Is Climate Change Self-Correcting? Australia's Heatwave Stops Gasoline Sales

Yes, as a matter of fact, ice core data show that the earth "corrects" its long-term cooling trends every 100,000 years or so. We're in the middle of one of those "corrections" right now. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EPICA_temperature_plot.svg

The EPICA graph shows a series of roughly 100,000-year-long cooling trends that result in ice ages with glaciers covering huge swaths of the planet, followed by brief and rapid (geologically speaking) warming trends. If our current trend matches the last 4 cycles dating back about 400,000 years, we have a ways to go before we reach peak warming.

Notice that all of the previous warming cycles occurred with no human influence. In other words, the current warming that's been happening for the last 10,000 years is completely natural and normal. Enjoy it while you can because in the previous million years the earth spent far more time enduring ice ages and cooler temperatures than we do in our current balmy and hospitable climate. Think of our current period as Mediterranean while most of the last million years was more Siberian.

Interesting concept: gasoline too volatile to pump above 118 degrees. I've pumped gas in Needles, California for many summers where the temps have been recorded in excess of 130 degrees and frequently reach the 120s. Is it in the Southern Hemisphere only because of the Coriolis Effect? Haha :b

Odd that you should say that you've endured temps recorded in excess of 130 degrees. The record high in Needles, California is only 125 degrees. You shouldn't embellish the facts, sir.

Three years ago it was the Southeast US. Two years ago it was the US mid West drought. Then it was the Colorado wildfires. Now the climate ambulance chasers are after Australia. Why is it there never any follow up once these areas go back to normal? Here around Seattle in the summer there were 90 days with little rainfall...then the next 90 days it was in the top 5 periods of rainfall!

And when you report temperature you should also be reporting rainfall and the record high humidity levels that NOAA itself has highlighted. For example, looking at a chart of rainfall, yes, some areas of Australia this week are below normal, but a few areas are having 500% percent of normal! And again, absolute and relative humidity levels. Higher heat is allowing more water vapor to be trapped in the atmosphere which eventually results in torrential rain.

If you're going to chase ambulances, then please report once the patient gets better.

PopSci should be ashamed of themselves for posting this article. Of course gasoline can be "pumped" at temperatures above 45degC. Otherwise the fuel injection systems in all modern autos would not function, since the under-hood temps the fuel system experiences are usually much higher than this.

Another obvious problem with this article is the difference between temperatures that exist between shaded areas, like those that usually exist where gas pumps are, and those with full sun exposure. The gasoline itself is usually stored in underground tanks, where temperatures are usually much cooler (10-15 degC) than the ambient conditions.

I suppose if I look at climate change from my perspective (individual human), there is no climate change problem in my life time so far. I am getting by in life and surviving daily.

I think typically, daily as everyone goes about their own lives, people are mostly focus on getting through their day and their close local world; they do not have the time or recourses to deal with planet Earth.

Now this does not mean climate change is not real. I think it is real from the energy sun cycles and I believe climate change currently being amplified since the industrial revolution tied with burning fossil fuels.

Science is correctly providing the public with the facts of climate change. Until this climate change become up close and personal to the individual the causes (human industrial productivity) climate change and it feels better immediately to cause less harm to the Earth, we humans will continue producing burning fossil fuels, polluting the Earth and well just living our lives, status quo.

One day a environmental tipping point will happen to the Earth, our 7 billion population will drop in a year or more to less than 1% with much suffering. After that still climate change will continue. Again humanity status quo will continue, surviving on planet Earth. If humanity thrives, I have no idea. I think we will struggle after this point of time for several thousands of years or longer.

I pray, I hope, I wish, to be a good person daily and to live my life as a Christian and die as a Christian. Fact, I surely will eventually die. I do control my attitude in life and this I pray to my Dear Lord to be what he wants me to be!

Normally I don't comment of these sorts of things...

@laurenra7 - The globe certainly has natural cycles, that does not mean that human influence can be neglected. You should try expanding your sources beyond wikipedia.

@riff_raff - You should be ashamed for commenting on something you don't understand. FYI, there is huge variance in the boiling point of gasoline and the conditions inside an IC engine are far different than those at a gas pump. You can't compare the two.

to Jsalazar;
My figures are based on temps recorded at the local level--the utility company in Needles and weather banners on office buildings in Bullhead City, Arizona and Casinos in Laughlin, Nevada, which share the same climate. The National figures are not reflective of the actual street temps, because they are taken under atmospheric conditions. In these places you can literally fry an egg on the hood of a car during the summer months.
And yet, even if the temps I claim are not scientific and your research temp of 125 degrees is, the question still begs: do they stop pumping gas in Needles when it gets above 118 degrees, which it often does?

Surely the petrol is much colder since it is stored (presumably) underground. So is this really true?

Maybe some trickery involved. The garage is probably running the supply pipe to the pump in an exposed position where it can pick up the heat. That would result in thermal expansion of the petrol and add to the garages profit. On a 20 000 l load of fuel, you could quite easily gain 200 l. But now it gets too hot and they can not pump it anymore.

The people of Australia should move underground.
It’s getting too hot on top, lol. ;)

Relative side article link.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130114101732.htm