I'm still in the process of getting caught up on my reading, and since I'm home now without food in the fridge, (A. is still in Italy, and she does the grocery shopping) I eat my late nite meals of crackers and Brie, or if all of the Brie is gone, then just tortilla chips and salsa, at my desk sorting through all of the info I have missed in the last week or so. I came upon a truly disturbing piece at Tomdispatch, one of my favorite places to get real information. When it comes to environmental issues, Tom never sugar coats it, he gives it to you real and ugly, and I find it difficult to digest.
Growing up in America gave me an idea that no problem was beyond our ability to overcome, but years and experience have educated me to worry about the things that I control. As I read the harsh truth about the melting Arctic Ocean, I could no longer dismiss the dire predictions as the hysterical cries of etremists, one can just look at the erratic weather events everywhere and know instinctively, sort of like the animals that before the tsunami struck this year, moved to higher ground to escape the wave of destruction. Science and common sense tell us that we are in danger from a warming planet. I've always hoped that the supply of oil would run out before the planet was irreparable damaged, but it may be that some tipping point has been reached, and the delicate balance of the planet that sustains life for so many will be thrown into chaos, and sooner rather than later.
The piece at Tomdispatch and the other piece in the Guardian are hopelessly scientific and filled with all sorts of things that are difficult for us regular folks to understand. I hope I am explaining this correctly. My understanding of the issue of the melting ice is that it is melting at a pace so rapid, that is does not entirely refreeze in the winter months, and we are losing ice at a rate of 500,000 square miles per year, an area twice the size of Texas. What the scientists are saying is that this melting may be irreversible, and we may be closer to an Extinction Level Event than we think. The melting of fresh bodies of water into the bodies of salt water some 13,000 years ago caused Europe to enter an ice age that lasted 1000 years. These same scientists are saying that this could happen before the end of this century, and there isn't much we can do about it.
I know, I know, I sound like one of those crazy alarmists. But the delicate balance that holds all of this wondrous mix of biological life is fragile, and we are truly dependent on this balance to keep us fed and alive. If these scientists are even half right, then it could be that my tiny niece Kayla will be one of the last generations of humans to enjoy life on this wondrous planet, and not one of us, Democrat or Republican, wants to contemplate that possiblility. I hope with all of my heart and soul that these scientists are wrong, and that little Kayla will live to see her children have children and so on and so forth. But what if the science is right, and we stand by and do nothing?
Our leadership in the House has responded to the shortage of oil (ironically caused by serious weather events) by proposing the opening of more oil refineries. Now I'm thinking that more refineries mean more CO2 emissions, and it's a little bit like putting out fire with gasoline, to quote David Bowie, one of my favorite retro artists. Our solution to the possible extinction of the human race is to refine and burn more of the stuff that is the cause of the melting of ice. The resulting consequences may happen 50 years in the future, or may not happen at all, but the possibility and the thought that the science might be right makes me want to move inland and stock up on a huge supply of water and blankets. For me, it's not such a dire situation, I will most likely have died of cancer or over-eating by the time the melting occurs, but I have some cautionary advice to you younger folks.
Don't invest in any oceanfront property. Soon, the ocean may come to you.
