Let’s Move South!

Or Should We Support

Stronger Standards to Curb Global Warming Emissions?

Having recently learned that the latest “deep freeze” across the US is likely the result of a Weak Polar Vortex that some climatologists say is in all likelihood a direct result of too much carbon having been released into the upper atmosphere, you might guess the next logical step for the often materialistic American majority would be to migrate south.  After all we’ve already expanded further than from “Atlantic to Pacific”.  In other words as in the 19th century, when the widely held belief was that Americans were destined to expand throughout the North American continent, a renewed belief in “Manifest Destiny” could easily become the next big change on the American expansion horizon.

This may sound a little too far fetched to some, when considering that for the past 60 years or so many Americans have lamented over the seemingly endless flow of our southern neighbors’ illegal migration habit into the US.  Several US Political Candidates have successfully made both sides of the issue an asset. Based upon the previous American expansion effort from “sea to shining sea” our neighbor(s) to the south may, in the not so distant future, face a similar dilemma from hungry and freezing Americans who are not only cold but who are finding their annual growing season under the attack by a Weak Polar Vortex caused by, of all things, “Global Warming”.

The recent (early January – 2014) “Big Chill” being endured across most of the US of late, according to many Climatologists may soon become the new norm.  The other bad news is that the “Bread basket of the world” which some claim to be currently located in the Middle American state of Kansas and the worlds “Salad Bowl” presently located on the South Central coast of California could end-up somewhere in the south of Texas or even northern Mexico within a few decades.

One look at the weather map below dated the 6th day of January 2014, coupled with the US weather Map of even date displayed above tells the future of the upper “Ice Mansions” of the United States and Canada too for that matter:

As you can see this weather map depicts south west Alaska as being warmer than most of Texas.

Although the previously described sequence of events of aggression sounds in-conceivable or perhaps simply impossible to comprehend, rest assured, such offenses by the US, likely in alliance with Canada, could very well be just beyond the horizon.

The Polar Vortex, as most of us have learned by now, is a fast flowing stream of air that circles the North Pole during the winter months in the upper atmosphere, known as the stratosphere. Basically when the Polar Vortex is strong, temperatures are relatively mild in the mid-latitudes across the Eastern US; and when the vortex is weak, temperatures tend to be cold across the Eastern US and beyond.

If a “Weak Polar Vortex” is somehow the result of “hard times to come” we best hope that the twin terms “Global Warming” and the results there of are nothing more than two words plucked from the vast data banks of the English Language.   Proponents of which are quick to point out that Global Warming started long before the “Industrial Revolution” was ever thought of, before the invention of the internal combustion engine, or the burning of fossil fuels for generating electricity. These folks insist Global Warming began some 18,000 years ago as the earth started warming its way out of the Pleistocene (Pleis·to·cene)  Ice Age; a time when much of North America, Europe, and Asia lay buried beneath huge sheets of glacial ice.

The climate of Earth and the biosphere was in constant unrest in those days; being dominated by ice ages and glaciers for several million years. Such advocates are certain that we are currently enjoying a temporary reprieve from that deep freeze.  This pattern currently allows or permits a bumper crop of wheat in the mid-west of the United States and a nice peach crop in places like Georgia.

You see, about every 100,000 years Earth’s climate warms up ever so briefly. These warm periods, called “interglacial periods”, last somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 years before regressing back to an ice age climate. The bad news is that if you start at sayyy, year 18,000 ago and count forward, our current interglacial vacation from an Ice Age is much closer to its end than its beginning.

In other words there’s absolutely nothing modern man can do to prevent the ever changing cycle. In short, according to this theory, burn all the high carbon emitting fuels to produce electricity and such as much as you want; it doesn’t matter one way or the other.

In an effort to prove that their theory is right (yes it is just a theory), such advocates are quick to point out that Global Warming has greatly altered our environment and the distribution and diversity of all life on the planet. For example:

·        Approximately 15,000 years ago the earth had warmed sufficiently to stop the advance of glaciers, and sea levels worldwide began to rise.

·        By 8,000 years ago the land bridge across the Bering Strait was covered by the sea, which in effect cut off the migration of men and animals into North America from Asia.

·        Since the end of the last Ice Age, Earth’s temperature has risen roughly 16 ° Fahrenheit, sea levels have raised at least 300 feet, and forests have returned where for a time there was only ice.  

Back in the Ice Ages winters were longer and much more severe than the winter of 2014 ever thought about being; ice sheets grew to tremendous sizes, amassing a thicknesses of up to 8,000 feet or more! They moved about ever so slowly from higher elevations to lower levels of altitude; forced downward by gravity and their tremendous weight. They left behind altered river courses, flattened landscapes, and at their farthest advance, great piles of glacial rocks and boulders of all shapes and sizes.

Over the last 3 million years glaciers have at one time or another covered nearly 29% of the Earth’s land mass or about 17.14 million square miles (44.38 million sq. km.).

During the Ice Age the summer seasons were short and winters were brutal. All animal life and especially plant life had a very tough go of it.  Now, thanks to “Global Warming”, that’s changed, at least temporarily.

Taking the last bit of information into consideration and before you rush out and do something rash, you should know that the idea that a Weak Polar Vortex is responsible for the current (Jan. 2014) cold snap is a strong theory; not an absolute fact. As The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency focused on the condition of the oceans and the atmosphere, has said: “Many factors, including random chaos in the development of weather patterns, can produce such extreme winter events.”   Sooo if you’re wondering if recent bad weather events are a side effect of global warming and should we expect more events like this in the future, well that’s a hotly researched & debated topic.  In short, the answer is: Yes, it could be. The other short answer is no.  A good guess as to why “NO” might be the right answer is because it seems opposite to what seems obvious or natural; like many arguable theories though, only time will tell – hopefully a long, long time.

Wouldn’t you know it there’s yet another theory . . . In fact most scientist say that Global Warming is happening right now; is a relatively new thing, and man-kind is at fault of it all.

These proponents point out that the sea level everywhere is raising faster than years past. Large wildfires are growing in number each year and dangerous heat waves are becoming more and more common. Extreme storm events are increasing in many areas and more severe droughts are occurring in others.

This school of thought opposite to the earlier theory described says that these are but a few of the consequences of Global Warming; and yes the results are already having significant and harmful effects on our health, our environment, and our communities.

Advocates of this theory also argue that unless we take immediate action to address global warming, these unfortunate events will continue to intensify, grow ever more costly, and increasingly affect the entire planet — including that region of the Earth we call Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Each of the past 35 years has been warmer than the overall average for the 20^th century. The 12 warmest years on record have each occurred since 1998. 2012 was the hottest year ever recorded for the contiguous United States or the lower 48.

Supporters of this theory point out that we (the industrialized world) are overloading our atmosphere with carbon dioxide, which traps heat and is progressively driving up the planet’s temperature. From where does this carbon come, you ask? If you guessed fossil fuels we burn for energy you’d be only partially right — coal, oil, and natural gas are the biggest culprits in that arena; add the internal combustion engine used in the vast number of cars and trucks on America’s roadways alone and a pollution source beyond compare is at-hand; then there’s the loss of forests due to deforestation, especially in the tropics, which only adds insult to injury.

Within the majority of the scientific community, there is no debate: Overwhelmingly most climate scientists agree that Global Warming is happening and that human activity can be easily blamed.

Advocates of this theory insist that this broad consensus — along with extensive scientific evidence supporting it — is often downplayed or distorted by a small but vocal minority of special interests that have a vested interest in delaying action on climate change.

Assuming that the latter theory of the two presented here is correct, perhaps we should understand that we can only slow down the pace of Global Warming; because a large part if the first theory presented here has to be true if we are to believe the evidence found in Ice Cores and such by experienced and knowledgeable Climatologists.   Common sense suggests that we must act now to reduce our carbon emissions, only then can we pass on a safer, healthier world to our children.  

Or on the other hand, we can choose to do nothing, continue pumping massive amounts of carbon into an already overloaded atmosphere, and suffer the increasingly costly consequences; because you see, maybe we’re smart enough to realize that no matter what we choose to do (collectively or otherwise), in the end, curbing carbon omissions or no, the result is the same.  In other words, it’s a complete waste of time and an un-necessary burden on our fragile economy too.

Sources . . .

http://www.aer.com/science-research/climate-weather/climate-dynamics/polar-vortex-impact-winter-weather                                                              http://www.findlocalweather.com/weather_maps/temperature_north_america.html http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pleistocene?s=t                             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Luis_Obispo_County,_California                               http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h337.html                                       http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/ice_ages.html             http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-polar-vortex-2014-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-polar-vortex-2014-1#ixzz2pffmLY6i

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