Thursday, December 8, 2016

Meanwhile at the Ends of the Earth...

I know we've all been captivated by elections, and pipelines, and holidays, and whatnot - but just in case you've missed it, there are some very, um.... interesting things happening at our earth's poles right now.


Basically, both the Arctic and the Antarctic hit new record lows for sea ice extent in November. This is pretty much unheard of and it has scientists a tad bit panicked concerned.

Here's the picture in the Arctic:

And while that graph might look disheartening... it's not quite as alarming as this one:


Yes... it's true that it's just one month, and even if the trend were to continue throughout the season it's possible that it's just an anomaly.


What's the old saying? Oh I know: One month of historically low sea ice doth not a global emergency OMG we've hit the tipping point and now the feedback loops are all kicking in and WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!! disaster make. But it is quite interesting.


Anyhow, there are lots of articles on the topic, but this one in the Washington Post is a good summary of the situation in case you're curious.

Somehow I am oddly comforted by the idea that we might be on the cusp of something really bad environmentally speaking. It's not that I want anyone to suffer, but somehow the prospect of a species-threatening environmental catastrophe sorta puts things like my mother's estate or paying for health insurance into perspective.


I dunno... It just seems like everywhere I turn I see powerful people trying to grab more power, and conflicts over resources and control.


But honestly, I just can't escape the sensation that we're all fighting over... errr, I mean rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.



Anyhow, I have no what to do with this information, but I thought you should know. At the moment this is the best advice I can come up with:

You've been warned!!



20 comments :

  1. Interesting. For me, it supports my ongoing observation that we as humans aren't as in control as we like to think we are.

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    1. Well that's true, of course. But I can't help thinking that this sort of crisis is completely human caused.

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  2. I read today, where Giraffes are now listed as 'vulnerable' to extinction as their population plummets.

    I care, but I won't allow myself to worry and fret. My ulcer won't allow it.

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    1. I saw that too. So sad. But I think you are wise not to allow yourself to descend into worry - it doesn't do any good anyhow.

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  3. I had a strange thought this AM after reading a post on Tumblr by someone who has been color blind their entire life. They recently purchased the new glasses for color blind people. The person's response to seeing the world in ALL of its colors: Wonder, Joy, Amazement, Awe. The strange thought: more men than women are color blind. I wonder if the men who relish Raping, Pillaging & Plundering The Earth are Color Blind & that they've NEVER seen the beauty that exists in a landscape, or the coloration of a tiger in the wild, or the simple beauty of a rainbow. But I'm also having an empathy crisis - none for our species who have systematically destroyed the planet. My empathy lies with the innocent non-human victims on the planet, be they critters or plants.

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    1. Ha! Now THERE'S a theory! Quick... let's start shipping those glasses to the RNC and everyone in the incoming administration!

      My take is that our culture is simply inhuman, and it therefore breeds a lot of people who are filled with pent up rage and other emotions that they cannot come to terms with. So all of the pillaging & "me first" stuff is really just an expression of the fact that our society is filled with desperately unhappy people.

      I, too, feel great sadness for the innocent species who are going down with us, but the truth is, this is the way the earth has always functioned. All you have to do is to look at the bindweed in your garden (well, in MY garden, anyhow) to understand that when a species has the ability to take over, it does - even if it's to its own detriment.

      There's a scientist named Richard Heinberg who writes about "peak oil". He uses the analogy that we're like yeast multiplying in a bottle of fermenting grape juice (making wine.) We just keep multiplying and gobbling up the resources until they're all gone and we all die.

      Not to put to fatalistic of a spin on it or anything, but I guess I just think that we've all been kidding ourselves with the idea that we are somehow different from the rest of the natural world. Apparently we are no more enlightened than yeast, and as such, we'll do the same thing that numerous other species have done when they overpopulate and throw the system out of wack. But inevitably, the planet will rid itself of its human "infestation" and the way will be cleared for different sorts of life to take over.

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  4. I have been following the latest reports concerning ice caps melting. I find it interesting how so many people continue to deny there is a problem with global warming.

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    1. Yes, well I think it probably has something to do with the billions of dollars that the fossil fuel industry has spent on their mis-information campaign.

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  5. It's over, we're doomed! Seriously, those are some pretty bad figures and yes, I do think we've already hit the tipping point of no return. Great time to put the Republicans in charge of everything isn't it?

    Why would the lack of ice convince any one of problems when those living in coastal regions still deny the disappearing coastline. I saw a program on how Miami was building roads above the existing streets to prevent the regular flooding and yet the people and mayors refuse to even allow discussion on climate change. Can't find the documentary but here's an article on the design http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html

    One person in the documentary said that all this money and work on raising the streets will only protect the city for maybe 50 years.

    So let's build cities on stilts and then deny climate change, ya that makes sense.

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    1. The power if denial is strong... and so is the power of money! Honestly, I sort of can't fathom what the people of Miami are thinking. It's like the doctor tells you that you have a disease - it's bad, and the treatment is not easy, but it's curable. But you don't want to spend the money or be inconvenienced by the treatment, so instead you go out and pay a plastic surgeon a pile of money to cover up the symptoms, and just try to ignore the fact that you're consigning yourself to die.

      If there are any people left to wonder, they will never be able to understand our behavior - sorta makes the guy who chopped down the last tree on Easter Island look like a silly novice by comparison.

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    2. Plastic surgeon, great analogy! The rebuilding of the infrastructure makes sense, but only if it is planned for the long term, and in conjunction with changing the behaviors that are causing climate change. I get that nothing Miami does on its own will reduce the effects if the rest of the country and world do nothing. Yet, at the same time people keep moving there ignoring that the city may not be livable for much longer.

      Just what will it take for us, as a whole, to accept things are changing rapidly, if a city being drowned doesn't?

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    3. Sorry to hijack ladies, but Lois! I don't know if you remember me but I used to read your blog at Living Simply Free and unfortunately lost track of you for a while. It's been a while! Are you still blogging? Hope you're keeping well :)

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    4. Lois, I have no idea what it will take, but it's starting to look like people will deny it with their dying breaths.

      I saw a meme on FaceBook that seems appropriate. It read "Plot Idea: 97% of the world's scientists contrive an environmental crisis, but are exposed by a plucky band of millionaires and oil companies."

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    5. Hi Eimear, I do remember you and miss your perspective on my posts. I am well, hope you are too. I'm blogging at livingindenim.wordpress.com.

      Cat, some memes really do get to the heart of things don't they? Yep, dying breath is what I'm thinking too.

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  6. Speaking of the ends of the earth, I can't believe how many politicians in Australia are denialists. Like that can even be a thing anymore. What will it take for an emergency to be declared?

    It's interesting here in France to see some massively successful bike programs and all kinds of initiatives from banning plastic bags to banning pesticides. But then they go and do crazy things like washing the pavements of the entire downtown area every morning with water trucks! And Paris this week is restricting car use by number plate digits because the pollution measures have reached the 'danger' zone.

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    1. It's so disheartening to learn that even Australia (which I consider to be much more civilized than the states) is full of deniers too. I'll just never be able to understand.

      I'm jealous of the bike programs in France, but why on earth are they washing the pavement? Water waste aside, I can't even think why one would want to do that. And holy moly - I'm trying to picture what would happen here if they tried to restrict car use by number plate digits. Seriously, people here get all bent out of shape because they have to have their car's emissions tested once a year to make sure it's not polluting too much. If you told them they couldn't drive as much as they wanted, you'd have a full scale riot on your hands!

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    2. I will have to write a post on the street-washing because it seems so bizarre to me. In short, it's to do with how dirty the streets get on a daily basis, which is mind-boggling. I grew up in a dry part of the world with near-permanent water restrictions, where we couldn't even water plants without following regulations. So I find it incredible that streets can be bathed in a daily basis!

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    3. I'm incredulous too. Water restrictions are a way of life here and it's actually illegal to let water spray on the pavement. I suppose all things are relative, but it is sort of mind boggling.

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  7. I was (foolishly) optimistic that in this last election cycle, the severity of global warming would have been reflected in our choice of leaders. Instead, we decided non-issues like email, or bringing back mercantilism, are more important.

    I'm still kind of too upset reading this to come up with anything coherent. I'm glad you're sharing it though.

    My main hopes: 1) nuclear needs to be a much, much bigger part of our energy production because 2) solar doesn't work at night and battery technology is nowhere near where it needs to be to scale and 3) consumption is the best thing to limit while we make switches to better technology like nuclear, solar, wind, electric cars & trucks, etc.

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    1. I have mixed feelings about nuclear. It's not just the radioactive waste and potential for disaster that worries me, it's the fact that nuclear power plants are very carbon-intensive to build, and also very expensive both to build and operate. This means that they generally require massive government support (which I'm fine with) and it also means very centralized control in the hands of a few wealthy corporations (which I'm less fine with.)

      I think we should be exploring hydrogen as a storage mechanism for solar & wind. Of course all of this is sort of a moot point given the stance of the incoming administration.

      There are also folks who do believe that we're past the point where a reduction in emissions can stave off the feedback loops, and that we really need to be exploring strategies to remove carbon from the atmosphere, or even crazy geo-engineering projects to cool the planet.

      Anyhow, there's not a whole lot that we as individuals can do about it other than to try to hold our elected representatives accountable and make responsible energy decisions in our day to day lives.

      Heavy sighs all around.

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