Things are heating up...

quite literally. Just came across this posting in the Boston Globe.  June was the 8th hottest month on record (records began in 1880) & globally the January - June 2008 period was the 9th warmest on record.

Our average temperature in June was 2.3 degrees above the 30-year average.  So far this month, we are averaging 1.7 degrees above normal - which is including the current heat wave that begins today (it's 90 degrees out right now where I am).  

So we've been told by the folks in the global warming camp that because of positive feedback mechanisms in the atmosphere & ocean, warming would like be accelerate quickly. I do wonder if this is the beginning of that rapid acceleration.  Maybe it's just one of those freak temperature fluctuations. Although I did read recently that the Russian arctic science lab had to be evacuated on an emergency basis recently (last week?) because the ice floe they were on had shrunk from a 3 km by 5 km chunk of ice to a 300 meter by 600 meter chunk of ice and couldn't continue to support the scientists and their research any longer. They were supposed to be there a year, but had to leave after 10 months. The sea ice is now half as thick as it used to be, and is melting much faster than expected. Because open ocean is darker than sea ice, it absorbs the heat from the sun (ice reflects the heat), which in turn melts more ice, creating more water to absorb more heat.  Not only is this bad for temperatures, but this also means the salinity of the arctic ocean will decrease, which messes around with the density of the water near the arctic, which then stops the ocean currents that keeps europe temperate.  The chain reaction continues from there;  I suggest you go see Mr. Gore's movie - he explains it better than I do.

It's one thing to watch a movie. Its a completely different thing to watch the news and start putting two and two together.

Similarly, just think of how we were told by the peak oil people of the havoc that was just around the corner after oil peaked. Well, oil peaked last year. And what's going on now? Havoc, or the beginning of havoc.  The economy is seriously slowing down. The price of gas is above $4 a gallon in most places.  Food prices continue to climb because transportation costs of food have increased. And this is SUMMER.  We haven't gotten to the heating season yet, and local produce is in readily available (unless you live in the desert).  

I've always had a "worlds are colliding" fear when theories start playing out before my very eyes. It's hard for me to make that mental jump from an abstract idea in my head to watching it become reality.