By Tammie Souza, FOX 32 News Weekend Meteorologist - bio | email
Few subjects have been more controversial than global warming and climate change. Now, Richard Muller, professor of physics at University of California Berkeley one of the most outspoken opponents of global warming has reversed his opinion and is convinced that prior estimates regarding the rate of warming are indeed correct and that humans are almost entirely the cause of that warming".
Muller is the co-founder of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature team which independently assesses any questionable evidence of global warming. Their analysis has now indicated that global warming is real and not a passing weather pattern. Furthermore they find that the average global land temperature has risen by 2.5 degrees F since 1750. 1.5 degrees F of that increase took place in the past 50 years. This finding is in line with past studies by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA and others.
Muller and his team at Berkeley have further established that blame from natural variations in Earth's climate is not possible and that carbon dioxide emissions by humans is essentially the sole cause of global warming.
The carbon dioxide curve depicted above closely follows the temperature trend since 1750 with the red line representing atmospheric concentration of CO2 almost perfectly overlaying the black line representing the observed warming of the Earth.
The study found that natural variability from solar cycles, El Niño, La Niña and shifts in the Atlantic sea surface temperatures only accounted for miniscule warming or cooling during the past 150 years and were not the cause of the more aggressive warming recorded.
Tuesday, January 22 2013 2:26 PM EST2013-01-22 19:26:59 GMT
Chicago ended an impressive 711 day streak without a sub-zero temperature Tuesday morning. That is the 4th longest such stretch since records began in 1871.
Chicago ended an impressive 711 day streak without a sub-zero temperature Tuesday morning. That is the 4th longest such stretch since records began in 1871.
Friday, January 18 2013 11:18 PM EST2013-01-19 04:18:05 GMT
Frigid Arctic air has been pent up across the Hudson Bay area for several weeks now stuck under the influence a strong polar area of low pressure also known as the "polar vortex."
Frigid Arctic air has been pent up across the Hudson Bay area for several weeks now stuck under the influence a strong polar area of low pressure also known as the "polar vortex."
Friday, January 18 2013 3:41 PM EST2013-01-18 20:41:23 GMT
The U.S. drought of 2012 is considered the worst since the 1950s, but there appears to be some brief relief.
The U.S. drought of 2012 is considered the worst since the 1950s, but there appears to be some brief relief thanks to recent soaking rains stretching from the south through the southeast and the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic states.
Monday, December 3 2012 7:18 PM EST2012-12-04 00:18:16 GMT
Warm, moist air streamed into the Chicago area today and although we were blanketed in fog and clouds, the temperatures soared to record highs between 68 and 72 degrees.
Warm, moist air streamed into the Chicago area today and although we were blanketed in fog and clouds, the temperatures soared to record highs between 68 and 72 degrees.
