Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma had himself a big ol time last winter when he derided global warming warnings during the famous DC snowstorm. His grandchildren made an igloo and the family put out the quip that it was Al Gore's New Home. Inhofe believes we're heading for another little ice age, plus, "God's still up there." Meaning that the Senator's catbird seat in life is assured; a snowstorm is all you'll ever need to discredit Al Gore, that and a dollop of Michael Crichton.
So then, what about this:
Nick Sundt at WWF Climate Blog:
Just days after Senator James Inhofe (Republican, Oklahoma) said he could not find one conclusion of the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that "has now not been refuted," Oklahoma City yesterday (14 June 2010) experienced its heaviest rain in history. In 2007, the IPCC concluded that "the frequency of heavy precipitation events has increased over most land areas, consistent with warming and observed increase of atmospheric water vapor." It furthermore warned that it was "very likely" that the trend would continue during this century.
This record high of one city's rainfall amount becomes more remarkable when you realize that it occurred during the hottest recorded year on the planet's surface. Greenhouse gases cause heat increases, heat is a major driver of the rain cycle in such conditions, Oklahoma gets wet.
This raw footage has local news people referencing Nashville's record flooding.
But Jim still has his igloo hat on.
Via HuffPost Hill
INHOFE STILL DENYING GLOBAL WARMING IN HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD ABC's Jon Karl invited the Oklahoma Republican to talk about the issue outside the Capitol building, in 95-degree, humid July heat. 'I say the same thing we said back in January and February when we had the coldest winter in a long time," said Inhofe, from a shady spot in front of the Capitol Building. He is of the opinion that the world is headed into a period of global cooling.
What is the reality-based outlook for Oklahoma? The Oklahoma Climatological Survey, commissioned by the state legislature, compiled some graphic data. Oklahoma has been wetter for several decades. As for temperature, the variations from the mean have all tended toward increases in average temperature, while the colder periods barely descended below the five year averages overall. That region is getting both hotter and wetter.
• The warm season becomes longer and arrives earlier.
• The cool season warms and shortens which leads to a longer
frost-free period and growing season.
• Earlier maturation of winter wheat and orchard crops leave
them more vulnerable to late freeze events.
• Increased year-round evaporation from the ground and
transpiration from green vegetation.
• Drought frequency and severity increases, especially during
summer.
• Drier and warmer conditions will increase the risk of
wildfires.
• Rain-free periods will lengthen, but individual rainfall events
will become more intense.
• More runoff and flash flooding will occur.
Great Plains Climate Change at Geology.com, breaks down the crisis into climate regions. The Great Plains region is comprised of Nebraska, Wyoming, Eastern Montana, the Dakotas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Great Plains’ temperature already has increased ~1.5°F relative to a 1960-1979 baseline. By late this century, it is projected to increase by 2.5°F to more than 13°F compared with the 1960-1979 baseline, depending on future emissions of heat-trapping gases.
Taking even a conservative temperature increase from this bracket suggests a catastrophic threat to water supplies.
I'll end on this somber note, while wishing the Senator's family more white Christmases to come:
Agriculture, ranching, and natural lands, already under pressure due to an increasingly limited water supply, are very likely to also be stressed by rising temperatures. Agriculture covers 70 percent of the Great Plains. As temperatures continue to rise, the optimal zones for growing certain crops will shift. Pests will spread northward and milder winters and earlier springs will encourage greater numbers and earlier emergence of insects. Projected increases in precipitation are unlikely to be sufficient to offset decreasing soil moisture and water availability due to rising temperatures and aquifer depletion.