tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post4827957440387568591..comments2024-03-28T19:18:40.387-04:00Comments on Northern Reflections: Too Close To The SunOwen Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-88402696340828016852014-01-30T11:37:05.053-05:002014-01-30T11:37:05.053-05:00That's the problem, Mound. We've got used ...That's the problem, Mound. We've got used to thinking in quarters -- Wall Street's stand measure of time.<br /><br />The tipping point is still too far off for a lot of people to give it serious attention -- even if it has happened before.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-22731124397775862582014-01-30T11:31:41.658-05:002014-01-30T11:31:41.658-05:00I think the point Ward is making, Owen, is that th...I think the point Ward is making, Owen, is that this is something of an automated process that is triggered by a tipping point. Once that point is exceeded, perhaps this time by man-made conditions, physics and chemistry take care of the rest.<br /><br />You and I won't be around long enough to experience this, Owen. I don't think our children will have to confront it either. Beyond that, who knows? The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-39037623206036750272014-01-29T23:32:48.058-05:002014-01-29T23:32:48.058-05:00In other words, Mound, this has happened before. T...In other words, Mound, this has happened before. Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-37652127626349973472014-01-29T19:21:33.731-05:002014-01-29T19:21:33.731-05:00From paleontologist Peter Ward's "Under a...From paleontologist Peter Ward's "Under a Green Sky"<br /><br />"First, the world warms over short intervals of time because of a sudden increase of carbon dioxide and methane... The warmer world affects the ocean circulation systems and disrupts the position of the conveyer currents. Bottom waters begin to have warm, low-oxygen water dumped into them. Warming continues, and the decrease of equator-to-pole temperature differences reduces ocean winds and surface currents to a near standstill. Mixing of oxygenated surface waters with the deeper, and volumetrically increasing, low-oxygen bottom waters decreases, causing ever-shallower water to change from oxygenated to anoxic. Finally, the bottom water is at depths were light can penetrate, the combination of low oxygen and light allows green sulfur bacteria to expand in numbers and fill the low-oxygen shallows. They live amid other bacteria that produce toxic amounts of hydrogen sulfide, and the flux of this gas into the atmosphere is as much as 2,000 times what it is today. The gas rises into the high atmosphere, where it breaks down the ozone layer, and the subsequent increase in ultraviolet radi8ation from the sun kills much of the photosynthetic green plant phytoplankton. On its way up into the sky, the hydrogen sulfide also kills some plant and animal life, and the combination of high heat and hydrogen sulfide creates a mass extinction on land. These are the greenhouse extinctions."<br /><br />Ward's research concludes that all but one (the asteroid strike) mass extinctions were the result of this process.<br />The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-74843274952287340952014-01-29T15:31:42.987-05:002014-01-29T15:31:42.987-05:00The old saying is still true, Anon. There are none...The old saying is still true, Anon. There are none so blind as those who will not see.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-85771304603464950842014-01-29T15:28:14.855-05:002014-01-29T15:28:14.855-05:00They have found acid in the oceans, right up to th...They have found acid in the oceans, right up to the shores of BC. The acid will eat away the shells of crustaceans. If the oceans die, we die.<br /><br />It is as they say? Man is the most destructive animal on earth, and the most stupid ones at that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-47442809805608931252014-01-29T14:45:49.745-05:002014-01-29T14:45:49.745-05:00Hedges would say you revolt before you rebel, Moun...Hedges would say you revolt before you rebel, Mound. But the Harper government is courting revolution.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-77259012340244896632014-01-29T14:40:02.935-05:002014-01-29T14:40:02.935-05:00These are perverse times, Owen. Hedges' refere...These are perverse times, Owen. Hedges' reference to the deadly transformation of our oceans now proceeding ever faster, is masked by a government that responds by shutting down entire sections of Fisheries & Oceans or transfers their responsibilities to the National Energy Board, the NEB for Christ's sake.<br /><br />My jaw dropped when I read The Guardian article on the Harper government's report to the U.N. in which it was admitted that Canada's GHG emissions would soar by 38% by 2030 even as this same government tells the Canadian people it's on track to meet targeted emissions cuts. That degree of falsehood is pathological. <br /><br />What do you do when the state becomes the enemy of its own people? How long do you look the other way?The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-16624334929427259492014-01-29T11:48:12.677-05:002014-01-29T11:48:12.677-05:00Very few people have the courage to look into the ...Very few people have the courage to look into the abyss, Danneau. Even fewer people -- having seen the future -- have the courage to act.<br /><br />Being a prophet is a thankless task -- and it costs too much.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-89510816544626424392014-01-29T11:32:53.277-05:002014-01-29T11:32:53.277-05:00There was also Cassandra, condemned by the Gods to...There was also Cassandra, condemned by the Gods to always speak the truth and to be totally ignored. It's strange how many people have developed some understanding of the depth of the problem, but can't mobilize to even the gentlest action. Who knew that the ranters on soap boxes on Market Street were right?Danneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16129916194006552602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-90620753650705080632014-01-29T10:07:10.094-05:002014-01-29T10:07:10.094-05:00I concur wholeheartedly, Lorne. As Hedges says, we...I concur wholeheartedly, Lorne. As Hedges says, we are living in an Empire of Illusion.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-64921559075216395502014-01-29T09:52:31.596-05:002014-01-29T09:52:31.596-05:00As always, Owen, Hedges presents uncompromising t...As always, Owen, Hedges presents uncompromising truths. He has been compared to the Old Testament prophets, and for good reason; like them, he and his message are often despised and ignored by the powers that be. As well, far too many people, despite mounting evidence to the contrary, prefer sweet lies to bitter truths.Lornehttp://www.politicsanditsdiscontents.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.com