Leave It To the Heat to Dull Autumn's Glory (wsj.com)

It's autumn. Somebody tell the trees. From a report: Ordinarily, two signals alert deciduous trees that it's time to relinquish the green hues of summer in favor of autumn's yellows, oranges and reds. First, the days begin to grow shorter. Second, the temperature begins to drop. But this year, unseasonably warm weather across most of the U.S. has tricked trees into delaying the onset of fall's color extravaganza. Temperatures in the eastern half of the country have been as much as 15 degrees above normal since mid-September, and the warmth is expected to persist through the end of October. The unfortunate result for leaf peepers is a lackluster fall. Two kinds of pigments produce the season's liveliest foliage. Carotenoid, responsible for yellows and oranges, is always present in leaves but is usually masked by chlorophyll. The initial trigger for its appearance is shorter days. Anthocyanin, responsible for reds and deep purples, is different. Not all deciduous trees have this pigment, and those that do manufacture it from scratch in the fall. The primary trigger for its appearance is lower temperatures. Without that cooling cue, the colors of maple and other species that generally ignite New England with brilliant reds this time of year are likely to fizzle.

Comments

Re:Darn?

[denzacar]

Explain to me which of these statements is *political*.

You obviously lack the proper training.
You know... the kind that would help you understand that talking about "cutting taxes" is the same thing as going around shouting "Ni99er, ni99er, ni99er."

Which you'd know if you had proper training.
Just as you'd know that global warming is a Chinese conspiracy, that UN is coming for your guns and that Obama is a secret Muslim.
And many other wonderful things you'd "pick up" from various sources with hidden messages.
You'd see ALL OF THE hidden messages and secret information. Everywhere. All of the time.