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Global Warming, Hurricanes and Ice

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Published: 28Jul2008
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More Hurricanes caused by Global Warming?

Because of the recent events and devastation caused Hurricane Katrina, many notable Scholars, Politicians and Scientists are blaming global warming for the increased activity and strength of hurricanes.

In fact, 2005 has set a record for number of developed hurricanes in the US and the season doesn't end for another 9 weeks. In fact, at this very moment, another extremely destructive hurricane, "Rita", is churning its way towards Texas and/or Louisiana.

If you do a little research, you will find that from 1961 through 1999 the USA was experiencing a "lull" in hurricane activity, averaging about 13 storms each decade. From 1871 through 1960, the average number of storms per decade was right at 20. So far, the current decade has yielded 9 hurricanes; at that rate we should end up with 22 or 23 hurricanes by the end of 2010. Seems high? Guess what, from 1941 - 1950, the USA recorded 24 hurricanes.

So does this historical data fall in line with the thinking of the "eager to jump on the global warming bandwagon"? No, because the US population has almost doubled since 1950 and therefore the level of "greenhouse gases" being emitted should have doubled as well. And yet the number of hurricanes has remained the same or lessened from 1961 - 2000.

So what does all this mean? Well, on the one hand you could say that the increase from 2001 - 2004 is significant and could be cause for alarm. And yet you could also make a case that the data does not support any conclusion at all.

The one thing you need to think about is that any data can be manipulated to show what the particular analyzer wants you to believe. You must be objective - gone are the days of being a "Straight Ticket Democrat or Republican" - and you have to seek out both sides of an issue in order to determine the real truth. And also remember that every story or report has some amount of truth in it as well as exaggeration - it is up to you to figure out how much of each.

When Ice Melts, Do The Oceans Rise?

Nearly every day the news has some report or blurb about how the Glaciers at the North Pole are melting. Huge floating Icebergs are being released into the ocean; often times the reports speculate on the causal effect of rising sea levels and changing ocean temperatures.

Of course this accompanied by a resounding chorus of "it's because of Greenhouse Gases from Global Warming" and we need to change our ways before we destroy the world. I may sound harsh but it gets very tiring to hear that almost everything I do during my waking hours is probably destroying the Earth.

Now, on the surface these claims appear to be telling of a legitimate danger and a possible effect of our tendencies of non-restraint towards the Earth and its' environment. But let's take a moment to think about this and analyze these statements of doom and gloom.

First, let's consider the greenhouse gases causing Global Warming - sounds plausible, but take a step back and look at history just to make sure. Didn't the Earth suffer through an Ice Age several hundreds of thousands of years ago? What made that end? There were no factories, no automobiles and no humans - at least not like modern man. So what ended the Ice Age?

According to scholars, the Earth has been through many Ice Ages over the course of the last 4 million years, with the last one ending about 10,000 years ago. Although many scientists will dispute and say the Earth is still in an Ice Age due to accumulation of glacial ice in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

There are three main factors which cause the beginning or ending of each ice age - atmospheric content (especially CO2 and Methane), Milankovitch Cycles (changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun), and the arrangement of the continental shelves. To what extent or amount each of these three factors actually contributes is the great debate among scientists and scholars?

So it is apparent that prior to man existing, ice ages came and went. Since man wasn't around then, we certainly could not be blamed for the on-set or off-set of any particular ice age.

Now, on to the melting and oceans rising - The Arctic does not have a land mass under the glaciers. Arctic glaciers are actually an ice shelf extending from Canada, Alaska, and Russia. If the weight of the 'Ice' is borne by the oceans water and there is 'Displacement' i.e. the glacier is on top of the water, the melting of it will not raise the ocean level. Think of a glass of ice water - does the glass overflow when the ice melts? Then - No, the Ice is displacing the water volume.

However, the land masses in the Arctic region do have mountains of snow & ice that can be added to our oceans from surrounding lands. Check out the map at; http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/arctic_conservation_area_caff_topographic_map

Moreover, the Antarctic does have its own land mass where the snow and ice is also over 2 miles thick; therefore using the same logic, the sea water would certainly rise if that should also melt.

Certainly, we need to do whatever we can to protect the Earth's environment because we will be protecting ourselves, our children and their children; however that doesn't mean we should throw out all sense of logic and reason too. You just have to look at everything, and remember that global temperatures are causing very unusual weather all around our planet Earth.

New Ideas

Many environmental problems are blamed on global warming, and with the devastating effects of recent hurricanes, which seem to be growing in number and intensity, environmentalists are hypothesizing there is a connection between global warming and hurricanes.

Win Wenger, director of a think tank called Project Renaissance, believes he has developed a method to reduce hurricanes.

His suggestion is to do exactly the opposite of what global warming is doing right now. He suggests that ocean-based storms, which turn into hurricanes, are fuelled by warm surface waters. If that is true, global warming would have a distinct impact on the increase in number and intensity of hurricanes!

His suggestion is to mix cold water into the warmer surface waters. He suggests this by doing a couple of things. First, one could pump air into the colder layers of ocean water and let it bubble up to the surface, carrying some of the cooler waters with it. Or, using tubes, one could pump cooler water through a tube into the warmer areas.

He goes on to suggest that any pumps necessary could be run by natural gas, which is already present in the hurricane-stricken areas. In fact, he says that oil rigs could take this on as a pilot project.

The benefits, if successful, would have dramatically positive impacts along any coastal region experiencing hurricane weather now. In fact, insurance claims would go down, insurance rates could diminish, the costs of damage and government subsidy would drop, as well as lost wages from missed work and evacuation, and tourist dollars would not be reduced either.

They say that the estimate cost of damages by Hurricane Katrina was over $200 billion. Do you think that it would cost that much to pump cold water into warm water in strategic areas in the ocean?

Well it makes you wonder!

Mervyn Rees-The author of, 'The Secrets of Biodiesel'. http://www.whybiodiesel.com An active young 72 year old with lifetime of experience to share, being a Fellow of the Institute Motoring Industry, built his own Dragonfly Roadsters before retiring as a Motor Vehicle Manufacturer. Having tried retiring twice and given up, he has now created an additional website http://www.mervtech.com to share his many interests with other likeminded people.

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