We never had a summer this year! This is the first real heat wave this year, should ease tomorrow a little and then slowly subside over the next week. I used to have the swamp cooler set at 75 for the cold GH, last 2 days I turned it down to 58. It used to cool off down to 58 to 60 on it's own but not the last couple of nights when the night time low was 70. I don't know if the swamper was on all night, could have been. The humidifier has not shut off for a couple of days. I have it set at 85% and this heat wave is DRY. My RO system is still keeping ahead of the watering and the humidifying but it's also going non-stop. The Draculas are still blooming, showing no sign of wilting and the Dend cuthbersonii also look fine. Nick

From a different part of the country than the rest of you, but, I sure wish we were getting some of your cold and snow. Last summer was the hottest on record in this area from what I heard and the driest since the 30's. We have had extremely mild winters for it seems that past five years or so...especially so these last two years. And therefore we have seen very little snow...most of the children here dont have the memories of sleigh riding parties. So sad for me...but I am tring to hang in there and just hope this is a warming trend of the area. From my education in environmental science, parts of the earth go through warming and cooling cycles constantly. The "global warming" scare is likely on of these warming trends. I will be glad to see the below 0 temps and couple nice heavy snows we used to get every winter to restock the water supply and give the kids (and kids at heart) some fun.

Thanks for all the consolation. It wouldn't be so aggravating if Mother Nature didn't play tricks. One week, soooo nice and sunny and the birds are singing and twitterpatting and the honey bees are buzzing and you get the glorious feeling of pulling your gardening hat out for the first time, and the spring bulbs are just bobbing in the slight breeze and....and then bam! Freeze Warning! Luckygal, yeah, you're right, I have noticed milder winters than in the past too, although we have still had lots of snow pack. Still...it's too damn cold for May 1st, I say!! (hear me roar!) My plum trees are blooming...I hope they don't get nipped off. Southie, I'm going to order fall bulbs this year and overwinter them until next spring so I can see where to plant them. Have you ever done that?

Let's put this thing to rest....... I didn't mean to get everyone all worked up. For that, I'm truly sorry I ever posted this. Perhaps I should have changed the title to "Map shows POSSIBLE Global Warming". On the other hand, it shows just how sharply divided people are on this isssue. Dragontek, your last remarks were uncalled for. Why resort to insults? It was in your very first post on this topic that you said "until something that comes along that disputes the rapid warming and melting in the arctic-", and then go in the opposite direction and state:"climate change and global warming does not mean it is going to become warm all at once". YOU are the only one who suggested that, but then insult anyone who might think that as being "from a red state and just plain DUMB".......how would you feel if someone here made a remark like 'people from BLUE states are arrogant, prejudiced and prone to childish name-calling'? It might bode well for you to remember that many of the people living in the warmer, more hospitable RED states are retirees and business people who relocated from the colder, less hospitable BLUE states. As for donray posting his link....sorry, you lost me there. A link to a page showing the Confederate flag and lyrics for 'Dixie'? Not sure what that has to do with global warming. Unless you were just trying to get back at dragontek....I fear all you may have accomplished by posting that link was to reinforce dragontek's rather outdated and predjudiced views. Maybe spockvr6 hit the mark early on....short-term data should not be ignored, but it's not a means to an end. Only another piece of the puzzle. In the grand scheme of things, a few years is nothing. From a chronological viewpoint, even 10,000 years is a mere wink in the eye of time. It's only been within the last 30 to 40 years that we as humans have become more attuned to our climates and the weather. There's still just so much we don't know, and can't predict. Loss of the ozone layer, factory and automotive exhaust emissions, the loss of wetlands and rainforests....all of which are playing a role in our changing climate, for better or worse. While I do not suggest surrender or indifference, just shrugging our shoulders and trying to roll with the punches, I do say that a lot of what happens with the weather in the coming years will ultimately be beyond anyone's control. It will be up to all of us to try and make the best of it and shape a brighter future with a more stable climate.