Climate Change Notes: Russia Hot, Like Everywhere Else

Climate change? Yup (hat tip to an eager reader for much of this collection):

1. Russia is experiencing its hottest summer on record. Wildfires this summer have scorched nearly 2.5 million acres—that's equivalent to a fire wiping out all of the Black Hills, then having a prairie fire burn up all of Union, Lincoln, Minnehaha, and Moody counties. The Russian heat wave has also wiped out 24 million acres of Russian grain. (Compare: USDA says South Dakota's total crop acreage this year is 16.5 million acres.)
   
2. Of course, one hot summer in one country (even the largest country in the world) does not a trend make. Data from 300 scientists in 48 countries on ten different metrics saying it's gotten warmer each decade since the then-record heat of the 1980s does. Read the new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I'm sure Don Kopp will be visiting your school to make sure your teachers cover this information.
3. We can just turn up the air conditioner: the American pika has to climb to cooler, higher ground. But mountains only go so high. As temps climb, the pika may become the second species added to the endangered list due to global warming.
4. The Ice Age is ending: There were 150 glaciers in 1850 in the Montana area that is now Glacier National Park. The park is now down to 25 glaciers. But hey, at least the melting glaciers will help archaeologists find stuff.