Another Record Warm Winter

It's official: this winter was the warmest ever recorded, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (See Reuters story here.) (We wish it would be warmer this weekend!)

While we enjoyed playing golf in our shorts in January, we doubt it's a good thing for our earth in the long run. This year, Virginia will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown colony. Our question: will the land on which the Jamestown colony was settled even be in existence in another 400 years? Or will it be under the rising sea?

While we're at it, MIT has released a report--The Future of Coal--arguing that advances in technology make it possible to burn the black fuel cleanly in the future, with minimal carbon emissions. You can find the report here. We're a bit dubious--clean coal is expensive and we think the investment would pay off faster in conservation and wind energy, perhaps solar.

BUT, it appears inevitable that rapidly developing economies in India and especially China will rely heavily on coal, so it may be wise to develop and advance these coal technologies nonetheless.