June 1, 2007
1930z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the north and west hemisphere
Tropical Storm Barry weakens into tropical depression (click here)
Matt Sedensky
The Associated Press
Posted June 2, 2007, 3:13 PM EDT
MIAMI -- Tropical Storm Barry weakened into a tropical depression as it moved through Tampa Bay on Saturday and residents gave thanks for the mild storm and the rains it brought to the drought-parched state.Dry conditions in Florida have left Lake Okeechobee at its lowest recorded level and allowed an isolated brush fire on the Georgia-Florida border to burn for weeks. The storm was expected to drop 3 to 6 inches of rain on parts of the state Saturday. Isolated areas could get up to 10 inches of rain.
A meteorologist with the National Weather Service said the rain would not be enough to alleviate the drought conditions. But fire officials were hoping the rain would have an effect on the flames."We're hoping several of these fires will not be a problem anymore," said the Florida Division of Forestry's Mike Newell. "It's too early to tell right now. Everybody's basically waiting for the rain to stop to go out and see what's going on."In some areas along Florida's west coast, boat owners anchored down crafts or pulled them out of the water and one resident said he moved lawn furniture inside, but the storm had little effect. By the afternoon, fisherman and recreational boaters had taken to the Homosassa River."This is a blessing," said Bob Buning, an employee at MacRae's Bait Shop in Homosassa. "We needed this rain really bad."...
June 2,2007
1930z
UNISYS water vapor satellite of north and west hemisphere. "Barry" was literally a tropospheric wave of moisture from the equator as noted here. It 'broke over' when it reached the beach.
June 2, 2007
1930z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite
No matter whether one is watching HD or regular TV the image is still the same.
This is an actual satellite photo of the Human Induced Global Warming system currently trapped under a blanket of carbon dioxide.
June 2, 2007
1830z
Infrared Satellite from UNISYS
The question literally facing the USA is whether or not it's leadership cares about them or other populous globally which are affected by the environmentally destabilizing carbon dioxide the USA produces.
June 2, 2007
Editorial
Hot Enough in Here? (click here)
Michael Griffin, administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is renowned for speaking bluntly so it was no surprise when he stuck his foot in his mouth during a recent interview. The disturbing element is that he may have inadvertently revealed one reason the space agency has been cutting back on satellite missions to study global warming.
In an interview with National Public Radio, Mr. Griffin acknowledged that global warming is happening but then, remarkably, suggested that it might not be a problem — or at least one that had to be fixed. “I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with. To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth’s climate today is the optimal climate,” he said, adding that he wasn’t sure there was any “need to take steps to make sure that it doesn’t change.”
Those comments were a jarring denial of the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is serious and requires mitigation. It even lagged behind the thinking of President Bush who — under strong domestic and international pressure — has now called for a long-term global goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
In response to the mini-furor over his comments, Mr. Griffin stressed that NASA simply collects and analyzes data; it does not make policy on issues like climate change. But the scary thing was the lens his comment provided into his innermost thoughts. The Bush administration has been justly criticized for cutting the agency’s earth sciences budget and downgrading NASA’s once-prominent goal “to understand and protect our home planet.” Tight budgets are one key reason for the cuts in earth sciences, as is the administration’s long refusal to grapple with global warming. But now it seems that Mr. Griffin’s own belief that climate change may be no big deal accounts in part for his agency’s ill-conceived retreat from environmental studies.
