Now on my third pot of tea of the day, with a dogwalk and breakfast behind
me, I have come across the following news item in today's Daily Telegraph.
Before I quote this, I'll mention that today's breakfast brought a long
series of experiments to a satisfactory end. This was to find the best
recipe for a medium-soft goose egg -- that is, one into which you can dip
slices of bread or toast ("soldiers" over here):
Place egg in cold water, bring to boil, time for 7 minutes, choose a very
large spoon with which to extract the egg (one or two experiments failed in
previous days because of spoons that were too small causing subsequent hand
tremors and splattering of eggs on the kitchen floor -- of advantage only
to my dog).
Keith Hudson
Now to the DT:
<<<<
Earlier global warm-up seen in tree rings
Roger Highfield
A tree ring study has revealed that 1,000 years ago the Northern Hemisphere
may have been as warm as today, suggesting that global warming can happen
naturally.
The study shows that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which
has been focussing on the effects of burning fossil fuels, has probably
underestimated the extent of global warming free of human influence.
The IPCC executive summary found that conditions during the 20th century
were warmer than at any other time since 1000AD.
However, the new work, combined with other studies, suggests that the
"Medieval Warm Period" 1,000 years ago may have been just as warm as recent
decades in the Northern Hemisphere.
The latest findings are p[ubliushed today in "Science" by Dr Jan Esper and
Fritz Schweingruber, of the Swiss Federal Institute in Birmensdorf, and Dr
Edward Cook, of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York.
Trees grow an additional layer of wood every years, forming annual rings
whose width varies, depending on environmental conditions. ~Scientists can
use these overlapping annual ring-width series to piece together
year-to-year climate changes based on three ring thickness. It is tricky
for older trees because age also makes rings become increasingly narrow.
Prof Keith Briffa at the Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia,
said: "The idea that medieval warmth was restricted to Europe is looking
far less likely."
>>>>
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�Writers used to write because they had something to say; now they write in
order to discover if they have something to say.� John D. Barrow
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Keith Hudson, Bath, England; e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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