I saw on the news a picture of a water fountain with thick icicles on it. That water fountain is located in Phoenix, Arizona.

Here is other news pertaining to Arizona at the following link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070122/ap_on_re_us/winter_blast

So, it would seem that the majority of comments on the weather in varied locations is that it's warmer than "normal"? I think only one reply from Nebraska said it was colder or at least at normal. Well, that's called "Global Warming" by the scientific community. It's part of a cycle, like most things on earth, a regular repeating cycle, and up and down swing, recorded in the history of this planet via rock formations, ice packs, and other surface records.

I do think we are clearly in a "warming" phase (receeding glaciers, increasing temps world wide measured over long periods of time) and that we are also contributing to this warming phase. I don't think we know just how much of an impact we are making, with Co2 emmissions, deforestaion on a global level, and other man released pollutions thru industrial production. But I think we can clearly see from the data available that we are adding to the increasing temps.

I also believe that this is having a direct impact on the "physical" world around us. The polar ice caps are shrinking at VERY measureable rates. This is directly affecting the lives of the creatures that live in that area, and yes, there are creatures that live in those area's.

I think we all need to be concious of our actions upon this planet. God told us to "go forth and mulitply" but we also need to take care of the place that we have. We can not just use and abuse, with no regard for the other lives we affect. Try to recycle, think before you buy, do you really NEED that? Try to walk, ride a bike, or use some other form of transport. It's not only environmentally friendly, it's healthy. And since our body is the temple of God, we need to keep it healthy.

I don't think you have to be radical or extreme in your earth concious actions, you should just be aware, and try to be kind. No person can have ZERO impact, so don't shoot for that, or even consider that. Just be aware, make better decesions, think it through. And if we all make little changes in our own lives, we can make a big difference.

Please take care of the wonderful creatures and plants that God gave us to enjoy. He's provided so many differnt amazing things for us to enjoy, let's rejoice and celebrate His gifts to us.

The wierd weather is cyclical, and is scheduled for a nice cooling after 2012, like we had in the early 70's was it - the feared, modern ice age. The rest of what I've posted here is still in this mood of friendly discussion...

The "scientific community" is only publicised by the media for the sake of politicians - who need a scare story. The floods in England over the last 6 or so months from heavy rain fall are also to be blamed on poor infrastructure planning in residential areas with and without the building of ever more houses where one has to be careful to cater for the natural elements. And, yes, Scotland Wales regularly get the snow here unless Northern Ireland and England also get a cold gust of clouds from the north or east, which is how Kent gets its snow....We're currently enjoying a pleasant 50 degrees!

The UK House of Lords Committee on Economic Affairs - economists in Parliament - reported about two years ago, on the costs of climate change, that the UN's IPCC did not have any scientific basis for demanding huge investment in measures by industry and humans generally to combat climate change: the government just taxes us to extremes, anyway. Unleaded at present is $9.30/UK Gal, $7.71/US Gal; diesel is $8.16/US Gal!!! Road tax for new cars since 2002 has been according to CO2 in g/km as expensively as possible (just look herehttp://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/search/vedSearch.asp).

The scientific community's point of view is as solid as the modern theory of evolution - speculations: don't rely on it, is what the rest of the climatologists and meteorologists are saying. Even the BBC weather centre is unwilling to support the British political drive these days for being environmental.

Natural weather cycles need no human assistance, but we can and must look after nature around us. Fortunately or unfortunately, the main "green house" gas is methane - not CO2, but it's no energy match for petrol when converted to fuel: warming cycles draw CO2 into the air from the sea and the ground (the sea has 10 times more CO2 stored in it - mostly at depth - than the ground), so that the air has the least of all three, before and after warming up. That petrol contest with methane (BBC's Topgear) involved both bovine (cow's) and human methane, and the bovine sort was better...!

There's a book just out by Richard North and Christopher Booker entitled "Scared to Death": blame for raising global warming and BSE, etc., as dangers, is laid squarely at the feet of our own politicians. We want out of this world of sin, and to get away from our politicians! In the meantime, good stewardship of our natural surroundings is what God expects, but man-made pollutants, no longer harmful to health at present standards, do not need getting rid of on environmental grounds. Of course I'm in favour of exercise.

I'd better stop there.

December-January 2011, we have just experienced 6 Mondays in a row with major Nor'easter Storms. first 3 with crazy rain over 250mm in total, the last 3 with blizzard snows!

Not to mention what is happening in both Australia and Brazil, which are definite signs of the nearness of the 2nd Coming, don't you think?

As long ago as the late 1850's, Ellen White wrote that "Christ could have come 'ere this." There were many statements in the 1888 era indicating that God was working to prepare things for Christ's coming, but because of intransigence, Christ's coming was delayed. Therefore it's not possible that an increase in rainfall is a sign that Christ's coming is soon.

There must be a reason why it's taken so long for Christ to come again. The ministry in the MHP was supposed to take so long (and there is no need for it to have taken a long time.)

We need to focus on the spiritual reasons for Christ's delay.

The weather is definitely acting strange but not any more strangely than in the past. The weather has always caused trouble and will continue to do so. Eventually, however, religious people are going to conclude God is punishing them for allowing Sunday to be desecrated. They will cry for Sunday laws. But none of this will happen until enough SDA church members are rock solid on righteousness by faith.

Regarding CO2 emissions, do you think our release of it really has an effect? For example, how much do we release, how much is out there, and is our addition significant?

The data I've seen said to be supporting increasing temperatures only goes back 30 years. When you look at 1000's of years, we find warm temperatures are followed by cool temperatures in a repeating cycle with an average holding steady. How do you see we are responsible for an increase in temperature?

Deforestation, and not any CO2 from burning it, I would agree changes the environment. The presence or absence of trees can change the environment. But a bigger thing than worrying about what it does to us located far away is what it does permanently to the soil in rain forest areas.