{"id":784,"date":"2017-01-20T01:35:33","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T01:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=784"},"modified":"2019-04-09T17:47:15","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T17:47:15","slug":"climate-change-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Change Continues"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#cracking\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170116-larsenc_photo_2016315_lrg-28b558a9900c5631029dbba164341c286b5aeec4-s800-c85-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>Climate change is still in the news. So is a growing crack in an Antarctic ice sheet, and a Ladybird Book co-authored by England&#8217;s Prince Charles.<\/p>\n<p>The book, &#8220;Climate Change,&#8221; is a Ladybird Expert Book: written with adults in mind.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#cracking\">A Cracking Ice Shelf<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#simply\">&#8220;Simply a Natural Event&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#brunt\">Brunt Breakup<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#halloween\">The &#8220;Halloween Crack&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#new\">A New Book by Prince Charles<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#heatwaves\">&#8220;Heatwaves, Floods &#8230; Disappearing Wildlife; Acid oceans&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This post has an afterword, mostly my take on climate change and being human:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#stewardship\">Stewardship: Part of Our Job<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#learning\">Learning Wisdom, not Fear<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><a name=\"coming\"><\/a>The Coming Ice Age<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.urbanghostsmedia.com\/2011\/03\/alan-weisman-world-without-us\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170116-new-york-city-15000-years-after-people-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>I remember when the coming ice age was a hot topic: for science geeks, anyway.<\/p>\n<p>Growing glaciers, miles deep, would spread from Earth&#8217;s arctic regions.<\/p>\n<p>Grinding southward, they would obliterate cities and civilization in their inexorable advance.<\/p>\n<p>It made for interesting conversation, forgettable science fiction potboilers, and at least one bit of cover art that I liked. The tale&#8217;s premise was that a city on whacking great tractor treads was trundling southward. I can&#8217;t remember the title or author.<\/p>\n<p>More serious stories assumed that we didn&#8217;t survive, or had to start over in the tropics.<\/p>\n<p>That was the late 1950s and early 1960s. Some folks were talking about &#8220;global cooling&#8221; in the 1970s, based on a cooling trend from the 40s to early 70s.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#1\">1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>These days, &#8220;climate change&#8221; has replaced &#8220;global warming&#8221; as a political slogan, and it&#8217;s easy to assume that the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/whole_ball_of_wax\">whole ball of wax<\/a> is a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/hooey\">bunch of hooey<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Reality isn&#8217;t quite what&#8217;s in the headlines, and that&#8217;s another topic.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"last\"><\/a>&#8220;Last&#8221; Glacial Maximum?<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/data.giss.nasa.gov\/gistemp\/graphs\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170119-GlobalAnnualMeanSurfaceAirTemperatureChange1880-2016-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Hansen et al.\/NASA, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If someone asked if I &#8220;believe in&#8221; climate change, I&#8217;d have answer yes \u2014 and no.<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t &#8220;believe in&#8221; climate change in the sense that I think it explains my existence, provides a reason for living, or belongs at the top of my priorities list.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, I think Earth&#8217;s climate is changing. I am also quite sure that the universe is billions, not thousands, of years old; Earth isn&#8217;t flat; Adam and Eve aren&#8217;t German; and thinking is not a sin. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/the-minden-monster-what-killed-lucy\/#adam\">September 23, 2016<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/faith-the-universe-and-wisdom\/\">August 28, 2016<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/early-agriculture-new-tech\/#thinking\">July 22, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Temperature_record#Tree_rings_and_ice_cores_.28from_1.2C000-2.2C000_years_before_present.29\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170119-2000_Year_Temperature_Comparison-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Robert A. Rohde, via Wikimedia Commons, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(A reconstruction of recent temperatures, from tree rings and other data.)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/20150219-600px-IceAgeEarth-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>I&#8217;m also reasonably certain that Earth has getting warmer, on average, since about 1910. It&#8217;s certainly warmer now than it was during the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Little_Ice_Age\">Little Ice Age<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re enjoying, on average, temperatures Earth hasn&#8217;t experienced since the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Medieval_Warm_Period\">Medieval Warm Period<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s certainly warmer now than about 26,500 years back, when glaciers covered my ancestral homelands; and most of today&#8217;s Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>We call it the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Last_Glacial_Maximum\">Last Glacial Maximum<\/a>, since it&#8217;s the most recent. But there&#8217;s no guarantee that continental ice sheets won&#8217;t come back. Given what we&#8217;re learning, it&#8217;s likely that the current <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Timeline_of_glaciation\">interglacial<\/a> period will end &#8216;soon,&#8217; by geologic standards.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#2\">2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s put that in perspective.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"milutin\"><\/a>Milutin Milankovi\u0107: (Almost) Right<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Geologic_temperature_record#Pleistocene\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/20150506-Five_Myr_Climate_Change-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Lisiecki and Raymo (2005), via Wikimedia Commons; under GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later; used w\/o permission.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>That graph shows average temperatures at <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vostok_Station#Ice_core_drilling\">Vostok Station<\/a> in Antarctica \u2014 based on analysis of an oxygen isotope in deep-sea ocean sediments. It&#8217;s almost certainly not spot-on accurate: but my guess is that it&#8217;s pretty close to what actually happened.<\/p>\n<p>More about Earth&#8217;s most recent five million years of climate change:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/lorraine-lisiecki.com\/LisieckiRaymo2005.pdf\">A Pliocene-Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic d18O records<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nLorraine E. Lisiecki, Maureen E. Raymo; Paleoceanography, Vol. 20 (2005)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The graph&#8217;s &#8220;41 kyr cycle&#8221; is a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milankovitch_cycles\">Milankovitch cycle<\/a>: variations in how far Earth&#8217;s rotational axis wanders.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milutin_Milankovi%C4%87\">Milutin Milankovi\u0107<\/a> noticed correlation between these changes and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milutin_Milankovi%C4%87#Orbital_variations_and_ice_age_cycles\">Earth&#8217;s climate<\/a> in the 1920s. His theory wasn&#8217;t popular in my youth, but <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milutin_Milankovi%C4%87#Legacy\">data collected<\/a> since the &#8217;60s shows that he was on the right track. Earth&#8217;s climate changed the way he said it did \u2014 almost.<\/p>\n<p>The &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Milankovitch_cycles#100.2C000-year_problem\">100 kyr cycle<\/a>&#8221; is another cyclic variation in Earth&#8217;s axis: and an issue for folks trying to make sense of Milankovi\u0107 cycles.<\/p>\n<p>Earth&#8217;s equator is tilted 23.44 degrees from the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ecliptic\">ecliptic<\/a> today. It tilts up to 24.5 degrees, and is on its way to the 22.1 degree minimum at the moment. The cycle takes about 41,000 years: hence the &#8220;41 kyr (kiloyear)&#8221; name.<\/p>\n<p>So \u2014 once we know everything there is to know about Earth&#8217;s last five million years, we&#8217;ll fully understand climate change? Probably not.<\/p>\n<p>Our home is <strong>much<\/strong> older: and hasn&#8217;t been the same since the dinosaurs died.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"climate\"><\/a>Climate Change After the Dinosaurs<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paleocene%E2%80%93Eocene_Thermal_Maximum\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/20150506-65_Myr_Climate_Change-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Robert A. Rohde, via Wikimedia Commons, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Again, this graph comes from analysis of deep-sea sediments. It probably isn&#8217;t an exact fit with reality: but I think it&#8217;s reasonably accurate.<\/p>\n<p>Earth&#8217;s current <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age\">ice age<\/a> started about 2,600,000 years back. The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Isthmus_of_Panama#Geology\">Isthmus of Panama&#8217;s<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age#Fluctuations_in_ocean_currents\">closing<\/a> was probably one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age#Causes_of_ice_ages\">triggering events<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So was the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age#Uplift_of_the_Tibetan_plateau_and_surrounding_mountain_areas_above_the_snowline\">Tibetan plateau<\/a> getting higher: maybe.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age#Glacials_and_interglacials\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170119-600px-Iceage_north-intergl_glac_hg-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>Continental glaciers have been spreading, melting, and spreading again ever since. Scientists figure positive and negative <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age#Positive_and_negative_feedback_in_glacial_periods\">feedback processes<\/a> have been keeping the cycle going. Exactly what those processes are is something we&#8217;re still learning.<\/p>\n<p>Vastly oversimplifying the matter, we get more snow near the poles when Earth&#8217;s oceans are warmer. Sometimes the snow doesn&#8217;t entirely melt during summer. Snow and ice build up until we get glaciers scraping toward the equator.<\/p>\n<p>Much of Earth&#8217;s water is tied up in glaciers by then, so sea level is lower. Between a slightly smaller ocean and colder climate, there isn&#8217;t as much snow falling: which slows down glacier production.<\/p>\n<p>Somehow or other, Earth warms up and the cycle starts again. I gather that scientists still aren&#8217;t sure about what warms things up.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s evidence that it <strong>didn&#8217;t<\/strong> warm up once, more than 650,000,000 years ago.<sup><a>3<\/a><\/sup> One of the problems scientists have with <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Snowball_Earth\">Snowball Earth<\/a> is that they aren&#8217;t at all sure how Earth could have warmed up again.<\/p>\n<p>It did, obviously, and I&#8217;ll get back to that.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s hardly surprising that we don&#8217;t fully understand ice ages.<\/p>\n<p>The first inkling we had that they existed goes back to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age#Origin_of_ice_age_theory\">1742<\/a>, when Pierre Martel listened to what folks living in the Alps said about <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Glacial_erratic\">boulders<\/a> of one sort of rock sitting on a different kind of rock.<\/p>\n<p>I suspect we&#8217;re learning how much we don&#8217;t know almost as fast as we&#8217;re solving existing puzzles these days. The good news is that we&#8217;re learning: a lot, very fast.<\/p>\n<p>One more graph, and I&#8217;ll get this week&#8217;s science news; and the new climate change book.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"half\"><\/a>A Half-Billion Years of Climate Change<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Geologic_temperature_record#Fluctuations_during_the_remainder_of_the_Phanerozoic\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/20150506-Phanerozoic_Climate_Change-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Dragons flight, via Wikimedia Commons, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Once again, that&#8217;s a pretty good estimate of Earth&#8217;s average temperature, based on analysis of oxygen isotopes.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Phanerozoic\">Phaerozoic<\/a> is what scientists call Earth&#8217;s current <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Geologic_time_scale#Terminology\">geologic eon<\/a>. It started 541,000,000 years ago, give or take 1,000,000, when critters like <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Trilobite\">trilobites<\/a> and reef-building <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Archaeocyatha\">archaeocyathans<\/a> appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Earth in humanity&#8217;s day is colder than it&#8217;s been since the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Andean-Saharan_glaciation\">Andean-Saharan<\/a> glaciation, 460,000,000 to 430,000,000 years ago \u2014 when Earth&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ordovician%E2%80%93Silurian_extinction_events\">second-largest<\/a> cluster of extinction events happened.<\/p>\n<p>The big one happened about a quarter-billion years later. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/europa-mars-and-someday-the-stars\/#survivors\">September 30, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re accustomed to a world where a mile-deep glacier covers most of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Greenland#Geography_and_climate\">Greenland<\/a>, which isn&#8217;t normal for this planet.<\/p>\n<p>Earth has been colder than it is today, but not by much: apart from that Snowball Earth thing I mentioned. The last I heard, scientists still aren&#8217;t sure if we&#8217;re in an interglacial period: or if the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quaternary_glaciation#Next_glacial_period\">Quaternary glaciation<\/a> is finally over.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most sensible things I&#8217;ve read about Earth and climate change is what Oregon State University&#8217;s Christo Buizert said, discussing a polar climate cycle: &#8220;We still don&#8217;t know&#8230;.&#8221; (BBC News (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-32599228\">May 5, 2015<\/a>))<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><a name=\"cracking\"><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">1. <\/span>A Cracking Ice Shelf<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/01\/16\/509565462\/an-ice-shelf-is-cracking-in-antarctica-but-not-for-the-reason-you-think\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170116-larsenc_photo_2016315_lrg-28b558a9900c5631029dbba164341c286b5aeec4-s800-c85-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From John Sonntag\/NASA , via NPR, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(&#8220;A NASA scientist with project IceBridge took this photo of the crack in November.&#8221;<br \/>\n(NPR))<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/01\/16\/509565462\/an-ice-shelf-is-cracking-in-antarctica-but-not-for-the-reason-you-think\">An Ice Shelf Is Cracking In Antarctica, But Not For The Reason You Think<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nRae Ellen Bichell, NPR (January 16, 2017)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A group of scientists is gathering today in the U.K. to discuss a slab of ice that&#8217;s cracking in Antarctica. The crack could soon split off a frozen chunk the size of Delaware&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;&#8230;The ice shelf Sevestre was studying is called Larsen C, and it now has a massive 90-mile crack running through it.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;&#8216;The big rift is slicing the ice shelf from top to bottom,&#8217; Sevestre says. It&#8217;s now a third of a mile deep, and as wide across as 25 highway lanes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But this is not just another sad climate change story. It&#8217;s more complicated&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Folks wrote about an antarctic region long before <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antarctica#History_of_exploration\">1820<\/a>. That&#8217;s when a folks on a ship spotted the continent.<\/p>\n<p>Which ship was first depends on who&#8217;s talking. It was one captained by von Bellingshausen, Imperial Russian Navy, Edward Bransfield, England&#8217;s Royal Navy; or Nathaniel Palmer, a sealer out of Stonington, Connecticut.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d like to think Vikings got that far, and didn&#8217;t bother to file a report with the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/North_Sea_Empire\">North Sea Empire<\/a>. That&#8217;s unlikely, though, and yet another topic.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, Aristotle mentioned an antarctic region in his <a href=\"http:\/\/classics.mit.edu\/Aristotle\/meteorology.2.ii.html\">Meteorology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marinus_of_Tyre\">Marinus of Tyre<\/a> invented <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Equirectangular_projection\">equirectangular projection<\/a>, gets credit for being the first to assign latitude longitude to each spot on his map. He also gave us the term &#8220;Antarctic,&#8221; the Arctic Circle&#8217;s opposite.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#4\">4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>My hat&#8217;s off to Rae Ellen Bichell and NPR, for this sentence: &#8220;It&#8217;s more complicated.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I suspect that reality is, in a sense, very simple. For example, we keep finding close approximations to circles, spheres, and logarithmic spirals. Physicists keep getting closer to a working <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Theory_of_everything\">theory of everything<\/a>, and that&#8217;s yet again another topic.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re also learning that reality is, in another sense, very complex: and interrelated.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.&#8221;<br \/>\n(&#8220;My First Summer in the Sierra,&#8221; John Muir (1869) via <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikiquote.org\/wiki\/John_Muir#My_First_Summer_in_the_Sierra.2C_1869\">Wikiquote<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><a name=\"simply\"><\/a>&#8220;Simply a Natural Event&#8221;<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/01\/16\/509565462\/an-ice-shelf-is-cracking-in-antarctica-but-not-for-the-reason-you-think\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170117-calving-1-ca20750851f785396347b1f551a980f4060d9128-s800-c85-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Jeremy Harbeck\/NASA, via NPR, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(&#8220;Calving is a natural process that produces icebergs, as seen here with the Getz Ice Shelf in West Antarctica.&#8221;<br \/>\n(NPR))<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;&#8230;&#8217;A lot of things are going on deep inside the ice,&#8217; says Adrian Luckman, a glaciologist at Swansea University in the U.K. He&#8217;s also leading a project to track changes in the ice shelf.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Luckman says climate change is certainly influencing this region. Larsen C used to have two neighbors to the north, Larsen A and Larsen B. As the air and water warmed, those ice shelves started melting and then splintered into shards in 1995 and 2002.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But the crack in Larsen C seems to have happened on its own, for different reasons.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;&#8216;This is probably not directly attributable to any warming in the region, although of course the warming won&#8217;t have helped,&#8217; says Luckman. &#8216;It&#8217;s probably just simply a natural event that&#8217;s just been waiting around to happen.&#8217;&#8230;&#8221;<br \/>\n(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/01\/16\/509565462\/an-ice-shelf-is-cracking-in-antarctica-but-not-for-the-reason-you-think\">Rae Ellen Bichell<\/a>, NPR)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The odds are very good that at least part of this ice shelf will break off in the next few months, years, or decades. It won&#8217;t be the first time something like this happened, and almost certainly won&#8217;t be the last.<\/p>\n<p>Quite a few glaciers and ice sheets eventually meet open water. As their edges get pushed out, bits and pieces crack off. The process is called <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_calving\">ice calving<\/a>. Scientists study ice calving, tourists watch it, and surfers ride the waves kicked up by falling ice.<\/p>\n<p>Calving on an epic scale happened during <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Filchner-Ronne_Ice_Shelf#Calving\">October 1998<\/a>, when a Delaware-size chunk of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf broke off. It&#8217;s (remotely) possible that part or all of the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/West_Antarctic_Ice_Sheet\">West Antarctic Ice Sheet<\/a> could break off.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#5\">5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Maybe we&#8217;ll see a movie based on that idea. Think &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Absolute_Zero_(film)\">Absolute Zero<\/a>: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Day_After_Tomorrow\">The Day After<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2012:_Ice_Age\">2012<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Then the stars could testify before Congress, lending their wisdom to climate change talks. Or maybe not.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Larsen_Ice_Shelf\">Larsen Ice Shelf<\/a> is part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Weddell_Sea\">Wenddel Sea&#8217;s<\/a> northwest coast, more-or-less across from the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brunt_Ice_Shelf\">Brunt Ice Shelf<\/a>. The Brunt Shelf is cracking, too.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><a name=\"brunt\"><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">2. <\/span>Brunt Breakup<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/project\/moving-halley\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170116-Halley-relocation_FINAL-graphic-736x552-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From British Antarctic Survey, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(&#8220;Graphic showing Halley&#8217;s current site in relation to its new site further inland&#8221;<br \/>\n(British Antarctic Survey))<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-38643420\">Ice crack to put UK Antarctic base in shut-down<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nJonathan Amos, BBC News (January 16, 2017)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>The British Antarctic Survey is to pull all staff out of its space-age Halley base in March for safety reasons.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The highly unusual move is necessary because the Brunt Ice Shelf on which the research station sits has developed a big new crack.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;BAS officials say neither staff nor the base are in any immediate danger but believe it would be prudent to withdraw while the situation is assessed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The plan would be to go back once the Antarctic winter is over, in November&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Halley_Research_Station\">Halley Research Station<\/a> got started with wooden hut built in 1956, part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Royal_Society\">Royal Society<\/a> expedition during the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/International_Geophysical_Year\">International Geophysical Year<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/polar-operations\/sites-and-facilities\/facility\/halley\/halley-research-station-module-layout\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170117-74cebc0421337252b6ecc4e6f4c2f3b6_1432555500-e1447404649313-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>Snow eventually buried Halley I through IV, obliging researchers to move into newly-built quarters.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Halley_Research_Station#Halley_V\">Halley V<\/a> was designed to get lifted above each year&#8217;s snow accumulation, lasting until <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Halley_Research_Station#Halley_VI\">Halley VI<\/a> was ready. Each of the current Halley Research Station modules stands on skis, so the station can be relocated as needed.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#6\">6<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"halloween\"><\/a>The &#8220;Halloween Crack&#8221;<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-38643420\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170116-_93621944_ddd-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From BAS, via BBC, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(&#8220;Aurora: Halley base has become a centre for the study of space weather&#8221;<br \/>\n(BBC News))<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;&#8230;BAS is in the process of conducting such a move right now. The relocation is all but complete, with the last pod currently in the final stage of being shifted 23km to the new site.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The move was necessitated by a chasm that had opened up in the shelf and which threatened to cut off Halley. But this huge fissure to the west of the station is not the cause of the temporary closure.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Rather, it is another break in the ice some 17km to the north and east of the new base position. It has been dubbed the &#8216;Halloween Crack&#8217; because it was discovered on 31 October&#8230;.&#8221;<br \/>\n(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-38643420\">Jonathan Amos<\/a>, BBC News)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) folks don&#8217;t think part of the Brunt Ice Shelf is going to break off during the Antarctic winter.<\/p>\n<p>But they can&#8217;t be sure, and don&#8217;t want folks on the ice if it does. A 19-hour power outage during the 2014 winter may have encouraged this common-sense move:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/media-post\/power-down-at-british-antarctic-survey-halley-research-station-statement\/\">Power-down at British Antarctic Survey Halley Research Station \u2013 Statement<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nBAS Press Office (August 6, 2014)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is dealing with a serious operational incident at its Halley Research Station. On Wednesday 30 July 2014 a major technical issue resulted in the station losing its electrical and heating supply for 19 hours. All 13 station staff are safe and in good health&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>With nobody around to keep an eye on equipment, BAS will be deciding whether to leave some of the experiments running and hope for the best, or shut the whole thing down until winter&#8217;s end.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not an easy decision, since Halley VI collects data on Earth&#8217;s atmosphere, and beyond.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/#7\">7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><a name=\"new\"><\/a><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">3. <\/span>A New Book by Prince Charles<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-38627650\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170116-_93575594_climatechangebook2-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From Penguin, via BBC News, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(&#8220;The cover of the book was based on an image of flooding in Uckfield, East Sussex&#8221;<br \/>\n(BBC News))<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-38627650\">Prince Charles co-authors Ladybird climate change book<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(January 15, 2017)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>Prince Charles has co-authored a Ladybird book on the challenges and possible solutions to climate change.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is part of a series for adults written in the style of the well-known children&#8217;s books that aims to clearly explain complicated subjects.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The 52-page guide has been co-authored by former Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper and climate scientist Emily Shuckburgh.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Mr Juniper said he hoped the book would &#8216;stand the test of time&#8217;&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Fear not! <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Uckfield\">Uckfield<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/East_Sussex\">East Sussex<\/a> is not sinking beneath the waves. Not yet, anyway.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-38627650\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170116-_93575375_labybirdcomposite-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>The Prince Charles climate change book might become a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ladybird_Books#Collecting\">collectors item<\/a>, like first edition copies of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ladybird_Books#The_classic_Ladybird_book\">Bunnikin&#8217;s Picnic Party<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I suppose anything &#8220;royal&#8221; has added value in some circles.<\/p>\n<p>I was glad to see that marketing for this book isn&#8217;t entirely hysterical, although there&#8217;s the usual <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fear_appeal\">fear appeal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;&#8230;You&#8217;ll learn about the causes and consequences of climate disruption; heatwaves, floods and other extreme weather; disappearing wildlife; acid oceans; the benefits of limiting warming; sustainable farming, new clean technologies and the circular economy&#8230;.&#8221;<br \/>\n(&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Climate-Change-Ladybird-Expert-Book\/dp\/0718185854\">Climate Change (A Ladybird Expert Book) (The Ladybird Expert Series)<\/a>,&#8221; Amazon.com)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The hardcover book, available January 26, 2017, is already a #1 &#8216;meteorology&#8217; bestseller on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Climate-Change-Ladybird-Expert-Book\/dp\/0718185854\">Amazon.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"heatwaves\"><\/a>&#8220;Heatwaves, Floods &#8230; Disappearing Wildlife; Acid oceans&#8221;<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-38627650\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20170116-_93575371_climatechangebook2-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>It could be worse.<\/p>\n<p>The cover illustration could show Cobb Bakers and Uckfield Pharmacy dissolving in an acid ocean as <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Godzilla_vs._Hedorah\">Godzilla and Hedorah<\/a> battle on the skyline.<\/p>\n<p>I found listings for several pharmacies in Uckfield, incidentally, but no &#8220;Uckfield Pharmacy.&#8221; I&#8217;m pretty sure both businesses are fictional.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m also sure that developing cleaner industrial technologies is a good idea, and that recycling makes sense.<\/p>\n<p>That said, I&#8217;m not jumping on the &#8220;acid oceans&#8221; bandwagon. I&#8217;ve seen enough fizzled doomsday predictions, religious and otherwise, to be a bit cautious:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;&#8230;in ten years all important animal life in the sea will be extinct. Large areas of coastline will have to be evacuated because of the stench of dead fish\u2026.&#8221;<br \/>\n(<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paul_R._Ehrlich\">Paul Ehrlich<\/a>, on first Earth Day, (1970))<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;&#8230;By the year 2000 the United Kingdom will be simply a small group of impoverished islands, inhabited by some 70 million hungry people&#8230;.&#8221;<br \/>\n(<a href=\"http:\/\/reason.com\/blog\/2010\/12\/30\/cracked-crystal-ball-environme\">Paul Ehrlich<\/a>, Speech at British Institute For Biology (September 1971))<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I&#8217;ve talked about Ehrlich, Yeats, and preacher-prognosticators, before. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/earth-overshoot-day-and-pollinators\/#ehrlich\">August 12, 2016<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/last-judgment-still-pending\/\">August 7, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, despite &#8216;is not\/is so&#8217; claims flying like <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fewmets\">fewmets<\/a> in a lively <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2011-11-poop-throwing-chimps-intelligence.html\">primate house<\/a> debate, climate change is real.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><a name=\"stewardship\"><\/a>Stewardship: Part of Our Job<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/spaceinimages\/Images\/2004\/10\/Global_air_pollution_map_produced_by_Envisat_s_SCIAMACHY\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/Global_air_pollution_map_produced_by_Envisat_s_SCIAMACHY-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">(From the European Space Agency, used w\/o permission.)<\/span><br \/>\n(Nitrogen dioxide (NO<sub>2<\/sub>) in Earth&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Troposphere\">troposphere<\/a>, between January 2003 and June 2004.)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/image-feature\/nasa-captures-epic-earth-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/20150721-800px-The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>As I keep saying, our &#8220;dominion&#8221; over this world isn&#8217;t ownership. We&#8217;re more like stewards, responsible for God&#8217;s property. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/earth-overshoot-day-and-pollinators\/#God\">August 12, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Seeing this universe as beautiful, good, and our responsibility, isn&#8217;t an option. It&#8217;s a requirement.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>God made the heavens and the earth and it was good (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_P3.HTM#PENT.GEN.1.1\">Genesis 1:1<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_P3.HTM#PENT.GEN.1.31\">31<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Humans are commanded to care for God&#8217;s creation (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_P4.HTM#PENT.GEN.2.15\">Genesis 2:15<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>The land itself must be given a rest and not abused (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_P3B.HTM#PENT.LEV.25.1\">Leviticus 25:1<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_P3B.HTM#PENT.LEV.25.7\">7<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>All of heaven and earth belong to the Lord (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_P4P.HTM#PENT.DEU.10.14\">Deuteronomy 10:14<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>All the earth is the Lord&#8217;s (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PGG.HTM#WISDB.PSA.24.1\">Psalm 24:1<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PGG.HTM#WISDB.PSA.24.2\">2<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Creation proclaims the glory of God (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PSO.HTM#PROPHB.DAN.3.56\">Daniel 3:56<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PSO.HTM#PROPHB.DAN.3.82\">82<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>God loves and cares for all of creation (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PVF.HTM#GOSP.MAT.6.25\">Matthew 6:25<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PVF.HTM#GOSP.MAT.6.34\">34<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Creation reveals the nature of God (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PYP.HTM#NTLET.ROM.1.20\">Romans 1:20<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Creation and all created things are inherently good because they are of the Lord (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PZF.HTM#NTLET.1COR.10.26\">1 Corinthians 10:26<\/a>)<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">Adapted from &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/beliefs-and-teachings\/what-we-believe\/catholic-social-teaching\/care-for-creation.cfm\">Care for God&#8217;s Creation<\/a>,&#8221; Our Catholic Faith in Action, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Keeping this world in good working order is part of our job. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_P3.HTM#PENT.GEN.1.26\">Genesis 1:26<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_P3.HTM#PENT.GEN.1.29\">29<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_P4.HTM#PENT.GEN.2.15\">2:15<\/a>; Catechism of the Catholic Church, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s2c1p5.htm#339\">339<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p123a9p5.htm#952\">952<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p3s2c2a7.htm#2402\">2402<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p3s2c2a7.htm#2405\">2405<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p3s2c2a7.htm#2456\">2456<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>The question isn&#8217;t whether or not we can change Earth&#8217;s climate. There&#8217;s good reason to believe we&#8217;ve been doing it, at least regionally, ever since folks started <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/History_of_agriculture#Origins\">planting crops<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikiversity.org\/wiki\/Volcanoes\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20130220ff\/20150219-800px-MountRedoubtEruption-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>But our croplands and factories aren&#8217;t the only forces at work.<\/p>\n<p>Mount Tambora&#8217;s eruption probably helped set off the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Year_Without_a_Summer\">Year Without a Summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Krakatoa&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/1883_eruption_of_Krakatoa#Global_climate\">1883<\/a> eruption had a similar effect.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s Mount Redoubt in the photo, during its <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mount_Redoubt#1989.E2.80.931990\">1989\u20131990<\/a> eruption. It didn&#8217;t cause a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Volcanic_winter\">volcanic winter<\/a>, but did clog all four engines of a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/KLM\">KLM<\/a> airliner someone flew through its ash cloud.<\/p>\n<p>Earth&#8217;s climate was changing long before humanity arrived. It&#8217;s changed a <strong>lot<\/strong> over the last few billion years.<\/p>\n<h4><a name=\"learning\"><\/a>Learning Wisdom, not Fear<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/brain-implants-and-rewired-monkeys\/#dominion\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/201508ff\/ISS007-E-10807-329.JPG?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a>We&#8217;re pretty hot stuff:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<sup><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PG0.HTM#$1B3\">4<\/a><\/sup> What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them?<br \/>\n&#8220;<sup><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PG0.HTM#$1B4\">5<\/a><\/sup> Yet you have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and honor.&#8221;<br \/>\n(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PG0.HTM#WISDB.PSA.8.4\">Psalms 8:4<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0839\/_PG0.HTM#WISDB.PSA.8.6\">6<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But &#8220;little less than a god&#8221; isn&#8217;t &#8220;God.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve talked about hubris, humility, and getting a grip, before. (<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/brain-implants-and-rewired-monkeys\/#dominion\">November 18, 2016<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/humility-isnt-being-delusional\/\">July 31, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>The responsibility that comes with our power is scary. Scary or not, though, we&#8217;ve got a job to do: taking care of the world&#8217;s resources for our reasoned use, and for future generations. (Catechism, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p1s2c1p5.htm#339\">339<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p3s2c2a7.htm#2402\">2402<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p3s2c2a7.htm#2415\">2415<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>If we&#8217;re going to do that job, we must keep studying the universe: and developing new tools using that knowledge. (Catechism, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p3s2c2a5.htm#2293\">2293<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p3s2c2a5.htm#2295\">2295<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>I am pretty sure that we know enough today to deliberately change Earth&#8217;s climate. I am also quite sure that we do not know enough to do so safely. Not yet.<\/p>\n<p>In the short run, we should keep doing what we&#8217;re doing: reducing industrial pollution, and learning more about long-term climate changes. In the long run \u2014 that&#8217;s still another topic.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, being scared silly won&#8217;t help. That makes about as much sense as a shop foreman being scared of power tools.<\/p>\n<p>More about Earth and being human:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/urban-evolution-and-big-brains\/\">Urban Evolution and Big Brains<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(January 13, 2017)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/olive-threat-ginkgo-genome\/\">Olive Threat, Ginkgo Genome<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(November 25, 2016)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/faith-the-universe-and-wisdom\/\">Faith, the Universe, and Wisdom<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(August 28, 2016)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/earth-overshoot-day-and-pollinators\/\">Earth Overshoot Day and Pollinators<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(August 12, 2016)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/bulldogs-transgenics-and-a-robot\/\">Bulldogs, Transgenics, and a Robot<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\n(August 5, 2016)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><sup><a name=\"1\"><\/a>1<\/sup> Global cooling and all that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Global_cooling\">Global cooling<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/harpers.org\/archive\/1958\/09\/the-coming-ice-age\/\">The Coming Ice Age<\/a>&#8221;<br \/>\nA true scientific detective story<br \/>\nBetty Friedan, Harper&#8217;s Magazine Archive (September 1958)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><sup><a name=\"2\"><\/a>2<\/sup> Living in an ice age:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wikiepdia\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antarctica\">Antarctica<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antarctica#Climate\">Climate<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antarctica#Research\">Research<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antarctica#Effects_of_global_warming\">Effects of global warming<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Glacial_period\">Glacial period<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Holocene\">Holocene<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age\">Ice age<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age#Origin_of_ice_age_theory\">Origin of ice age theory<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age#Major_ice_ages\">Major ice ages<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_age#Glacials_and_interglacials\">Glacials and interglacials<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Last_Glacial_Maximum\">Last Glacial Maximum<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Little_Ice_Age\">Little Ice Age<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Medieval_Warm_Period\">Medieval Warm Period<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pleistocene\">Pleistocene<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quaternary_glaciation\">Quaternary glaciation<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quaternary_glaciation#Discovery\">Discovery<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quaternary_glaciation#Description\">Description<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quaternary_glaciation#Causes\">Causes<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quaternary_glaciation#Effects\">Effects<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quaternary_glaciation#Records_of_prior_glaciation\">Records of prior glaciation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quaternary_glaciation#Next_glacial_period\">Next glacial period<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Timeline_of_glaciation\">Timeline of glaciation<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Timeline_of_glaciation#Known_ice_ages\">Known ice ages<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><sup><a name=\"3\"><\/a>3<\/sup> It&#8217;s starting to look like we had at least two &#8220;Snowball Earth&#8221; events: one about 650,000,000 years back, and another upwards of two billion years ago. Most ice ages weren&#8217;t that severe:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Andean-Saharan_glaciation\">Andean-Saharan glaciation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cryogenian\">Cryogenian<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Karoo_Ice_Age\">Karoo Ice Age<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Huronian_glaciation\">Huronian glaciation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quaternary_glaciation\">Quaternary glaciation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Timeline_of_glaciation\">Timeline of glaciation<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Timeline_of_glaciation#Known_ice_ages\">Known ice ages<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><sup><a name=\"4\"><\/a>4<\/sup> Antarctica, mostly:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wikiepdia\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antarctica\">Antarctica<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antarctica#Etymology\">Etymology<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antarctica#History_of_exploration\">History of exploration<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marinus_of_Tyre\">Marinus of Tyre<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/classics.mit.edu\/Aristotle\/meteorology.html\">Meteorology<\/a>,&#8221; Aristotle (350 BC); <a href=\"http:\/\/classics.mit.edu\/Aristotle\/meteorology.2.ii.html\">Book II<\/a><br \/>\nTranslated by E. W. Webster, via The Internet Classics Archive, MIT<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><sup><a name=\"5\"><\/a>5<\/sup> Glaciers and ice shelves:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brunt_Ice_Shelf\">Brunt Ice Shelf<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Filchner-Ronne_Ice_Shelf\">Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Filchner-Ronne_Ice_Shelf#Calving\">Calving<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_calving\">Ice calving<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Larsen_Ice_Shelf\">Larsen Ice Shelf<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_calving#Major_calving_events\">Major calving events<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_calving#Filchner-Ronne_Ice_Shelf\">Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_calving#Amery_Ice_Shelf\">Amery Ice Shelf<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_calving#Ward_Hunt_Ice_Shelf\">Ward Hunt Ice Shelf<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_calving#Ayles_Ice_Shelf\">Ayles Ice Shelf<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_calving#Larsen_Ice_Shelf\">Larsen Ice Shelf<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_calving#Jakobshavn_Isbrae_Glacier\">Jakobshavn Isbrae Glacier<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ice_calving#Glacier_surfing\">Glacier surfing<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/West_Antarctic_Ice_Sheet\">West Antarctic Ice Sheet<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/West_Antarctic_Ice_Sheet#Potential_collapse\">Potential collapse<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><sup><a name=\"6\"><\/a>6<\/sup> Britain&#8217;s Antarctic research:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/\">British Antarctic Survey<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/polar-operations\/sites-and-facilities\/facility\/halley\/\">Halley VI Research Station<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/polar-operations\/sites-and-facilities\/facility\/halley\/halley-research-station-module-layout\/\">Halley Research Station \u2013 module layout<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/halley360.antarcti.co\/\">360\u00b0 tour<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/project\/moving-halley\/\">Halley Research Station relocation<\/a><br \/>\nStart date April 5, 2015; end date April 6, 2018<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hbarchitects.co.uk\/halley-vi-british-antarctic-research-station\/\">Halley VI British Antarctic Research Station<\/a><br \/>\nHugh Broughton Architects<\/li>\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brunt_Ice_Shelf\">Brunt Ice Shelf<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Halley_Research_Station\">Halley Research Station<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Halley_Research_Station#History\">History<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Halley_Research_Station#The_buildings\">The buildings<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><sup><a name=\"7\"><\/a>7<\/sup> More about Britain&#8217;s Antarctic research:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/\">British Antarctic Survey<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/polar-operations\/sites-and-facilities\/station\/\">Research stations<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/media-post\/halley-research-station-antarctica-to-close-for-winter\/\">Halley Research Station Antarctica to close for winter<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/polar-operations\/sites-and-facilities\/facility\/halley\/\">Halley VI Research Station<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/polar-operations\/sites-and-facilities\/facility\/halley\/clean-air-sector-laboratory-caslab\/\">Clean Air Sector Laboratory (CASLab)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/polar-operations\/sites-and-facilities\/facility\/halley\/dobson-photospectrometer\/\">Dobson photospectrometer<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/polar-operations\/sites-and-facilities\/facility\/halley\/weather-balloons\/\">Halley weather balloons<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/polar-operations\/sites-and-facilities\/facility\/halley\/met-instruments\/\">Met instruments<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bas.ac.uk\/polar-operations\/sites-and-facilities\/facility\/halley\/saoz\/\">SAOZ<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/449593\/BIS-15-457-space-weather-preparedness-strategy.pdf\">Space Weather Preparedness Strategy<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Halley_Research_Station\">Halley Research Station<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Halley_Research_Station#History\">History<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Halley_Research_Station\">Halley Research Station<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Halley_Research_Station\">Halley Research Station<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Climate change is still in the news. So is a growing crack in an Antarctic ice sheet, and a Ladybird Book co-authored by England&#8217;s Prince Charles. The book, &#8220;Climate Change,&#8221; is a Ladybird Expert Book: written with adults in mind. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/climate-change-continues\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[133,144,179,50,7,27,22,51,180],"class_list":["post-784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science-news","tag-climate","tag-disasters","tag-dominion","tag-environmental-issues","tag-getting-a-grip","tag-history","tag-science","tag-stewardship","tag-wisdom"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Dwtw-cE","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2861,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784\/revisions\/2861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}