Has Climate Change Affected Maine? (Brunswick, China: university, living, statistics)

[Hepcat]

I was going to say "global warming", but a botanist told me the scientists don't call it that, because some areas may get colder before they get warmer....they call it "climate change".

A while back I read an article in the Boston Globe that said that the Maine blueberry farmers were now having to compete with Canadian farmers for market share because climate change in Canada allowed them to have a longer growing season and improved their blueberry harvest.

Have any of you long time Mainers seen a change in the Maine climate that would indicate the weather was getting milder? I have noticed over the years where I live in Mass., that the kids can't skate on the local ponds any more in winter....we don't seem to get the long, hard freezes to freeze the ice solid as often as we used to.

So is Maine getting warmer? Any thoughts?

[Maine Writer]

August 19, 5:10 pm. 60*. This is what most of the summer has been like in this part of Maine. Cold, wet and dreary. Northern Maine had 200+ inches of snow last winter. We had 118" here in northeastern Maine. The climate is changing but it's not getting warmer at my house. I wish someone would send a dose of global warming my way.

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by Hepcat

I was going to say "global warming", but a botanist told me the scientists don't call it that, because some areas may get colder before they get warmer....they call it "climate change".

A while back I read an article in the Boston Globe that said that the Maine blueberry farmers were now having to compete with Canadian farmers for market share because climate change in Canada allowed them to have a longer growing season and improved their blueberry harvest.

Have any of you long time Mainers seen a change in the Maine climate that would indicate the weather was getting milder? I have noticed over the years where I live in Mass., that the kids can't skate on the local ponds any more in winter....we don't seem to get the long, hard freezes to freeze the ice solid as often as we used to.

So is Maine getting warmer? Any thoughts?

if maine is getting warmer,,,then think of the millions of barrels of oil we wont have to use this winter if it warms up......
global warming may be our only hope,,,,,imagine that,,, global warming to the rescue of our energy crisis

[Nor'Eastah]

Originally Posted by Hepcat

some areas may get colder before they get warmer....they call it "climate change".

As any scientist will tell you, the earth's climate is always in a state of flux. It could be caused by solar activity, axis 'wobble', advance or retreat of glaciation ("ice ages") or any of a number of things.

The unfortunate thing that sometimes happens is that a political figure or party will hop onto some idea (warming, cooling, drought, hurricanes, tsunami's, polar bear fluctuations in population) to make a case that the way human beings are living (esp in the US - China is exempt) is inherently evil and unsustainable and is wreaking havoc with nature. These people always have an agenda, which is to force more control and questionable legislation onto the citizens. They also want to discourage economic activity that they disappove of.

It's really "political climate change". The real climate is just doing its natural thing.

[dmyankee]

Algore wears pantyhose!

[RMoore007]

........"Ice is almost like a species that is going extinct".........

I read that in the newspaper a couple weeks ago. I believe that some people would put ice on the endangered species list if they could.

[fortunata]

I heard a while back that Al actually flunked his college science course. Doesn't matter, my IQ is higher than Al's anyway, and I didn't like science either.

[skytrekker]

According to the statistics Maine is seeing warming at a rate slower then southern New England.

For an empirical look at data see The State of Maine and Climate Change

Also see Experts: Climate change is affecting Maine's ecosystem (http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=150974&zoneid=500 - broken link)

Remember weather, not climate will see great variability from year to year in any location.

The climate is warmer in Connecticut compared to 30 years ago- Springs begin on average 8 days sooner- there is more 90 degree weather- snowfall totals are lower on average- During the autumns of the past the trees where typically bare of their leaves by November first- this is not true now till nearly Thanksgiving- additionally gardeners here are now growing shrubs, trees and flowers that would not survive 30 years ago-

The average yearly temperture is 2.8 degrees warmer at the University of Connecticut then in 1900.

Day to day weather which can be very variable- is not a predictor of climate change- it is long term trends.

See //www.city-data.com/forum/conne...-palms-ct.html

[mollysmiles]

I think we're in a natural cycle.... however, I believe we all need to do what we can to protect the world in/on which we live. We don't need to be fanatical, just do what you can.

As far as the blueberries, that's just a hoot! Canada has always grown blueberries! I was caching yesterday near a field that had been harvested over in Rollingdam, New Brunswick. Maybe they're exporting more, maybe more people are starting fields, I don't know. But, blueberries aren't new to Canada

[msina]

Canada now grows vast amounts of cranberries also. Wisconsin produces the most cranberries now. Many years ago, Massachusetts was the cranberry capital of the world.
Like blueberries, they're a native plant.