Updates
December 22, 2012: update here.
Original Post
Link here to rt.com.Russia is enduring its harshest winter in over 70 years, with temperatures plunging as low as -50 degrees Celsius (-58 degrees F, if I did the math correctly). Dozens of people have already died, and almost 150 have been hospitalized.
The country has not witnessed such a long cold spell since 1938, meteorologists said, with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees lower than the seasonal norm all over Russia.
Across the country, 45 people have died due to the cold, and 266 have been taken to hospitals. In total, 542 people were injured due to the freezing temperatures, RIA Novosti reported.
The Moscow region saw temperatures of -17 to -18 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, and the record cold temperatures are expected to linger for at least three more days. Thermometers in Siberia touched -50 degrees Celsius, which is also abnormal for December.The photos remind us why the global warming conference was held in Doha-ha-ha this year instead of Moscow. In fact, have the global warming conferences ever been held in Russia in the winter?
Russia was the 127th country to sign the Kyoto Protocol. Second thoughts?
By the way, Wisconsin is going to get walloped with a bit of global warming tomorrow -- "potentially life-threatening" is the forecast. The "ghost of Agore." I can't take credit for that.
The Greeks, who don't have a lot of spare cash to pay for heating fuel/natural gas this year, have to be concerned how cold this winter might be.
Meanwhile this little bit of trivia from a financial message board (no link); sent to me by a reader:
The Arctic cap of cold air slides down into Russia, and we in North America have a nice mild winter. If it slides into North America, we get cold and the Russians get tee-shirt weather. Happens every year.
As far as fossil fuels use, in particular oil consumption - the world has used 1.1 trillion barrels of oil in the past 140 years. That works out to be about 42 or 43 cubic miles of oil. If all that oil from 140 years ago to today were spread over the entire surface of the Earth, it would be a film of oil thinner than 4 sheets of copier paper, roughly 0.014 inches thick. Rather an insignificant amount. Now if you think that amount of oil has added that much CO2 to the 60,000 feet of air above it over the past 140 years to cause "climate change", there is no help for you.I am not alone on this issue. The tide seems to be turning. Folks are now starting to ask the right questions.