Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Up next

No, it's not the cleanup batter.  It's the temperature, stupid.   Last year was by far the warmest ever recorded in the continental US.  By a full degree.  Usually these records are broken by a tenth of a degree.  At 55.3 degrees average, even the most skeptical observers have to admit this is more than a fluke event.  It seems the new normal is to break daily high temperature records about 5 times as often as we set record lows.  The corollary is the record dryness we are experiencing.   61% of the country is now in a moderate or severe drought.  These statistics argue for a more robust engagement of the government in the nuts and bolts of climate change.  One can only hope our elected officials get in the game before the ninth inning.  However, I think it would be prudent for farmers to assume there will be no leadership on this issue and plan accordingly.

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