That which follows is the result of global warming. Man has screwed up his planet. Greenhouse gases must be limited.
First, avalanches. They are on the rise. World wide. Each year more than the previous. Tons of snow flowing down a slope damaging man and his world.
This spring alone there have been reports of increased avalanches on the French side of Mont Blanc and in the States of Colorado and Washington.
Global warming is the recognized culprit. The warming causes the snow to become softer and melt sooner. The snow loses its adhesion, breaks away and flows rapidly downward.
We are warned that massive avalanches are growing in frequency.
Barbara Turnbull is an avalanche researcher at the UK's University of Nottingham. She reported in the Journal of Physical Review Letters that climate changes may be contributing to the strength of avalanches.
Christian Huggel of the University of Zurich wrote in the Journal of Inside Sciences that ".....warming in high mountain areas is likely destabilizing slopes."
Scientists generally agree that global warming causes rapid swings in temperature which in turn are responsible for the bigger and more frequent slides.
Next to be addressed are tsunamis. Those extremely high waves which come in swiftly from the sea and run over the land. One high wave. Generally 20-50 feet high. Killing hundreds and destroying all property in its path.
There has been a recent warning. The east coast is at a tsunami risk. From New Jersey up through New England.
Strange that there is a concern for a tsunami coming in from the Atlantic Ocean. I had always assumed it was a Pacific ocean problem. China, Japan and some Pacific islands were at risk. At its worst, maybe the west coast of the United States.
Not so. It is suggested the wall of speeding water will occur on the east coast.
Why?
There have recently been 15 earthquakes 170 miles east of Boston.Out in the ocean. Except for the scientific community, no one took notice or concern. The reason is that the earthquakes were well below water at the edge of the Continental Shelf. None was greater than a 4.0.
Apparently there is no problem with a 4.0 underwater earthquake. There would be if the quake went to 7.0. Scientists are in general agreement that an earthquake of that magnitude would be a problem.
A tsunami wave of gigantic proportions would rise to the surface and make its way to the east coast of the United States. Most also agree that warning time would be only 15 minutes.
The earthquakes and possibility of the big wave are the result of global warming.
Artic and Antarctic ice have been melting and shrinking for years. Glacial lakes are disappearing. The ice at the two poles and in glacial lakes have held the earth's crust firm. With less ice, the earth's crust is flexing. Above and below water. A movement so minute it cannot be felt.
The flexing causes earthquakes to occur. The result of shifting earth and rock formations. Mother earth shakes and an earthquake occurs.
Water temperature also comes into play.
It was recently announced that the ocean waters from North Carolina to Maine are the warmest in the 150 years they have been recorded.The warm waters reach out to the end of the Continental Shelf.
The warming water off the east coast is the result of what is happening in the Artic.
The Artic is heating at two times the rate of the rest of the planet. Ice loss is occurring rapidly.
The Artic affects the entire planet. It helps regulate the global climate system and influences weather patterns across much of the northern hemisphere.
With less ice, more water gets warmed. Solar energy makes the ocean warmer.
The ice lost is needed. Artic ice helps to regulate climate by reflecting sunlight back into space. As the ice diminishes, more sunlight is absorbed into what is swiftly becoming a more open ocean. The result is warm water.
The bottom line is frightening. The echosystem changes. At some point dramatically. Fish life is disturbed. Some will disappear and others moved around. Artic animals such as the polar bear and walrus will disappear. The warmer water combined with other global warming disruptions affects the entire planet.
Everything is cause and effect. Greenhouse gases contribute significantly to global warming. Unless and until the corporate world is reigned in, the path to disaster is clear.
I fear that what is being done to correct global warming is a mere drop in the bucket. Being critical of the United States alone, I cannot in the reasonable future envision Congress doing what is necessary to reign in the excesses of the corporate world.
Note that HOT is used to describe warm in the title. The reason is that we are all going to be in hot water if we do not correct the ravages of global warming.
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