No snow in south Salem: joy!

Usually we habitually bored Salemites feel inferior to the way cooler Portlanders to our north. But today I've been happy to gaze at our outdoor thermometer and watch it hover around 37 degrees -- where it is even now, at 6:30 pm.

From watching Portland TV (but not KATU, curses be upon you) I know that most people in the metro area wish they could be less cool in a climatic sense at the moment.

Those damn gorge winds are bringing you much more snowy and icy precipitation results compared to Salem and points south.

Seemingly the tug of war between cold air funneled into the valley from the gorge and the push of warmer air coming from the new storm is being played out just a ways north of us.

Hope it stays that way.

I've been happy to listen to rain on the roof, having already done a usual winter's worth of snow and ice shoveling the past week. And it isn't even officially winter yet.

Earlier in the week it looked like there'd be no end to the arctic air mass hanging over the northwest. A series of snow storms was in the forecast, highly unusual for western Oregon.

Which got me to thinking about global climate change -- how quickly it could happen. What if usually temperate western Oregon went into a deep freeze like we've had the past week?

And didn't come out of it.

An article in Fortune, "Cloudy With a Chance of Chaos," talked about how the climate control system could be more like an on-off switch than a dial. Things could change fast.

How bad could it get? Imagine Europe suffering floods and heat waves on a vastly greater scale than those endured in 2002 and 2003, while northern regions experience intermittent deep freezes as atmospheric and ocean circulations struggle to find new equilibrium. At the same time, droughts and floods not seen since ancient times would afflict some of the most densely populated regions on earth.

So we in the frigid northwest should look upon our unusual recent weather as a wake-up call to get serious about global climate change. "Unusual" could become "usual" if we sit on our carbon-soaked hands.

Also, let's not forget who we turn to when widespread problems hit: government. Public employees are out there plowing and sanding roads. They're also getting people around on public transportation when private cars are stuck in driveways.

It's funny (but not really) how those who gripe about high taxes are the first to complain when government has trouble responding to an emergency.

Well, duh, dude. If you want a road plowed quickly, you've got to pay for it.

Europeans are a lot smarter than us in that regard. They understand that pooling money together through taxes and buying public benefits is wiser than individuals frittering away their extra income on inessentials.

I can tell you that we'd have been pleased to pay a bit more in taxes if Marion County could make it possible for us to get into Salem without chains by sanding and plowing Lake and Liberty roads.

We need government. We need to deal with human-caused global climate change. When the snow and ice go away in Oregon, those truths won't.

Comments

[Rain]

I wish I had awakened to no snow but out here in the hills, southwest of you, it still a mess. My hope now is when it does go that it doesn't lead to a lot of flooding.

The one unusual thing about this snowfall was how it was ahead of it-- warmer than usual. Out here, we had not gotten any hard freezes and although I wouldn't have called it a balmy fall, the snow was a fast change to the opposite of the kind of year it had appeared; so maybe your article has something. I remember lots of really cold icy winters but not many that came on so abruptly in December.

Fortunately the US will have an administration-- finally-- who will be seriously looking at the problem of global climate change. Unfortunately any money available to do anything has been taken by wars and bank handouts (doesn't appear they bailed anybody out other than those who had their hands out and walked off with it).

It might be nothing could be done about the level of climate shifts we might soon see; but there could be preparation at least for people during events like flooding. None of that has been looked at either. Whatever is coming, the government has been asleep at the switch-- like everything else with the Bush administration. Will it be different under Obama? Time is going to tell.

[Harry Vanderpool]

Sorry; not drinkin' the coolaid.
And Al Gore will not be getting any of my money, or anyone else cashing in on this new industry.
But everyone is free to blindly "believe" and "follow" any superstition that pops up.
How did Jim & Tammy Baker land all of that money? How about the Hail-Bop knuckleheads? How about Jim Jones?
They harnessed the overwhelming majority of our society who are setting on the edge of their chair just waiting to be led.
Not me.
I continue to listen to all of the data and draw my own conclusion, not blindly follow the masses.
Congradulations Mr. Gore, but checks' NOT in the mail.

[Rain]

Harry, you don't have to believe in Al Gore's book, to buy into the idea of climate change. A refresher course in geology and a look at world history might tell you that change happens. The issue is what should we do about it and how prepared are we? I am darned glad we had a generator and could borrow another one for our elderly neighbors in the house up the hill for us. Be prepared and forget being mad at somebody for what is coming potentially. Obama has appointed scientists to look at this and suppose the sea levels really raise or suppose we are about to have another ice age across part of Europe or America? Being prepared is going to save lives or else see a huge number of people killed and start over which has happened before and well might again-- preparation or not

[Harry Vanderpool]

You are correct on all points, Rain.
The only issue that I have was reflected in your first sentence:

>>Harry, you don't have to believe in Al Gore's book, to buy into the idea of climate change.<<

No, I am not going to "BUY" (cha-ching!!) into the massive and quickly growing global warming industry.

If you believe that Al Gore and the rest of the hucksters really are interested in climate change, then I suppose you also believe that George Bush went to war in Iraq to bring democracy and freedom there.

MONEY!!! Both projects are STRICTLY money makers. And not for you and me THATS for sure.

You do not have to turn your bank account over to Oral Roberts to live a godly life and you do not need to enrichen a bunch of slimey, greedy polititions to reduce pollution.

Of course climate change is real. And it was real over and over and over again before man learned to walk on 2 feet.

[Rain]

Well i found fault with Gore's book also because he kept referring to it as global warming which doesn't explain the problem. I also am not going to buy into carbon credits but what I am saying is we might be into something none of us have seen and being prepared is what we need. Bush was clueless about Iraq and this. Scientists aren't in agreement, but Brian's original proposition was to look at it and see if we are seeing something that will end up a big problem. One winter doesn't tell you that but we are seeing climate change in rainfall for instance which might cycle back to normal or might not. My point was people who don't like Gore might cut off their nose to spite their face if they don't look at whether man could be doing something to be an increasing problem to us in other ways. That's what I want is someone to be looking at it without bias for what answer they want to find.