One of the biggest failures of communication on the part of the climate change
research community has been the inability to differentiate different impacts on
different areas at various times of the year. The use of the term climate change
rather than global warming more accurately captures the variability in likely
impacts. Many climate models show that Canada and Europe may have much
colder winters, though overall the average temperature is increasing. The point
is that global climatic cycles are changing in highly complex manners, and we
are in a period of extremely rapid and abrupt climatic shifts that appear to be
unprecedented. There are nuances in what humankind is doing to the climate
that need to be better communicated.
