See No Global Warming, Hear No Global Warming, Speak No Global Warming

From today's WaPo:

DISPATCH FROM NEW ENGLAND
Sports on Ice Are Feeling Under the Weather

The problem, as Washingtonians also know, is that this January did not act like January on the East Coast. In Boston, the average temperature last month was a little over 36 degrees -- more than seven degrees above normal. Farther north in Burlington, Vt., January was even more abnormal, 10.2 degrees too warm.

Forecasters say the fault lay with the jet stream. Instead of blowing frigidly in from the north, the dominant flow was more directly west to east, bringing along wetter, warmer, Pacific weather.

"Normal climate variability," a government forecaster called it.

This article does not even mention global warming. No mention that 9 of the 10 warmest years in human history are 9 of the 10 last years. No mention that 2005 was the warmest in recorded history. The corporate media goes blithely on, presenting all news as "infotainment", stripped of context. It's like covering 9/11 by saying, "Look, a plane flew into the World Trade Center! Two! Hmmm. That's unusual."

Today's global warming news:

Global warming threatens Tibet rail link

Feb 5, 2006 — BEIJING (Reuters) - Global warming could threaten the new Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's highest, within a decade, a Chinese researcher said in remarks published on Sunday.

Wu Ziwang, a frozen soil specialist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the official Xinhua news agency his research over three decades revealed large areas of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau showed signs of shrinking, as they were frozen less of the time.

This could threaten the new railway, which is to start operations this year, Wu said.

"Fast thawing of frozen soil in the plateau might greatly increase the instability of the ground, causing more grave geological problems in the frozen soil areas where major projects such as highways or railways run through," Wu added.

Global warming boosting Greenland glacier flow

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Two major glaciers in Greenland have recently begun to flow and break up more quickly under the onslaught of global warming, a new study said on Friday, raising the specter of millions drowning from rising sea levels.

The report from the University of Swansea's School of the Environment and Society said the Kangerdlugssuaq and Helheim glaciers had doubled their rate of flow to the ocean over the past two years after steady movement during the 1990s.

This spurt meant that current environmental models of the rate of retreat of Greenland's giant ice sheet -- which could add seven meters to the height of the world's oceans if it disappears -- had underestimated the problem.

Global Warming Posing Significant Threat To Great Barrier Reef

Sydney, Australia (AHN) - Australia's hot summer has had a devastating effect on the ecologically sensitive Great Barrier Reef.

Water temperatures during the past four months had been well above normal and the reef is following a similar temperature profile of 2001-2002, which led to the worst incidence of coral bleaching to the spectacular natural formation.

The University of Queensland scientists say the underwater scene shocked them and are fearful the entire reef may be at risk of destruction from global warming.

Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg reports most of the reefs the team saw are now completely bleached.

He continues, "Going down to 10 meters, every pieces of coral was a glowing white color - all that brown color had disappeared and that was surprising for us.”