# Thank you, Global Warming!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 16, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741 "2023-04-16T15:00:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/1 "2023-04-16T15:00:13Z")

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One of the best weeks of weather ever here in Cleveland. 80 degrees during the day and dropping to the high 40’s for a cool off each night. Global warming isn’t always a silver cloud filled with peach blossoms but it was this week. You diesel drivers go and roll some more coal to celebrate!

(Ducking).

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/2 "2023-04-16T16:40:47Z")

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I do think it is kinda weird for people to think a world with frozen polar regions is a more healthy world than one with [polar forests](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_forests_of_the_Cretaceous). The planet seems to be at an ebb in habitability right now.

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**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/3 "2023-04-16T16:44:49Z")

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> [@Darren\_Garrison](#):
>
> I do think it is kinda weird for people to think a world with frozen polar regions is a more healthy world than one with [polar forests](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_forests_of_the_Cretaceous).

It’s a problem for the 5 billion or so people on either side of the equator or bordering the oceans. Other than that, no big whoop. I’m waiting for the new Lake Ontario Club Med Tropical Resort to open.

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/4 "2023-04-16T16:47:54Z")

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Make America wet again!

> **[Western Interior Seaway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Interior_Seaway)**
>
> The Western Interior Seaway (also called the Cretaceous Seaway, the Niobraran Sea, the North American Inland Sea, and the Western Interior Sea) was a large inland sea that split the continent of North America into two landmasses. The ancient sea, which existed from the early Late Cretaceous (100 million years ago) to the earliest Paleocene (66 Ma), connected the Gulf of Mexico, through the United States and Canada, to the Arctic Ocean. The two land masses it created were Laramidia to the west and...

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**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/5 "2023-04-16T17:01:35Z")

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> [@Darren\_Garrison](#):
>
> I do think it is kinda weird for people to think a world with frozen polar regions is a more healthy world than one with [polar forests](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_forests_of_the_Cretaceous).

Not sure where you are really coming from, but:

I’m not a global warming catastrophist. And I’m not convinced it is a worse problem than environmental problems mostly addressed in the past (air pollution–still a big problem in China). However, climate change is a big problem getting deserved attention, such as by moving to renewable energy.

Fast climate change is the issue. Even if you could show that it’s very long-term better to trade habitability in Antarctica for low elevation equatorial regions, such a trade that took only a century would be a disaster.

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**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/6 "2023-04-16T17:05:51Z")

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Hey neighbor! I love hot weather. I’m planning on moving south eventually.  
Someone said warming is good as it enables crops to grow better; more crops, more food.

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**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/7 "2023-04-16T19:17:07Z")

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> [@mixdenny](#):
>
> One of the best weeks of weather ever here in Cleveland. 80 degrees during the day and dropping to the high 40’s for a cool off each night.

And Tuesday in Cleveland there will be a high of 44 degrees with a morning rain **or snow shower** along with 20 mph winds with 39 mph wind gusts. Some of us don’t like such sudden weather changes.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/8 "2023-04-16T19:24:09Z")

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Yeah, it’s not global warmth that’s the problem; it’s global warming. If we just stopped it right here and left atmospheric CO2 levels where they are now, given time, the Earth would adapt, and we’d reach a new equilibrium, and life would go on. The problem is that we’re currently changing the climate faster than anything can adapt to it.

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**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/9 "2023-04-16T20:28:42Z")

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> [@SuntanLotion](#):
>
> I love hot weather. I’m planning on moving south eventually.  
> Someone said warming is good as it enables crops to grow better; more crops, more food.

Farmer here. “Someone” doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Crops currently grown are adapted to particular weather patterns. Screwing up those patterns leads to less crop, not more. To some extent that may sort out in whatever century the weather settles back down, but in the short run it’s trouble. And almost nothing that we’re used to eating grows well under water – the amount of arable land may well be less than it is now if when things do settle down it’s to a world with no ice caps.

I settled in the Northeast instead of further south in significant part because I didn’t want to deal with the South’s weather (and pest and pesticide level.) I wasn’t expecting that weather to move up here, and am not at all happy about it. Yes, it’s nice to be warm in the middle of April; but it’s no fun at all to be gasping for breath in August.

At least I had the sense to choose high ground; but am not looking forward to having much of the East Coast population try to jam in here with me. I might not live long enough, though.

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**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/10 "2023-04-16T20:43:45Z")

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> [@thorny\_locust](#):
>
> Farmer here. “Someone” doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

An excellent response - related to what you said, I would also note that “climate change” is more accurate than “global warming,” as it characterizes the situation better. It’s not just about warmer temps, even though that’s a big part of it. It also means change too fast for adaptation and more extremes - cold weather may be colder, hurricanes may be larger and more frequent, etc. So “someone” is indeed in need of a science lesson.

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**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/11 "2023-04-16T20:45:22Z")

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I read so much, I cannot recall who said it.

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/12 "2023-04-16T20:51:56Z")

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Probably some ignorant right winger.

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**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/13 "2023-04-16T21:29:22Z")

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There are people swimming in the lake today. Cayuga Lake in upsate NY. On April 16. Typically folks don’t start swimming until at least June.

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**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/14 "2023-04-16T21:49:55Z")

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Journal of Rectally Extracted Agricultural Research

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**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/15 "2023-04-16T22:01:54Z")

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> [@What\_Exit](#):
>
> Probably some ignorant right winger.

A **bigot** is a person who is intolerant of opinions, lifestyles, or identities that are different from their own. Mostly, the person’s opinions are based on [prejudice](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prejudice).

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**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/16 "2023-04-16T22:07:09Z")

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> [@CairoCarol](#):
>
> related to what you said, I would also note that “climate change” is more accurate than “global warming,” as it characterizes the situation better.

Entirely true. Part of what we’re seeing is alternating floods and droughts, often in the same year in a given location; which is terrible for trying to grow anything – that is, there are crop systems adapted to alternating drought and monsoons, but a) they’re adapted to predictable drought and monsoon, not to flood and drought happening entirely unpredictably at any time of year and b) those systems and the specific crops grown in them were developed over thousands of years and also work with the soils and the daylengths of those areas. We can’t just plant monsoon-system adapted crops in Nebraska and Ukraine and expect them to work; even if we could count on when the rain was and wasn’t coming.

Also, of course, for such systems to work well you need the floodwaters to be clean, or ideally full of clean soil nutrients; but modern floodwaters are full of all sorts of crap that wasn’t supposed to get into the water, and can ruin the fields for years instead of fertilizing them. That part of the problem isn’t directly climate-related, but it’s sure part of the “civilization” that’s created the climate problem.

> [@Paintcharge](#):
>
> There are people swimming in the lake today. Cayuga Lake in upsate NY. On April 16.

Cayuga doesn’t hold the cold quite as long as Seneca; but I still suspect they’re freezing their asses off. The air’s hot. The Finger Lakes don’t seem to freeze over this century; but I expect they’re still quite cold.

– admittedly, there’s a Polar Bear Club; but don’t they jump (very briefly) into the lakes in March, with rescuers standing by? – hmm. Some places do hold it in April. But it must be pretty odd to be doing that in such warm air, if somewhere on Cayuga is holding one today; the whole idea is that it’s too cold.

> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#):
>
> Journal of Rectally Extracted Agricultural Research

Yeah. Either that, or somebody who wants to keep burning lots of oil and is doing some very careful selecting from available data in order to deliberately try to make it seem like said data means something different from what it actually shows.

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**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/17 "2023-04-16T22:12:36Z")

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> [@CairoCarol](#):
>
> I would also note that “climate change” is more accurate than “global warming

I would like to propose “climate destabilization”. Humans are changing the planet, and have destabilized the climate. This is probably going to have some unfortunate consequences. I hope we can adapt, but I’m not all that confident we can.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/18 "2023-04-16T23:25:12Z")

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> [@EastUmpqua](#):
>
> This is probably going to have some unfortunate consequences.

It’s already having some very unfortunate consequences, and it’s sure to have more.

But yeah, “climate destabilization” is a fairly accurate term, and might get the implications across more clearly.

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**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/19 "2023-04-17T05:26:58Z")

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20 years ago, I read something that said “global warming is a misnomer, we should be calling it ‘global weirding,’” for basically these same reasons.

Of course, there are parties who disingenuously want to maintain the “warming” terminology because of its usefulness in constructing straw-man bullshit. And that’s as much as can be said in MPSIMS.

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**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-global-warming/982741/20 "2023-04-17T13:03:54Z")

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Friday here in SE Michigan it hit a high of 84. Beautiful sunny day-- I took the afternoon off, did a couple outdoor chores, then just sat in the sun and enjoyed it. Saturday was almost as nice, partly cloudy and 81. Sunday started off well, until a cold front came though.

Today I’m watching big fat snowflakes falling from the sky. The ground’s too warm for it to stick, but still.

MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND MOTHER NATURE!!!
