Record high temperature set in Springfield

As a global summit on climate change wrapped up yesterday in Paris, France, the city of the Springfield, Illinois felt a record-breaking high temperature:

Christmas is less than two weeks away, but it was a balmy 70 degrees Saturday in Springfield, a new record high temperature for Dec. 12.

The previous record for the day was 64 degrees, recorded in 1929 [more].

Some will likely cite this as evidence of increasing global temperature and call more "action" to slow or halt it, but let us not forget that a record-breaking low temperature was also felt in Springfield, Illinois earlier this year in February.

The reality is that the climate is - and always has been - changing, as a simple reading of diaries and letters through the centuries will easily show.

New data from NASA proves polar ice caps have not receded

For several years now, I have been mocked in person and on social media for not accepting the claim by many so-called climate change scientists that the polar ice caps are melting because of global warming, or climate change, or whatever we're calling it now. Even when I presented evidence proving this claim to be flatly wrong, still I was mocked and called something akin to a denier of science.

To be sure, I do not deny that the climate is changing; that it is, is plain to see. The cause of the change, however, is quite another matter and it might simply be the normal course of things. Indeed, if one studies history, one learns that the global climate has long fluctuated and has been anything but constant, prompting many historians to attribute many significant historical changes to changes in climate.

At any rate, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released a new data that shows - surprise, surprise - that "the Earth’s polar ice caps have not receded at all since the satellite instruments began measuring the ice caps in 1979." More to the point, "The updated data contradict one of the most frequently asserted global warming claims – that global warming is causing the polar ice caps to recede."

I'd like to think I'll receive apologies from those who basically told me I was stupid, but I won't hold my breath waiting for them.

A news round up - 11 March 2015

Here are a few news stories you may have missed:

• The European city with more bicycles than people (Amsterdam) is planning to construct an underwater bicycle garage because it has run out of room for them above ground.

• According to the findings of a survey conducted by the Public Religion  Research Institute, for the first time in the history of the United States of America Protestants no longer make up a majority of the American populace.

• They said we were crazy for even suggesting something like this might happen because, you know, the "slippery slope" argument is a fallacy, and yet it happened: three men with same-sex attraction have entered into what is being called the world's first "gay married 'throuple'".

• Even as snow sits on Hawaii's Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea (which has delayed the construction of a telescope), the Iditarod - Alaska's famed dogsled race - went on this past Saturday as scheduled, despite a lack of snow. 
• Legislators in the state of Utah recently passed a bill to make Utah the only state in the union in which those receiving the death penalty may be brought before a firing squad. The governor has not yet said if he will sign the law.

New record lows set in Springfield, Illinois

According to the National Weather Service, two new record low temperatures were recorded yesterday in Springfield, Illinois:

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF -14 DEGREES WAS SET AT SPRINGFIELD ON

FRIDAY. THIS BROKE THE OLD RECORD OF -3 SET IN 1888 AND 1934...AND
WAS THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE OBSERVED IN SPRINGFIELD IN 11 YEARS...
SINCE A -14 DEGREE LOW OCCURRED ON JANUARY 30-31 OF 2004. IT IS ALSO
THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE EVER OBSERVED SO LATE IN THE SEASON.

IN ADDITION...THE HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS ONLY 13 DEGREES. THIS ALSO
BROKE A RECORD FOR THE COLDEST HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE DATE. THE
OLD RECORD OF 14 DEGREES WAS SET IN 1888.

I don't know why the NWS still writes in capitals and with line breaks, but I don't feel like taking the town now for fix either.

Frankly, I'm very glad I missed these two new records; I'm not quite sure how I would have withstood such cold temperature, especially given what I am growing accustomed to here in the Eternal City.

The high temperature yesterday was, I believe, 62ºF which afforded a very pleasant to spend part of the afternoon, both before and after my early afternoon Latin class:

Back in Illinois, the temperature would not have been warm enough to wear shorts and a t-shirt while reading the book, but the sun seems to shine more warmly over Rome. I began the book yesterday and finished it a few minutes ago, in the spot under the same warm sun with a temperature of only 59ºF. And it's not quite Spring yet, either.

After this, Illinois may be the death of me.

The minus 12 degrees recorded at 6 a.m. Friday shattered the previous record low for Feb. 27, readings of 3 degrees below zero in 1888 and 1934.

That, combined with expected temperatures ranging from 4 degrees to around 26 degrees Saturday "may be enough to bring it (the monthly average temperature) down some — enough to crack the top 10," said John Parr, meteorological technician with the National Weather Service in Lincoln. "It's possible."

Through Thursday, the average monthly temperature for Springfield this month was 21.6 degrees. The 10th coldest February here since records started being kept in 1879 was a 21.2-degree average in 1914.

It is unlikely that this February will end up being colder than last February, when temperatures averaged 20.1 degrees and put February 2014 at No. 7 on the coldest Februaries list.

The coldest February on record here is 1978, when temperatures averaged 16.6 degrees. Second coldest was February 1979, with a 17-degree average.

- See more at: http://www.sj-r.com/article/20150227/NEWS/150229469#sthash.zs1rKHpY.dpuf

New record high temperature at Honolulu airport: 86ºF

A new record high temperature was set yesterday in the happiest place on earth (Walt Disney was wrong):

Hot and muggy weather is expected to continue Tuesday, although temperatures may not reach Monday's record-setting high, National Weather Service forecasters said.

Light winds helped temperatures at the Honolulu Airport rise to 86 degrees Monday, breaking the old record for the date of 85 set in 1996. Lihue Airport also tied a high temperature record of 83 degrees set in 1980.

The Hawaiians are certainly bemoaning the "heat" to each other, as I've heard them do frequently. Despite their insistence, they've never received much sympathy from me. In fact, I've told rather plainly that they don't know what heat is. Frankly, it sounds quite pleasant to me.

You might recall that Hawaii also set a new record low temperature just last month when stores sold out of space heaters:

The unusually cold weather over the last two days continued to break records in Hawaii, including a record for this date that goes back over 122 years in Honolulu.

The National Weather Service said Monday morning's low temperature of 57 degrees beat the low temperature for this date  of 60 degrees of temperatures recorded at the Honolulu Airport.

While I do not sympathize with the Hawaiians when they complain of heat, I certainly do sympathize with them about the cold. It's really quite amazing how chilly 74 degrees can feel after a day in the warm sun (I'm quite serious about that).

Just from these record high and low temperatures you can see why Saint Damien of Molokai wrote in a letter to his brother shortly after his arrival in the islands, "The climate is delightful, so that strangers easily become accustomed to it, and generally enjoy better health here than in our own country" (Letter XI, 23 August 1864).

It'll be good to be back this summer for a visit. Until then, stay cool, my friends!

A news round up - 15 October 2014

Here are few items of news you might have missed:

• Police in Utah are searching for a woman who robbed a Super 8 motel while, according to witnesses, dressed like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume. Though she apparently wore a black mask over her face, my guess is she had Raphael in mind; this seems like something he might do when angry.

• The U.S. Department of Justice created a Facebook page under the name of a woman and with pictures taken from her cell phone  - without her knowledge or permission - to help, they say, in criminal investigations. She is now suing the government for a breach of privacy and is seeking more than $250,000 in damages.

• The budget deficit of the U.S. federal government has now fallen to just $486,000.000,000. This is down from a budget deficit of more than $1,000,000,000,000 in President Obama's first term and after hitting a record $1,400,000,000,000 in 2009. This fall of the budget deficit is, I suppose, good news. Still, I wouldn't mind a personal budget like this.

• After studying data collected from the temperature of the oceans at various depths, the National Aeronautics and Space and Administration reports that it is unable to explain why global warming (even in the waters) has slowed over the last ten years, in clear contradiction to the projections of the computer models.

• As further proof that saints are just like us, Saint John Paul II was a fan of the classic movie, The Princess Bride. According to Cary Elwes, the late Pope called the movie, "Very good film. Very funny." That's a good enough endorsement for me.

• A petition on the web site of the White House to "Investigate Jehovah's Witness' [sic] Leaders for Child Abuse Cover Up and Protecting Child Abusers" has 191 signatures since being posted on Monday. 

• I'm not sure how I managed to miss this one until today, but a prisoner in Santa Fe is suing the state of New Mexico because his First Amendment freedom to practice Satanism is not being respected.

• The tallest cow in the world - standing at 6'4" - lives in Orangeville, Illinois (I didn't know where it was, either).

A News Round Up - 28 September 2014

• As part of his Illinois Jobs Now! campaign, Governor Pat Quinn (D-Chicago) announced a gift of $1.5 million to Quincy University, my alma mater. I'm sure the university will put this money to good use, but the Governor will still not receive my vote in the November election.

• New records were made in Hawaii last week for the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the island chain, with the hottest temperature at 93ºF at Kahului Aiport. It wasn't that long ago that a new record was set for the coldest temperature in the island chain when the temperature in Honolulu fell to 64ºF on November 14, 2013.

• The German Ethics Council recently declared incest to be a "fundamental right." Just a few weeks, a judge in Australia suggested incest may no longer be taboo (as if the logic of taboos is the best logic with which to establish laws); perhaps he was right. And they told us this wouldn't happen.

• Rush Limbaugh tipped a waitress $1,000 on two separate occasions. You'd think the waitress would be extremely grateful for such a generous tip, but she saw the money as "blood money." Knowing she couldn't keep blood money, she donated a 'sizable chunk' of it to an abortion clinic. Apparently she doesn't know what an abortion actually is.

• From the "You Can't Make This Up" file comes this bizarre story of an atheist giving the invocation at a city council meeting in Huntsville, Alabama. This simply shows the utter anti-logic of many atheists. The word "invocation" means to call upon a deity and the atheist concluding what he claims was not a prayer with "let it be so," which is the meaning of the word "Amen." For what wasn't a prayer, it certainly resembles one.

• A recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that public support in the United States of America has now fallen to 49%, down from 54% found by the PRC in February.

• A new study published by Harvard University suggests that, "from a climatological point of view, in many ways the climate then [the first millennium] may have been more closely comparable to the twentieth century than the intervening period." The study suggests that the warmest temperatures in the western hemisphere over the past 2,000 years occurred between the years 800 and 900 (with the sole exception of the last few recent decades, which are now cooling).

• Another story from the "You Can't Make This Up" file concerns a man who was found crossing the the Canadian border from Detroit with 51 turtles in his pants.

A news round up - 15 September 2014

• Great River Teens Encounter Christ is seeking to raise $35,000 through its third annual fundraising campaign to offset the costs of the retreat weekends and to keep fees low for participants and team alike. Please help if you can!

• In yet the latest attempt to force Christianity from the Public Square, Arizona State University has ordered the removal of small black crosses from back of football player's helmets. How long will it be before crosses are ordered removed from the steeples of our churches? 

• After studying daily weather observations made in 16th century Europe, researches have concluded that the autumn weather in Poland and Germany in the 1500s was "considerably colder" than it is today. For years I've been suggesting proponents of global warming study history to learn that the global climate is constantly changing. This new study is yet another piece of evidence to demonstrate this.

• In the days ahead of the planned Satanic Black Mass in Oklahoma City, we've been told by some that this is simply an expression of free speech and that the Satanists are merely exercising their religious liberty. I wonder if these same people would like to explain this a 5-year-old boy who had has his eyes gouged out with a spoon by his own mother during a Satanic ceremony?

• Muslims in Britain on calling on Prime Minister David Cameron that he should only refer to the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq as the "Un-Islamic State of Syria and Iraq." This is just silly. The government of China doesn't actually function as a republic, but no one is calling on any government leaders to refer to China as "the People's non-Republic of China."

• The Islamic State of Syria and Iraq has recently a detailed plan for growth over the next five years, including plans to spread from Spain to China. 

• U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has announced a national plan to "counter violent extremism," without specifying what sort of violent extremism will be countered. As a caution, it should be remembered that it was not all that long ago that Catholicism and Evangelical Christianity were listed in military training materials as forms of "religious extremism," alongside al-Qaeda, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the KKK.

A news round up - 12 September 2012

More news you may have missed:

• Over the last forty years, the number of Baptists in the United States of America has decreased by 25%.

• Administrators at Ventura High School in California have banned an offensive chicken sandwich. I knew these are bizarre days in which we live, but I didn't realize they were this bizarre yet.

• While we're on the topic of bizarre school news, a teacher in a school in Washington, D.C. asked 6th grade students to compare George W. Bush and Adolf Hitler.

• At least 5,186 people have been in killed in the Central African Republic since December as Islamic militants continue to gain strength in the CAR.

• Lawmakers in Missouri overrode a gubernatorial veto yesterday to pass into law legislation mandating a 72-hour waiting period for any woman seeking an abortion in the Show Me State (without a clause for rape or incest).

• Paleontologists have unearthed the fossilized remains of a Spinosaurus, the largest carnivorous dinosaur even to swim the waters of the earth, in the Sahara Desert. As if it weren't obvious enough, this discovery - among others - shows that the oceans have changed increased and receded in various places for centuries, even millennia.

• Because it spans the globe, the Catholic Church faces various problems in various parts of the world that are often unknown in places where they aren't prevalent, like polygamy. This will be one of the many issues the upcoming two Synods on the family will have to discuss.

• Al-Qaeda  expanded last week into the Indian Subcontinent and from there it has already attacked Pakistan twice.

A news round up - 9 August 2014

The news you may have missed:

• J.R.R. Tolkien's translation of biblical Book of Jonah is soon to be republished. Jonah's tomb was recently destroyed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

• The Catholic apostolate Courage has produced a new 1-hour film titled Desire of the Everlasting Hills: Hope in Isolation. Courage in Turmoil. Grace in the Last Place You Expect about three people who left behind a homosexual lifestyle in favor of chastity.

•  A new study conducted by researchers at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center - and published in the journal Cancer Research - shows that women who take oral contraceptives are 50% more likely to develop breast cancer. This isn't the first study to show this.

• Rome Reports has a short piece about Michael James Mette, a Catholic singer, song writer, and evangelist from Effingham, Illinois.

• The New York Post reports that summer 2014 is the coldest in a decade.

• Buddhist extremists oppose Pope's visit to Sri Lanki, which he is scheduled to make in January.

News round up - March 5th

In case you missed it:

• Back in Illinois, Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D-Chicago) has told County Clerks they can immediately begin issuing "marriage" licenses to homosexual couples. As written and passed, the ill-named Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act does not take effect until June 1, 2014, but last month a federal judge ruled that there is no need to wait. Much like the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, one wonders why effective dates are legislated at all if they do not actually mean anything.

• You likely won't have heard that Pope Francis recently said there is no need to change the Church's teaching on contraception 

• Some parents in Italy are gently fighting back against the progressives who, as in many parents of the world, have legal forms to include spaces for "Parent 1" and "Parent 2" instead of
  "Father" and "Mother".

•  We've all noticed a curious increase in police presence on the highways near the end of each calendar month, though many police districts have long denied the existence of an actual monthly ticket quota as linked to performance evaluation. One Illinois legislator doesn't believe that claim and has introduced legislation to put an end to the quota system in the Land of Lincoln.

• Niagara Falls has frozen for the second time this winter.

• A state legislator in Hawaii has caused a bit of a ruckus when she commented on a bill in Hawaiian, and refused to translate her words in English.

News Roundup for March 1st

Here follow a few news stories you might have missed:

• Since the election of President Nicolas Maduro on April 19, 2013, food prices in Venezuela have risen some 56%, leading to long lines for food;
• The daily Lenten pilgrimage of the station churches will soon begin in Rome;
• Another piece of evidence to prove the stupidity of American society has emerged in California where a man is suing McDonald's for $1.5 million because he received only one napkin, which somehow caused him emotional harm; and,
• According to the Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index, this has been the worst recorded winter for a number of cities in the U.S., from Detroit to Philadelphia, and it isn't finished yet.

Random bits of news, some important and some not

This morning I'm in a bit of a random mood, so I thought I'd share a few random news stories of varying importance with you:

• Forbes has ranked Honolulu the "most overpriced" city in the U.S.A.;
• The Clericus Cup soccer tournament will include 358 players from 60 countries this year in Rome;
• Green Bay has never had a colder winter;
• Oral contraceptives may double a woman's risk of developing MS;
• In testimony before Congress, co-founder of Greenpeace says there is "no proof" humans are causing climate change;
• Charles Krauthammer tackles the unscientific notion of "settled science";
• Planned President says it doesn't matter when human life actually begins, only when a mother says it does;
• A man pronounced dead in Mississippi is found to be alive before being embalmed; and
• Back in 2008, Sarah Palin was mocked when she warned that Russia might invade Ukraine.

Should I make a list of news items a daily post?

Ice increases at both poles

A couple of weeks ago I posted a report indicating that the arctic ice cap - the one in the north - had increased by some 1,000,000 square miles, an increase of 60% over the previous year, following predictions that by this time this year there would be no ice at all at the north pole.

Today the Washington Post reports that the amount of ice in the antarctic - in the south - has increased two years in a row and is now at highest level in 35 years:

Antarctic sea ice has grown to a record large extent for a second straight year, baffling scientists seeking to understand why this ice is expanding rather than shrinking in a warming world.

On Saturday, the ice extent reached 19.51 million square kilometers, according to data posted on the National Snow and Ice Data Center Web site.  That number bested record high levels set earlier this month and in 2012 (of 19.48 million square kilometers). Records date back to October 1978.

Remember: With their computer models, scientists cannot accurately predict the weather three days out; why should we believe them and their computer models when they try to predict the weather thirty years out?

Though the temperature of the southern waters is increasing, so, too, is the level of ice, despite the warnings and models of scientists, for which they have no explanation.  Still, against the evidence, they still continue to insist on melting ice:

If the increase in ice is due to natural variability, Zhang says, warming from manmade greenhouse gases should eventually overcome it and cause the ice to begin retreating.

“If the warming continues, at some point the trend will reverse,” Zhang said.

The inconvenient truth is that their theory seems simply to be wrong.  Under normal circumstances, this would cause a scientist to change his hypothesis and continue along the path of actual science; however, when your hypothesis is founded not on science but on politics and ideology, such a change is impossible.

An inconvenient truth

It's been some time since I mentioned anything on these pages about so-called "global warming" which, when that turned out to be not quite right quickly - and quietly - became "climate change," but it seems even that isn't quite the case.

Several years back, the BBC predicted that by the summer of 2013 - this summer - the North polar ice cap would be no more.

However, in what must be a very inconvenient truth for Al Gore and company, not only is the polar ice cap still present, but within the last year it has increased by some 1,000,000 square miles, an increase of some 60%:

A chilly Arctic summer has left nearly a million more square miles of ocean covered with ice than at the same time last year – an increase of 60 per cent.

The rebound from 2012’s record low comes six years after the BBC reported that global warming would leave the Arctic ice-free in summer by 2013.

Instead, days before the annual autumn re-freeze is due to begin, an unbroken ice sheet more than half the size of Europe already stretches from the Canadian islands to Russia’s northern shores [more].