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Wait I thought outlier weather events like blizzards and heat waves weren't indicators of global climate as the media so likes to lecture about when it's not in

Wait I thought outlier weather events like blizzards and heat waves weren't indicators of global climate as the media so likes to lecture about when it's not in favor of their narrative.

AlexanderDhoore 5y ago
The trend is what matters, not the individual events. These "outlier" events are now happening regularly, so the trend has changed. Because climate change.
- fallingknife 5y ago
  But this isn't happening regularly. For example the temperature record that was set in Canada in this heatwave had stood since 1937.
  - syops 5y ago
    That’s looking a at max and minima. Look at max monthly or yearly temperatures and you’ll see the trend that was mentioned. By looking at monthly and yearly temperature trends you are less likely to be swayed by one off outlier events.
    - bequanna 5y ago
      Global Warming. Wait, no, Global Cooling! Actually guys, it's "Climate Change". And now the latest hotness (pun intended) is an increase in "extreme" weather events. Why does the alarmist metric always seem to be changing to something that is more difficult to actually measure?
      - SamoyedFurFluff 5y ago
        I feel like climate change and increase in extreme weather events are the same thing though. I’ve been familiar with this term for decades. It’s not new.
        bequanna 5y ago
        Or perhaps they simply latch onto metrics that lend themselves well to confirmation bias. And the more scary and unpredictable this all seems, the more political will is generated for unbridled and unquestioned spending. I believe something quite similar to this happened about ~20 years ago: Scared populace, constantly shifting threats/objectives, incredible amounts of money unproductively spent chasing shadows.
      - nerdponx 5y ago
        It's not more difficult to measure. The measurements exist and the data is publicly available. If we didn't have data on it, nobody would have even got the idea in the first place.
        deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - syops 5y ago
        Climate change is what right wing pundits started saying in the 90s instead of saying global warming. It was an attempt to obfuscate things. Words and phrasing of things change over time. It’s not the words used that matter; it’s the data. The trend line is clear. The increase in co2 is undeniable. The melting of ice is undeniable.
      - lm28469 5y ago
        Almost as if earth's eco system was very complex, barely understood and very hard to predict. That really makes you think....
    - fallingknife 5y ago
      Well yeah that's actually the right way to do it.
  - II2II 5y ago
    That is why I would like to see more in depth reporting on the topic of extremes. We are being told to expect them to occur more often and for new records to be established, but little (if any) reporting sets this out quantitatively. I think this is important. Temperature trends confirm that global warming is happening, so a lot of the argument we see is over extreme weather events. A freakishly cold winter will be used by one side to claim that global warming is not happening. It will be used by the other side to claim it is a sign of climate change. If there is a match between expectations of extreme weather events and temperature change, the deniers have less of a leg to stand on. If there is a mismatch between the expectation of extreme weather events and temperature change, climate models can be adapted and improved upon. Either way, it is a net win.
    - fallingknife 5y ago
      Yes. I would like to see more data on this in the same way that I have seen data on the overall warming. As it is it just seems like a convenient way to point to global warming ever time there's a disaster.
  - oceanplexian 5y ago
    And that’s just “recorded” history. The West Coast of North America has only been colonized for a few hundred years, even in recorded human history that’s barely a blip in time. There is plenty of oral history among Native American tribes of great fires, droughts, and natural disasters that come along every 100-200 years. There are also many ancient civilizations that were wiped out before European colonization due to climate change (Chaco Canyon, for example). Western North America has always had an unstable climate regardless of Climate Change.
kingsuper20 5y ago
> Wait I thought outlier weather events like blizzards and heat waves weren't indicators of global climate as the media so likes to lecture about when it's not in favor of their narrative. It's probably fair to hold two ideas at the same time. . Climate change is a way to accumulate rank and wealth in society. . Climate change is real It's interesting to ask what everyone is really after in terms of climate. Lack of change or natural events occurring. Would an upcoming ice age result in a cry for more CO2? I like to think of it in terms of carrying capacity. Too many people results in environmental degradation (of all sorts), social unrest, scrabbling at the bottom for wages, squabbling at the top for status.
- fallingknife 5y ago
  Well not many are after actually fixing it. If anyone clams to be worried about climate change and doesn't support nuclear power I stop listening.

Wait I thought outlier weather events like blizzards and heat waves weren't indicators of global climate as the media so likes to lecture about when it's not in favor of their narrative.

AlexanderDhoore 5y ago

The trend is what matters, not the individual events. These "outlier" events are now happening regularly, so the trend has changed. Because climate change.

fallingknife 5y ago
But this isn't happening regularly. For example the temperature record that was set in Canada in this heatwave had stood since 1937.
- syops 5y ago
  That’s looking a at max and minima. Look at max monthly or yearly temperatures and you’ll see the trend that was mentioned. By looking at monthly and yearly temperature trends you are less likely to be swayed by one off outlier events.
  - bequanna 5y ago
    Global Warming. Wait, no, Global Cooling! Actually guys, it's "Climate Change". And now the latest hotness (pun intended) is an increase in "extreme" weather events. Why does the alarmist metric always seem to be changing to something that is more difficult to actually measure?
    - SamoyedFurFluff 5y ago
      I feel like climate change and increase in extreme weather events are the same thing though. I’ve been familiar with this term for decades. It’s not new.
      - bequanna 5y ago
        Or perhaps they simply latch onto metrics that lend themselves well to confirmation bias. And the more scary and unpredictable this all seems, the more political will is generated for unbridled and unquestioned spending. I believe something quite similar to this happened about ~20 years ago: Scared populace, constantly shifting threats/objectives, incredible amounts of money unproductively spent chasing shadows.
    - nerdponx 5y ago
      It's not more difficult to measure. The measurements exist and the data is publicly available. If we didn't have data on it, nobody would have even got the idea in the first place.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
    - syops 5y ago
      Climate change is what right wing pundits started saying in the 90s instead of saying global warming. It was an attempt to obfuscate things. Words and phrasing of things change over time. It’s not the words used that matter; it’s the data. The trend line is clear. The increase in co2 is undeniable. The melting of ice is undeniable.
    - lm28469 5y ago
      Almost as if earth's eco system was very complex, barely understood and very hard to predict. That really makes you think....
  - fallingknife 5y ago
    Well yeah that's actually the right way to do it.
- II2II 5y ago
  That is why I would like to see more in depth reporting on the topic of extremes. We are being told to expect them to occur more often and for new records to be established, but little (if any) reporting sets this out quantitatively. I think this is important. Temperature trends confirm that global warming is happening, so a lot of the argument we see is over extreme weather events. A freakishly cold winter will be used by one side to claim that global warming is not happening. It will be used by the other side to claim it is a sign of climate change. If there is a match between expectations of extreme weather events and temperature change, the deniers have less of a leg to stand on. If there is a mismatch between the expectation of extreme weather events and temperature change, climate models can be adapted and improved upon. Either way, it is a net win.
  - fallingknife 5y ago
    Yes. I would like to see more data on this in the same way that I have seen data on the overall warming. As it is it just seems like a convenient way to point to global warming ever time there's a disaster.
- oceanplexian 5y ago
  And that’s just “recorded” history. The West Coast of North America has only been colonized for a few hundred years, even in recorded human history that’s barely a blip in time. There is plenty of oral history among Native American tribes of great fires, droughts, and natural disasters that come along every 100-200 years. There are also many ancient civilizations that were wiped out before European colonization due to climate change (Chaco Canyon, for example). Western North America has always had an unstable climate regardless of Climate Change.

kingsuper20 5y ago

> Wait I thought outlier weather events like blizzards and heat waves weren't indicators of global climate as the media so likes to lecture about when it's not in favor of their narrative. It's probably fair to hold two ideas at the same time. . Climate change is a way to accumulate rank and wealth in society. . Climate change is real It's interesting to ask what everyone is really after in terms of climate. Lack of change or natural events occurring. Would an upcoming ice age result in a cry for more CO2? I like to think of it in terms of carrying capacity. Too many people results in environmental degradation (of all sorts), social unrest, scrabbling at the bottom for wages, squabbling at the top for status.

fallingknife 5y ago
Well not many are after actually fixing it. If anyone clams to be worried about climate change and doesn't support nuclear power I stop listening.