December in shirtsleeves

Late Afternoon, Mesa Trail. Boulder, Colorado, 2012

This is an image I made just a few days ago whilst strolling one of the trails just below the Flatirons and above the City of Boulder. The unusual thing about it is that I made the photograph while wearing a T-shirt–and wishing I had worn shorts instead of long pants. Note the lack of snow. In most other years you would typically see a foot of the wet stuff at this spot…or at least some pretty good drifts here and there in the shadows.

So, what’s happening? Ah, global warming, right?! Well, one warm, dry winter does not a hotter climate make, of course…but the overall evidence seems to be mounting ever higher (like the oceans???) in favor of that verdict.

In fact, global warming/climate change–and that humans are a significant cause–is not really debated too hotly in the scientific community…despite what you might hear on AM radio or from a few of your more…uh…opinionated friends. It’s pretty well accepted, except by a few outlyers, since the evidence is pretty strong and it is constantly getting stronger. (See this.)

In fact, I personally wonder if we are actually well past the tipping point in this so-called warming feedback cycle. Each new scientific report gives me the impression that it is likely far worse than we think, even now. Some big examples: the vast quantities of methane being released from the thawing permafrost in the Arctic, the record low levels of Arctic sea ice, the incredible under-ice rivers of melting glaciers in Greenland, the slabs of ice breaking away from Antarctica, retreating glaciers all over the world…and so on. I am quite interested in what the 2014 report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) committee will conclude.

Oh, I’m sure we’ll live through it, although there may be some painful adjustments here and there around the globe. Humans are like cockroaches dontcha know–highly adaptable. In the meantime, from now on I’ll throw a pair of shorts in my backpack for my winter hikes in Colorado…just in case.