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The Earthwatch Beat the Heat Climate Change Campaign is almost over (ends October 14)! Don't miss your chance to take action and make a difference--and get you free organic cotton Beat the Heat t-shirt! They're black, super-soft, very cool. And did I mention organic? Just go here to find out more:

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Thanks all!

John

Hi,

I'm the Earthwatch webmaster. I've been at Earthwatch for 3 years, and so far I've been on 2 expeditions - Puerto Rico's Rainforest, and a paleontology expedition to southern Utah which has finished.

I hear many interesting tidbits of information about climate change and the impacts it could have. For example, Dr. Rolf Peterson studies moose and wolves on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. He has found that when winters are warmer than normal on the island, the tick population doesn't die off. This means that the moose are plagued by many more ticks, and become very debilitated.

Who would have thought that a study of predator-prey dynamics would discover a potential climate change impact?

Kathy

Hello- My name is Betsy, I live in Oregon, and am very concerned about what is happening to the planet right now. I have been observing Earth Changes for many years, and try to do my part to not be wasteful, to recycle, and not pollute. Oregon is a great place to live, and I hope to keep my little corner green and natural. Feel free to write to me anytime.

If you know anything about geologic history you will know that during the Jurassic period atmospheric levels of CO2 were at an all-time high, as were the methane levels. You could go swimming in the waters of Antarctica. But you also had very violent thunderstorms and I mean VERY VIOLENT thunderstorms every single day, 365 days out of the year! The oceans were poisonous cesspools of hydrogen sulfide. That's why the oceanic fossils of that period are so well preserved, because no organism responsible for decomposition of a carcass could survive in such a toxic environment. What people who haven't studied geology at a university level don't realize is that the Earth's atmosphere was in what is called a runaway process and consequently was very unstable and could have very easily gone the way of its sister planet, Venus, with 900° F surface temperatures. And, it almost did! But is that what you should all really be worried about? NO!!!

Those who haven't studied geology at the university level, as have I, don't realize that global warming isn't the greatest threat to the survival of our species, nor are impacting asteroids or comets or Gamma-ray Bursts. A volcanic winter, on the other hand, is. And it's happened before, and it will happen again! When a caldera like the Yellowstone National Park caldera finally erupts it will put out such a large volume of suflides into the stratosphere that it will encircle the entire planet, blocking out almost all sunlight globally. The Earth's global temperature will quickly drop, and we will be in a perpetual global volcanic winter for approximately 10 years. During which time approximately 5.99 ±.01 BILLION people WILL die of starvation. When Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted back in May of 1994, it put out such a large volume of sulfides into the stratosphere that it actually stopped global warming for an entire year! And, Mount Pinatubo is a tiny firecracker compared to a caldera like Yellowstone National Park.

But don't take my word for it. Do some research on the history of calderas and see the data for yourselves. The Yellowstone caldera erupts approximately every 60,000 years and it's been roughly 65,000 thousand years since its last eruption. It's kind of ironic when you think about it. One of the greatest tourist attractions in the world ends up being the harbinger of the end of human civilization. And it's not the only caldera that there is to worry about. And what can we with all of our technology do to prepare for it? Absolutely nothing! Oh, it won't happen in your lifetime or even in your children's or grandchildren's lifetime. But your great grandchildren?........that's an entirely different story. So if you're worried about the future of this planet and the survival of humanity, then be afraid!.....be very afraid!!! And if you're going to talk about environmental issues, then at least know what the hell you're talking about! Thank you for reading. ;-)

I have been aware of the carbon dioxide study on Mauna Loa long before Albert Gore, Jr. put it in the public eye in his movie, "An Inconvenient Truth." I'm still waiting for the "climate change." The lichens and mosses still get greener late in February, the silver maples bloom in the middle of March, I find jack-in-the pulpit in the middle of April, the dogwoods the first or second week of May. This is all the same as I've seen since childhood, about 50 years or so. People's memories may be short but much of North America went through some severe freezes in 1980, 1983, and 1985. They compare to the freezes of 1934, 1917, and 1899. From what I have gathered the freezes back in 1933 and 1934 (-15 and -17 two months apart) are about as cold as Boston has been in memory. Likewise the hot weather has been about as hot as it has been in history. The hot summers of the late 1940s are but a distant memory to the few still alive from those times. I doubt if there are any people alive who remember the infamous heat of July 1911. Once North America bakes in a summer like 1936 on a regular basis, then I think we can start talking about some really bad climate change. As it is, Greenpeace and those "environmental groups" were out this June, putting out the dire warnings, when we had an early hot spell like what happened in 1984 and 1925. But the summer had only 8 90-degree days, a couple fewer than average. And August was downright chilly sometimes. Rainfall is about the same, too. This area rarely gets a drought. Last time was in 1966, the year of the second really "nice weather" summer, except, of course, it hardly rained at all! And, it's been a long time (a little over 50 years) since the area has gotten battered by repeated hurricanes. The hurricane of 1938, which blew down a lot of trees everywhere is but a distant memory, too. What I have noticed is that the winters in the Boston area, where I live have gotten less severe around 1890, but they have been about as at the same level of harshness since. If we're going to talk about how pollution is messing up the air at a global level, we better be taking a serious look at Chinese industry. The USA used to be the steel manufacturer of the world. Now, China produces six times as much as the USA. And Russia still uses open hearth furnaces, when most of the world uses electric, or the modified Besssemer process, the basic oxygen furnace, which pollute the air a lot less. The real bane of the iron and steel industry is still the coking oven. Now cement manufacturing there's a carbon dioxide generator right there. So maybe there's something to say about how the industrialization of India and China is really tipping the scales as it is. But people keep buying their products because of the cheap labor. I remain skeptical but watchful of not so much "global warming" or "climate change" but more at some of the underlying causes which are problems in themselves, like the depletion of fossil fuels. At least we may be getting gas from Alaska soon instead of having the oil companies burn it at the wellhead.

I know I mentioned Earthwatch's Beat the Heat Climate Change Campaign earlier (running through October 14), but if you become a member or donate $35 or more, we're now giving away free organic cotton Beat the Heat t-shirts. They're black, super-soft, very cool. And did I mention organic? Just go here to find out more:

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Thanks all!

John

The Beat the Heat Climate Change Campaign is now underway! What does that mean for YOU? What can YOU do to help us fight Climate Change?

Welcome to the Beat the Heat Climate Change Campaign! Kicking off with our huge bash in Boston on August 14 and then running through October 14, we're working to engage as many people as possible in our climate change research. What can you do to take action?

1) Become a member of Earthwatch and join the movement
2) Donate to help support our climate change projects around the world
3) Join us in the field as a volunteer
4) If you're in New England, volunteer on on one of our local climate change volunteering opportunities
5) Invite all your friends to join our Beat the Heat "Cause" page on Facebook here:

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Ready to take action? Whatever you choose, you can go here to do it:

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Last but not least, please pass the URL on to everyone you know who shares your concern for our planet. Thanks!

John

Hi!
Did anyone see the special on global Dimming? It was a real eye opener. It started with a scientist trying to measure what the difference of polution in the air would be without the emisions from jet planes. When 911 happened there were three days without air travel. The difference that he found was much worse than he had ever imagined. It was shocking. Then, people in different parts of the world were measuring the rate of water evaporation, which had slowed down, even though the weather was hotter than the norm. It
seems that the rate of evaporation had less to do with temperature and more to do with the amount of sunlight that was getting through. Places like Antarctica had cleaner air so more sunlight gets through. Thus, higher rate of evaporation and more ice melting. My concern is, (I know you'll think I'm a little crazy.)but, what if global warming in itself is not what we should fear. What if the climate changes very quickly and the amount of water from the melting ice makes the earth unbalanced and there is a shift of the earth's crust? Can you imagine; techtonic plates shifting causing earthquakes (places where there are nuclear power plants being destroyed, or underground missle sights.) Tidal waves hitting all the islands around the world and places like New York City, and high winds that would be strong enough to blow down tall buildings. Power would be out and so would communications. The lay of the land would be unrecognizable. That would probably kill about one third of the people and animals on the planet. I'm not a dooms day prophet. I live day by day. But I don't think anyone is ever prepared for a natural disaster. I've read that the earth is due for a major catastrophy. Who knows. It could happen in our lifetime. I hope not.

Want to do something about Climate Change?

Beat the Heat with Earthwatch!

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John