[AGL] Humans are a force of nature

[Michael Eisenstadt]

James Reich, Secretary of the Treasury???????

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gerry" <mesmo at gilanet.com>
To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s" 
<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2006 9:57 AM
Subject: Re: [AGL] Humans are a force of nature


Last night on the NBC news of all places there was a report which showed a 
graph of temperatures on Earth for the past 400 years. There were a few 
little peaks and valleys and then we get to the latter 20th century and the 
rise goes straight up, and still rising, off the chart, incredible that it 
could move so fast in such a short time. Yep, this curve if nothing else 
shows that we should be in a state of alarm.

Seismic activity beneath the crust can cause rises in temperatures. Volcanic 
ash can lower them. On the other hand it is possible that the current rise 
may actually set off seismic activity. We may be in for some big clouds of 
ash on the order of Mt. St. Helens only much larger.

As for adaptability, there are many life forms which are far more adaptable 
than giant creatures such as ourselves with limited vision, limited hearing, 
slow movement, vulnerability to disease, requiring large amounts of food 
daily, vulnerability to extremes of hot and cold, etc. The "toughest" 
humans, that is those who are physically fit and accustomed to exposure to 
extremes, will likely survive the longest. As for overweight denizens 
accustomed to air conditioned lifestyles and little ability to combat 
discomfort, they will be the first to go.

The scariest element of global warming to me is the emergence of 
meteorological extremes such as flash floods and great winds that pop up out 
of nowhere and obliterate an area. No defense against these and they are not 
"predictable" with current science. I'm not referring to just hurricanes, 
check out the recent global rainfall patterns, flooding in the extreme in 
certain areas, monstrous droughts (my area is under the classification of 
"exceptional" which is beyond "extreme"), great winds and dust, temperature 
fluctuations never witnessed before, forest and range fires out of control, 
etc. I fully expect some western city to go up in flames before too long, 
look out Flagstaff. Sooner or later these extremes will start affecting 
infrastructure and there will be transportation emergencies and blackouts 
that we will be helpless to control...at first just local but ultimately 
national and international crisis caused by weather. Hello New Orleans.

Seems to me that the answer is in smallness. Smaller grids, smaller cars, 
smaller houses. Community agriculture, community emergency teams, 
communities with survival replacing comfort as a cue for design, etc. I 
would like to see pundits such as Gore begin to advocate solutions that 
start with converting individuals and communities instead of trying to find 
a way to preserve the monolithic creations we are dependent upon at present. 
I guess this is difficult to imagine while living in a huge city and driving 
everywhere and feeling omnipotent economically, etc.

The value of the dollar has fallen about 30% in the past two years. James 
Reich (former Secty of the Treasury) said a couple of weeks ago that the 
recent appointment of a Wall Street exec to that post is a signal that the 
Bushies realize that further fall is inevitable and that an insider is 
needed to help manage the fall and orchestrate a soft descent instead of a 
giant crash...

Up early everyday in NM to get the hard, outside work done before the heat 
builds up.
G


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Connie Clark
  To: survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s
  Sent: Friday, June 23, 2006 7:40 AM
  Subject: [AGL] Humans are a force of nature




  Frances Morey <frances_morey at yahoo.com> wrote:
    . There could possibly be reasons for the melt down other than the human 
penchant for using up petroleum products for energy.

    Frances,
    This fact is discussed and tracked by scientists ad nauseum and 
graphically illustrated in the book and movie.  It is humans who are 
creating an exponential warming at this time and on a lively pace set to 
cause catastrophic results if we don't start curbing our fossil fuel 
consumption- the US in particular.  We can do it, just as we slowed and 
reversed the hole in the ozone layer by taking CFCs out of production.

    Gore is on his tour partly at the behest, as he said, of the frustrated 
scientists who have been telling these facts for a long time. Oil companys 
have used your argument about natural warming to convince politicians and 
public that there is a debate - there is no debate in the scientific 
community about the cause of the current global warming trend.  Gore has 
tried unsuccessfully for too long to get politicians (including Clinton 
during their administration) to act on it - now he says, he is going 
directly to the people.

    The audience in the movies are quiet, and come away from it with the 
stark reality of the whole scientific story. The disaster of a 20' increase 
in sea level will be a lot more than just relocating populations.  Climate 
change affects food source, spread of disease and pestilence.  Just because 
you live in the hill country doesn't give you a safe haven.

    Ask yourself sometime, btw, what is the agenda of the 'scientists' who 
are trying to discredit the evidence of human intervention of global 
warming.  Is it just too much trouble for us to change any of our lifestyles 
to curb greenhouse gases?  Only if you are dependent on income from oil 
consumption.

    Connie


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Ring'em or ping'em. Make PC-to-phone calls as low as 1¢/min with Yahoo! 
Messenger with Voice.