[AGL] Humans are a force of nature

[Gerry]

Last night on the NBC news of all places there was a report which showed a graph of temperatures on Earth for the past 400 years. There were a few little peaks and valleys and then we get to the latter 20th century and the rise goes straight up, and still rising, off the chart, incredible that it could move so fast in such a short time. Yep, this curve if nothing else shows that we should be in a state of alarm.

Seismic activity beneath the crust can cause rises in temperatures. Volcanic ash can lower them. On the other hand it is possible that the current rise may actually set off seismic activity. We may be in for some big clouds of ash on the order of Mt. St. Helens only much larger.

As for adaptability, there are many life forms which are far more adaptable than giant creatures such as ourselves with limited vision, limited hearing, slow movement, vulnerability to disease, requiring large amounts of food daily, vulnerability to extremes of hot and cold, etc. The "toughest" humans, that is those who are physically fit and accustomed to exposure to extremes, will likely survive the longest. As for overweight denizens accustomed to air conditioned lifestyles and little ability to combat discomfort, they will be the first to go.

The scariest element of global warming to me is the emergence of meteorological extremes such as flash floods and great winds that pop up out of nowhere and obliterate an area. No defense against these and they are not "predictable" with current science. I'm not referring to just hurricanes, check out the recent global rainfall patterns, flooding in the extreme in certain areas, monstrous droughts (my area is under the classification of "exceptional" which is beyond "extreme"), great winds and dust, temperature fluctuations never witnessed before, forest and range fires out of control, etc. I fully expect some western city to go up in flames before too long, look out Flagstaff. Sooner or later these extremes will start affecting infrastructure and there will be transportation emergencies and blackouts that we will be helpless to control...at first just local but ultimately national and international crisis caused by weather. Hello New Orleans.

Seems to me that the answer is in smallness. Smaller grids, smaller cars, smaller houses. Community agriculture, community emergency teams, communities with survival replacing comfort as a cue for design, etc. I would like to see pundits such as Gore begin to advocate solutions that start with converting individuals and communities instead of trying to find a way to preserve the monolithic creations we are dependent upon at present. I guess this is difficult to imagine while living in a huge city and driving everywhere and feeling omnipotent economically, etc.

The value of the dollar has fallen about 30% in the past two years. James Reich (former Secty of the Treasury) said a couple of weeks ago that the recent appointment of a Wall Street exec to that post is a signal that the Bushies realize that further fall is inevitable and that an insider is needed to help manage the fall and orchestrate a soft descent instead of a giant crash...
 
Up early everyday in NM to get the hard, outside work done before the heat builds up.
G

 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Connie Clark 
  To: survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s 
  Sent: Friday, June 23, 2006 7:40 AM
  Subject: [AGL] Humans are a force of nature




  Frances Morey <frances_morey at yahoo.com> wrote: 
    . There could possibly be reasons for the melt down other than the human penchant for using up petroleum products for energy. 

    Frances,
    This fact is discussed and tracked by scientists ad nauseum and graphically illustrated in the book and movie.  It is humans who are creating an exponential warming at this time and on a lively pace set to cause catastrophic results if we don't start curbing our fossil fuel consumption- the US in particular.  We can do it, just as we slowed and reversed the hole in the ozone layer by taking CFCs out of production. 

    Gore is on his tour partly at the behest, as he said, of the frustrated scientists who have been telling these facts for a long time. Oil companys have used your argument about natural warming to convince politicians and public that there is a debate - there is no debate in the scientific community about the cause of the current global warming trend.  Gore has tried unsuccessfully for too long to get politicians (including Clinton during their administration) to act on it - now he says, he is going directly to the people.

    The audience in the movies are quiet, and come away from it with the stark reality of the whole scientific story. The disaster of a 20' increase in sea level will be a lot more than just relocating populations.  Climate change affects food source, spread of disease and pestilence.  Just because you live in the hill country doesn't give you a safe haven.

    Ask yourself sometime, btw, what is the agenda of the 'scientists' who are trying to discredit the evidence of human intervention of global warming.  Is it just too much trouble for us to change any of our lifestyles to curb greenhouse gases?  Only if you are dependent on income from oil consumption.

    Connie


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