Re: Re: Void in the Atlantic

[Guest guest]

Yellowstone is indeed a giant caldera that has a history of massive eruptions. Going by that history, it could go again before long. When it does, it will be catastrophic for the Midwest primarily and hard on the rest of the world. That's another reason why I think we should be keeping as much farmland as possible. The Midwest feeds not only us but much of the world. I really have a feeling that if most of our farmland was taken out, that very few if any nations would be willing to help us out.

The inner earth may be heating up, but it isn't from sunlight. Dirt is actually a very good insulator, which is why the temperature just a few feet down is a constant 55 degrees. Even 2 feet of earth piled on top of an underground house is enough to produce that effect. Gravity from the sun could have and effect though. Gravity from the sun does cause a minute bulge in the earth facing the sun. As the earth rotates, that bulge stay stationary in relation to the sun. That causes a swelling and falling of the crust and deeper and that creates friction. This action is seen at its greatest on Jupiter's moon Io, which gives off far more surface heat that can be accounted for by the sun.

New data points to the center of the earth being like a giant nuclear reactor. It is believed that heavy materials like uranium were drawn to the center of the earth just like most of the iron and other metals were. The decay of those materials creates a lot of the heat that drives the inner layers. There is also evidence that it could be undergoing some kind of change, though that is still speculative at the moment.

Humans may be contributing some to global warming, but I think it is a small part compared to other natural features. First of all, there is the sun. Sun spots are directly related to the temperature on earth: the fewer sunspots, the colder it is, the more the warmer. During the Little Ice Age, there were almost none. Right now, solar activity including sun spots is very high. This is partly from the 22 year cycle of high to low and back again, but it could also be a part of a much longer cycle measured in centuries as was seen in the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period. In addition, global warming has been spotted on Mars, Jupiter and as far as Saturn. That these other planets are also warming, that supports that the sun is becoming more active.

New research has been looking at the effect of space weather on the earth's climate. Part of that is the relation between cosmic rays and cloud formation. Simply, the more cosmic rays, the more clouds. Clouds do reflect light, but they also trap heat. A warm day with a cloudless night tends to be a cold night, while a warm days with heavy cloud cover at night will stay warmer. Even on cloudy days enough light gets through to heat the surface and the clouds trap much in. Cosmic rays are usually held at bay by the sun's magnetosphere, which is a vast version of the earth's. However, the sun's magnetosphere has been weakening greatly over the last few decades. Not only does this permit more cosmic rays through to the earth, but it also indicates that the sun is undergoing a change.

Something to keep in mind is that the climate always changes. Humanity has been lucky and spoiled by the fact that for some odd reason the climate has been very stable for the last 10,000 years. The 3 and 4 degree changes of the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Cold Period are tiny compared to what came before. During the time of the dinosaurs the earth was much warmer and there were eons long ice ages, actually more common than the warm periods, that were much colder. So in the past, there have been tropical forests in northern Canada and mile thick glaciers as far south as New York City.

We've been very lucky. The climate has changed that dramatically long before we were around and there is no reason to think it won't do it again just because we are here. Also, there is no reason to think that if the sun gets hotter than we can do anything to cool the earth, nor if it runs cold that we can heat it. Now I agree that cleaning up our act won't hurt, but we don't have to wreck our economies to do it, especially since we major polluters like China and India are exempted from all treaties. China is set to pass the US as a polluter in a year or two and its economy much smaller. The more it grows, the greater its emissions will be. The same goes for India.

I think instead of gutting the economy for what are already diminishing returns, we should continue slowly as returns begin to pay off again and spend that excess money that would have been otherwise wasted on inertia on things we can affect. Those things would be paying to move people out of flood prone areas, move them back from the coastlines a few hundred yards to reduce hurricane damages, give tax breaks to build houses with better insulation and stronger frames. We could be researching more drought, heat and cold tolerant crops to be ready whichever way the climate turns.

One thing that isn't mentioned is something that will happen no matter what we do. One December 21, 2012, the Sun will be directly between the earth and the center of the galaxy. That might not be too significant in itself, but what it symbolizes is the solar system passing through the galactic equator. There is evidence that this could be related to the weakening of both the earth's and the sun's magnetospheres. Both have been dropping by several percent per year over the last 40 years or so. It is possible that the magnetic polarity could be about to switch or shift. Evidence exists in mid-oceanic volcanic rocks that the earth's magnetic polls switch every 25,800 years or so, which is roughly the period of time between the solar system crossing the galactic plane. It would not surprise me in the least if this wasn't stressing the sun and causing it to be so active while at the same time causing its magnetosphere to contract. Just what will happen will remain to be seen.

AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.