Global warming on hold and temperatures are dropping

From the point of view of a skier sitting in the middle of a snowstorm at Whistler in British Columbia, global warming seems far away. But the cooling temperatures are not limited to only snow country — “Global warming has stopped for the past few years.”

That is the blunt statement of Roger Pielke Sr., professor emeritus of Colorado State University’s department of atmospheric science. Even Time Magazine asks in a headline, “The Planet Gets Cooler in ’08. Say What? ”

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday released its weather analysis for the year and found that 2008 has been the coolest year since the turn of the century. Using data gathered from Britain’s Hadley Centre, the University of East Anglia and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the WMO reported that the average global temperature in 2008 was 57.74 degrees F (14.3 degrees C), cooler than the past several years.

Researchers studying long-term changes in sea temperatures said they now expect a “lull” for up to a decade while natural variations in climate cancel out the increases caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

Snow cover over North America and much of Siberia, Mongolia and China is greater than at any time since 1966. Hurricanes haven’t been increasing as predicted by many.

The climate just isn’t cooperating with the global warming disaster advocates.

I’m no climatologist, but my belief is that climate change is far more complex than the simplistic scenarios touted by many environmentalists these days.

Heck, far before there was any man-made CO2 emissions or greenhouse gas the Ice Age glaciers receded. Why? Who knows. But we all know for certain that that phenomenon was not caused by fossil fuels.

Is CO2 the main determinate for climate change? I don’t think so, but I believe it is part of the overall problem. The current growing focus on the environment is a positive one. We as humans need to become more attuned to our planet and we need to learn basic conservation principals. It can be done.

Thirty years ago littering was a major problem along America’s highways and backroads. Today, littering has been reduced dramatically. Was this because new laws were enacted? No. It was because the population realized that littering was not the polite thing to do and we became more environmentally conscious.

We will eventually shift away from incandescent lightbulbs not because they waste energy, but because new lighting systems are far more economical. Consumers will shift to more efficient cars because of the economic benefits of using less fuels and the development of new fuels.

The climate change hoopla provides us with a teaching point to help change the way humans interact with their environment. Let’s use it as a call for positive environmental change rather than a headline for pending disaster.

Yes, the planet is warming. But, it is not warming at a rate that should induce panic. Howls of pending disaster are only crying wolf and in the long run will not help the environmental efforts.