I am still saddened by Tom’s passing, but I am grateful that The Best of Car Talk is on the air. Car Talk is the best way I know to start my Saturday. I wake up at 7am on a Saturday just to hear the show. When The Best of Car Talk started a few months ago I noticed that the weather (usually bad weather) referenced by the callers synced with the recent weather headlines. On the last show I noticed a caller talking about her Texas car that was recently in a flood. I would think that the producers were going through the archives to find stories that might make it seem that the show is still “live”, but then they are constantly referencing recent shows. Is it possible that the terrible weather that I see on the evening news is just the same old thing with a renewed sense of urgency? I’ll have to see if an upcoming show references a June hurricane in Texas.
You’re Right , Same Old BS. I Get Tired Of The News Shows Running Stories Of Wild Fires In Desert States, Every Spring And Making It Sound Like News. The Same Could Be Said Of Flooding In Other Areas. The Same Could Be Said Of Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Etcetera… Every Year.
Since all this “sky is falling” talk of Global Warming (changed to Climate Change to cover folks like me) began, we have had unusually cool weather where I live, winter and summer. It’s 70F for the high again and that’s about as high as it’s gotten this spring. Winters have been unusually cold for several years, now. I seriously have got to relocate to escape the cold.
This is WEATHER! This isn’t Climate! Mark Twain said, “Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get.” I’m a Global Warming/Climate Change Denier! Some “Scientists” base their dire climate change warnings on computer models, which are consistently wrong. The records show that we are experiencing normal weather variations! Weather is such a complex thing that nobody has a grasp of it. My Farmer’s Almanac comes closest to accurately forecasting weather and they rely heavily on the Sun’s activity.
CSA
Spot on CSA.
Exactly CSA. 
We see things very differently. That’s OK.
A little of both,I’ve noticed so many tree species dying out around here.
I agree that “the sky is falling” seems to be the tone of many of the news shows on air these days, at least that’s the way it sounds to me. I have found it interesting that blizzards in Buffalo and floods in Texas are really not such an exceptional occurrence, but I’m not going to deny that climate change is a possibility.
My concern about the debate about climate change is when both sides of the debate are extrapolated out into the potential future our decedents will still have less fossil fuels to use and have to deal with the after effects of our actions. I would like to think that people could consider living like they could leave the world a little better or at least as good as they found it, no matter what their opinion of climate change.
The climate change debate is political. Living like the health of our planet is important to preserve is humanitarian.
I Can’t Listen To The Show Where I Live, But The Weather Sync Thing Is Fascinating.
I would like to rephrase my statement that I deny climate change. I don’t deny that the climate will evolve or is evolving. It always has and will continue to do so. What I deny is the extent to which humans are causing the evolution. I don’t agree that we are experiencing “Man Made Global Warming.”
Being careful not to trash the environment in which we live only makes sense. The world population of humans has grown to the extent that this is much more important now as it was in the past. I’m into recycling stuff at our house and I have never been one to waste anything.
The other problem I have is that we still have to have some sort of quality of life while we’re working to utilize new forms of energy supply and new ways to utilize and recycle our resources.
Climate is average weather (usually measured in decades). Year to year swings of wild weather does not constitute climate change, nor do faulty computer models.
The fact that past shows sync up with our current weather, comes as no surprise to me. Take any of the wild weather events being reported today and you can find wild weather events, flooding, ridiculous snowstorms, hurricanes, hail, tornadoes, extremely hot summers, extremely cold winters, etcetera, just by looking back to a hundred years.
Think Al Gore. Crazy climate change predictions from just 10 or 15 years ago have not proven accurate. Florida was not under water when I was there in March.
CSA
And, CSA, Florida is not under water now. Good thing, 'cause a river running into the Gulf is 3/4 mile down (and 15 feet below my porch) my street. The climate has always been changing for better or worse for as long as the planet existed. Much like floods in Texas, blizzards in Buffalo, wildfires in Arizona, droughts in California and tornadoes in Oklahoma. Syncing the old shows to the current weather is a great example of this.
It doesn’t take much research into GW/GCC “solutions” to find the political links that have NOthing to do with solving claimed problems and everything to do with pushing an ideological agenda.
That said, the push for increased efficiency and reduced waste in everything we do and use is something I can wholeheartedly endorse. Electric cars, if not right for everybody, are pretty darn cool. Advances in IC engine technology is fantastic. Who among us would have predicted 100 Hp per liter, SAE net, from emissions compliant engines that last 200,000 miles? MPG’s are pretty good for cars that are FAR safer and FAR quicker 0-60 mph than any Geo Metro 3 banger. Yes, I think some buyers would give up 2 seconds 0-60 for 4 MPG’s and manufacturers should hear from you about that. I also like CNG as a motor fuel and would like to see that implemented ASAP given how much natural gas we have under our feet right here in the USA.
The last time I bought an SUV was 2004. I still have it and it gets 16 MPG highway. The same SUV last sold in 2013 got 21. 9 years development and 5 MPG improvement with the same size engine. Given how many trucks/SUV’s based on this platform were sold in ONE year, this saved more C02 that every Prius sold for about 5 years. The best selling F150 improved 4 mpg over the same period.
Could “Soylent Green” be more prophetic than 1984?
I too find it difficult to believe that Man is the major cause of the changes in the climate.
I believe that we should all do a little better to leave the environment in a better place than what when we came. I don’t want to leave my grandchildren a world that they cannot enjoy and prosper in. I also think most people feel the same.
The climate has slowly waned all through history and I feel that the earth now is only going through another phase of temperature fluctuation…either cooler, or warmer… no one really knows.
The “Climate Change” folks are as bad as “PETA People”.
Make enough outrageous claims to try to win over the other side, but you loose credibility when none of it makes sense to the public. Then no one wins.
I’ll bet a fly over of Al Gore’s house at night would show the waste of those that claim to be the saviors of the world. I’ll bet you could do brain surgery on that well lit up lawn.
Yosemite
“Could “Soylent Green” be more prophetic than 1984?”
How About The Lyrics To Taxman By The Beetles? (Great tune, by the way. Now It’s Stuck In My Head.)
They predicted the latest Climate Change EPA/Government Tax/Regulation Over-Reach Supreme Court battle, in my opinion. The decision is imminent.
CSA
Years ago, when operating a small shop in this small town and struggling to ‘get ahead’ I found myself in a somewhat constant angst over the fact that my state and federal income taxes totalled 42% of my profits each year. When the local 7% sales tax was included in my purchases I was only able to enjoy half of MY HARD EARNED INCOME while the ‘lazy people’ enjoyed the other half. I was an easy target for the "government is the problem’ crowd. Of course government is the problem but the alternative is not very pretty.
I try to not rush off into oblivion to the right or left and oblivion is what’s waiting for those who rush of in either direction.
@Mustangman
Wow, I Didn’t Know You Lived In Florida. Where Abouts? I Envy You.
Lots of Mustangs (and Camaros) there and to relate this to weather/climate topic, many of them are convertibles. We stayed at St. Pete Beach. A friend from Clear Water, caught up with me while I was there. He agrees there are lots of them and pointed out some are rental cars, a popular choice for travelers to the state.
I play on a few golf leagues and most of the guys live in Florida in the winter and in our frozen north in the summer.
I would like to come up with a winter place to stay in Florida. If you’ve got any suggestions to make it reasonably affordable until my daughter finishes college, I’m listening.
Have you seen in the news, stories of shark attacks make it sound like the animals have gone nuts and it has become a crisis. Must be Global Warming, eh? (wink, wink)
CSA
CSA, the Fort Myers/Cape Coral/Punta Gorda area is pretty reasonable, price-wise on the Gulf side with all the amenities you’d expect in SW Florida. That’s why I’m here. Less than Naples to the south and St. Pete/Tampa/Sarasota to the north. Seasonal rentals inland off the beach are not too pricey and public beaches are quite nice but usually you will pay for parking. Figure $6 to $10 a day in Lee County. Golf course abound, too. Also, public shooting ranges including skeet and bow, if that’s your thing. Lots of walking/biking paths. This isn’t one of the crazy places for spring break so its not over-run with kids, just extra crowded for a couple weeks. Look for Lee and Charlotte county seasonal rentals to cover the whole area from Bonita Springs up to North Port.
During the tourist season we are up to our neck in Camaro and Mustang convertibles. The local airports are awash in them as are most Florida rental agencies. Lots of people splurge and rent them when they come down.
There is a local Mustang and Corvette and a Camaro club as well as Porsche and BMW and others. Lots of car shows and cruise-ins in-season. Lots of car-related stuff from fall-on if you know where to look. Great shows if you don’t mind a bit of a drive in Lake Wales in the fall, Amelia Island and Goodguys Kissimmee in the spring. A local show that swaps between Fort Myers and Tampa. Barrett-Jackson and Mecum at Palm Beach in the spring, 24 Hrs of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, IndyCar in St. Pete, NASCAR Daytona 500 and July 4th 400 and Homestead. Track day events at Daytona, Homestead, Sebring, and Palm Beach. Lots
This year’s family vacation will take me to Port Chalotte Fl. I probably won’t be online but I’ll be in the area last week of July, first week of Aug.
( We’ll probably meet face to face and not even know it. )