Brrr!

What with all the reports of global warming getting more aggressive, it was with some surprise that I read this report on Alberta's Premier restricting 'green energy' projects. The issue: "viewscapes". Whaaaa??

How can that be? Well, for one thing, Canada is far more 'federalist' than the good ole USofA; provincial administrations have far more authority vis-a-vis Ottawa than USofA states do to Washington. Alberta also, by coincidence, just happens to be a major petro state. One hand washing the other? You decide.

Moreover, that report and another today, tell us that Canada (well, the Western provinces) have been hit with near record cold this winter. What's a Canuck to do? Move to Abbott/DeMented land? Yikes!!

As all you other weather nerds know: for the USofA, esp. the Sovereign States of New England, short-term climate/weather is mostly determined by where the northern and southern jets go. For winter, if the northern jet stays in Canada, as it has been for most of this winter, we in the upper tier of the lower 48 can have southern air flow up to us. And so we get rain. Sometimes lots of it. Not the Weird Coast's atmospheric rivers, of course. And for them, winter rain is actually a problem. A significant amount of water is 'stored' in mountain snowpack. Exactly how many cubic meters of reservoir would be needed to store liquid water if there were little to no snowpack in the mountains, I haven't yet found. But it's clearly a lot. Consider that reservoirs need stable valleys, typically on rivers, which don't really exist where snowpack accumulates. Where to put such reservoirs? Only The Shadow knows. I'd vote for expelling the Orange County Rednecks and put them there; near enough to Tinsel Town.