Fabulous article

Perfectly encapsulating the complexities of how difficult it is to pinpoint what is really happening to our climate even when things are changing very quickly.  Also a very good review of the unbelieveable weather 2010 brought to the planet.  Props to IHT for posting such balanced reporting of this subject.

Excerpt from Tospy-Turvy Weather Tied to Weaker Arctic 'Fence'

"Since satellites began tracking it in 1979, the ice on the Arctic Ocean’s surface in the bellwether month of September has declined by more than 30 percent. It is the most striking change in the terrain of the planet in recent decades, and a major question is whether it is starting to have an effect on broad weather patterns."

Read the full article from International Herald Tribune's Justin Gillis "Topsy-Turvy Weather Tied to Weaker Arctic ‘Fence’"



Shades of Grey

People like duality.  Hitler is bad.  Mother Teresa is good.  Finger pointing is one of the best ways humans separate themselves from others, whether the identifier is a religious affiliation; a lifestyle choice; a cultural preference; a political view; or a sports team.   Amazingly this need to belong to a certain "side" funnels right down to the insignificance of choices like whether one drinks Coca Cola or Pepsi.  Let's face it, life is easier if we can label things and then pick our camp.  Then we know where we belong and depending on our choices the finger pointing can be as laid back or radical as we like.  I remember I once worked for a boss who drank Pepsi.  Being a Diet Coke drinker I just couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I worked for "one of them", loyalty to my brand was so fierce that I even lost some respect for my boss because he drank the "weaker" beverage.  Division is a force to be reckoned with, but that's a subject for the anthropologists to discuss, not me.

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