Denver ready to shatter heat record

By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 28, 2008 at 5:28 p.m.
Updated July 28, 2008 at 5:28 p.m.

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July 28, 2008

8:05 a.m.

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Bagel writes:

98 on sunday!!! I've got to be a groomsmen in an outdoor wedding that day. I wonder if the bride will mind if I wear a camelbak over my suit.
July 28, 2008

8:22 a.m.

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gr8fuldude writes:

But remember, global warming is just a myth made up by Al Gore.

We have been so far above "average" temperatures it is obscene. Wake up and smell the climate change people!
July 28, 2008

8:27 a.m.

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Bagel writes:

gr8fuldude, I believe global warming is real and a very serious problem, but it's still bad science to point to a very small stretch of days as proof of it.

It's [almost] as bad as the guys who suggest every time it snows in the winter that global warming has been disproven.
July 28, 2008

8:36 a.m.

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medicineman writes:

Hey gr8fuldude, hypocrites like Al Gore are making people think global warming is a joke. Al Gore is such a pathetic loser anything he stands for must be a pathetic joke too. Al Gore should examine his own lifestyle and carbon footprint before he makes judgments on mine!
July 28, 2008

8:39 a.m.

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Marshdale writes:

Colder snowier winters, and hotter drier summers. Climatologists have been predicting this for many years. It is coming true. Gr8tfuldude; You've got it right. Those deniers out there just don't want to give up their glutonous way of living. It scares them. This is something I have studied for many years as a geologist. I have read just about every book and published scientiffic paper on the subject I can find, including published papers by industry scientists. Papers written by industry scientists do make some good points but they often conveniently omit certain information leaving holes and gaps in their arguments. I am still not completely convinced it is totaly human caused, but more and more evidence is leaning that way. Even if it is not human caused can we as the people of the planet afford to continue taking the risks? We certainly are not helping matters. It is, time to wake up and smell the coffee.
July 28, 2008

8:42 a.m.

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Marshdale writes:

Medicine man; I would agree that he is a bit of a hypocrite, but the information he is talking about is in general correct.
July 28, 2008

8:50 a.m.

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Marshdale writes:

Pajama; You are correct about the California glaciers. The only problem is that it is an anomaly. In general glaciers both continental and valley are shrinking at alarming rates. Associated with global warming are extremes in regional weather patterns. Some places will recieve more precipitation while others will get extreme dry heat. Do a little more reading on the topic. I think you will be suprised by what you find.
July 28, 2008

9:10 a.m.

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Coco writes:

Yes, Mt. Shasta's glaciers are increasing, due to increased snowfall despite the 1.8 F increase in temperatures. Glaciers & ice formations in the rest of the US & world are not so lucky, however. In Glacier Natl Park the 150 glaciers are reduced to 26. The Sierras 498 ice formations have shrunk to 1/2 their size in the last 100 years. Worldwide, methane & CO2 are both increasing, severe weather is increasing, Arctic & Antarctic ice are melting, Greenland's ice sheet is shrinking, tropical diseases are spreading, the oceans are warming accompanied by coral bleaching and disintigration, species (both flora & fauna) are migrating north, incidences of cancerous tumors in certain species are on the rise, toads & frogs disappearing - all harbingers of what is in store for people - the "canary in the coal mine", if you will. Ours may very well be the last generation that has an opportunity to try to turn things around for future generations. We have a chance to be one of the greatest generations. If we are too short-sighted and selfish to make any changes, we will go down as the most reviled generation. And, if you think illegal aliens are a problem now, just wait for the waves of environmental refugees that will be teeming the shores & borders. Take a look around already, and I don't mean a stroll around your neighborhood. I suggest reading "Collapse" by Jared Diamond for insight into past civilizations that refused to head nature's warnings.

And enough with the Al Gore mantra - he has installed solar panels on his 80 year old Tennessee home, installed a rainwater recovery system, geothermal energy, LED's, & compact fluorescent lighting. http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/1...
July 28, 2008

9:18 a.m.

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Shakeit writes:

Just so you know rain water collection systems are illegal in Denver. And we are going to have the greenest convention ever.
July 28, 2008

9:21 a.m.

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panicstrickin writes:

Theory. Look it up. All of this stuff with "Global warming" is nothing but that. How can anyone possibly know what is happening to the earth? Look at the big picture here. If you took all the polluting factories, vehicles and people on the earth and placed them in the united states, it might fill half the united states. We are but a PIMPLE on this great earth. To say we are the cause of global warming is absurd. The way that mother earth works, no one can say. Can they guess? Sure they can, and thats just what they are doing.....GUESSING. It blows my mind that so many people just fall in line so easy just because a scientist says so. There is nothing wrong with trying to do things better to help the earth, but this whole "green" thing is a joke. I did terrible in history....when was the industrial revolution? Not long ago... How long has the earth been here? To say that in that short of time we have trashed this planet is really an insult. I think mother earth is just a tad bit stronger than that.
July 28, 2008

9:33 a.m.

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Coco writes:

Panic - of course the earth will be here long after us. What we are talking about is a climate that that is conducive to human beings. The earth could care less if we are here or not.
July 28, 2008

9:46 a.m.

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medicineman writes:

Marshdale, Al Gore is a bit of a hypocrite? That term DEFINES him. His hypocrisy is actually damaging the legitimate concerns about global warming.
July 28, 2008

9:53 a.m.

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tjpatriot writes:

Could be worse, you could live in Anchorage...

http://www.adn.com/life/story/473786....

And, there seems to be a growing number of "Blasphemers". Here is a recent scientific article with some very serious questions regarding Global Warming:

http://www.aps.org/units/fps/newslett...

Although a scientific article, even the layman can easily find a few things there. Like:

1. The Global Temperature has been steadily decreasing for the last 7 years. (I guess the earth didn't get Gore's memo? or perhaps it did and decided to cool itself?)

2. There is a chart near the end showing the historical global temperatures and the historical CO2 levels. Historically, the "normal" global temperature seems to be around 22C, not the 13C it is now. And the CO2 level during the Cambrian period was 5000 to 7000 PPM, and has been erratically but steadily decreasing to its present level of 380 PPM. There is no indication of any correlation between global temperature and CO2 levels. Look at the chart.

3. He also makes a lot of common sense arguments, like: IF there were to be an actual warming period, the cost of "adapting" is FAR less than the cost of any effort to "change the climate".

Finally, please consider the term "PPM". It stands for "Parts Per MILLION". In other words, if you had a box in front of your face with 100,000 air molecules in it, exactly 38 would be CO2. In the make-up of air, it would be considered a trace gas. Use your head.
July 28, 2008

9:56 a.m.

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Bagel writes:

Panic: In science a theory is a testable model of the manner of interaction of a set of natural phenomena, capable of predicting future occurrences or observations of the same kind, and capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise verified through empirical observation. For the scientist, "theory" is not in any way an antonym of "fact". For example, it is a fact that an apple dropped on earth has been observed to fall towards the center of the planet, and the theories commonly used to describe and explain this behavior are Newton's theory of universal gravitation (see also gravitation), and the general theory of relativity.

Your ignorance of the word does not mean it give it any less weight.
July 28, 2008

10:02 a.m.

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Coco writes:

YIOTA - Yes, I've been signed up for wind power for the past ~5 years - ever since it became available; and yes, I do have CFL's in my home. I walk as much as I can, but of course, I do need to drive my 38 mpg car occasionally. If Bush's house is more self sufficient than Al Gore's, more power to him (Would you mind providing me with the source of your claim?)

Please go back an read my previous post regarding glaciers & ice formations. I'm giving you numbers, not "some are receding while others are growing". Data, locations other than the one, if you please. I'm curious, how do glaciers "grow and retract all on their own"?

And, one more thing - instead of calling those who differ in viewpoint from you names (indicates you have already lost the debate) try providing information that moves the discussion forward, rather than miring it down in mudslinging.
July 28, 2008

10:12 a.m.

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Bagel writes:

tjp, I don't have time to read that right now, but I did notice this at the very front.

The following article has not undergone any scientific peer review, since that is not normal procedure for American Physical Society newsletters. The American Physical Society reaffirms the following position on climate change, adopted by its governing body, the APS Council, on November 18, 2007: "Emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are changing the atmosphere in ways that affect the Earth's climate."

It's extremely in the spirit of science to question theories and propose new ones. But just because one person disagrees doesn't mean the consensus is wrong.
July 28, 2008

10:13 a.m.

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Newenergycommie writes:

What caused the hot summers in 1874 and 1901? Could the heat wave be a natural 100-year cycle? How were the polar bears doing in 1874? Ever time there is a cold snap, the global warming faithful point out that it is weather not climate. Isn't our heat wave also weather and not climate?

Scientific method:
Step 1, Is the climate changing?
Step 2, If so, is it caused predominately by man?
Step 3, If so can we or should we stop it?
Step 4, If so implement fix worldwide with no passes for celebrities or developing counties.

The Al Gore Method
Step 1, State that it is real and beyond debate.
Step 2, Implement a fix that only applies to ordinary people and developed country.
Step 3, Implement mandate, taxes and cap and trade money-making schemes.
Step 4, Give a pass to Celebrities and developing countries like India, China and Abu Dhabi.
July 28, 2008

10:31 a.m.

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tjpatriot writes:

Bagel, since you don't have time to read the article, perhaps the "Conclusion" section is more in line with your schedule. I can't find anything to dispute there. Perhaps you can.

From the Article -

Conclusion

Even if temperature had risen above natural variability, the recent solar Grand Maximum may have been chiefly responsible. Even if the sun were not chiefly to blame for the past half-century’s warming, the IPCC has not demonstrated that, since CO2 occupies only one-ten-thousandth part more of the atmosphere that it did in 1750, it has contributed more than a small fraction of the warming. Even if carbon dioxide were chiefly responsible for the warming that ceased in 1998 and may not resume until 2015, the distinctive, projected fingerprint of anthropogenic “greenhouse-gas” warming is entirely absent from the observed record. Even if the fingerprint were present, computer models are long proven to be inherently incapable of providing projections of the future state of the climate that are sound enough for policymaking. Even if per impossibilethe models could ever become reliable, the present paper demonstrates that it is not at all likely that the world will warm as much as the IPCC imagines. Even if the world were to warm that much, the overwhelming majority of the scientific, peer-reviewed literature does not predict that catastrophe would ensue. Even if catastrophe might ensue, even the most drastic proposals to mitigate future climate change by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide would make very little difference to the climate. Even if mitigation were likely to be effective, it would do more harm than good: already millions face starvation as the dash for biofuels takes agricultural land out of essential food production: a warning that taking precautions, “just in case”, can do untold harm unless there is a sound, scientific basis for them. Finally, even if mitigation might do more good than harm, adaptation as (and if) necessary would be far more cost-effective and less likely to be harmful.

In short, we must get the science right, or we shall get the policy wrong. If the concluding equation in this analysis (Eqn. 30) is correct, the IPCC’s estimates of climate sensitivity must have been very much exaggerated. There may, therefore, be a good reason why, contrary to the projections of the models on which the IPCC relies, temperatures have not risen for a decade and have been falling since the phase-transition in global temperature trends that occurred in late 2001. Perhaps real-world climate sensitivity is very much below the IPCC’s estimates. Perhaps, therefore, there is no “climate crisis” at all. At present, then, in policy terms there is no case for doing anything. The correct policy approach to a non-problem is to have the courage to do nothing.
July 28, 2008

10:35 a.m.

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riddlemethishoss writes:

Global warming is a political issue people...didn't you watch 9news last night?? Anchorage, AK is having the coolest summer on record.

This outta get a rise out of ya...ha!
July 28, 2008

10:47 a.m.

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snowsurfer writes:

No comments about global warming not passing the look out the window test? That is all the YIOTA/PAJAMA types can say in the winter.

Go get 'em Coco.
July 28, 2008

10:49 a.m.

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Bagel writes:

tjp, there's a lot of "even ifs" and "perhaps" in that conclusion. I (and I suspect almost everyone posting here) am not qualified to refute his arguments without resorting to googling for individual quotes. The problem with this approach is it often misses the big picture.

Yes, I trust scientific consensus. I find it incredible that people who have no education in the matter think they can dispute scientific theories with whatever they find on the internet (evolution is another good example of this).
July 28, 2008

10:49 a.m.

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johnsl14 writes:

Whoa, there must have been some crazy a** global warming going on in 1874 and 1901.
July 28, 2008

10:51 a.m.

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FlyfishDude52 writes:

There are too many that would turn this into a political issue.

People pay attention to the science not the nobel winners (alfred nobel must be spinning in his grave for having his name attached to this). Take the politics out of it.

There is no doubt that the existence of humans have caused change in the earths atmosphere and even a few geophysical forms (from mining and urbanization). We can't have the "Be fruitful and multiply" without additional urbanization. So do impose regulations to fix this? I don't think so... The US government has bigger fish to fry (global warming isn't hot enough to fry a fish on the sidewalk) internally and internationally.

Let's first eschew algore's fictional presentation of climatology. Al, let's leave that to the professionals, OK? So we've changed some things. Would you prefer that we try to move back in time when threshing was done by hand? Think of how you live and don't give me the crap about CFL lamps being the solution.
July 28, 2008

10:52 a.m.

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jay writes:

The Deniers are "sure" just like The Creationists are "sure".

Nearly every single field-appropriate, peer-reviewed scientist on the planet is just part of one big conspiracy...on both subjects.

isn't that the mantra?
July 28, 2008

11:02 a.m.

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warrengfunk7 writes:

Here in Oklahoma, we measure our heat waves with consecutive days above 100 degrees. We set the record about 4 years ago with 21 consecutive days above 100 degrees. We had a total of 38 days above 100 degrees that summer (21 of them consecutive). That was the same year Dallas Texas had more than 40 consecutive days above 100 degrees.
July 28, 2008

11:08 a.m.

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HeIsInControl writes:

The 90's in Colorado is just beautiful...and I don't even have air conditioning. The new windows sure make a lot of difference. I am going to just enjoy a few more days in the pool this year. Thank you Lord! The evenings have been beautiful too. Must make sure to wet the grass just a bit around the bonfire. Anybody for a s'more and some star gazing? Aren't the satellite races great?
July 28, 2008

11:36 a.m.

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fencergal writes:

All these people whining over 90 degree + days. We have had years when we had streaks of 100 degrees or more. Come on, this 90 degree stuff is nothing. Get over it. Or if you are new to Colorado and can't stand the heat--move somewhere else!!!!
July 28, 2008

11:54 a.m.

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snowsurfer writes:

Have fun drinking beer surrounded by dead trees.
July 28, 2008

12:18 p.m.

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Darwin writes:

gr8fuldude writes: But remember, global warming is just a myth made up by Al Gore. We have been so far above "average" temperatures it is obscene. Wake up and smell the climate change people!

That being the case, I will expect next year (2009) to break this years heat record and 2010 to be hotter than 2009 and so on. Every summer will continue to get hotter and before too many years we can expect to have average winter temps of seventy degrees or more. Sounds good to me. My heating bills will be much lower and will make up for my more expense summer bills. I would be interested in you presenting the figures so I can understand the statement "We have been so far above average temperatures it is obscene".
July 28, 2008

12:21 p.m.

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YourNeilness writes:

One way to use the high temps to your advantage is to start doing your cooking on the sidewalk. This way you don't burn natural gas or use electricity by cooking on your stove top. Reduce your carbon footprint and feed yourself at the same time! It's a win-win situation!
July 28, 2008

1:47 p.m.

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missmilehi writes:

NEWSFLASH! It's summer! We're in the desert! It's supposed to be hot! Duh.

People complain way too much - no wonder you're too hot. Chill out already! I can't believe you turn an article about the weather into a political debate. DAMN that George Bush, it's ALL HIS FAULT IT'S SO HOT! (haha, sarcasm)

I can just picture you all with your frustrated little faces typing away (how much energy are you wasting with your computer?).

I should get into the ulcer medicine business with all you worry worts out there.
July 28, 2008

1:53 p.m.

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Newenergycommie writes:

Why won't someone think of the children?
July 28, 2008

1:56 p.m.

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missmilehi writes:

I'm thinking of all the happy children who were at the pool yesterday, hooray!
July 28, 2008

2:06 p.m.

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RBN writes:

This kind of weather calls for cold beer and women in bikinis!!! So let the sun shine!
July 28, 2008

2:15 p.m.

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Newenergycommie writes:

Children splashing in a pool causes global warming. Water vapor is a much worse greenhouse gas than CO2. Those splashing kids cause more water to evaporate and heat up the planet. The must be stopped. They should just sit quietly and watch the grass grow.
July 28, 2008

2:20 p.m.

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missmilehi writes:

AhahhaaHAHhaha...children...sit...quietly...

But Trythinking, if they did that they might spontaneously combust. Or they might impede the growth of a blade of grass thus setting off sure armageddon.

Maybe they could just bob around quietly in the pool?
July 28, 2008

2:32 p.m.

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Newenergycommie writes:

Better yet they could buy CO2 credits from Al Gore. One splash, 1 quarter. Since water vapor is 20 times worse than CO2, little Susie is getting a bargain. The pain of combating climate change needs to be taught early and often.
July 28, 2008

3:20 p.m.

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Marshdale writes:

tjpatriot: did you happen to see that the paper was not peer reviewed? Obviosly not. In order for a paper to have any validity it must be peer reviewed.
July 28, 2008

3:20 p.m.

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chobbes writes:

Global Warming seesch! Al Gore has predicted that all the ice will melt on the planet making the sea rise 27' by his calculations. This is how you earn a Nobel. He did not calculate that a great majority of the ice is in an expanded state and already underwater. Put some water in a glass and add ice, does the water level raise? Scientist have calculated that if all the ice melts on planet Earth it will cause an increase of 2-3" in the sea wall.
He could be right though, I think I just saw Man-Bear-Pig running down my street.
July 28, 2008

3:51 p.m.

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missmilehi writes:

No way that's impossible because manbearpig was at the pool with me and all the happy children.
July 28, 2008

3:52 p.m.

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jay writes:

yiota, you apparently have as good a grasp on the concept of evolution as you do on the concept of global warming.
July 28, 2008

4:44 p.m.

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chobbes writes:

Nope YIOTA it was man-bear-pig. I saw it. Man-bear-pig is real!
July 28, 2008

6:07 p.m.

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Eli writes:

Manbearpig IS real! I'm totally serial!!
July 28, 2008

6:33 p.m.

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jay writes:

yiota, i think the fact that you're on the side opposite nearly every single peer-reviewed, field appropriate scientist on the planet on both issues speaks volumes about how inept you are...no need for my help.
July 28, 2008

6:55 p.m.

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GILPINMAN writes:

This is just another example of how our schools are failing our children. Thermometers should not be put in the sun. At this rate it will be 200 degrees f for 400 days in one year in 2020.
July 28, 2008

7:10 p.m.

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GILPINMAN writes:

YIOTA hey pick me up on friday it sounds like fun I've got a 454 Casull lever action, and a cooler. And the rainbow kids are still in the mountains.
July 28, 2008

9:01 p.m.

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Dynamicdave writes:

You guys have it easy. It was 107, here in Vegas, today. We will be up to 113 or so by Wednesday or Thursday. And we haven't hit the peak of our summer yet. If it gets below 80 degrees, I'm cold, ha, ha.
July 28, 2008

10:35 p.m.

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ShadyGrady writes:

Nice work on the global warming, Cheney.

Home › News › Local News

Denver ready to shatter heat record

By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 28, 2008 at 5:28 p.m.Updated July 28, 2008 at 5:28 p.m.

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Published July 28, 2008 at 5:28 p.m.
Updated July 28, 2008 at 5:28 p.m.