Feb 29 2004
Bush’s World: The Torn Skyby Rob Sun Feb 29th, 200…
Sun Feb 29th, 2004 at 16:52:26 CDT
In his column this week author and enviromentalist Jim Conrad talks about the accelerating pace of climate range that could in just a few years have devastating effects on much of the world. In the past 3 years the Bush administration has eliminated and relaxed every environmental statute they could which is causing the environment to be destroyed much more rapidly than ever before. Conrad cites how some experts now think serious effects of global warming could be seen in some areas in as little as 3 to 4 years. When that happens and major cities of the world become unlivable an exodus of millions and millions of refugees will take place in a world where there are already hundreds of millions lacking food, shelter, clean drinking water, and a sustainable economy.
The Gulf Stream is just one small component of something called the Global Thermohaline Conveyor Belt. Gradients in water temperature and water salinity power the Belt. Basically, the Belt sinks the world’s warm surface water in the North Atlantic, this cooled water then flows at great depths to oceans all over the world, where it rises, and begins working its way back to the North Atlantic, rewarming as it goes. This is all illustrated by an “animated GIF” near the page top at http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/info/thc/ If the Belt should stop running, computer models show that northern Europe’s average winter temperatures would drop 10°-20° F. Europe would become, literally, like locations of similar latitude in Siberia. Agriculture would become impossible. You can imagine the social, political and economic impacts. Some say the change could take place during just three or four years while others say a hundred years would be needed. There’s evidence that the Belt has “broken” before, and many scientists claim that conditions seem right for it to happen within this century, or even now…Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would cause it (the Chinese are just entering their Industrial Revolution). Freshwater from the melting poles might also break the belt. At the bottom of http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/info/thc/ you can see a world map showing how temperatures are projected to change worldwide, if the Belt breaks. Worst hit would be the North Atlantic and northern Europe. Antarctica would actually warm up (Water from its melting glaciers would raise sea level enough to flood many of the planet’s major cities. According to that particular map, the Natchez area might get by with less change than most of the world, at least with regard to AVERAGE temperatures. No one can say what will happen with storms, hurricanes and the like. With the millions and millions who will flee Europe, a goodly number of refugees can be expected to end up here. There’s a Washington Post article on this matter at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/climate/stories/sci120197.htm This is not hysterical science fiction or something thought up by conspiracy-minded people. Most of the world’s leading climatologists agree that it is at least a “low probability, high impact” possibility, and some claim that it is practically inevitable. I invite you to make a Web search yourself using the keywords “THERMOHALINE CONVEYOR BELT,” to learn about the issue from a variety of sources. What can be said of a government who, in the face of such a real threat to all the people on Earth, and to the planetary ecosystem, not only ignores the predictions, but actively promotes policies that
reduce air pollution standards, and encourage greater production and use of polluting energy sources?
In 1980, author William S. Burrough delivered a speech at the Planet Earth Conference in which he talked about the four horsemen of the apocalypse Famine, Plague, War, and Death as being the human inventions of our modern age. As we destroy our environment and ourselves we set the stage for our own apocalypse, our own self fulfilling prophecy.
Burroughs sees the future breaking into the present, and this world being replaced by a new order. In addition to this, Burroughs envisions a post-apocalyptic world in which socio-political systems are totalitarian
In a world where the sky is torn and democracy hangs by a thread, what we do each day will determine our future.
Millions of faces look up at the torn sky. Off the track! Off the track! The planet is pulling loose from its moorings, careening off into space spilling mountains and cities and seas into the void, faster and faster. Skyscrapers scrape shards of blue and white paint from the sky. The rivers swirl with color. Nitrous okras and reds eat through the bridges, falling into the rivers. Splashing colors across warehouses and piers & roads & buildings. Amocart floods in organic molds, stirring passions of metal & glass. Steel girders writhing in mineral lust, burst from their concrete covers. Walls of glass melt and burn with madness of a million crazed eyes. Bridges buck cars and trucks into the rivers. The sidewalks run ahead faster and faster and faster . . . energy ground down into sidewalks and streets by billions of feet and tires. Erupts from manholes and tunnels, breaks out with volcanic force. Let it come down. Caught in New York, meet the animals of the village. THE PIPER PULLED THE SKY.
Apocalypse by William S. Burroughs
Rob is the founder and editor of the news site robwire.com and is a frequent contributor to rob.dailykos.com and robnotes.blogspot.com
