According to the LA Times, a new study reveals that the warming that has occurred over the past century for the West Coast is largely attributable to natural fluctuations in oceanic winds:

Changes in ocean circulation as a result of weaker winds were the main cause of about 1 degree Fahrenheit of warming in the northeast Pacific Ocean and nearby coastal land between 1900 and 2012, according to the analysis of ocean and air temperatures over that time. The study, conducted by researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Washington, was published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Natural, wind-driven climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean, such as El Niño and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, are already known to exert a powerful influence on sea and land temperatures over years and even decades.

Hmmm. So, even the left is starting to see the problem with anthropogenic global climate change theories? No. Probably not. After hearing the news that humans have had little to do with climate change at least on the West Coast, one scientist had this to say:

“There is no doubt that regionally, the changes in temperature are dominated by changes in the atmospheric circulation that likely have little or nothing to do with climate change,” [climate scientist] Trenberth said. But, he added, “this does not call into question the concept of global warming.”

But doesn’t it? If all the local warming detected by sensors can be explained by natural local phenomena, wouldn’t that definitely call the concept of global warming into question? Or, more specifically, wouldn’t it call into question whether or not warming was caused by humans? Because, let’s face it, that’s the only part of the global warming theory that is contentious.

If global warming is a real threat to the planet, but it isn’t caused by humans, than there is almost nothig we can do about it. That would mean that we should hope and pray that things change before we are cooked, but all the greenhouse measures and EPA regulations and blah blah blah being shoved down our throats in the name of averting a global apocalypse can cease, right? Apparently not yet.