Is There a Climatologist in the House?

"Experts say the west is warming quickly," according to this Associated Press story in today's Standard-Examiner.

DURANGO, Colo. — The American West is becoming warmer faster on average than the rest of the world, says a climate researcher.

"The West is warming dramatically," said Jonathan Overpeck, director of the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth at the University of Arizona.

"Things are just going to get hotter. You can bet the farm on it."

The West is two to three degrees warmer than its average annual temperature, calculated using more than 100 years of records, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Many studies peg the rise in the earth’s average temperature since 1880 at one degree, making it the warmest it has been in the last 400 years.

A survey on a state-bystate basis by the U.S. Weather Service shows that, in the 112 years records have been kept, this summer was the hottest on record for Nevada.

Utah was hotter than 107 of the previous 112 years.

Nationwide, 2006 had an average June-August temperature that was 2.4 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20thcentury average of 72.1 degrees.

2006 was also the secondwarmest summer on record, slightly cooler than the record of 74.7 degrees Fahrenheit set in 1936 during the Dust Bowl era. Eight of the past 10 summers have been warmer than the U.S. average for the same period.

At a recent conference, Overpeck said data from about 30 computer-modeling studies shows that, by midcentury, annual average temperatures in the West will be up four or five degrees. By the end of the century, the West could be seven to eight degrees warmer, he said.

"Things are cooking in the West, and they’ll continue to cook even more," Overpeck said.

So significant is the apparent trend toward global warning that one Utah snow-sports advocacy website is already issuing dire warnings, and suggesting -- [gasp] -- lifestyle-based mitigatory measures:

Utah is proud to be internationally recognized as home to The Greatest Snow on Earth®. But while Utah's annual snowfall currently averages over 500-inches, the effects of global warming have the potential to significantly lessen this figure. As skiers and snowboarders, we are working to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy Utah's light, dry and abundant powder. Ski Utah has created this site in an effort to inform skiers and riders as to why they should care about global warming, suggest lifestyle changes winter sports enthusiasts can make to mitigate their impact on the environment and promote programs Utah's resorts have in place to help Keep Utah Cool.

While there remain "holdouts" who stubbornly refuse to draw those inferences which are most logical and probable, based upon the rapidly-accumulating scientific data, we believe the conclusions are obvious:

• Global warming is a reality.
  
• The repurcussions of the global warming phenomenon will probably be played-out most acutely in the western U.S.
• Building a new "ski resort" in Malan's Basin is a flatout-dumb idea

We've already had the benefit of an expert's opinion concerning the questionable "feasibility" of building a tiny, low-altitude ski resort on the sun-drenched west-facing slopes east of Emerald City. This project does not appear to be feasible or practical, even with "static" climatic assumptions. What happens to the analysis, we ask, when we factor-in evidence of western climatic warming?

Is there a climatologist in the house? Howbout a venture capitalist?

Failing that... we'll settle for the comments of a few gentle readers with common sense.

Don't let the cat get your tongues.