Is Houston's climate underrated? (Austin, Spring: house, live in, dangerous)

[Snapper_head]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

If you want to talk about Climate Change, do so in one of the threads you created. Not every single thread on here has to do with that. You keep trying to steer every thread you take part in back to Global Warming. Its getting old fast.

Not a snowball’s chance in hell, my friend.

First of all, I occasionally bring up ecological issues in discussions of Houston planning issues...because that’s what much of the urban planning community does. Go to any other urban planning site on the internet and you’ll see constant mention in news stories, blog commentaries, and discussions of global and local ecological issues including use of plastics, pesticides, fresh water, energy, etc. Some cities have enacted plastic bag bans. Other cities have enacted tree protection ordinances. Most major cities are setting sustainability goals (yes, they include greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets). Global and local ecological issues include biodiversity, air quality, ocean health, sea level rise, temperature rise, storm patterns, atmospheric patterns, etc. They all tie into urban planning issues, whether it’s a discussion over zoning or public transit or what-have-you.

Maybe you personally work at an energy company, and maybe you follow conservative media outlets. But I don’t fit into either category. Nor should I apologize for not fitting into either category. I am simply your neighbor in the Houston area, and I follow ecological news, especially as it relates to urban planning issues, and it naturally comes up in discussions about Houston from time to time. As it should. And that won’t change. I’m sorry. Consider it an opportunity to hear from viewpoints you wouldn’t otherwise hear.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by Snapper_head

Maybe you personally work at an energy company, and maybe you follow conservative media outlets. But I don’t fit into either category. Nor should I apologize for not fitting into either category. I am simply your neighbor in the Houston area, and I follow ecological news, especially as it relates to urban planning issues, and it naturally comes up in discussions about Houston from time to time. As it should. And that won’t change. I’m sorry. Consider it an opportunity to hear from viewpoints you wouldn’t otherwise hear.

Youre full of it.

I dont watch conservative outlets and I dont work for an energy company. I vote for Democrats mostly and yes I believe in man caused climate change.

I feel about immigrants rights and I oppose the death penalty the same way youre passionate about global warming. BUT I DONT BRING IT INTO EVERY THREAD. If someone asks what the pros and cons are of living in Fargo, Im not going to drone on about the evils of the death penalty or the need to have immigration reform. Thats what you doing: inserting it to derail conversations when its irrelevant to the conversation at hand. Thats why I said to say all your going to say but do it in a thread you started about the topic at hand. Dont derail other conversations.

[Huckleberry3911948]

The climate is fine the environment not so much

[Snapper_head]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

Youre full of it.
I dont watch conservative outlets and I dont work for an energy company. I vote for Democrats mostly and yes I believe in man caused climate change.
I feel about immigrants rights and I oppose the death penalty the same way youre passionate about global warming. BUT I DONT BRING IT INTO EVERY THREAD. If someone asks what the pros and cons are of living in Fargo, Im not going to drone on about the evils of the death penalty or the need to have immigration reform. Thats what you doing: inserting it to derail conversations when its irrelevant to the conversation at hand. Thats why I said to say all your going to say but do it in a thread you started about the topic at hand. Dont derail other conversations.

There’s no need to make a mountain out of a mole hill. You voiced your point and it has been heard.

It’s worth saying that we should all try to broach environmental subjects with some degree of sensitivity. They can be controversial. It’s the same with subjects of race and economic inequality and so on. If I occasionally mention ecological issues too often and it offends or upsets someone, then I apologize.

(And just wait until I go through a phase where I interpret everything through the lens of late-stage capitalism! That gets even more fun!)

[swopoe]

I love how it is assumed that if you work for an energy company that you don’t care about the environment. WOW.

[kemahkami]

Originally Posted by swopoe

I love how it is assumed that if you work for an energy company that you don’t care about the environment. WOW.

I know, right? Almost like solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear aren't forms of energy...

[bu2]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

I'm a native Houstonian. I've never been fond of our summers, but accept them - they don't make me completely miserable. The worst is how the humidity limits nighttime temperature drops and makes early mornings so steamy. My favorite time of day in the summer is late afternoon / early evening when the humidity is at its lowest, even if the temps are still high. Still, late May until late September is something you just get through. So, that's 4 months of discomfort.

I'll still take that over places in the low desert (Phoenix, Palm Springs) where summer temps regularly go to 105+. Even if the humidity is low, that's just an oven. And in the cities, the temps don't cool off that much at night either. Plus, I do like at least a little green in my environment, and when you see green in those places, you can't help but think about how much precious water is being used for that, so it's hard to enjoy.

I'm fine with the "high desert" places where midsummer temps are 90 - 100 and humidity is low. Fort Davis or Sedona, for example. Plus, there's usually a little bit more flora in the environment (grass, shrubs, junipers, pinyon pine etc.) to soften things visually.

I lived for two years in my tweens overseas in a northern maritime climate where there were endless gray days and it was raining probably at least 30% of the time. NEVER AGAIN. After having spent my early childhood in Houston, it was an incredibly depressing shock. I could not be happy in a Seattle / Portland-type environment, even though they have great scenery. It also biases me against the northern Great Plains, Midwest, and Northeast, where supposedly (going off hearsay), you hardly see the sun all winter. Houston has some grey days during winter, but it feels unusual if they stretch more than a few days at a time. And having to don/doff clothes to go in and out of buildings gets irritating fast. My body runs hot, so I'm not someone that can keep winter-type clothes on indoors much.

Just came back from the Phoenix area. It doesn't have the suffocating feel of the Houston humidity. It simply kills you. Its just a dangerous heat.

And San Fran to Seattle are just miserably grey. The October to April weather is very nice in Houston. Mid-May to Mid September you just have to acclimate to.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by bu2

Just came back from the Phoenix area. It doesn't have the suffocating feel of the Houston humidity. It simply kills you. Its just a dangerous heat.

And San Fran to Seattle are just miserably grey. The October to April weather is very nice in Houston. Mid-May to Mid September you just have to acclimate to.

What was the high temp in Phoenix? For humans, when temps go above 105, it is dangerous, period - your body's moisture evaporates very quickly, which yes has a cooling effect, but doesn't take long at all to have very dangerous loss of hydration. You have to be quite careful. And of course many surfaces (especially metal) become exceedingly hot and can burn you immediately.

[lhafer]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

What was the high temp in Phoenix? For humans, when temps go above 105, it is dangerous, period - your body's moisture evaporates very quickly, which yes has a cooling effect, but doesn't take long at all to have very dangerous loss of hydration. You have to be quite careful. And of course many surfaces (especially metal) become exceedingly hot and can burn you immediately.

I took this driving through arizona on our way to Disneyland on a stretch of I-10. Not sure what the heat index was. This was a few weeks ago.

[3shipguy]

Originally Posted by lhafer

I took this driving through arizona on our way to Disneyland on a stretch of I-10. Not sure what the heat index was. This was a few weeks ago.

Off topic but how was Star Wars galaxy’s edge at Disneyland?