Global warming was supposed to be absolute and unquestioned. And yet this year's data doesn't even fit into the expected margins of error.
For the past several years people such as Al Gore and the other easily swayed verdant leftists have been screaming about global warming. Global warming this, global warming that, the earth is getting hotter, the earth is getting hotter. Some guy claiming to be a scientist even chewed me out on this forum for daring to ask for more evidence and a model that actually accounts for current observations.
At this point in time, we are seeing one of the coldest and snowiest seasons in living memory. Alta, Utah, hit 500 inches of snow for only the 4th time ever. Snow cover in North America and Siberia haven't been this extensive since 1966. According to the NCDC, January 2008 "was 0.3 F cooler than the 19012000 (20th century) average." Arctic ice is 10cm thicker this year than last year.
I know, it is wrong to gloat, but if - as the models of real scientists predict - the sun's lack of activity (ie: low count of sunspots) leads to another massive cooling period then gloating is the most satisfaction I can expect to have. Al Gore will never admit error, nor will that guy from realclimate.org - and what hope is there to have anybody who drooled all over their copy of Inconvenient Truth to admit that they were duped.
That is, of course, IF they were. The jury is still out. Evidence continues to filter in day after day. The rough models, hacked together by those who defend the use of private jets to shuttle between speeches about how bad private jets are sorely lacking as anybody with a modicum of scientific honesty will admit. There is much that is yet to be learned, but at the same time, the previous models (are you paying attention, realclimate.org?) do not predict anything like what we are seeing this winter.
The worst part about these hysterical hacks is that they are causing significant damage to both the environment and the economy so they can feel good about themselves. Realclimate.org gets attention and pride and kudos, yet they help fuel the demand for ethanol - ethanol that requires 1.29 gallons of gasoline for every gallon that reaches the pump. I just don't see how this imparts any benefit to the environment. Not to mention that by diverting foodstuffs to factories that produce horribly inefficient fuel you force the price of food ever higher. There is nothing good about corn-produced ethanol and several things that are really, REALLY bad. But I suppose that since Al Gore doesn't need to deal with tortilla shortages in Mexico it makes everything ok.
I am willing to admit my mistakes as they are exposed. Are you?