Earth's Warming

Image via WikipediaBy Dean G Weber

It is the year 2025, just a very short 14 years from now. People are moving, in droves, to the various equatorial regions of the world. In our country, the U.S., there is a mass exodus to places like Florida, and Texas. Any locations north of North Carolina, are cold - ice cold.

New York, my alma mater, is freezing all of the time. Summer in the northeast, which used to be temperate, is now quite cold - with temperatures in August not exceeding 40 degrees. What happened and why did no one envision such a future?

While the above described near future may sound like a famous Twilight Zone episode, sadly, it is a very near future that is all too likely. The reason for this dismal prediction is the facts that are based on facts - such as those that were outlined and discussed in a very recent New York Times article, front page - discussing the dwindling of the "Arctic fence" - which is a protective barrier of whirling air above the Arctic region. This barrier, or "fence", serves to keep frigid Arctic air in, and it keeps non-Arctic, or warm air, out, but amazingly, this "fence" is being breached.

The cause for this breaching is very likely due to the great increase in moisture in the earth's atmosphere. For complicated reasons, as the moisture increases, the "fence" diminishes. And why is there a moisture increase in the atmosphere? It is because the Arctic ice is melting, at a very alarming, and INCREASINGLY fast pace.

In the Times article, there were graphic photos of Arctic ice - from 1979 and from just a few months ago, 2010. In that span of time - 31 years - the Arctic ice has melted by more than 30 percent! That is huge, and is leading to a much worse situation.

When the ice melts - as it has - that leaves more sea water exposed to the direct sunlight. When ice is present, sunlight gets reflected back into space. But without ice, the seawater ABSORBS the sunlight, and there is a concomitant rise in the seawater temperature, thereby causing MORE ice melt. And, this causes a vicious cycle - more ice melt, less reflection, more temperature rise. This cycle causes a pace of ice melt that is EXPONENTIAL in nature. That is, the ice melts at an increasingly faster pace.

What this means is that, although it took 31 years for 30% of the Arctic ice to melt, it is NOT GOING TO TAKE ANYWHERE THAT LONG FOR THE NEXT 30% TO MELT! And, when more than 50% of the Arctic ice is gone, then logic would dictate that all hell is going to break loose.

At that stage - where 50% of the ice is gone, there would, in all likelihood, be an irrevocable hastening of the total loss of ice - a complete melt, and an ensuing massive amount of water in the atmosphere causing huge storms of snow and other really horrible meteorological phenomenon. The alters of the world - our oceans and lakes, would also rise in temperature, as most of the sun's light would no longer be reflected by the ice.

There will, in all likelihood be, a vast increase in the earth's temperature. This rise in temperature is ALREADY happening. The year 2010 was the hottest year ever recorded, and the last decade saw the largest increase in temperature ever recorded.

One would think that what has been described herein would be the biggest story of the year. Not jobs, not wars, not famines, not cancer, not AIDS, not the Oscars, not the Superbowl, not the Mid-East conflict, not the housing crisis, not the subprime collapse and its ensuing near depression sequellae. No, one would think that the demise of our planet might be a bit more important.

In the famous Twilight Zone mentioned at the beginning, people were moving to the equator. But, in the main part of that episode, the earth was heating up - not getting cold - and it is the earth, as Venus, which is probably the more likely future, based on the vast ice melt.

But strangely, 50% or more ice melt might, by some strange twist of fate, cause the earth to become super cold. That could occur if the vast increase in moisture in the atmosphere causes a huge, huge increase in the amount of snow. This vast amount of snow could possibly super-cool the earth, by causing TOO much reflection of light - and thereby sending us all into a new, horribly cold, Ice Age.

The key thing to know is that all of this is happening RIGHT NOW, and whether we end up as Venus (super hot) or as Pluto (super cold), in either case, it is all too horrible to even contemplate. And yet, for our own sakes, we should indeed contemplate it all - because very very soon, just a few short years - we will all be facing a vastly different reality - and that horrid reality, is well underway, and may well be irrevocable. Perhaps some major politician or citizen's group will speak up about this frightening situation. I hope so, because we - and our children - will have nowhere to hide, when the world changes.

Dean Weber is the founder of karobix.com, a worldwide fitness and karate club. Dean is a black belt in karate and he has helped many people get into shape. He is the author of several books, including "Grandmaster", The 30,000 Days", "Existence", and, Adventures in Being". Dean can be reached at mail@karobix.com

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