Smoking Joe. While I'm not a climatologists like you and your friend, I have lived in Alaska for over 60 years. And the last 4 winters have been totally different from all the over 56 winters I lived through. Lack of snow and no 20 or 30 below cold snaps for weeks is not normal. Yes, the planet has been warming since the last ice age, but the recent rapid acceleration of warmer temperatures doesn't fit into your theory very well. And I didn't want to bring up any facts, just my observations.