Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality

Now that winter is here most of us are trying to find ways to keep our heating bills down, but many people are unaware of the mold issues that can arise from trying to save money on heat.

Often I see people hanging heavy drapes or blankets over windows to block heat loss. While this does stop some heat, the moisture in the room goes right through the blanket and condenses on the cold surface of the window. This creates an ideal habitat for mold growth. A much better solution for window insulation are the plastic window film kits. The plastic stops the moisture from getting to the window, and generally the plastic will stay above the dew point temperature so little condensation will form.

I have also seen people detach the dryer hose from the outlet to keep the heat indoors. This practice leads to far too much humidity in the home, which will find a cold surface to condense on and lead to mold growth. It seems a shame to blow heat outdoors, but mold can cause serious health issues and can be difficult to eradicate.

If you would like more information on saving energy while improving indoor air call me at 475-2415 ext. 35 or stop by my office at Trust Lands, 27 Store Road.

The Return of El Nino

Some possible good news for our heating bills here in the great north woods is the return of El Nino in the Pacific. This means that warmer waters on the surface of the central Pacific will continue probably into next summer, and if it continues to strengthen it could mean record heat for many areas next summer. In the shorter term a moderate El Nino this winter usually brings warmer temperatures to the northern plains, including northern Minnesota. Now before you drag your beach umbrellas down to Park Point this January remember warmer is a relative term, and we will still get our share of sub-zero and snow. But overall it should be milder than the last two La Nina influenced winters.

In other climate news - global cooling is still not happening, at least according to statisticians who looked at the temperature data blindly. In a fine example of journalism an AP reporter sent the different datasets from land and satellite to several prominent statisticians without labeling the data and asked them to describe the trends. All of them said the trend is clearly upward and that any short-term downward trend is just random noise in the overall upward progression. There is a lot of disinformation out on the internet that uses cherry-picked statistics or records, but if you look at the data honestly the rapid rise in overall world temperature is obvious. If you don't believe me, take the GISS temp graph to a stockbroker and tell him it is a stock price graph - I bet you he will tell you to buy it.

Grand Portage Hazecam is Offline (temporarily)

I have been trying unsuccessfully to get the Hazecam back online, but it looks like the hard drive in the main computer that processes the images has crashed for good.

I will have to send it in to our support company so the camera will be down for a couple of weeks.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Carbon Monoxide - The Silent Killer

Carbon monoxide (CO) is odorless, colorless and deadly. Every year thousands of people in the United States are treated in emergency rooms for carbon monoxide poisoning, and over 400 people die each year from unintentional CO exposure. CO is produced by any type of fuel burning; wood, propane, oil, kerosene, or anything else that burns. CO poisoning symptoms include; mild nausea, mild headaches, and shortness of breath at low levels, severe headaches, dizziness and confusion at medium levels, and death at high levels. It may also have long term effects on your health.

Fall and winter are the seasons when most CO incidents occur mostly due to improperly maintained or leaky heating systems as well as the lack of fresh air circulation in the home. Another source to be aware of are portable generators, which due to their lack of emission controls can produce far more CO than your car. If you need to use a portable generator or are installing a more permanent one for electrical outages be sure to select a site away from potentially open windows and ideally at least 25 feet from the house. Never idle a car in an enclosed attached garage as this is a common source of CO poisoning. Be sure wood stoves are properly vented and sealed, and NEVER use a charcoal or gas grill indoors. Other sources are gas water heaters and ovens, so be sure to run your kitchen fan when baking.

If you think you have been experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning get fresh air immediately! Open doors and windows and shut down combustion sources. Seek medical help and tell them you suspect CO. They have a blood test that can determine exposure if done soon after.

If you wish to have any of your gas appliances or furnace tested I have a CO meter which can tell us precisely how much CO a given appliance is emitting. CO detectors can be useful and are required in newer homes, but they can vary in quality so check an unbiased source such as Consumer Reports or Underwriters Laboratories (UL) when choosing one. For more information please contact Stuart Oberg, Air Quality Specialist, at the Trust Lands office. My number is 475-2415 ext. 35 and you can reach me by e-mail at soberg (at) boreal.org.

Can Extreme Weather Events be Blamed on Climate Change?

This claim is often made, but it is very difficult to blame specific weather incidents to larger shifts in climate.

But I have just read a very convincing article from a Weather Channel meteorologist that makes exactly that argument about the recent floods in the American southeast. It is a bit technical, but if you know a little weather science you should be able to follow the argument.

One of the key points to remember about climate is that heat=energy, and the more energy we put into a chaotic system like our climate, the more extreme fluctuations we are going to get. This is similar to how adding a certain amount of energy to a wave tank can cause an even greater increase in wave height than you would expect if the system was linear.

See here for a global view of climate anomalies 2008-2009.

Humans are conducting a huge experiment on the only planet we have, and we are recklessly adding more and more energy to our climate system. Hang on for the ride, it's only going to get bumpier.

Dramatic Video Catches Glacial Retreat

This is amazing:



h/t Climate Progress

Please watch the entire video - the last few minutes capture the largest glacial calving event ever captured on camera. This massive disintegration of a glacier in Greenland is truly incredible.

95% of glaciers outside Antarctica are in retreat, and even Antarctica is losing volume as major ice shelves collapse. Anyone who claims climate change is only based on models should watch this - because that is what the photographer admits was his view until a decade ago.

NOAA Global Climate Analysis For July: Fifth Warmest On Record

While much of central North America has been cooler than average this summer, NOAA keeps track of the world climate as a whole and guess what - cool weather in Minnesota is not indicative of global climate. Here are some of the highlights in case anyone claims that the global climate has stopped warming:

Global Highlights

• The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for July 2009 was the fifth warmest on record, at 0.57°C (1.03°F) above the 20^th century average of 15.8°C (60.4°F).
• July 2009 was the 33^rd consecutive July with an average global land and ocean surface temperature above the 20^th century average. The last July with global temperatures below the 20^th century average occurred in 1976.
• The global ocean surface temperature for July 2009 was the warmest on record, 0.59°C (1.06°F) above the 20^th century average of 16.4°C (61.5°F). This broke the previous July record set in 1998. The July ocean surface temperature departure from the long-term average equals June 2009 value, which was also a record.
• The global land surface temperature for July 2009 was 0.51°C (0.92°F) above the 20^th century average of 14.3°C (57.8°F), and tied with 2003 as the ninth-warmest July on record.
• For the year to date, the global combined land and ocean surface temperature of 14.3°C (57.9°F) tied with 2004 for the sixth-warmest January-through-July period on record.
• El Niño persisted across the equatorial Pacific Ocean during July 2009. Related sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies increased for the sixth consecutive month in this ENSO domain, where July SSTs were more than 0.5°C (0.9°F) above average. If El Niño conditions continue to mature, as now projected by NOAA, global temperatures are likely to exceed previous record highs.

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The data presented in this report are preliminary. Ranks and anomalies may change as more complete data are received and processed. The most current data may be accessed via the Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page.

One of the interesting facts that will affect us here in northern Minnesota this winter is the return of El Nino conditions in the Pacific after two consecutive winters in a La Nina state. This should be good news for our heating bills but can also lead to erratic swings in temperatures bringing the possibility of mid-winter thaws and ice storms.