Is it me or is it getting warmer? Yes I am talking about the weather here in New Jersey and to me it seems it is getting warmer every winter than the last.
What is happening, is it global warming or just a local phenomenon? If it is a local condition what is causing it? According to NJ.com this February was the warmest, “All those days of spring-like weather during the past few weeks helped make last month the warmest February ever recorded in New Jersey, according to 122 years of data compiled by New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson. The average statewide temperature in February was at least 39.3 degrees, which is 0.2 degrees warmer than the mildest February on record, in 1998, Robinson said. The normal February temperature in New Jersey — the average of the daily highs and daily lows in each region of the state — is 33.5 degrees, so this month has been about 6 degrees warmer than usual and almost as mild as it usually is in March, Robinson noted.”
So obviously it is not me and this year has been the warmest February on record for New Jersey. Now is it Global Warming or just part of a long term weather cycle? Per Live Science, “Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate. There is great debate among many people, and sometimes in the news, on whether global warming is real (some call it a hoax). But climate scientists looking at the data and facts agree the planet is warming.” So it could be either, but whether or not it is permanent I will leave to others to debate. All I am concerned about right now that it is getting warmer each winter, on average. And will this cause us Human Beings problems in the near future?
Many people who are much smarter than you or me have been debating whether this warmer temperature change is manmade or natural. At this point I do not think that it would hurt to assume that mankind might have had some small (or maybe even greater) part in influencing the Earth’s climate. If we can do things that might reverse this trend toward warming of the planet and not go crazy about doing it, I am all for doing something. For I believe it is better to not just sit and do nothing when we can try to do something.
Maybe this naïve, but I did not say I am a rocket scientist; just a regular person writing a blog. I remember when the level of photochemical pollution was rather high in the 1960s and the Federal government implemented pollution controls for cars. Well it worked and our atmosphere is much cleaner because action was taken before it was too late, so now is the time to truly try to influence our environment for the good.
That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike
