Cheery little article on Vermont Digger, sure to add a little sugar to your coffee, with more evidence that our climate is, indeed, changing. The story has a soft open, about prospects for this year’s maple syrup run; then it summarizes two pieces of tangible, real-life news about our changing climate.
The first: Maple sugaring season is coming earlier and earlier, according to Tim Perkins at the Proctor Maple Research Center.
Perkins cited research that showed that sugar maple trees now release their sap approximately 8.2 days earlier and stop producing usable sap 11.4 days earlier than they did 40 years ago. This translates to an approximate 10 percent loss in the duration of the season.
And item number two, from the genteel world of gardening:
The USDA recently released an updated 2012 Plant Hardiness Zone Map that guides gardeners by mapping the country by zones, which reflects the average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1976-2005. …Much of Chittenden County jumped up a half of a zone as compared to the 1990 map; a potential leap of 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
After the jump: Science… or Anarcho-Syndicalist Al Qaeda New Black Panther Ivory Tower plot?
These aren’t projections from giacial ice data, or theoretical musings from egghead academics, or bumpersticker ravings of the Green Party. These are simple, measurable matters of fact with direct, tangible effects on the way we live. They are also two more pieces of solid evidence to add to the impressive mountain of evidence collected by the scientific community. Or at least those members of the scientific community who haven’t sold their souls to the Koch Brothers.
On the other hand… when you take a closer look at the VTDigger story, you see that the Proctor Maple Research Center is part of the University of Vermont. And the story itself was written by a UVM graduate student.
Well, never mind, then. Both studies are obviously tainted by their association with a university. And as Rick Santorum will tell you, our colleges and universities are hotbeds of Commie/Islamo/Environmentalism. And humanism. Therefore, any product of the higher-education system is guilty by association. Never mind, folks; keep on pumping those greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Sometimes Lake Champlain “closes” in the winter, that is, the broad lake freezes over shore to shore. In the 19th century this failed to happen only twice out of that 100 years. In the first half of the 20th century we had 2 years without closing. From 1950 to 1975 the lake failed to freeze 10 times. In the last 30 years the lake has remained open 18 times. We’ve gone from 98% closing to 60% to 40% closing, steadily, over the last century. Here’s the link: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/btv/cl…
Enjoy the maple syrup while you can.
I’m more interested in the Anarcho-Syndicalist Al Qaeda New Black Panther Ivory Tower plot. Where can I learn more about this diverse group?
BTW – Won’t this just be used as another reason to keep Vermont Yankee open? If you like syrup, you’re sure to like nuclear power.