2014 predictions.

[rubato]

Now is your chance to put it in writing and make like Nostradamus for 2014. Glory can be yours. What will be the big story of the year? What will be the big challenges we have to face? How many seats will the GOP lose in the House? Will Boehner be the weak-pussy of 2014 like he was the pussy of 2013? Will Dick Cheney's pact with the devil finally expire? Will the Mighty Los Angeles Dodgers finally return to their rightful place at the top of the NL?

Whaddaya think?

yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

The Redskins will better this season's 3-13 record...(If they don't, they ought to be put up against a wall and machine gunned; starting with Snyder...)

The Santa Cruz Pseudo Scientist will continue to assert his claims as "facts" that have as much in common with actual facts as Ron Jeremy has in common with celibacy....

[MajGenl.Meade]

The Ohio State football (sic) team will win the National Championship.

The Cleveland Browns will play in the Super Bowl, narrowly losing to whoever else is there.

The owners of PayPal will finally (after so many patient years) pull off the biggest heist in history, emptying all our recorded bank accounts, maxing our credit cards and leaving behind a note saying "Suckers!"

Nah - two of those are just jokes

[Lord Jim]

The Cleveland Browns will play in the Super Bowl

I take it you rang in the New Year with Rob Ford...

[Joe Guy]

I predict that early in 2014 Billy Ray Cyrus will discover his daughter in a large room partially clothed with her tongue hanging out and surrounded by a frenzied mob.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Blimey! That's only six so far - we've another 2008 to go....

[Lord Jim]

Lindsay Lohan will get loaded and do something stupid in public...

Joe Biden won't be loaded, (probably) but he'll say something stupid that he has to apologize for...

There will be floods, earth quakes and wild fires...

And oh yeah...

Terrorist attacks...

[Rick]

My reality checks will still bounce

[rubato]

My two serious predictions are an optimistic one that there will be a bill on increasing the minimum wage, it will probably be blocked from coming to a vote by the Great Obstruction Party but if it gets a chance I think it will pass. The other prediction is negative; in spite of seriously worsening conditions little governmental action will take place in the U.S. on global climate change.

My non-serious prediction is that the Dodgers will win the pennant.

My hope is that 2014 will be a better year than 2013.

yrs,
rubato

[oldr_n_wsr]

How come the old mantra "Global Warming" has now changed to "Climate Change"?

[rubato]

How come the old mantra "Global Warming" has now changed to "Climate Change"?

The term "climate change" has been in common use since the 1990s because of the fact that while there is overall a temperature rise there will be local areas which are cooled. Both "Climate Change" and "Global Warming" are used interchangeably to mean the same thing but scientific organisations generally prefer the more accurate term.

http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus

AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES

Statement on climate change from 18 scientific associations

"Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver." (2009)2
AAAS emblem
American Association for the Advancement of Science

"The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now, and it is a growing threat to society." (2006)3
ACS emblem
American Chemical Society

"Comprehensive scientific assessments of our current and potential future climates clearly indicate that climate change is real, largely attributable to emissions from human activities, and potentially a very serious problem." (2004)4
AGU emblem
American Geophysical Union

"Human‐induced climate change requires urgent action. Humanity is the major influence on the global climate change observed over the past 50 years. Rapid societal responses can significantly lessen negative outcomes." (Adopted 2003, revised and reaffirmed 2007, 2012, 2013)5
AMA emblem
American Medical Association

"Our AMA ... supports the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth assessment report and concurs with the scientific consensus that the Earth is undergoing adverse global climate change and that anthropogenic contributions are significant." (2013)6
AMS emblem
American Meteorological Society

"It is clear from extensive scientific evidence that the dominant cause of the rapid change in climate of the past half century is human-induced increases in the amount of atmospheric greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), chlorofluorocarbons, methane, and nitrous oxide." (2012)7
APS emblem
American Physical Society

"The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring. If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the Earth’s physical and ecological systems, social systems, security and human health are likely to occur. We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beginning now." (2007)8
GSA emblem
The Geological Society of America

"The Geological Society of America (GSA) concurs with assessments by the National Academies of Science (2005), the National Research Council (2006), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) that global climate has warmed and that human activities (mainly greenhouse‐gas emissions) account for most of the warming since the middle 1900s." (2006; revised 2010)9

The UCS uses both terms here because they are communicating with a more general audience. Underlining the equivalance.

http://www.ucsusa.org/ssi/climate-chang ... us-on.html

Scientific Consensus on Global Warming

Scientific societies and scientists have released statements and studies showing the growing consensus on climate change science. A common objection to taking action to reduce our heat-trapping emissions has been uncertainty within the scientific community on whether or not global warming is happening and if it is caused by humans. However, there is now an overwhelming scientific consensus that global warming is indeed happening and humans are contributing to it. Below are links to documents and statements attesting to this consensus.

The dual usage is common throughout the literature.


yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

It's also another example of language theft (like 'gay' and 'lesbian' in place of 'homosexual'). Stopping "climate change" is as impossible as stopping "earth rotation" (although the latter would certainly stop the former). The point is to reduce as far as possible the harmful climactic effects of human activities.

Climate change isn't a bad thing - nor, necessarily is global warming. We are all quite glad things got warmer after the most recent ice age. Using such shorthand terms takes the focus away from "human activity" which is clearly stated in the links and quotes above.

[Rick]

Gravity it's not just a good idea it's the law

[rubato]

One positive prediction is that we will begin to make progress on the obesity (and hence diabetes) epidemic. Publicly-funded education campaigns and possibly increased taxes on sugary drinks will begin to have an effect.

yrs,
rubato