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Post by NorthWes on Jan 12, 2009 15:33:32 GMT -9
Top climate story of 2008: Arctic sea ice loss (click on the bold text above to jump to link) ...an online article at Weather Underground. Yup - a real controversial topic for us Alaskans, eh? As I'm packing for my upcoming midwinter cruise on the Mexican Riviera, I know I'll get asked by fellow travelers 'What's it really like up there in Alaska?' I'll resist the temptation to grab the questioner's iced beverage & dump it over their head (as a demonstration of what last summer felt like), and will instead attempt a conversation which steers clear of politics and whether we Alaskans have damaged the environment to a point of no return in our greedy quest for oil (as we motor across the Pacific in a gigantic monument to environmental excess...). No - I thought I'd have a 'scientific' response for folks genuinely interested in Alaska and what's happening up here, at a level where anyone in the conversation could feel qualified to voice an opinion (everyone can talk about the weather.... right?) However you may feel about it, take time to hop over and read the article about the topic on wunderground.com. It's an awesome weather site with lots of extras - including the opportunity to interface with world-class meteorologists. What you'll read there is far beyond junk science! I happily pay a measly $5 per year to avoid the advertisements. It's my web browser 'home page'. It's also a great place to find understanding for why one summer's 'hot' and the very next one's 'cold'... What's this got to do with geocaching? Glad you asked...One of the reasons why the Polar Bear was chosen as the 2008 critter of note on the Alaska geocoin that year was its (at the time) potential for being listed as an endangered species. Polar Bears in the news meant more notice for the geocoin when it hit the market (a great marketing opportunity). Polar Bears on the endangered list meant a direct impact on economic decisions being made in Alaska - including our choice of critter for the geocoin! (The polar bear is of course also admired for its skill as a hunter across trackless expanses of ice and snow... kind of like the all-weather all-season Alaskan cacher looking for an urban micro in early January 2009). Add to the Polar Bear woes our hot summer of 2007, our cold summer of 2008, and our recent deep freeze cold snap of early 2009 and you've got a melting pot of reasons for being interested as a geocacher in what meteorological scientists might have to say about Arctic sea ice loss. The weather impacts our caching activity very directly, wouldn't you agree? The 'wundermap' feature on the Anchorage weather page lets you see the reports from literally dozens of local weather stations (some with webcams - even one from a geocacher!) reporting constantly from various spots across Anchorage & its environs. We have an intriguing mini-weather cycle right here in our own town, with temperature differentials noted during the recent cold snap of as much as 25 degrees in just 5 miles east to west. (BLM Campbell Tract is home to the coldest winter caches in town). Besides, the opportunities (and acknowledged costs) inherent in seeing the NorthWes Passage opened to traffic are stunning to consider... especially since it's offshore of our home state. I wonder if I can hitch a ride up that way to place a cache? Looking forward to comments & discussion about the article and the impact on geocaching here in Alaska!
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ak-dsp
Bronze Cacher
Posts: 27
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Post by ak-dsp on Jan 17, 2009 11:50:54 GMT -9
I have created a 'Favorites' link to wunderground.com and will return to it when I have a bit more time to devote to its content. My initial reaction is that it seems to be well balanced, intelligently written, and absent a lot of pseudo-intellectual dookie. (can we say, 'dookie'?) Thanks for the link.
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