While Colorado burns, Washington fiddles

[XemaSab]

In the political world, this was the week of the healthcare ruling: reporters hovered around the supreme court, pundits pundited, politicians "braced" for the ruling, "reeled" in its aftermath. It provoked a "firestorm" of interest, according to one magazine; it was, said another, a "category 10 hurricane".

But in the world world, there was news at least as big, but without the cliched metaphors. News that can be boiled down to a sentence or two:

You ever wonder what global warming is going to look like? In its early stages, exactly like this.

Global warming is underway. Are we waiting for someone to hold up a sign that says "Here's climate change"? Because, this week, we got everything but that:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/29/while-colorado-burns-washington-fiddles

[dipsydoodle]

1. And the UK gets wet

Why has our weather been so wet? It's a simple enough question to ask, but more complicated to answer.

We have had the wettest April, the soggiest June and the wettest April to June period on record,. And - if that doesn't depress you enough, there is no prolonged settled weather pattern on the horizon.

Essentially, the main culprit is the six-mile high Jet Stream - a fast wind blowing around the planet that makes and move our surface pressure systems. It's been stuck in a rut recently - and that's why we've been experiencing so much rain.

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It is is powered by temperature contrasts between the cold polar regions of the planet and the hot tropics. The heatwave currently over the US has has pushed the Jet Stream further north than is usual.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18689301