Extreme Weather Is Climate Change Wake-Up Call

Drought, wildfire, flooding influence public opinion on global warming An extreme drought in parts of the Southeast and Southwest that keeps creeping across the country. Repeated and deadly flash floods in Texas. Rampant wildfires in the West. Great Lakes dropping to historic lows. The weather is weird, and getting weirder. All this weirdness is influencing public opinion about the granddaddy of all environmental issues: Global warming. Global warming is expected to increase the severity and frequency of extreme weather events, as the atmosphere reels from increased energy, shifting wind and moisture patterns and positive feedback loops. Today, British climate scientists said 2007 is on track to be the second warmest on record. The effects of global warming on local weather patterns are complicated, sometimes controversial and always ripe for conversation. No one weather event is an indication of climate change. Yet more and more Americans seem to perceive the totality of strange events as an indication that climate change is real, it is happening, and it isn't going to stop without some real effort, according to a story in the June 29 Independent. Weird Weather Watch The Daily Green's photoblog of climate change Lake Tahoe Forest Fire Tropical Cyclone Gonu in Oman Flooding in Texas Forest Fire in Athens, Greece Related Stories Lake Tahoe Fire Draws Disaster Tourists The Drought That Stole July 4 Fireworks Southeast Drought 'Historic And Unprecedented Lake Tahoe Fire Is A Sign Of Global Warming Summer Forecast: Hot, With Wildfire World's Largest Lake Is Drying Up