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Hurricane rita

  • Thread starter nrbelex
  • Start date
  • #21
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Alvin Meister @ Sep. 21 2005,6:18)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I'd like to slap some of the people who fought so fiercely against the idea of climate change.  It's real, and it's global!

Hurricane activity cannot be linked so definitely to climate change. Over the last decade there have actually been fewer cyclones and typhoons worldwide, although more have reached category 4 and 5. The exception is the North Atlantic where there have been more frequent and stronger hurricanes. You're looking at a fairly narrow corridor of water here, stretching from west Africa into the Carribbean and Gulf waters. What relationship does an increase in storm activity here, yet a drop elsewhere in the world have with global warming? Localised increases in sea temperature lasting a decade or more are nothing unusual, and America was still getting pummelled by category 5s in the past.
I dont agree.
When I met Jekka McVicar, she said that when she moved here 25 years ago it was just breezes in winter......but now its HUGE gales and fences get blown away and stuff.
And I can back that up.......for last few years the gales got worse and every winter our fence gets knocked over or severly damaged.
When I first moved to england there were gales, but never ever as bad as this.
 
  • #22
Actually global warming is nothing new.  It has happened over and over again in the earth's history and is a completely natural thing and will continue to happen until the demise of the earth.  I just attended a fascinating lecture by a geology professor (who had a lovely Irish accent I might add  
smile_l_32.gif
) who is studying climate history.

You'd be amazed at what is known about the earth climate millions and millions of years ago from studying fossils, ice cores, rocks, and many other things.

There is a constant cycle of Ice Ages followed by global warming and then cooling back to Ice Ages...over and over again.  There is nothing we can do about it.  The professor spoke of SO many factors that influence this cycle that are totally beyond out control (like wind and water currents, plant life, etc.) it will never be stopped...nor should it.  It is our earth's life cycle.

As humans with such short life spans in comparison to our planet, we only see a very slim slice of its life.  So we see a warming trend and freak out that it spells gloom and doom.  Does it spell changes for the earth?  Yes.  But its a pretty gradual trend.  A lot the things that effect the ozone layer are natural (such as the TONS of methane produced naturally by living creatures and decaying plant material); what humans produce "artificially" is but a drop in the bucket.  That is not to say that we shouldn't be mindful of what we are adding to it, but humans are not responsible for the reduction of the ozone layer and the warming we are seeing.  Again, its a completely natural and predictable cycle in the earth's life when you look at the broad picture.  Our earth is NOT static!  Its always changing...in minute steps over millions of years.  

I wish I had a copy of this professors talk because it was truly fascinating.  I learned a LOT!  And this wasn't his personal "theories" but accepted data from decades of climate study on the earth thru prehistoric times by climatologists, geologists, paleontologists, etc.

So no need to squawk about global warming.  The earth will warm...and it will cool again...and warm again....and cool again.  We just won't be around when the next batch of humans start agonizing over "global cooling".  lol  And what about "continental shifting"?  Think the earth looked the same 100s of millions of years ago as it looks today?  No.  Totally different!  But nobody is talking and worrying about "when the continents collide!"

All these changes happen for a reason...and that reason is much bigger than just burning fossil fuels.

Anyway...hurricane Rita is a tragedy about to happen.  I feel so sorry for the people who are going to have to go through this and for the evacuees having to go through it a second time.  
smile_h_32.gif
 Rita is a monster of a storm.
 
  • #23
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I dont agree.
When I met Jekka McVicar, she said that when she moved here 25 years ago it was just breezes in winter......but now its HUGE gales and fences get blown away and stuff.
And I can back that up.......for last few years the gales got worse and every winter our fence gets knocked over or severly damaged.
When I first moved to england there were gales, but never ever as bad as this.

When did you move to England Dino? I'm thinking you won't be able to remember much before you were 7, which was 98/99? There were big storms in 1987, 1990 and 1997 in particular, but look at Brit Weather and you'll see there were still plenty of storms throughout the 20th century.
 
  • #24
PAK we have direct evidence that CFC's are directly responsible for the major reduction on ozone levels. since the ban on them, the ozone hole has stabilized and is indeed starting to heal. Coincidence? i think not
 
  • #25
Well I'm not saying that we don't contribute to that...speed up the process perhaps. But, according to the professor, that's going to happen anyway from natural causes. But over a long period of time.
 
  • #26
HI Folks,

Rita is headed in my direction -- Houston -- and the city is in a panic. There is no more gas. Cars are running out of gas on the exit routes. Stores have long been out of water. The city streets are already almost bare. 99% of all stores are closed or will be closed by 5pm today. I've been through 2 hurricanes here plus many tropical storms and this one has caused a panic I have never seen. Hope for the best.

Bobby
 
  • #27
Wow...I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you get to higher ground and stay safe. I guess people have seen what Katrina did and fear seeing that happen in Houston. I hope Rita slows down.
confused.gif
 
  • #28
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Alvin Meister @ Sep. 22 2005,12:39)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I dont agree.
When I met Jekka McVicar, she said that when she moved here 25 years ago it was just breezes in winter......but now its HUGE gales and fences get blown away and stuff.
And I can back that up.......for last few years the gales got worse and every winter our fence gets knocked over or severly damaged.
When I first moved to england there were gales, but never ever as bad as this.

When did you move to England Dino? I'm thinking you won't be able to remember much before you were 7, which was 98/99? There were big storms in 1987, 1990 and 1997 in particular, but look at Brit Weather and you'll see there were still plenty of storms throughout the 20th century.
I was nearly 8 when I moved to England, but year after year the wind gradually became more and more violent......it will probably get more violent this year aswell.

Also in Bosnia, the weather is hotter then before, 45 Degrees celcious throughout the two hottest months. Before it very rarely got to even 40. My family has lived there for many geenrations, and my grandma says it was never, ever hot like this. Before(and while Ive still lived there) we could do with one fan. 4 years after I left it was so hot even 3 fans would make no difference. My mum had to buy her an air conditioner in the end, it got that hot.
Thats how quickly its changed, the evidence is there, but people refuse to accept it.
When I went back this summer it was a big shock, it was NEVER hot like that.
 
  • #29
One thing to remember, weather happens in cycles. Floods, temps, rainfall, El nino, and hurricanes.

Believe it or not, El nino has a direct effect on hurricanes in the Atlantic. In years of El nino, we have very weak hurricane seasons.
 
  • #30
PAK - Who is that geology professor?
 
  • #31
Yeh i agree this increse in hurricanes is nothing but a natural cycle. if global warming as any affect on it (at present) at all it should be very slight.
 
  • #32
Looking at accuweather, it's now skirting New Orleans and the track looks to be heading towards the Texas/Louisianna border. It seems it's heading further north and east to me.
 
  • #33
Could we not stop global warming by all of us turning on our ACs to the max and opening all of our doors and windows?
 
  • #34
Ah, but have to burn lots more coal to provide the electricity for the AC units!
 
  • #35
We need to make better use of solar power. The sun is free.
 
  • #36
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Starman @ Sep. 22 2005,8:21)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Alvin Meister @ Sep. 21 2005,6:18)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I'd like to slap some of the people who fought so fiercely against the idea of climate change.  It's real, and it's global!

Hurricane activity cannot be linked so definitely to climate change. Over the last decade there have actually been fewer cyclones and typhoons worldwide, although more have reached category 4 and 5. The exception is the North Atlantic where there have been more frequent and stronger hurricanes. You're looking at a fairly narrow corridor of water here, stretching from west Africa into the Carribbean and Gulf waters. What relationship does an increase in storm activity here, yet a drop elsewhere in the world have with global warming? Localised increases in sea temperature lasting a decade or more are nothing unusual, and America was still getting pummelled by category 5s in the past.
I dont agree.
When I met Jekka McVicar, she said that when she moved here 25 years ago it was just breezes in winter......but now its HUGE gales and fences get blown away and stuff.
And I can back that up.......for last few years the gales got worse and every winter our fence gets knocked over or severly damaged.
When I first moved to england there were gales, but never ever as bad as this.
i dont think thats entirley true. on the news, they say global warming and ozone situation ect. is making hurricanes stronger. Just barley they say, but it is making them stronger for sure they say.
 
  • #38
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]We need to make better use of solar power. The sun is free.

aaaaaaaah, i dunno

Photovoltaics has failed to live up to its promises. After decades, its still very expensive and inefficient
 
  • #39
I've read about some pretty amazing photovoltaics hiding in some of the labs out there... I don't remember where I read it, but it sounded like there's hope in the next decade or so.
 
  • #40
Regarding solar power, you can most likely get a solar powered house to pay for itself by using the right setup, and pumping extra energy back into the grid. I think when you do that, you actualy get money from the power companies. I know various radio personalities have done something like that.
 
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