Northwestern Pacific News

[YoHo1975]

This is not an appropriate topic for this forum, but the science around what is happening around climate change and California weather has been well discussed. And it's actually very different.

 

It isn't that these Atmospheric Rivers/Pineapple express events have never happened before. They happened all the time, but:

They are currently more frequent and further south (this is Washington/Oregon weather) 

They are later in the season

And less "normal" rain events are occuring. So essentially Ca. is seeing drought for 10 months of the year and then instead of a rainy season, we get a rainy month that drowns us. Add in fire scars due to the 10 months of drought and....

 

This isn't some new thing here, it's been well discussed. Even if you don't believe in man made climate change. The shift in weather and climate is undeniable.  

[Fred M Cain]

YoHo1975

This is not an appropriate topic for this forum, but the science around what is happening around climate change and California weather has been well discussed. And it's actually very different.

<SNIP>

This isn't some new thing here, it's been well discussed. Even if you don't believe in man made climate change. The shift in weather and climate is undeniable.  

 

 

I think this is a very interesting subject and there's more I'd like to say about this but, yeah, it is deviating too far from the subject of railroads so I'll hold off.

 

But bringing the subject of climate change back into focus on railroads, especially the NWP, there is one more thing I'd like to add.

 

We just came through a devastating multi-year drought which I personally happen to believe is probably over.  (It's happened before, folks, there was a really bad one in the 1970s).  But the last few years we have been told this is the "new normal".  Going forward, California is going to be much dryer than in the past, we were told.

 

O.K., so, a dryer climate would probably help the NWP Eel River Canyon line *IF* it were ever reopened.  A dryer climate would probably cut annual maintenance costs.  But is a dryer climate really here for sure?  Hmmn.  I cannot prove that it really is or isn't.  But since I'm pessimistic (with good cause) that the Eel River Canyon line will ever be rebuilt anyways, a dryer climate probably wouldn't help much anyways.

 

Regards,

Fred M. Cain