April 28, 1975 Newsweek

"The Cooling World" - by Peter Gwynne

"There are ominous signs that the Earth’s weather patterns have begun to
change dramatically and that these changes may portend a drastic decline
in food production – with serious political implications for just about
every nation on Earth. The drop in food output could begin quite soon,
perhaps only 10 years from now.

The regions destined to feel its impact are the great wheat-producing
lands of Canada and the U.S.S.R. in the North, along with a number of
marginally self-sufficient tropical areas – parts of India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Indochina and Indonesia – where the growing season is
dependent upon the rains brought by the monsoon.

The evidence in support of these predictions has now begun to accumulate
so massively that meteorologists are hard-pressed to keep up with it. In
England, farmers have seen their growing season decline by about two
weeks since 1950, with a resultant overall loss in grain production
estimated at up to 100,000 tons annually. During the same time, the
average temperature around the equator has risen by a fraction of a
degree – a fraction that in some areas can mean drought and desolation.
Last April, in the most devastating outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded,
148 twisters killed more than 300 people and caused half a billion
dollars' worth of damage in 13 U.S. states.

To scientists, these seemingly disparate incidents represent the advance
signs of fundamental changes in the world's weather. Meteorologists
disagree about the cause and extent of the trend, as well as over its
specific impact on local weather conditions. But they are almost
unanimous in the view that the trend will reduce agricultural
productivity for the rest of the century. If the climatic change is as
profound as some of the pessimists fear, the resulting famines could be
catastrophic. “A major climatic change would force economic and social
adjustments on a worldwide scale,” warns a recent report by the National
Academy of Sciences, “because the global patterns of food production and
population that have evolved are implicitly dependent on the climate of
the present century.”

A survey completed last year by Dr. Murray Mitchell of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reveals a drop of half a degree
in average ground temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere between 1945
and 1968. According to George Kukla of Columbia University, satellite
photos indicated a sudden, large increase in Northern Hemisphere snow
cover in the winter of 1971-72. And a study released last month by two
NOAA scientists notes that the amount of sunshine reaching the ground in
the continental U.S. diminished by 1.3% between 1964 and 1972.

To the layman, the relatively small changes in temperature and sunshine
can be highly misleading. Reid Bryson of the University of Wisconsin
points out that the Earth’s average temperature during the great Ice
Ages was only about seven degrees lower than during its warmest eras –
and that the present decline has taken the planet about a sixth of the
way toward the Ice Age average.

Others regard the cooling as a reversion to the “little ice age”
conditions that brought bitter winters to much of Europe and northern
America between 1600 and 1900 – years when the Thames used to freeze so
solidly that Londoners roasted oxen on the ice and when iceboats sailed
the Hudson River almost as far south as New York City.

Just what causes the onset of major and minor ice ages remains a
mystery. “Our knowledge of the mechanisms of climatic change is at least
as fragmentary as our data,” concedes the National Academy of Sciences
report. “Not only are the basic scientific questions largely unanswered,
but in many cases we do not yet know enough to pose the key questions.”

Meteorologists think that they can forecast the short-term results of
the return to the norm of the last century. They begin by noting the
slight drop in overall temperature that produces large numbers of
pressure centers in the upper atmosphere. These break up the smooth flow
of westerly winds over temperate areas. The stagnant air produced in
this way causes an increase in extremes of local weather such as
droughts, floods, extended dry spells, long freezes, delayed monsoons
and even local temperature increases – all of which have a direct impact
on food supplies. “The world’s food-producing system,” warns Dr. James
D. McQuigg of NOAA’s Center for Climatic and Environmental Assessment,
“is much more sensitive to the weather variable than it was even five
years ago.” Furthermore, the growth of world population and creation of
new national boundaries make it impossible for starving peoples to
migrate from their devastated fields, as they did during past famines.

Climatologists are pessimistic that political leaders will take any
positive action to compensate for the climatic change, or even to allay
its effects. They concede that some of the more spectacular solutions
proposed, such as melting the Arctic ice cap by covering it with black
soot or diverting arctic rivers, might create problems far greater than
those they solve. But the scientists see few signs that government
leaders anywhere are even prepared to take the simple measures of
stockpiling food or of introducing the variables of climatic uncertainty
into economic projections of future food supplies. The longer the
planners delay, the more difficult will they find it to cope with
climatic change once the results become grim reality."

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

In article ,
Gunner wrote:



April 28, 1975 Newsweek

"The Cooling World" - by Peter Gwynne


Oh, crap! And here I just bought a new air conditioner!

Will someone _please_ tell me which it's going to be? Do I need to make
a chiller or a warmer for the TIG?

I feel sooooo blonde! Where's my man-purse? I wanna whack somebody! Oh,
there it is, under my man-skirt with my 1911 #3.

Gunner wrote:


A survey completed last year by Dr. Murray Mitchell of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reveals a drop of half a degree
in average ground temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere between 1945
and 1968. According to George Kukla of Columbia University, satellite
photos indicated a sudden, large increase in Northern Hemisphere snow
cover in the winter of 1971-72. And a study released last month by two
NOAA scientists notes that the amount of sunshine reaching the ground in
the continental U.S. diminished by 1.3% between 1964 and 1972.


Global temperatures have been declining for 10's of millions of years.
Then, 3 million years ago, perhaps for the first time ever, both polar
regions became covered with ice. Since then we've been bouncing in and
out of an "ice age", mostly in.

It's been good for humans though, evolutionarily speaking. Homo
sapiens was basically born of the Ice Age. The possible impact of an
ice age on civilization is another question altogether; it would
probably thin out the herd a bit.

Drew

John Husvar wrote:

In article ,
Gunner wrote:



April 28, 1975 Newsweek

"The Cooling World" - by Peter Gwynne


Oh, crap! And here I just bought a new air conditioner!

Will someone _please_ tell me which it's going to be? Do I need to make
a chiller or a warmer for the TIG?


And what will be the impact of Global Warming/Cooling on Enco free
shipping offers? Has anybody considered that?

I feel sooooo blonde! Where's my man-purse? I wanna whack somebody! Oh,
there it is, under my man-skirt with my 1911 #3.

I didn't follow the whole thread so maybe I missed it but the whole
man-purse issue was considered on Seinfeld; called it a "carry all" I
believe. European, don't you know.

Drew

"Gunner" wrote in message
...



April 28, 1975 Newsweek

"The Cooling World" - by Peter Gwynne

We all know that Earth has always had a perfectly stable climate and gas
mix and that any change has been the fault of the opposing political party.
(Humans are SOOO frigging arrogant!)

"Gunner" wrote in message
...



April 28, 1975 Newsweek

"The Cooling World" - by Peter Gwynne

I'm inclined to the view that the Earth is a female in late
middle age, menopausal and hence liable to hot and cold
flushes, irrational behaviour and a general desire to remove
men's testicles.

On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 06:28:13 GMT, "Roger" wrote:


"Gunner" wrote in message
.. .



April 28, 1975 Newsweek

"The Cooling World" - by Peter Gwynne

I'm inclined to the view that the Earth is a female in late
middle age, menopausal and hence liable to hot and cold
flushes, irrational behaviour and a general desire to remove
men's testicles.

Pretty good assesment.

Gunner



"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them;
the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."
- Proverbs 22:3