Ed Oswald's Blog

Posted by Ed Oswald

While NOAA is warning us all that climate change may be irreversible for as long as 1,000 years, there may be something that can be done to at least stop our potentially damaging effects to global climate. Analyst firm McKinsey & Company says that a $263 billion investment annually by 2030 could do the trick, Bloomberg reports.

In the 192-page report, the firm suggests that spending be increased on technologies to improve energy efficiency and clean sources of power. In addition, it also recommends projects be undertaken to replenish the worlds forests, which have been ravaged by deforestation.

McKinsey's suggestions are aimed at keeping global temperatures from rising more than 2C (3.6F), where afterwards it is generally agreed problems as a result of climate change could become potentially disastrous. Time is off the essence: "Delays in action of even 10 years would mean missing the 2 degrees Celsius target," the firm warns.

As much as 47 billion of the 70 billion tons of greenhouse gases could be eliminated if immediate action is taken, and the cost could be as little as 1 percent of the global economy -- not a bad investment to "save the planet."

Posted by Ed Oswald

While it has become more common these days for scientists to fall on the side that humans are at least in some way responsible for climate change, there occasionally comes one that falls on the opposite side of the argument.

Princeton Physics professor William Happer said that he takes issue with the claims that carbon dioxide is some type of pollutant. In an interview with the Daily Princetonian, he likened the growing number of scientists claiming climate change is real to a "cult."

Happer has somewhat of an interesting past: he was director of the Office of Energy Research under the first President Bush, but was fired by Vice-President Al Gore, who is now one of the nation's leading spokespeople for the climate change movement.

Like other anti-climate change scientists, Happer argues the current warming that is occurring is a part of a larger normal warming and cooling cycle of the planet. However, the professor is being criticized from people within his own university.

Geosciences professor Michael Oppenheimer authored the fourth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and has challenged Happer to read it and respond to it scientifically. He called Happer's claims that carbon dioxide emissions are harmless "simply not true."

In any case, it looks like the argument over climate change is not about to be resolved any time soon.

Posted by Ed Oswald

This January's cold has been quite impressive. We've had highs below zero over a large swath of the country, something we have not seen in several years. This is especially a shock to the system for those that had gotten accustomed to the warmer winters of recent memory.

So what is causing this cold, and why is it so especially severe? The answer can be partially explained by a weather event known as a "ridge," which is located in the western portion of the continent and extends all the way up into Alaska. A ridge is caused by high pressure, which pushes the air current northward and around the top of that high.

Now to make the whole system work, further east you need something called a "trough." This is caused typically by low pressure, which forces the air southward around the bottom of the low pressure area. When those two systems get together, it creates a conduit of air southward. To some extent, that is what has happened here.

The cold air we're seeing across Eastern Canada and the Eastern US is coming all the way south from Northern Canada. With snow covering the ground the entire trip down, this cold air has no chance to moderate. Thus, it's pretty darn cold!

If there is any positive to this, it is the fact that this isn't what is called a "cross polar flow" event. We'll save the discussion on how that occurs for a future blog post, but from its name you can imagine what it means!

Stay warm!

Posted by Ed Oswald

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I am just getting started here with the Meteorology & Climatology topic here at Suite101, so sit tight. If you have a question you'd like one of our writers to answer about weather and climate, leave a comment. I'd like to know what you'd like to see here in the topic!