of 40% of the nation's people? Despite being branded as "the Party of NO", the Republicans actually agree on the majority of reform provisions, notable exceptions being any form of "public option" and abortion funding. It would do both parties well to bring leaders from both parties and both Houses to create a bill an overwhelming majority of our nation's 535 legislators can agree on, incorporating the best ideas from both sides, like an end to restrictions on "pre-existing conditions" to expand coverage, and employing medical malpractice Tort reform to decrease costs.

Wishing you a pleasant snow day, wherever you may be (except in the Southern Hemisphere, and probably the Northern tropics as well.)