June 1, 2017 Night

Good evening! Mostly clear and 59 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a west-northwest breeze at 8 mph. The dew point is 44 degrees. A bit of a chilly start to June but still the windows are open for fresh air. At least it’s not too hot. 

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 47 degrees at 5am. Six degrees below normal. Southwest wind 5 to 8 mph. In 2016, it got down to 64 degrees with mostly cloudy skies. The record low of 39 occurred back in 1971.

First Quarter Moon tonight with 54% illuminated. The moon will set around 2:20 am. The Full β€œStrawberry” Moon is on Friday, June 9th. The sun will rise at 5:19 am with the first light at 4:45 am, which is 28 seconds earlier than yesterday. Tonight will have 8 hours and 52 minutes of darkness, a decrease of one minute and 11 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of showers after noon. Partly sunny, with a high of 68 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 46 at 9am. Southwest wind 7 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies and a high of 85 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1895.

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 70. Northwest wind 7 to 13 mph. Maximum dew point of 47 at 2pm. Sunday, a chance of rain, then rain likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 55 at 4pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 75 degrees.

In four weeks on June 29 the sun will be setting at 8:37 pm, which is 10 minutes and 3 seconds later then tonight. In 2016 on that day, we had rain, shallow fog, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 81 and 60 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 81 and 60 degrees. The record high of 96 degrees was set back in 1944.

A bit of a slow commute home with traffic delays on 787. There had to have been a crash earlier in the day but I did see anything but I was probably looking at my smartphone and listening to All Things Considered. 

Made up tuna fish salad for dinner with sliced green beans, and watched the PBS Newshour for a while, a bit distraught with the day’s news on the Paris Climate Accords falling apart. How can America be so stupid, abandoning our global leadership? 

Went down to the town park for a while. It’s nice how long the days are now, and will be for the next month or so until things start getting shorter once again. 

Looking ahead, Average High is 80 is in 3 weeks, July 1st is a month away, National Fried Chicken Day is in 5 weeks, Hottest Day of Year (83 Average) is in 6 weeks, Ugly Truck Day is in 7 weeks, August 1st is in 2 months, State Fair Opens is in 12 weeks, 7:30 PM Sunset is in 13 weeks, September 1st is in 3 months, Average High is 70 is in 16 weeks, Hunter’s Moon is in 18 weeks, Thanksgiving is in 25 weeks and January 1, 2018 is in 7 months.

Good night! 

Not Again on Paris

I am very disappointed with President Trump’s decision to back out of the Paris Climate Agreement. It seems like we always are taking one step forward on climate change, make some progress under a Democratic president and then a Republican is elected and he or she undoes the good work of their predecessor. Even though the science is overwhelming on what the impacts of climate change, the political will to take serious action is lacking. 

Democrats can point fingers until the cows come home. They can blame the GOP for dragging their feet. They can say that they have too little political power and the voters haven’t given them a mandate to address a future problem, when most people are more concerned about getting a paycheck do they can put a roof over their head and feed their family. All valid observations but that’s not getting us closer to finding serious solutions. 

Conservatives and businesses who are change adverse have been very successful at blocking climate change action largely on grounds that most people are more concerned about today rather than tomorrow. Liberals on their part have focused too much on micro managing climate action, making lifestyle statements about how virtuous and green they are while not tackling the big industrial questions of the day. Rhetoric is nice but if you’re not willing to tackle full on the big polluters in favor of going after the little guy, your not helpful, your making things worse. 

Climate change action will happen eventually. But deferred action only increases the costs and the damage. Mankind will never live to undo the damage he has wrecked upon the climate. But we can reduce future damage and stop digging out own graves so quickly. 

Since 1990, they’ve been talking about a 90% reduction of carbon below that years levels by 2050 or levels around 350 ppm. We’ve gotten further away from that goal. And now 2050 is only 30 years away – I won’t even be 67 at that point. It’s scary how quickly it’s coming. Maybe my life won’t be that impacted by climate change tomorrow but the future is rapidly approaching and I have real concerns. 

I’m just very disappointed with the president. I had high hopes for change and a fresh perspective on issues of the day but on climate, all we’ve gotten is a step backwards.