Some Chilling Thoughts | The Resilient Earth

Something happened this year that has become rare in recent times, much of the United States has had a white Christmas. As of December 28th, 64.4% of the US was covered by snow with an average depth of 6.2 inches (15.7 cm). This compares with last month's coverage of only 19.8%. My own town of Conway, Arkansas, received 10 inches on Christmas day and a winter storm advisory is in effect as another storm makes its way eastward. For Arkansas, this has been the snowiest Christmas ever, breaking the old record set in 1926, and the 7th snowiest day overall since 1875. But North America is not alone in feeling winter's bite—record cold continues in Siberia, while a vicious cold snap across Russia and Eastern Europe has claimed nearly 200 lives. What does all this say about global warming?

China maintains blue alert for blizzards, cold snap

BEIJING - China's National Meteorological Center(NMC) on Saturday maintained its blue alert for blizzards and a severe cold snap in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Japan to Review ‘Nuclear-Free by 2030s’ Goal, Minister Says - Bloomberg

“We will make our decisions based on technological findings and not with prejudgment,” Motegi said today at a news conference in Tokyo. “We can’t say for sure that Japan will be free of nuclear power by the 2030s.”

Environmental Leader Rebecca Tarbotton Dies In Ocean Mishap At Age 39 - Forbes

“So like a good, polite environmental organization, we wrote them all letters and said ‘Hey guys, you have a problem,’ ” she continued. “ You have essentially orangutan and tiger extinction in your children’s books and that’s not the greatest thing so you might want to do deal with that before I have to do something to your nice corporation.”