It's warm outside, winter coats are on sale, and the New York Times is in the fetal position whimpering softly about how it is all George Bush's fault.
This has been the warmest December since Mastodon flatulence melted the last Ice Age -- er, since 2001 -- and the scientists and clothing designers are up in arms:
The real worry is that this holiday season will not be an anomaly. Retailers and clothing designers are generally the last to weigh in on scientific debates, but some fear that they are seeing hints of global warming.
“The warm weather this season is really bringing it home,” said Dana Buchman, who creates women’s clothing for high-end department stores “What is scary is that people are saying it’s nice. It’s not good news. It’s scary.”
Scientists are less sure. While they have concluded that the global climate is warming because of trapped greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, extremes in any one season cannot be firmly linked to an underlying trend.
