Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

It’s the heat, stupid

back40People, politely called “climate change deniers,” who reject the basic rules of physics and chemistry parade their stupidity with a militance. In their willful ignorance, they like to parrot the line that the planet can’t be warming because we still have winter — even though winters are measurably warmer than they were just half a century ago.

A warmer planet means warmer oceans, and warmer oceans mean more moisture in the warmer, more moisture-friendly atmosphere, which means more rain. In winter, this moisture can mean snow if the air temperature is low enough. The Atlantic is a substantial 5 degrees warmer than usual. When all that moisture meets frigid air rushing from the Arctic, as it did in this storm, it leads to… snow. back40(Click on images to get full panorama effect. Second Dr. Seuss-esque image made by moving camera off horizontal during pan.)

mthew

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7 responses to “It’s the heat, stupid”

  1. Elizabeth

    Please! Stop trying to confuse people with science! They’re so happy in their ignorance.
    Unfortunately.

    Reply
    1. mthew

      I know! Not “believing” in gravity is such a drag.

      Reply
  2. Elizabeth

    That’s a really heavy comment, man. Lighten up! 🙂

    Reply
    1. mthew

      I am reminded of the science-fiction film The People, with a non-Kirk Wm. Shatner, who finds himself in a community of foot-draggers, who happen to be extraterrestrials who can fly but are afraid of being attacked by the normal humans if they do so.

      Reply
  3. Gillian

    Yeesh, every time we have a cold snap people cite that as proof against climate change. They don’t understand the difference between “climate” and “weather”. Lovely photos, by the way….my yard looks something like that, although I have squirrel tracks running through the pristine snow!

    Reply
    1. mthew

      Our squirrels use the fences there as (literally) high-ways.

      Reply
  4. alphonsegaston

    I wish the term “global warming” had not been used so much–it confused them, for sure. Apparently they don’t believe in the existence of the arctic regions, as the photographic evidence of melting ice does not resonate with them.

    Reply

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