Texas on fire???

[texbaylea]

WE have had some spot fires in the county but nothing like North Texas. We have had a burn ban in effect since early summer so maybe it penetrated to people NO OUTDOOR BURNING! My land is all sandy so I don't see cracks like those of you with clay soils.

sneaky_pete I agree with you in that most of the global warming is the natural cyclical variation of the earth's climates. (I am a physicist/geologist by training). Man's activities have been a minor contributor. Maybe we need to ban ruminants. LOL

Vernon

 

[EddieWalker]

Sneaky Pete,

I'm in agreement with you on the global warming issue.

I just heard that the average temp for the planet has gone up one degree in the last hundred years. Not allot to get exited about.

Even during the Huricanes, the news medias kept comparing this years storms to the bads ones back in the 20's and 30's. We still haven't equaled those storms, which makes it pretty obvious global warming isn't a factor there either.

Just like the hurricanes, nature works in cycles. Right now we're in a dry one, but since it's not the driest in history, it's hard to blame global warming for it.

Eddie

 

[Trev]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It is dry around here. I've got one little job that I haven't been able to finish up just because the grass around it is so dry. And in this wind, one spark, it'd be like lighting on gasoline. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif))</font>

Makes me wonder abut the exhaust pipe of my JD4300 which comes out down by the left front wheel. Never noticed any sparks, but maybe this isn't the best place for the exhaust if I lived out where you do? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Bob

 

[Trev]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( My belief as a geologist is that global warming is real, but I'm unconvinced that man is the chief culprit.)</font>

I agree totally. What startled me was to hear that the same thing is happening on every other body of our solar system.. not just our own little planet. Kind of hard to support the idea that man is the culprit if that's the case.

If this is indeed the case, then we might be looking at something cyclical that happens to the physics of our solar system at various intervals? Unfortunately, I don't know of any really long-term historical data on any other solar system body except Earth. Such data would probably have to come from geological data, and we don't have many geolgists roaming the solar system. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Just wondering if you scientists among us have any knowledge of the truth or falsity of this, and perhaps some theories about it all?

Best,
Bob

 

[BillG_in_TX]

Just to keep things in perspective (through 12/28):

Average YTD rainfall in Dallas - 34.44 inches

2005 YTD rainfall in Dallas - 18.97 inches /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
2004 YTD rainfall in Dallas - 47.57 inches /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Avg rainfall 2004-2005 - 33.27 inches
... pretty close to average, huh?

All numbers from Weather Underground.

 

[Egon]

Ah come on guys. There is definetly some warming going on! Just think about the Antartic Ice Shelf that broke loose.
Surely we must be to blame for this. It cound not possibly be the under sea volcano that had any Effect!! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Alan L.]

I don't believe man has anything to do with the temperature cycles. Do we pollute more than we should? Yes, I would hope for cleaner emissions where possible. But I have not been convinced this causes global warming.

This drought is really getting serious. I have a 40 by 60 slab my metal building is on that shows no signs of shifting. I have a 4 year old rent house on a slab and it still checks out OK so far, but I have not been watering either one.

Those foundations are probably the most important in terms of finances, but I also fret about my tank getting low. When its full it is 10-12 feet deep. I got out in the boat the other day and dropped anchor. Its 6 feet deep. My fish are getting very crowed in there.

I run water in there from my well over night from time to time, but I can hardly stay up with the decline.

There have been fires all around and it is an extremely dangerous condition. I have never seen it this dry, especially in what is supposed to be winter time. My sister lives about 35 miles away near Gainesville, Texas (close to the Red River) and they had big fires that came close to their land. About 20 homes were destroyed up in that area, and in fact some neighbors cows were relocated to my sister's land temporarily. The highway patrol or sheriffs dept have blocked access to all but those who own property there. They have a tank also, and the fire departments have been filling their trucks from it, thereby making it even lower.

My wife woke in the night having nightmares about fires coming to our house. One good thing about living in a metal building is I guess it would be hard for it to catch on fire from a brush fire.

 

[Egon]

Do any of you have firebreaks around your homes?

Egon

 

[wroughtn_harv]

The big problem around here is we don't have this kind of weather very often. So there isn't the awareness of fire dangers like there is in areas like out west where it's an issue just about every year.

I'm very careful when it comes to welding around grass. I've seen it explode and understand that it's impossible to contain with just a hose and a bucket. But a lot of people assume that grass won't burn because it's a lawn. But when the grass is dead like now and we have wind with single digit humidity, everything's gasoline looking for a match.

In north Texas we live in a fireworks culture. Doing your own fireworks is a tradition in a lot of families. Almost all the counties have bans on fireworks. But the one I live in still is selling them. They're illegal to operate or even possess in the cities but they're still available in the county even though it's illegal to set them off in the county too.

So this weekend it will probably be very busy for the fire departments in the area. We'll not only have the locals doing their New Years stuff. We'll have the folks from the other counties coming over to have their fireworks parties here.

 

[Bird]

We're back in town and all the lawns in the area are mowed pretty short, but like you said, quite dead and brown. And since we're new to this neighborhood, I don't know what the fireworks situation will be this year, and don't know whether it would help much, but I've got my garden hoses ready both front and rear of the house. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif