50 Years Ago...

In 1969 I was a senior at the University of Michigan soon to graduate in December.   That April a Senator from Wisconsin (Gaylord Nelson) established Earth Day as a means to focus attention on protecting our planet from human pollution.  The Clean Air Act was passed in 1970 along with the creation of the Environmental; Protection Agency.   It was a time when industry was throwing up all kinds of stuff into the atmosphere with no regard for any adverse effects on humans.    Senator Nelson was one of the first to understand how the increasing Earth's population (3.7 billion back then) was straining where we live and we needed to do something about it.  Fortunately, in my lifetime, there have been significant reductions in pollution from industry.  Where I lived (Hammond, IND.), it was common to see "red snow" caused by the fine particles of steel dust emitted by the local steel mills.  That ended many years ago.  So on this Earth Day 2019, it is appropriate for the American Meteorological Society (AMS) to issue an update to their climate statement and how mankind is impacting the current warming cycle.   You can Google this statement and read it for yourself.   Those of you who believe Global Warming is a hoax have your head in the sand.   The data says otherwise.   My take is the warming is real, but what is driving it?   The climate scientists (federally funded) say it's CO2, but in the AMS statement they finally admit that changes in solar energy & volcanoes could also impact global temps.    I am a CYCLE believer whether it's short or long term.  The Planet has a long history of warming (before man) and cooling and I expect there will be a change within the next decade where the warming tapers off.  Regardless, we all should be doing what we can to reduce the volume of waste we create.   On this Earth Day, let's respect the paradise the Creator gave us.

We'll see clouds return for Tuesday & Wednesday with another round of showers, maybe some T-Storms on Thursday.  This upper disturbance will be a fast mover leaving us with another great feeling weekend.   With the opening of Jazz Fest & the Zurich Golf Classic, it will be a great way to showcase our city.  Stay tuned!