European Cooling

In Weather Takes Further Toll on Europe, the WSJ reports that:

Snowstorms and freezing temperatures continued across Europe, disrupting Christmas-holiday travel for thousands of people and claiming at least 80 lives.

Poland, where 29 people have frozen to death since the start of the weekend, and Ukraine, with 27 fatalities, have fared worst. But the effects are being felt from Scandinavia to Italy. A homeless organization in France said 12 people have died in the severe cold this month.

Following hard upon the irony of the American President leaving the Copenhagen climate summit a day early because of snow in Washington, this article goes to end with the following:

Private forecaster WSI said most of Europe is likely to experience colder-than-normal temperatures over the next three months. Todd Crawford of WSI said a combination of El Niño, a cold north Pacific and cold midlatitude North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures pointed to a continuation of frigid weather.

"There may be a relaxation of the current cold pattern during January, followed by a return to more consistent colder weather in February and March," he said.

The climate is always changing. There really and truly was fear of global cooling a quarter of a century ago. I remember that for a fact, for I was aware of its possibility when I moved from New York to Florida in the mid-1980s. Only to run into some record hot months. Go know.

How much human effort will be spent on changes in manufacturing and transportation to have minimal effect on the weather half a century out? Where are the green industries? Will this be the next Internet-like "hot" investment fad?

I dunno. But it looks as though there will be at least some cooling the European fervor for pro-cooling measures when this winter finishes.

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