Froth Slosh B'Gosh

Red Sky At Night

16/365: Occupied

Frankenstorm

It looks like we are going to be on the fringe of Sandy here in western Pennsylvania, but the weather forecasters are still predicting a lot of rain and very windy conditions for the next couple of days.  Hopefully, the storm will be more hype than substance, but I fear the east coast is in for some serious problems, and I suspect we're going to be seeing more storms of this severity in the future. That beach front property I've been eyeing for years is looking a lot less attractive.   Batten down the hatches!

Selective Data

Wingnuttia is all aflutter over this report in the Daily Mail, suggesting that global warming stopped.  Firstly, its the Daily Mail.  Secondly, the article itself admits that global warming is happening, but you have read down to the final paragraph to find that admission, thereby contradicting their headline.  Thirdly, the piece badly distorts the data.

The world stopped getting warmer almost 16  years ago, according to new data released last week.

The figures, which have triggered debate  among climate scientists, reveal that from the beginning of 1997 until August  2012, there was no discernible rise in aggregate global temperatures.   

So, why pick 1997?  Interestingly, it looks like the average temperature for 1997 is going to be very similar for the average temperature for 2012, ergo, no warming.  Of course, that all depends on what you choose as your starting and ending points.  For example, using the charts helpfully provided by the Mail, if I use 2000 or 2007 as my start year, then the chart indicates a rise in global temperatures.  Or, if  I want to be contrary, I can choose 2006 as my start year, and argue that global cooling has occured. 

The fact of the matter is that we have over 160 years of reliable temperature readings to draw conclusions from, and pretty good temperature proxies for the time before 1850.  Its also a fact that 14 of the 20 hottest years on record all were recorded since 1997. 

The Daily Mail's article is nothing more than a piece of propaganda masquerading as news.

UPDATE:  Via PZ Myers, a nice little graphic.

Its Not Your Imagination, Its Really Been That Hot

Also too:  First six months warmest ever for Pittsburgh.  And a good review of why one of these things is not like the others.

Chart is from McClatchy.

Also Too, Al Gore Is Fat

It appears that in some quarters, the possibility of snow in April is unprecedented. Therefore, global warming is a hoax. This is what happens when you confuse weather with climate.

Dryad's Saddle

As we slide into the waning of my vacation week, we take a look at another mushroom from my photography collection.  This one is the dryad's saddle, an edible often found on old logs and stumps.  My wife and I enjoy this mushroom, but many others do not care for it.  The edible portion is the cap's edge, the rest of the mushroom, while not poisonous, is way too rubbery to eat. I think its quite good dipped in batter and fried.

Twins

Another mushroom from a couple a years ago, this one is a bolete, a mushroom that has pores instead of gills to disperse its spores.  This one is a bit unusual, these mushrooms usually do not have twin stalks and cojoined caps.