The other day I said it doesn't get that much hotter here in Yuma than In Phoenix AZ. Today it is hotter here current temperature is 121.6 F @ 3:52PM.

We're half of that in Wisconsin right now. Hope your A/C is working good.

All this talk about global warming. Hog wash! I remember back in the 80's during a River Trip the temperature in Bullhead, AZ one afternoon was 124F. That's a whole 2.4F warmer. Isn't that what scientists say is difference between global warming and the next ice age?

Scott

Lol!! even if you had the A/C set at 110F, it'd still be cooling things down!!

Hottest day here that I can remember here was 124.5F So we are close to a record today. Right now Needles CA is 123.1F but Bullhead is a very cool 119F

Wait a minute…I thought that above 110 it didn’t matter.

All kidding aside I sure can tell the difference between 110 and 115 out on the flight line but then I work outside all day so hot becomes relative.

It actually gets up to 170 inside our aircraft if they are closed up. It’s so hot that you physically can’t breath.

The daily high or low isn't what they refer to, it is the change in the average long term temperature. For instance, here they are tracking the average temperatures of many rivers and global warming or not, they found that the average summer water temperature has gone up 1.4 degrees 'average' in the last few years. Doesn't sound like much but that change places them in the 24 Celsius range which is infringing upon the upper limits of what the rainbow trout can survive in. Just another degree or so and I'll have to hang up the ol' flyrod rod for good.

Also it's often the spin off effects that multiply the damage as much or more so than the temp itself. Another local example. Less rain = water too shallow for breeding. Too much rain and silt run off destroys river beds and makes the water uninhabitable, destroying breeding grounds or the fish themselves.

Even more scary, every year we have more and more reported "fish kills" where a portion of a river becomes "anoxic", totally depleted of oxygen due to warmer waters going stagnant and in turn, promoting the riverbeds getting covered in "sea lettuce" that is a total oxygen hog of a slimy, green, stinky plant. In generations past, nobody can remember fish kills of this magnitude except those caused by negligent farming practices. Also, these are happening earlier every year.

When rivers go anoxic, the water turns milky white or sometimes a pale, whiteish green. Add to that all the dead floating fish and let me tell you, it is not pretty.

I think patterns over time are normal but
our climate here is definitely changing and so far, not at all for the better. I can only hope your doubts of Global Warming turn out to be correct but I have read a lot on both sides of the argument and as a normally almost unshakable optimist, I still stand pretty much on the "We are quiet nearly F--ed" side of the fence.

Speaking of cycles, here goes yet another rebirth of an Axiom hot topic. Hopefully I stirred up a cyclone to come back and check out Monday.

Dean, you should suggest to the General that the planes be air-conditioned so that you can work in comfort.

Right now it's 58F with a projected high of 70F. This is perfect weather imo.

I know. I was being extremely sarcastic, or at least attempting to. As a scientist (Chemist in the industry for more than 20 years), I get to see more than my fair share of environmental reports about global warming and pollution.
IMHO we (society) use crude oil in entirely the wrong way. To go from wellhead to gas tank and bypass years of service as a polymer of some sort first, then crack it into something we can get around with is a far better way to go.

I think I just took it to Category 1 (reference to cyclones... this could get interesting).

Scott

We do have portable AC packs but those are primarily for cooling the avionics equipment and to keep circuit breakers from popping in the heat. The most serious problem the heat gives us is over-temping the engines at high takeoff weights.

I figured as much but used it as an excuse to rant.

Interesting thought on polymer first, fuel later though. How feasible is that?

As an academic project, quite feasible. Beyond that, one has to get past the oil cartel. Look at the uphill battle alternative fuels have had. Completely not feasible with gasoline at $2-2.50/gallon. Raise gas prices to $4/gal and ethanol and biodiesel make a whole lot of sense (Oh, wait. That hapened, didn't it?!). Once the cartel realized that there was a lot of renewed interest and funding for alternative fuels, gas prices quickly dropped back to the under $2.50/gal mark. Its all about control. There was absolutely no reason for gas to go from $2 to $4 back to $2 again, other than they proved they could... And we all kept buying, it hurt like heck, but we did it.

That said, all my vehicles have V8's. They get 18-22 mpg, though.

Scott