SCIENTISTS DIFFER OVER GLOBAL WARMING THEORY

Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce members attending the First Friday Coffee session, amidst freezing temperatures and snow and ice from a pre-Christmas storm, learned some things about global warming.

And by the time the coffee disbanded an hour later, a warming trend, which was to reach at least 40 degrees during the day, was on its way.

December was unusual weather for this area, said Dr. Anthony R. Lupo, an assistant professor with the Department of Soil & Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

In fact, December was the second coldest December in Missouri, second only to December 1983.

"You factor in November and you have the coldest November/December here since 1870," said Lupo, a scientist and author.

"This year is the second-coldest December in Missouri, last year was one of the warmest Decembers here," he said.

"All this points out that we don't really know everything about the weather," said Lupo. "It takes an average of several years to determine a weather trend. We're talking about 40 years up to make this determination."

Lupo said about 20 percent of scientists say that global warming is occurring. Another 20 percent says it is not there. The remaining 60 percent of scientists are somewhere in between.

And satellites have been in the skies only 20 years to chart all the weather and climate condition.

Lupo talked about El Nino and La Nina, along with carbon dioxide during his talk with chamber members.

"When El Nino or La Nina is present," he said, "weather forecasters can predict the weather. Without them, nobody can predict weather."