hhhmmmppphhhfff..I know I should have enjoyed last winter more..this winter hasnt been too horrible, with only a couple times of going down to the -30s but has seemed so endless with the first snow coming before the end of October and not leaving..I am torn between the effects of global warming and loving the warmer winters for selfish reasons..savona

I'm still a bit of a climate-change-agnostic. Keep in mind that there are now thousands of civil servants whose jobs rely on the public perception of climate change being a serious problem.

But I do support environmental improvement and I don't feel guilty about my personal energy useage either.

Interesting.

I'm definately coming around to believing that global warming is a real issue and not just some series of expected weather patterns. I recently was reading through a blog from somebody living on the tundra ("tundra gardener" I think her name is)and she was pointing out some never-before-seen issues... like the fact that if the north keeps melting her tundra garden will be part of the ocean. Having real people with no political agenda (that I can notice) state the facts as they see them sure does sway me alot more then anything else will!

Warmer winters would be OK but I can't say that I'm a huge fan of major heatwaves either!

Ang

Yes, very interesting. Only yesterday DH was telling me that on the news he heard that a huge chunk has come off the polar ice cap. He couldn't remember the size they had said, but said it was like the size of India! We were kind of chuckling saying that if both polar ice caps did melt, that it was a good thing we live on a hill!LOL But seriously, if that did happen, it would be catastrophic.

Here's the story laurie:
Ice shelf collapse

Here is a link that might be useful: CBC photo gallery of Ayles ice shelf collapse

Thanks for that link. It's not quite the size of India, is it?! But it's still a heck of a big iceberg.

Global warming is here to stay and I hate it. We need the cold to kill some major diseases that effect us, plants and animals. This winter has been warm. Last year we barely made it above -10 C, this year we hardly go below. Last year we had 4 feet of snow by now, this year 4 inches....it is scary. My fall planted garlic bulbs have been pushed out of the ground in places (freeze/thaw/freeze thaw). Wait and see what happens by May.

In Alberta, last year we had only one month of winter, and that was called March, followed by one heck of an awesome summer! Fall was WET and many farmers struggled to get their crops off, and of course, winter came so very EARLY! November really sucked, though December was actually pretty nice! In the Edmonton area there has been no major winter thaw and melt down, but again quite a few rather pleasant days.

Over the years, cold snaps have definitely diminished in length and severity, thankfully! The last two winters the coldest I've recorded here is -33c ... though, that's nippy enough! It's said we need a prolonged period of -40 in order to help kill off the mountain pine beetle and other such pests that have newly invaded the province, though I don't think we're gonna be seeing such temps. Funny, now it seems that cold snaps can last as little as 1 to 3 days.

Global warming might allow for us to grow a wider range of plant material, but at what price? As for this winter, it just seems very long and rather snowy! ... on the other hand, Vancouver sure has been nailed HARD!

Terry

I can only go by what I read from various sources, some sources state that we've gone too far anyways, that at this point it may be impossible to reverse the effects of global warming.

Of course I enjoy -5c January days more than cold ones, but at this time of year I am starting to get "garden fever" no matter what the temperature. Tired of looking at snow, especially the chunky snow at the side of the road. I want spring, I want grass (even if it's brown), I want budding trees. I know, we've sort of made it through half the winter, hang in there!

Glen

Glen, if you want to see brown grass just come to Calgary! lol It seems that's all we look at all winter, interrupted by small amounts of that cold white stuff.

These recent winters are nothing like they used to be, I recall cold snaps lasting around 10 days or so, and these were COLD! -40* kind of cold, where my dad had to burn used tires & scrap lumber under the propane tank to keep the gas flowing to the furnace. I remember it popping and snapping - scary stuff! We always has enough snow to build forts and snow slides in the yard... ahhh the good (?) old days...