Just Venting

[Maine farmer]

I believe we were promised global warming!  For the past 3 mornings, it has been so cold that by the time I scrape out the cow barn with the tractor and put bedding in the stalls, my fingers and toes get completely numb!  I am wearing 4 layers of clothing, heavy gloves, and two pairs of wool socks!  I can take it just fine in February, but here it is the middle of March!

 

Makes me want to go out and burn more fossil fuels.

[JMJones0424]

Global warming is not equivalent to warm weather at your location in March or any other specific time frame.  Global temperatures on average have been observed to be increasing.  This will affect your daily weather in complex ways that are probably impossible to determine at such a fine scale as that used by your local weatherman.  

 

Due to simple physics, as CO2 and other greenhouse gasses increase in the atmosphere, a larger portion of the sun's energy is being reflected back to the Earth rather than escaping to space.  If it helps, imagine that climate is weather averaged over a long period of time.  While this week may be memorably colder than in previous years for you, it is more likely than not that the temperatures you've encountered this week do not represent the coldest temperatures in recorded history.  However, for any given week of the year, the warmest recorded temperatures at your location is more likely to have been recorded recently.

 

If you're interested, I recommend reading this article by Phil Plait: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2017/01/18/noaa_announces_2016_hottest_year_on_record.html

 

Please note that while global average temperatures can easily be shown to be higher than ever before in recorded history, this does not mean that you can't or shouldn't expect to find local variations that are colder than normal, or even colder than recorded history.  However, the incidence of coldest in history is far outweighed by the incidence of warmest in history, and climate is the average of weather over time.

[Maine farmer]

Global warming is not equivalent to warm weather at your location in March or any other specific time frame.  Global temperatures on average have been observed to be increasing.  This will affect your daily weather in complex ways that are probably impossible to determine at such a fine scale as that used by your local weatherman.  

 

Due to simple physics, as CO2 and other greenhouse gasses increase in the atmosphere, a larger portion of the sun's energy is being reflected back to the Earth rather than escaping to space.  If it helps, imagine that climate is weather averaged over a long period of time.  While this week may be memorably colder than in previous years for you, it is more likely than not that the temperatures you've encountered this week do not represent the coldest temperatures in recorded history.  However, for any given week of the year, the warmest recorded temperatures at your location is more likely to have been recorded recently.

 

If you're interested, I recommend reading this article by Phil Plait: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2017/01/18/noaa_announces_2016_hottest_year_on_record.html

 

Please note that while global average temperatures can easily be shown to be higher than ever before in recorded history, this does not mean that you can't or shouldn't expect to find local variations that are colder than normal, or even colder than recorded history.  However, the incidence of coldest in history is far outweighed by the incidence of warmest in history, and climate is the average of weather over time.

Yes, I know, I know, but sometimes it just feels good to complain.

[DrKrettin]

 I can take it just fine in February, but here it is the middle of March!

 

 

 

That's odd - it's the middle of March here too, on the other side of the globe.

[Maine farmer]

That's odd - it's the middle of March here too, on the other side of the globe.

lol.   Okay, that is the literal meaning of what I wrote, so if I put a comma after the "is" , Would that clarify my complaint?

[DrKrettin]

lol.   Okay, that is the literal meaning of what I wrote, so if I put a comma after the "is" , Would that clarify my complaint?

 

Yes indeed. An excellent example of how important punctuation is, or can be. A colon would be more accurate, but hey.

[CraigD]

For the past 3 mornings, it has been so cold that by the time I scrape out the cow barn with the tractor and put bedding in the stalls, my fingers and toes get completely numb! I am wearing 4 layers of clothing, heavy gloves, and two pairs of wool socks!

Have you looked into battery heated glove or glove liners, like these? I imagine similar products can warm your toes, too.

 

Von Neuman dream of weather control may have been slammed by Lorentz’s chaos discoveries, but be damned, one technology that’s really done well is long-lasting, high energy and power batteries. They’re not just good for flying ‘copter drones and putting a 1980s super computer equivalent in our pockets – they can keep our fingers nice and toasty, too. :)

[Maine farmer]

Have you looked into battery heated glove or glove liners, like these? I imagine similar products can warm your toes, too.

 

Thank you , it looks promising!  I think I can set aside enough money to get some for next winter, and I think I should be able to count them as a business expense since I will be wearing them to work!  Of course, next winter will probably turn out to be mild if I am better prepared.  Just like having the generator hooked up to the tractor and ready to go seems to have prevented the power from failing during the near blizzard we just had.

 

When I was young, winters used to get cold enough for long enough that we could drive the 4 ton tractor out on the manure pile without sinking.  We used to build an impressive frozen ramp out of cow manure.