What is summer? It is supposed to get hot. A day with no wind, temp 85. Dew point 70 in DC is below normal in mid-summer but it dang sure feels hot in the midday sun. I am of the impression that the combination of creature comforts and less reliance likely due to changes in the physical fitness levels in the nation have made us more susceptible to swallowing ideas about how bad it is.
Americans are more overweight than underweight than let’s say in the 1950s. Testosterone levels in the 35-year-old male in the greatest generation were twice what they are now. ( dang good thing we had that toxic masculinity in WW2, eh) Society today is such that it would be natural, if one wishes to change society to more complacent and controllable, to convince them things are so bad now there is no way they can get by. Sad to say meteorologists have chimed in with every warning known to man and some that apparently have originated in places that are not of this world. ( it does seem like some of the warnings are overkill of what is intuitive)
Let us take the apparent temperature. Do you know comfort is largely a part of adaptation and tolerance? And it is genetic too. I watched an HS wrestler shovel a foot of snow for over an hour with the temperature at 20 degrees and winds gusting over 20 mph in a sweatshirt and no gloves. 5 minutes out in that I am frozen to death, or think I am. So that wind chill of 10 apparently did not bother him in the least. which explains why he will be wrestling at PSU. In my old days in college, I had a snow shoveling company I was sweating like a pig in a sauna 10 minutes after starting to shovel. I was younger, tougher, higher tolerance ( which wrestling at PSU or being brought up by my dad and mom did) So how is the same scary wind chill or apparent temperature for an 18-year wrestler no big deal when for someone else its a sign to hide?
But my point is we are pushing scare tactics in the weather that stop us from evaluating reality All those Green New Dealers are in air-conditioned offices and cars all day which would not be possible without fossil fuels in the first place, then they come outside and its 90 degrees and they think its the end of the world, Take farming. The family farm is disappearing. But farmers, ranchers, construction workers, and anyone who works outdoors, is likely more tolerant to the so-called extremes of today that were simply looked at as normal 50-60 years ago. But those Green New Dealers in their air-conditioned offices all day walk out in the heat and they are convinced they have to save the world from the hell evil we are creating by simply wishing to advance.
And given the AMS and their pushing of climate change for you to keep your TV job or rise thru the ranks today, you better darn well let people know how bad it is and that I can save you by warning you, I am not talking about tornadoes, severe weather floods and the like, I am talking about what I am seeing with the “hysteria” about how hot it is getting in Texas. Something we warned our clients was going to happen and said due to the configuration of the ridge, the wind aspect may not be enough for that part of their energy grid, and rolling blackouts could occur mid-June into August this year. So it begins. And what maps go up? APPARENT TEMPERATURE. Apparent to who? If you are tough and hydrated it is a hot Texas day, one that long-time Texans know about, If you are not, its a sign of climate change and hell descending on you, Guess what my field stokes more often than not? This is in the face of a pattern that has had 75% of the nation population-weighted with LESS THAN AVERAGE WARMTH THIS month.
It is more of a socio-psychological dilemma than weather. To feel good about yourself, you have to overcome something. So if you are told this is worse than ever, despite having a lifestyle that would blow away anything 50-100 years ago, you believe you are overcoming the odds. And then you have to get everyone to do it with you, so we can all defeat this monster we have created together. And then, the ultimate irony, the nerd class from when I was young of which I was and still am in, the weather and climate geeks, the least likely of the toxic testosterone avengers, are leading the masses out and are the heroes. Heck maybe I am trying to be a hero by being some kind of anti-hero, but the fact is the worse the weather is the better it is for me. So why would I want the weather to be less than what is portrayed?
It comes down to, if not the truth, then the search for it, Not the search for your feelings, but the facts. And I put forward that if you believe that it is worse than ever now, it is because perhaps you have not seen the path we traveled to get to a position where people are so comfortable and self-centered they “feel” it is worse than ever. And there is a whole market and agenda to push that.
Whatever happened to the Good old liberals of my day? John Mellencamp in his “Minutes to Memories” with his line from the old man to the young guy?
“Days turn to minutes and minutes to memories. Life sweeps away the dreams we have, You are young and you are the future. So Suck it up and tough it out and be the best you can.
There is no time better than today in my field to heed those words. And guess what. It is not as tough as it used to be, and its easier to be the best you can, if you don’t believe there is some atmospheric apocalypse waiting for you.