When I was growing up in Memphis Tennessee, I remember well days when the summer temperatures were “unbearable” with 101 and 102 º F temperatures and with high humidity. Football practices--“two-a-days” in August were experiences I will always remember.As I recall, we had afternoon temperatures over 104 º F.
But, recently, the temperatures are going up to 106 and 107 º F in Memphis and here in Northwest Arkansas. Fort Smith, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Dallas and across the Midwest have experienced 114 º F -- and higher than 100 º F every day for over a month and without significant rain. Today, the forecast is for the hottest day every recorded here in Rogers and other locations in the Midwest.
No, I cannot prove that these unprecedented temperatures are caused by global warming, but as I inferred in my earlier blog, it should make all of us very suspicious and motivate all of us to focus on ways that we can save energy – it is just the right thing to do!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Floods and Drought
How many tornadoes, hurricanes, extraordinary rain storms, atypical snows or blizzards, drought and floods, must we experience before we all admit that climate change is real, and that these changes MAY be caused by the amount of fossil fuels we burn?
The latest occurrences of tornadoes in Joplin Missouri last Sunday evening, and across Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia several weeks ago, just add to the long list of “natural” devastation and heartaches—Greenburg, KS, Parkersburg, IA, Nashville, TN, St. Louis airport, Fort Smith, AR, Pierce City, MO, Stockton MO, Moore, OK (twice)—even Salt Lake City, UT.
And the list of destructive hurricanes is long—Katrina, Rita, Andrew, Hugo,
Gustav, Ana and Ike—just to name a few.
With basic understanding of the physics of light and heat—reflection, absorption, emissivity, specific heat, thermal expansion and contraction—one can hypothesize that earthquakes and volcanoes are caused by the one or two degree increase of the average temperature of the Earth.
No, I cannot prove these statements and phenomenon with certainty, but if we wait for absolute statistical proof, our world and the ecology of it may be beyond the tipping point for recovery by animals and plants, including human beings. It is well documented that Earth is a degree or two warmer; that the glaciers and ice caps are melting, and the global ecology is changing—to these facts, literally thousands of scientists agree. Because of the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other gases in the outer atmosphere, there is more thermal energy retained on Earth.
Does each of us have the right to just wait and RISK going beyond this ecological tipping point? Are there things each person can do to assure sustainability?
Fortunately, there ARE clean and sustainable solutions. It starts with the realization that there is a problem, followed by personal commitments and behavior that will drive change— by individuals, families, corporations and governments. This can be done through conservation, advances and implementations of internet smart-grid technology, and increased efficiency in the performance of cars, trucks, air conditioners, homes, commercial buildings and manufacturing will lead to favorable economics and affluence for more people. Reduced energy loads in the future will provide for a greater impact from clean energy generation with wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, water power and fuel cells and thus assure sustainability for us and future generations.
The debate should be over—saving energy is just the right thing to do.
Orlo Stitt
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