You don’t need to go to Australia to get a taste of record breaking heat. According to NOAA scientists, 2012 marked the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States with the year consisting of a record warm spring, second warmest summer, fourth warmest winter and a warmer-than-average autumn. The average temperature for 2012 was 55.3°F, 3.2°F above the 20th century average, and 1.0°F above 1998, the previous warmest year. The question now is not “is Global Warming real?” but , “How are we going to cope with it? “ Australia, on the frontier of warming, is currently in a fire and heat crisis, unlike anything they have ever seen.
Why does this matter for the Olympic Peninsula? Snowpack for our water supplies is one big one. Effect on our salmon habitat on the rivers, and on shellfish beds are two more.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130108131149.htm