News

Global Warming heating up Minnesota Winters?

By Allen Costantini, KARE 11 News
Sep. 14, 2006

At the tail end of this very hot summer, the United States Public Interest Research Group hopes to stoke the fire under politicians and the public over Global Warming.

Thursday, on the steps of the Minnesota State Captiol, USPIRG Campaign Director Lindsay Crowder told reporters, "Global warming is happening now and Minnesotans are feeling the heat. Temperatures will continue to rise unless we quickly and significantly reduce global warming pollution from our power plants, cars, as well as our SUV's."

Minnesotans are well aware of the warmer winters of late that have plagued Saint Paul Winter Carnival events and put the brakes on the City of Lakes Nordic Skiing Loppet race. Race director John Munger knows all too well how warm winters have been, "In 2005, in the week before the race, this is the end of January, we had three 50 degree plus days in a row."

That race was cancelled and only hundreds of shoveling volunteers saved the 2006 race.

Thursday, USPIRG offered a new report saying in the Twin Cities, the minimum temperatures are on the rise by 2.49 degrees Fahrenheit from 2000 to 2005. Further, in the first six months of 2006, minimum temperatures are up 5.97 degrees Fahrenheit.

Most scientists, including 35-year veteran meteorologist Craig Edwards, agree that we are having warmer weather.

"January and February in particular, we're seeing warmer overnight temperatures, minimum temperatures that have risen as much as 4 degrees over the course of the last 50 years."

But who or what is to blame?

"The human race has something to do with this," notes University of Minnesota Climate Professor Mark Seeley, "unfortunately, we can't say how much yet."

Experts like Seeley and Edwards say even if there is no agreement on the causes of the temperature increases, the debate has merit. "If this today does nothing else, it stirs up the conscience of each individual to say yeah, what can we do to make the environment a better place for all of us," says Edwards.

The USPIRG report comes on the heels of a NASA report showing what appears to be an unexplained accelerated melting of the North Polar Ice Cap, especially over a one year period from 2004 to 2005.

(Copyright 2006 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)