Cool weather a worrying sign for Iowa farmers -- chicagotribune.com

If frost comes early, Northey said it could cause tremendous damage to crops, especially soybeans. The quality of crops and the yield can be diminished, and in some cases cold weather can destroy a crop.

Farmers looking for relief are out of luck, though. Hillaker said the cooler-than-normal weather is expected for at least the next two weeks -- with average temperatures dropping a degree every three days as October approaches.

He said there is a real worry that frost could come early.

"It's been quite cool, and it looks like we'll be that way for a while," Hillaker said.

Idiot Juan Cole: "What's the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists? Lipstick" | Salon

Not only does Palin not believe global warming is "man-made," she favors massive new drilling to spew more carbon into the atmosphere. Both as a fatalist who has surrendered to God's inscrutable will and as a politician from an oil-rich region, she thereby echoes Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has been found to have exercised inappropriate influence in watering down a report in 2007 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
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...As for global warming, green theology, in which Christians and Muslims appeal to Scripture in fighting global warming, is an increasing tendency in both traditions.