Getting hotter or colder? Two new reports differ

Global warming or global cooling?

That is the big question as two reports, out yesterday, tackled the subject that is in the news just about every day.

As with numerous TV debates involving candidates with eyes on the White House, Grumpy Editor feels it’s time for a network (broadcast or cable) to line up pro and con experts with the spotlight on global climate change.  The hot vs. cold debate should grab a huge audience.

Look at the pro and con information that came out yesterday.

On the pro side, air pollution associated with elevated carbon dioxide levels is already responsible for around 22,000 deaths every year, claims Stanford University professor Mark Jacobson in a new study reported in the Feb. 27 issue of New Scientist magazine. When these are added to casualties from extreme weather events, it doubles the number of fatalities that can be linked to global warming, he adds.

Jacobson’s model indicates that for every one degree centigrade (or Celsius) rise in temperature in the U.S. “there are 1,000 additional air pollution-related deaths.”

Taking the other side, DailyTech blogger Michael Asher notes a 12-month long drop in world temperatures has wiped out a century of warming.

Citing four major global temperature tracking outlets, he points out “global temperatures have dropped precipitously” --- with cooling ranges from 0.65 to 0.75 centigrade.   

Then Asher ticks off the happenings:  “China has its coldest winter in 100 years. Baghdad sees its first snow in all recorded history. North America has the most snow cover in 50 years, with places like Wisconsin the highest since record-keeping began. Record levels of Antarctic sea ice, record cold in Minnesota, Texas, Florida, Mexico, Australia, Iran, Greece, South Africa, Greenland, Argentina, Chile -- the list goes on and on.”