by Author Name Withheld 13

Created on: December 21, 2008

I rushed out the door one April morning.

Normally, we'd have our first heat wave by now. People would be outside in T-shirts and shorts, joggers would be jogging with running shorts, and neighbors would be out enjoying the warming weather. But, what got me out the door that one morning weren't the singing birds, the April flowers, or the ice cream truck that makes its presence known when it gets warm.

It was the snow, and lots of it. This area isn't known for April snow showers, or large snowflakes. These mega flakes came down with a vengeance, reducing visibility to a block. The accompanying winds blew snow into the canopies of the column of Tuscarora Crape Myrtles dividing our street. A raven struggled to stay in the air as it tried to find escape in these trees.

Snow fell later that day, making this spring day one with two winter firsts.

It's also the day that gave birth to my passion for tracking and studying global climate. That day's snows were just one of a series of unusual winter like events that hit my area; cold long persistent cold snaps, delayed "short pants" weather, and a June day that toped in the upper 60s when we'd normally be oppressed by sweltering heat.

How is it that people could easily overlook Mother Nature's hints, and believe that the planet is warming up? One reason is that the media, knowing that many people are too busy to double check their reporting, are fleecing us by comingling definitions.

For example, journalists, pundits, and bloggers make the climate and environment the same issue when they're really two separate issues.

Since water vapor constitutes 95% of green house gases, and since Mother Nature contributes 95% of the CO2 pumped into the atmosphere, Mankind isn't even putting a dent into the climate. And get this, when you drive your car, you're not emitting CO2. You're emitting Carbon Monoxide and other gases.

Think that too much CO2 is bad for the planet? Many botanists will tell you that CO2 is a natural fertilizer for plants. The more CO2 we have in the atmosphere, the greener the world's landscapes.

Many journalists, pundits, and bloggers will also try to fool you with the precipitation reports.

For example, people like to point to a winter with little to no snow as "mild" and proof of "global warming." But, snow and rain are precipitation in two different states. So, could you imagine someone telling you that that little to no rain during the summer means that you just had a mild summer? And since there was little rain,

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