Claims by the United States and Canada for the Northern passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans can't both be right. Since each country is the other's biggest trading partner, both countries keep the competition friendly. Nobody is backing down, though.
If you need any more evidence that climate change is already here, the existence of this passage should be a good clue. It used to be frozen year round.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/opening-the-northwest-passage.html
The link below is to a National Geographic article from 2007 saying that a historic first had occurred that left the Northwest Passage open.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070917-northwest-passage.html
Feeling adventurous? They now have cruises to the Arctic. Here is a link to it:
http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/arctic-expeditions/arctic-passage/overview
The ship mentioned is called, "The Quark".
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about international claims on the Arctic region:
"Under international law, no country currently owns the North Pole or the region of the Arctic Ocean surrounding it. The five surrounding Arctic countries, Russia, the United States (via Alaska), Canada, Norway and Denmark (via Greenland), are limited to an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) adjacent to their coasts.
Upon ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS), a country has a ten year period to make claims to an extended
continental shelf which, if validated, gives it exclusive rights to
resources on or below the seabed of that extended shelf area.Due to this, Norway (ratified the convention in 1996), Russia (ratified in 1997), Canada (ratified in 2003) and Denmark (ratified in 2004)
launched projects to provide a basis for seabed claims on extended
continental shelves beyond their exclusive economic zones. The United
States has signed, but not yet ratified the UNCLOS.
The status of certain portions of the Arctic sea region are in
dispute for various reasons. Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the
United States all regard parts of the Arctic seas as "national waters"
(territorial waters out to 12 nautical miles (22 km)) or "internal waters". There also are disputes regarding what passages constitute "international seaways" and rights to passage along them (see Northwest Passage)."
The above is from 2005. They already know there is oil in the Arctic region as well as other minerals. They expect there are a lot more unknown natural resources there. It is pretty obvious there is a lot of potential for disputes over it all. This has already started.
I don't believe much attention is being paid to the rights of other countries that don't have any property claims on the Arctic region. Since this area is a "weather factory", for the world, I believe other countries should have a big say about what happens there. This is regardless of whether the other countries have any particular property rights there or not.
One of the videos I watched on one of the links I supplied here was about an idea to slow down ice melting in the Arctic Polar region. This is in conflict with the wishes of the countries that are staking claims for mineral rights in the Arctic area. People who want to exploit minerals located in the Arctic region like the idea of the ice and snow going away so they can access the minerals. People who are worried about their weather might want to keep the ice and snow in the Arctic region as long as possible.
Discussion of this matter is not going to happen as long as people don't pay attention. I am not exactly CNN news here, but here is my little spit in the ocean trying to make a difference.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Why Does Climate Change in Alaska Matter If You Don't Live Here?
Why do the climate changes in matter to you if you live in Florida or Texas? Meterologists used to refer to the Arctic region as the "Weather Factory" for the Earth. If climate change is happening here, you get it too. Noticed any weird weather lately? You can figure it probably started in Alaska or a little north of here.
There is not nearly enough media coverage of the jockeying of different nations to claim the land and mineral rights at the North Pole. It is highly relevant to every human alive on the planet Earth. It is also highly entertaining. I read some interesting/entertaining information about how both the United States and Canada are staking claim to the northern passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific. There is too much to fit into this post about the claims on the northern passage by the USA and Canada, but I think some people already know how important this is, so I plan to post about it.
Below is a link to a site about the ice at the Arctic North Pole area. If you hate clicking on links, just use a search engine. There are lots of sites about ice thinning in the polar areas. The one with a link just has nice pictures.
I would like to share more examples of climate change happening in Alaska. One of the big ones is that our ice is melting. So is the ice at the North Pole. We are going to have a kind of reverse snowball effect with ice melting at the North Pole. This because of something called, "albedo". Here is an official definition from the site provided below:
"Fraction of sunlight reflected by the Earth's land surface
Albedo the ratio of reflected light to incoming light. The higher
the albedo, the greater the reflection and lower the absorption of a
surface.
Note that no data are available for ocean areas or the polar areas indicated by white."
Note that no data are available for ocean areas or the polar areas indicated by white."
This matters because white (snow and ice) reflects sunlight more than dark things (dirt and rocks). When snow and ice melt and uncover the dirt and rocks underneath, the dirt and rocks absorb sunlight instead of reflecting it. This makes things warm up even more, causing more snow and ice to melt and that exposes more dirt and rocks....
Scientists expect a path free of ice and snow to reach all the way to the North Pole in a few years. Even more fun, they expect to have to whole area clear by around 2050. World governments are so sure this will happen they are already fighting over the mineral rights around the North Pole.
If your politicians (a certain ex-governor of Alaska not excepted,) are reassuring you that you do not need to bother yourself (or them,) about climate change, check to see if they are lying. I believe some old advice applies, "Watch politicians' lips to see whether they are lying. If their lips are moving, they are lying."
If your politicians (a certain ex-governor of Alaska not excepted,) are reassuring you that you do not need to bother yourself (or them,) about climate change, check to see if they are lying. I believe some old advice applies, "Watch politicians' lips to see whether they are lying. If their lips are moving, they are lying."
There is not nearly enough media coverage of the jockeying of different nations to claim the land and mineral rights at the North Pole. It is highly relevant to every human alive on the planet Earth. It is also highly entertaining. I read some interesting/entertaining information about how both the United States and Canada are staking claim to the northern passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific. There is too much to fit into this post about the claims on the northern passage by the USA and Canada, but I think some people already know how important this is, so I plan to post about it.
Below is a link to a site about the ice at the Arctic North Pole area. If you hate clicking on links, just use a search engine. There are lots of sites about ice thinning in the polar areas. The one with a link just has nice pictures.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Humans Fouling Our Nest With Climate Change
It is possible to use the strong instinctive desire of a dog to avoid pooping in its own bed to toilet train the dog. You use the dog's crate as a bed for the dog and shut the dog into the crate when you want the dog to not poop. You let the dog out to it's toilet area when you do want the dog to poop. The dog will hold it until it is allowed out of it's bed/crate.
It is too bad humans can not be trained by the same methods. Maybe it is because we think our bed is too big. We think we own the whole planet so we poop all over it. This is both a literal and a metaphorical truth.
In the literal version, we have laws in many places restricting where one may dispose of human wastes in relation to their location near drinking water. Since human E Coli is found in drinking water in supposedly pristine wilderness areas, humans are ignoring these laws. The laws would not be necessary if we had and used instincts, like those that make crate toilet training helpful for dogs.
The metaphorical version of humans pooping all over the planet is the damage that humans as a group, have done to the earth.
Let us count the ways we have done this.
We have changed the climate system of an entire planet that we need to live on. If you want to argue about this, ask most scientists on the planet. Only a few who have either been bribed or are expecting their investments in climate damaging technologies to pay them disagree with this.
Another thing you can do if you still have any questions about human involvement in climate change is come to visit Alaska. We have the most rapid rate of climate change on earth. We have over 180 villages that will be drowned by rising ocean waters. Two of these villages were supposed to have already been evacuated. The names of these villages are Shishmaref and Kivalina. They have sites on the internet to raise money to try to save their villages.
If you want to vicariously enjoy watching disasters, the two aformentioned Alaskan villages have videos of their buildings falling into the ocean. The villagers in these two villages do not want to leave and are still trying to find ways to stay.
Protective breakwaters are one way the villagers are trying to save their villages. In Kivalina this is not working, because they do not have a good place to put a breakwater and the one they tried to make fell apart right away. In Shishmaref they did better with their breakwater. It stayed up so far, and is protecting their village for a while longer. Their entire island is very low, so even the breakwater will not work for long.
There are a lot more climate changes in Alaska and I believe I will post about some of them. I think it is a good idea to make up somewhat for ex-governors of Alaska who claim that climate change does not exist.
It is too bad humans can not be trained by the same methods. Maybe it is because we think our bed is too big. We think we own the whole planet so we poop all over it. This is both a literal and a metaphorical truth.
In the literal version, we have laws in many places restricting where one may dispose of human wastes in relation to their location near drinking water. Since human E Coli is found in drinking water in supposedly pristine wilderness areas, humans are ignoring these laws. The laws would not be necessary if we had and used instincts, like those that make crate toilet training helpful for dogs.
The metaphorical version of humans pooping all over the planet is the damage that humans as a group, have done to the earth.
Let us count the ways we have done this.
We have changed the climate system of an entire planet that we need to live on. If you want to argue about this, ask most scientists on the planet. Only a few who have either been bribed or are expecting their investments in climate damaging technologies to pay them disagree with this.
Another thing you can do if you still have any questions about human involvement in climate change is come to visit Alaska. We have the most rapid rate of climate change on earth. We have over 180 villages that will be drowned by rising ocean waters. Two of these villages were supposed to have already been evacuated. The names of these villages are Shishmaref and Kivalina. They have sites on the internet to raise money to try to save their villages.
If you want to vicariously enjoy watching disasters, the two aformentioned Alaskan villages have videos of their buildings falling into the ocean. The villagers in these two villages do not want to leave and are still trying to find ways to stay.
Protective breakwaters are one way the villagers are trying to save their villages. In Kivalina this is not working, because they do not have a good place to put a breakwater and the one they tried to make fell apart right away. In Shishmaref they did better with their breakwater. It stayed up so far, and is protecting their village for a while longer. Their entire island is very low, so even the breakwater will not work for long.
There are a lot more climate changes in Alaska and I believe I will post about some of them. I think it is a good idea to make up somewhat for ex-governors of Alaska who claim that climate change does not exist.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Plan Ahead For Lots Of Climate Change Refugees
If even the low estimates of the numbers of people who will be displaced by rising ocean waters are correct we will have over 25% of the world's people affected. That is more refugees than have been created in history.
Some of the climate change refugees will be able to find homes in their own countries. Some of them will not. The rest of the world that is not driven from their homes by rising oceans, will have to take in some of the climate change refugees.
New Zealand has already done this with some Pacific Island people whose whole island already went under the ocean. I met some of these people in New Zealand.
They are from Tuvalu and their island is under water entirely most of the year. For about two months during the summer, part of their island is above water.
The New Zealanders took them into their country. New Zealand was the nearest safe body of land for the people from Tuvalu. New Zealand took in all of the Tuvaluans that wanted to move there.
It was a small island with only a few people, but soon there will be many more people whose homes will be gone, under the ocean. They will need places to live. It is time for the rest of the world to start facing this and planning what they will do. I hope it will be like it was after the Vietnam war and many countries volunteered to take some of the refugees in.
There are 180 Alaskan villages that will be destroyed by rising oceans. Alaska is making plans to help the displaced villagers. I think the plans are inadequate for the number of people who will become climate refugees, but at least some planning is taking place for them.
The people of the world need to make plans for how they will help the enormous numbers of climate refugees created in the future.
The uncertainty of the exact numbers that will be affected makes this a bad thing to leave to politicians. It is usually the nature of politicians to delay handling problems and try to pass them on to other politicians who will replace them as they leave office.
Many churches in my area sponsored refugee families after the Vietnam war. They helped them find places to live and jobs. They taught them English and how to fit into American society.
This may be a way to help take care of climate change refugees too.
Some of the climate change refugees will be able to find homes in their own countries. Some of them will not. The rest of the world that is not driven from their homes by rising oceans, will have to take in some of the climate change refugees.
New Zealand has already done this with some Pacific Island people whose whole island already went under the ocean. I met some of these people in New Zealand.
They are from Tuvalu and their island is under water entirely most of the year. For about two months during the summer, part of their island is above water.
The New Zealanders took them into their country. New Zealand was the nearest safe body of land for the people from Tuvalu. New Zealand took in all of the Tuvaluans that wanted to move there.
It was a small island with only a few people, but soon there will be many more people whose homes will be gone, under the ocean. They will need places to live. It is time for the rest of the world to start facing this and planning what they will do. I hope it will be like it was after the Vietnam war and many countries volunteered to take some of the refugees in.
There are 180 Alaskan villages that will be destroyed by rising oceans. Alaska is making plans to help the displaced villagers. I think the plans are inadequate for the number of people who will become climate refugees, but at least some planning is taking place for them.
The people of the world need to make plans for how they will help the enormous numbers of climate refugees created in the future.
The uncertainty of the exact numbers that will be affected makes this a bad thing to leave to politicians. It is usually the nature of politicians to delay handling problems and try to pass them on to other politicians who will replace them as they leave office.
Many churches in my area sponsored refugee families after the Vietnam war. They helped them find places to live and jobs. They taught them English and how to fit into American society.
This may be a way to help take care of climate change refugees too.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Taking Care Of Yourself By Taking Care Of Others
Scientists are not in agreement on how much ocean levels will rise due to climate change. They do agree that it will rise enough to displace large portions of the world's population. Since humans tend to congregate on alluvial plains near where they fan out and enter the ocean, over 25% of the world's population lives in urban centers only a few inches above sea level. A very small rise in sea level will therefore mean that one out of four people on earth will have to move soon.
It is time for everyone to take a look at our priorities. We have had some recent high profile news stories about desperate refugees drowning because they could not get help. We are going to have a lot more of them soon. We need to get ready for this.
Those people who are shortly going to be flooded out of their homes by rising sea levels will have to go somewhere. We can plan for this peacefully, like the world did with the refugees that were distributed all over the world, from the chaos after the Vietnam war. We can pretend it is not happening and let all Hades break loose.
Most people are not going to quietly drown and watch their families do the same, as the ocean eats away the land their homes rest on. They will generally fight to prevent that sort of thing.
It will not even work to try to ignore the fighting that ensues when you have too many people, in an area with too few resources. Fierce wars where people are forced to fight for their lives, produce ripples that spread all over the world. If you want proof of this, start looking at the country of origin on products in stores that you frequent. This includes the produce department. Like it or not, the world is a more interdependent place than it used to be.
I am not even trying to present a moral argument for making plans to take in climate refugees worldwide. If you want to protect your own posterior, it makes sense to make these plans for taking in climate refugees.
No. It will not be easy to find places for so many people. It will just be worse not to do so.
This is simply another form of disaster risk reduction. You are not merely looking out for people who have no connection to you, on the other side of the world. You are taking care of yourself as well.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Ways To Survive Tornadoes And Hurricanes
Tornadoes in Tornado Alley in the USA, or tornadoes anywhere, do not need to be as dangerous as to live in as they are now. This is where disaster risk reduction could really make life better. Storm shelters in tornado alley are generally underground because it is safer that way.
If your whole home is underground it will be safer for you when a tornado goes by.
Building an underground home in tornado alley is a form of disaster risk reduction. I do not understand why most, or all people who live in Tornado Alley, are not already living in underground homes. If you live in Tornado Alley, I hope you will read, Mike Oehler's book, "The $50 & Up Underground House Book". John Hait’s book, "PASSIVE ANNUAL HEAT STORAGE, improving the Design of Earth Shelters" is another one that could make life in Tornado Alley much better for residents.
Mike Oehler includes plans for a root cellar that also serves as an emergency shelter. It is directly connected to an underground home. The root cellar not only works as a storm shelter, but would serve as a nuclear fallout shelter as well. Unlike many storm shelters I have seen photos and videos of, you would not even have to risk going outside to get to the shelter that Mike Oehler designed.
I think this shelter would also work for hurricanes, so far. Hurricanes are rapidly increasing in size, frequency, and strength, so normal shelters, including this one, will soon be inadequate. When that happens, disaster risk reduction would be something like, "Don't be there when the hurricane hits."
I graphed hurricanes 20 years ago. That graph showed me that hurricanes will eventually reach wind speeds of 650 miles per hour. I do not want to be anywhere near one of those things. I do not think evacuation of a large urban area would be possible in time. This is why I think we should strongly encourage people to stop rebuilding in places that get destroyed by hurricanes.
After my graph scared stuff out of me, I asked a math whiz to check my figures. I hoped they were wrong. He said the figures were right. He asked my permission to show it to a meteorologist friend of his. I gave permission.
The meteorologist informed us that my graph told him something I did not know about it. I had included the air pressure at the center of the hurricanes in the graph. That told the meteorologist that when the exterior wind speed of hurricanes reaches 650 miles per hour, the air pressure at the center of the hurricane will be close enough to zero to make the hurricane into a giant vacuum cleaner powerful enough to suck up a mature tree out of the ground, roots and all. Then it would pull up all the topsoil down to bedrock.
That really boggled my mind. It also made me more interested in leaving California. I don't like oceans nearly as much as I used to. Hurricanes come to you with your ocean view. Our larger and meaner hurricanes will cover a lot more areas that are not currently bothered by hurricanes.
I did some research on shelters that could make it possible to survive a 650 mph hurricane. It would have to be cut into bedrock and it would have to have a series of right angle turns at the entrance to stop people from being vacuumed out of it. I had been thinking of a giant door like a huge bank safe. I was relieved that the right angle turns would take care of making the people inside safe. The right angle turns seem cheaper and easier to me.
If people insist on rebuilding in the path of hurricanes, I would like for them not to get killed. That means building shelters in bedrock with right angle turns. That is probably not going to be cheap. I thought that towns that are impoverished from rebuilding their towns over and over, might get volunteers to use picks and chisels to make safe shelters. A 650 mph hurricane would not leave a lot of survivors unless they were in a bedrock shelter.
If your whole home is underground it will be safer for you when a tornado goes by.
Building an underground home in tornado alley is a form of disaster risk reduction. I do not understand why most, or all people who live in Tornado Alley, are not already living in underground homes. If you live in Tornado Alley, I hope you will read, Mike Oehler's book, "The $50 & Up Underground House Book". John Hait’s book, "PASSIVE ANNUAL HEAT STORAGE, improving the Design of Earth Shelters" is another one that could make life in Tornado Alley much better for residents.
Mike Oehler includes plans for a root cellar that also serves as an emergency shelter. It is directly connected to an underground home. The root cellar not only works as a storm shelter, but would serve as a nuclear fallout shelter as well. Unlike many storm shelters I have seen photos and videos of, you would not even have to risk going outside to get to the shelter that Mike Oehler designed.
I think this shelter would also work for hurricanes, so far. Hurricanes are rapidly increasing in size, frequency, and strength, so normal shelters, including this one, will soon be inadequate. When that happens, disaster risk reduction would be something like, "Don't be there when the hurricane hits."
I graphed hurricanes 20 years ago. That graph showed me that hurricanes will eventually reach wind speeds of 650 miles per hour. I do not want to be anywhere near one of those things. I do not think evacuation of a large urban area would be possible in time. This is why I think we should strongly encourage people to stop rebuilding in places that get destroyed by hurricanes.
After my graph scared stuff out of me, I asked a math whiz to check my figures. I hoped they were wrong. He said the figures were right. He asked my permission to show it to a meteorologist friend of his. I gave permission.
The meteorologist informed us that my graph told him something I did not know about it. I had included the air pressure at the center of the hurricanes in the graph. That told the meteorologist that when the exterior wind speed of hurricanes reaches 650 miles per hour, the air pressure at the center of the hurricane will be close enough to zero to make the hurricane into a giant vacuum cleaner powerful enough to suck up a mature tree out of the ground, roots and all. Then it would pull up all the topsoil down to bedrock.
That really boggled my mind. It also made me more interested in leaving California. I don't like oceans nearly as much as I used to. Hurricanes come to you with your ocean view. Our larger and meaner hurricanes will cover a lot more areas that are not currently bothered by hurricanes.
I did some research on shelters that could make it possible to survive a 650 mph hurricane. It would have to be cut into bedrock and it would have to have a series of right angle turns at the entrance to stop people from being vacuumed out of it. I had been thinking of a giant door like a huge bank safe. I was relieved that the right angle turns would take care of making the people inside safe. The right angle turns seem cheaper and easier to me.
If people insist on rebuilding in the path of hurricanes, I would like for them not to get killed. That means building shelters in bedrock with right angle turns. That is probably not going to be cheap. I thought that towns that are impoverished from rebuilding their towns over and over, might get volunteers to use picks and chisels to make safe shelters. A 650 mph hurricane would not leave a lot of survivors unless they were in a bedrock shelter.
Monday, April 2, 2012
New Earthquake Survival Advice
Many people have been depending on faulty information for earthquake survival. The "Triangle of Life" method is the worst problem. This advice is agreed to be wrong by a long list of reputable rescue organizations. The advice they all agree on to survive an earthquake is, "drop, cover, and hold on".
Getting in doorways is also bad because they are based on building methods that are rarely used now and on an unrealistic test.
I was given an example of why doorways are bad now. Alaska had a big earthquake recently. (So what else is new? We get them all the time. We are used to them.) The only single casualty we had was a woman who got her arm broken and was very bruised and battered elsewhere. She got in a doorway and bashed repeatedly by the door swinging back and forth and hitting her.
Even worse news about doorways is that because of the way buildings are built now, they are no structurally stronger than the rest of the building. Not only will you not be protected by a doorway, but you are risking being savaged by a swinging door as well. Stay out of doorways in earthquakes.
Getting under something during an earthquake is only hazardous if the building collapses straight down like a pancake. Earthquakes don't cause that sort of collapse, so you Do want to get under something during an earthquake. The "experiment" that provided the "Triangle of Life" theory was based on a building demolition in Turkey. The demolition method caused a pancake collapse. If you want to survive a building demolition, don't be in it when it is demolished. For earthquakes, get under something and follow the correct advice: "drop, cover, and hold on".
Above is a poster for how to survive an earthquake site. Here is a link or address for the earthquake preparedness site that it comes from:
http://www.shakeout.org/downloads/DropCoverHoldOnFlyer.pdf
The people who run Shakeout try to organize earthquake preparedness practice days once a year in earthquake areas. They have information for organizing one in your area if you are interested.
Below is a site that explains the controversy about the "Triangle of Life" idea for earthquake preparedness.
Triangle of life discussion http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/triangle.asp
My boss at my local disaster preparedness center told the people at her monthly seminar about this problem. She also told us about the local woman who got her arm broken by trying to shelter in a doorway during an earthquake. I intend to stay out of doorways from now on during earthquakes. You might like to do the same.
I am also going back to, "drop, cover, and hold on", during earthquakes. That might be good for you to do as well.
Getting in doorways is also bad because they are based on building methods that are rarely used now and on an unrealistic test.
I was given an example of why doorways are bad now. Alaska had a big earthquake recently. (So what else is new? We get them all the time. We are used to them.) The only single casualty we had was a woman who got her arm broken and was very bruised and battered elsewhere. She got in a doorway and bashed repeatedly by the door swinging back and forth and hitting her.
Even worse news about doorways is that because of the way buildings are built now, they are no structurally stronger than the rest of the building. Not only will you not be protected by a doorway, but you are risking being savaged by a swinging door as well. Stay out of doorways in earthquakes.
Getting under something during an earthquake is only hazardous if the building collapses straight down like a pancake. Earthquakes don't cause that sort of collapse, so you Do want to get under something during an earthquake. The "experiment" that provided the "Triangle of Life" theory was based on a building demolition in Turkey. The demolition method caused a pancake collapse. If you want to survive a building demolition, don't be in it when it is demolished. For earthquakes, get under something and follow the correct advice: "drop, cover, and hold on".
http://www.shakeout.org/downloads/DropCoverHoldOnFlyer.pdf
The people who run Shakeout try to organize earthquake preparedness practice days once a year in earthquake areas. They have information for organizing one in your area if you are interested.
Below is a site that explains the controversy about the "Triangle of Life" idea for earthquake preparedness.
Triangle of life discussion http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/triangle.asp
My boss at my local disaster preparedness center told the people at her monthly seminar about this problem. She also told us about the local woman who got her arm broken by trying to shelter in a doorway during an earthquake. I intend to stay out of doorways from now on during earthquakes. You might like to do the same.
I am also going back to, "drop, cover, and hold on", during earthquakes. That might be good for you to do as well.
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