Pirate's Cove

It’s simply amazing what greenhouse gases can do, isn’t it? From jolly ole England

As a blanket of snow settles across the country, train services grind to a halt and roads become impassable, you could be forgiven for thinking that global warming seems more remote than ever. But yesterday, the World Meteorological Organisation announced that 2010 is almost certain to rank among the three warmest years since records began in 1850 – and it has long been accepted that one of the effects of climate change could be an increase in the frequency of harsher, Continental-style winters.

So which is it? Is it the vagaries of the elements that we should be cursing through our chattering teeth, or the carbon emissions from Chinese smokestacks?

Well, the most alarming way in which temperatures in Britain could fall significantly is through a decline in the warm Atlantic current that maintains our mild climate. Although our weather depends on turbulent events in the atmosphere, these are shaped – in the long term – by the oceans, whose currents transport vast amounts of heat around the planet. Ancient records show that if these slowed or stopped, temperatures could drop by up to 10C within decades.

Believe it or not, there is actually real science to support that notion, yet, considering there has barely been any change to Gulf Stream, and it would take a catastrophic change, this is simply more alarmism cooked up to protect their pet cult’s doctrine. Oh, wait, look, the same article goes on to say

On this count, however, there is good news. According to Prof Mark Maslin, of University College London, there seems – at present – “to be no evidence of changes in the Atlantic circulation which could account for the last two harsh winters”. There are, he says, shorter-term patterns in ocean circulation which have a major effect, and have been linked to the severe winters in the 1940s and 1960s. But again, that is probably not the case today.

So, it’s not a change to the Atlantic circulatory pattern. Hmph. So, let’s just make it up, OK?

But before we write off our current cold snap as the British weather playing its usual tricks, we still need to explain why the Arctic high pressure has strayed so far south. And here, says Prof Maslin, is the more likely, and more subtle, link with climate change. “For me,” he says, “this shows that the climate is becoming more dynamic, and thus large shifts in the wind patterns are possible – in this case, sub-tropical air being trapped further south than usual.”

In other words, we need to remember that while the average temperature is rising, climate change also delivers more extreme weather, from chills to heatwaves. Today, we’re stocking up on snowshoes – but best to invest in some air-conditioning as well.

So, all you Britainers need to stop using so much fossil fuels….what’s that?

Motorists have been urged not to panic buy at the pumps amid reports of fuel shortages in some parts of the country.

The Retail Motor Industry Independent Petrol Retailers Association says the big freeze is leading to “critical” shortages in places.

Oh, come on, suck it up, buttercup. Suffering some frostbite and death to stave off globull warming is a small price to pay.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU. sit back and Relax. we’ll dRive!