A conversation with Seattle
But the big weather news is that Seattle is about to, in KOMO’s Scott Sistek’s words, “obliterate its record for all-time warmest nighttime lows in a month.” Continue reading Seattle Loses Its Cool with All-Time-High Lows
“Wine Economist” Mike Veseth points his fans toward this climate change video based on research by Conservation International and the Environmental Defense Fund. In it, reds denote where wine grapes currently thrive, green means the wine-song remains the same, and blue indicates where new viticultural areas could develop. Continue reading Climate Change May Put Washington Wineries on the March
Using very conservative assumptions about how much sea level is rising, City of Seattle planners project that within the next 40 years, storm surges and high tides will flood new areas of Seattle. While the sea level is expected to rise six inches, that coupled with an extreme event could raise the water by three to four feet. Continue reading Eyeing Floods of 2050, Seattle Prepares to Hike its Skirt
Obviously, God intended for Seattle to have crappy weather, and that’s what we’ll have until the end of time. In four billion years, when the Sun boils the oceans, some atmospheric anomaly will cause Steve Pool to confidently forecast 58 degrees with intermittent showers. Continue reading Thanks for Nothing, Global Warming
Pteropods are not cocktail party conversation, usually. They are tiny amuse-bouches of the sea. Many fish, including salmon, eat them, though; if they were to die off, the impact would be significant. Research on their sensitivity to ocean acidification is of sudden interest. Continue reading For the Latest Climate Change News, We Go to Pteropods & Guillemots
The view above is of the near term–so long, SoDo!–but it gets very exciting around around 2100, when Lake Washington joins once again with Puget Sound. That requires a rise of about nine feet. Hard to credit? Their summary notes that: “Global warming has raised sea level about eight inches since 1880, and the rate of rise is accelerating.” Continue reading Hey, Seattle! Time to Play “Who Drowns First?”
Cherry blossoms are in the news. Way over in the “other Washington,” they are celebrating 100 years of cherry blossom festivals. They are not celebrating, to my knowledge, not having to wait as long for the blossoms to make an appearance, but according to researchers at the University of Washington, that’s what’s been happening over the past 60 years, a trend expected to continue in our climate-changing future. Continue reading Cherry Blossom “Peak Bloom” is a Moving Target, Say UW Researchers