Robert Seitz: A record high in Deadhorse does not portend human-caused global warming

On Aug. 6, the highest ever temperature was recorded for Deadhorse, Alaska.

The event was described to bake Deadhorse. A story in the Alaska Beacon stated the “average annual temperatures on the North Slope rose by 5.8 degrees Fahrenheit from 1969 to 2018”.

In my article published in Must Read Alaska on July 17, I explained that this average annual increase does not represent high summer temperature, but does represent a lack of extreme cold temperatures. This is a manipulation of facts by math.

I have also been stating that warm days are caused by the presence of high pressure areas in the summer, which are determined by the location and configuration of the jet stream. And I have been stating that the warming we have experienced is just the recovery from the Little Ice Age.

In the interior and northern Alaska the average annual temperature is still below freezing and recent winters have brought back extreme low temperatures.

I have been checking online for the position of the jet stream frequently and have noticed that when heat domes are forecast that the jet stream is positioned properly to cause high pressure areas where the heat domes are projected to occur. I have also been following the jet stream position with respect to Alaska and around Aug. 1, the jet stream looped around Alaska with the eastward flow to be just above the northern shore of Alaska, which would result in a high pressure to the south of that flow.

The data shows that a high pressure began building on Aug. 1, and built to its highest pressure of about 1018 millibar on Aug. 3, then declined until late Aug. 6. The sky was partly cloudy much of the time which would allow the 19 hr. 58 min of sunlight to shine through. The dew point was 41 degrees which is fairly dry (not humid). All the conditions were in line to allow warming, and for each day between Aug. 1-6 the high temperature would rise 8 to 10 degrees warmer than the previous day.

Just a few hours before the high temperature, the wind dropped to around 4 mph, which helps achieve a higher temperature. Each day the high temperature did not last for long before the temperature would cool to about 55F.

But was it baking? I don’t think so. I’ve been in Deadhorse in the 1980s and 1990s when the sun shined and the wind stopped blowing and when it was over 70F. It was uncomfortable, but the worst part was the mosquitos.

The temperature at the Seawater Treatment Plant at Westdock in Prudhoe Bay reached 75, Barrow got to 74 and Kaktovik also reached 74 degrees. While these may represent record values, they do not represent a heat wave, they just made a warm day amongst a bunch of normal temperature days.

This has been a normal year; even the rain is within a normal range. In Chinitna Bay in lower Cook Inlet it rained 96 inches in 90 days in 1958.

I believe it is time to no longer say we have human caused heating of the planet. It is time to no longer say Alaska is warming two to four times faster than the rest of the planet. It is time to stop referring to the average annual temperature comparisons, as they are very misleading. It is time to accept that we are just about through the recovery from the Little Ice Age that is manifested in our extended growing season. It is time for Alaskans to reject Al Gore and Greta Thunberg pleas to abandon fossil fuel and the fear of greenhouse gases. It is time we reject anthropogenic warming as a cause of our weather.

It is time for Alaska leaders in business and government to get behind efforts to terminate the strangle hold the federal government has over Alaska’s resources. It is a time to fight in court for our ability to produce oil and gas and minerals, against all the non-governmental organization’s that have interfered with our ability to maintain a viable economy.

It is time for the leaders to use all their political capital, all their gravitas, and all of their experience and determination to find the solutions necessary to get more Cook Inlet Gas into production. It is time to not let ESG, or DEI, or any other environmental or social scare tactics that interfere with getting that Cook Inlet gas into increased production.

It is time to not cower or capitulate to minor forces.

The sky is not falling and CO2 is a benefit to humans, as well as the rest of the planet. Whatever problems we have with weather, we need to work on adapting to whatever changes are necessary while our weather adjusts to recovery from Little Ice Age. Increase oil and gas production is great for the Alaska economy, but it does not mean the end of development of renewable and alternate energy in Alaska.

Our remote communities still need to have good sources of energy that they can depend on without having to barge in millions of gallons of diesel fuel each year. We have progressed in many of those communities and can provide for more progress in the others who still need to achieve more energy independence. If each remote community has sufficient energy and power they can create industry and business to provide more purpose and benefit to their community with more comforts and more reason to grow their community.

Oil and gas have been good to Alaska and Alaskans. This time around let’s have plans for what we do before we do it so that we don’t waste everything that oil and gas and mining have brought to us. We know that we may have to plan for some alternate to Cook Inlet gas. If we get busy with increasing the Cook Inlet gas production we should have a good long time to work out what comes next. In the meantime enjoy the weather and don’t worry about the climate change. And one thing to keep in mind: If Alaska is not suffering from greenhouse gas warming, neither is the rest of the planet. Other areas are affected by the jet stream and high and low pressure areas just like we are.

Robert Seitz, is a professional electrical engineer and lifelong Alaskan.