3rd Quarter 2012: Dust Bowl to Fire Bowl?

Feeling warm and dry?  Concerned about wildfires out West or vanishing ice in Alaska?

According to NOAA, spring 2012 was the warmest spring on record in the U.S., with temperatures 5.2 ^oF above the 20th century average.  In the Arctic, NOAA reported another climate milestone this spring—“concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) at Barrow, Alaska, reached 400 parts per million (ppm), the first time a monthly average for this greenhouse gas passed that level at a remote location.  The level of 450 ppm CO₂ is regarded by many scientists and environmental activists as the upper limit the planet can afford if global temperature rise is to be kept to within 3.6 ^oF (2 ^oC) this century.  Some advocates suggest 350 ppm is a more appropriate target.