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2/8/2006 Earth. Thousands Of Barges Could Save Europe From Deep Freeze
"The Atlantic heat conveyor that warms western Europe seems to be slowing. Is a mini ice age on the cards? ... The dramatic finding comes from a study of ocean circulation in the North Atlantic, which found a 30 per cent reduction in the warm currents that carry water north from the Gulf Stream." - New Scientist, Dec 3rd, 2005
A recent study looked at seven ideas and found the best attempt at a save: A $50 billion plan would use 8,000 barges to increase the thickness of sea ice to seven meters to control the ocean currents.
Of course, this could backfire and cause even more problems .. "all geo-engineering projects have a risk of unforeseen circumstances." according to a terra article, but it is clear that dramatic action is needed. Can technology dig us out of the hole technology has created?
In the 1700's in a period of just three to ten years, there was a stall of the Gulf Stream which resulted in a mini-ice age. "The canals in Holland froze, famine struck Europe, shipping lanes froze over, the eastern seaboard of the U.S. experienced much colder weather, and millions died of starvation and exposure. " But a complete stall of the system would be much worse.
"This time the causes are man-made, and scientists believe that we're looking at not a stall but a complete failure of the system. The consequences of a shutdown of the Gulf Stream are huge. Unlike the situation in the 1700s, a full-scale shutdown of the Gulf conveyor and other ocean transfer systems could last upwards of 100,000 years. Global warming ... includes the freezing of western Europe and the eastern seaboard of the United States. Frozen ports, failed crops and heating fuel crises are just the tip of the iceberg." - ccc
1/30/2006 Earth. Oldest Ice Found in Antarctica.
"A team of Japanese researchers drilling in Antarctica has what it believes are the oldest samples of ice ever taken -- possibly dating back 1 million years, science ministry officials said. ... The oldest sample collected so far from the icy continent was 800,000 years old. ... The samples were taken from a depth of 3,028.52 meters in the Antarctic ice sheet near the Dome Fuji research station ..." - jt
1/17/2006 Earth. Scientists journey towards centre of the Earth to seek out origins of life
Chikyu means planet Earth in Japanese. I don't think they will find a passage into the hollow Earth. Even believers in that theory think the crust is 800 miles thick. At any point on Earth you would travel about 3,959 miles to the center. (Compare to 3,300 miles from Miami to Seattle). If you could survive a trip 8,000 miles straight down, you'd be on the other side of the globe!THE world's most technologically advanced exploration ship sails today on a mission that
may reveal the origin of life on Earth. The Japanese ship Chikyu intends to drill seven kilometres (4.3 miles) below the sea bed — more than three times deeper than has been done before. It will then raise to the surface a cylinder 1.5m (5ft) long and 15cm wide which could contain science's first glimpse of a “living” sample of the Earth's mantle. ... “We will be drilling at possible temperatures of 200C (392F), pressures at which we make industrial diamonds and through rock that even the oil industry has never scratched. Of course there will be failures before we get down there, but this is Japan's Apollo mission.” -timesuk
1/11/2006 Earth / Strange Happenings. Texas River Mysteriously Turns Reddish Orange
There was also a huge crack in the earth that mysteriously opened up in Texas. Could this be connected?"Investigators in Dallas are trying to determine what has caused the water in the Trinity River to turn reddish orange twice in one week, according to a Local 6 News report."
1/3/2006 Earth / Strange Ideas. Earth ripping, surfacing methane causing fires?
Here's an idea regarding the cause of the TX and OK fires that you may not have heard.
"Russian Scientists are reporting today that the fracturing of the North American Continent
is continuing unabated, and has now reached the point where trapped methane pockets deep within this tectonic plate are outgassing in various areas of the United States and Canada... outbursts of inner Earth methane deposits... are fueling massive fires in both the United States Oklahoma and Texas Regions for the second time in six weeks. " -12/28/05 wdim
I made the image above combining the earthquake (orange) and recent fires map (red). Probably meaningless becuase the firemap is incomplete and we are zoomed out too far, but somewhat interesting. Years ago I had a vivid dream where little fires started popping up from the ground for no reason. Perhaps it is nonsense, but we have 1) an unusual number of fires, 2) the story below about a massive crack opening in TX and 3) this story about mysterious gasses erupting:
Click here for Oklahoma earthquake activity and here."Mysterious unrefined natural gas leaks erupting in rural Kingfisher County in recent days continue to have officials puzzled as to their cause . " We originally thought a pipeline had
exploded," said Matt Skinner, Oklahoma Corporation Commission public information manager. "We had the pressure to zero pressure, and the leaks seemed to get bigger. So that's not it." Skinner had said at a press conference Monday geologists and hydrologists are beginning to study underground maps of the area to find an explanation. "We've ruled out the probables , and now we're into the unprobables ," he said. "We've never seen one like this before, one that covers such a large area. It's another animal." Skinner said the leak was unusual because of its size and that it was "moving with no explanation." - endinews
1/5/2006 Earth / Fires. Massive US fire outbreaks in multiple states being covered up?
Something is odd. How can over 50 large fires burning right now in Mississippi and Louisiana be due to abnormally dry conditions? Only months ago we had Katrina, a massive hurricane that flooded the region.
Are many fires due to arsonists? Is methane gas erupting from the depths due to some massive earth upheaval? I'm not in the habit of watching fire maps, so I don't know what is normal for this time of year, but heck, this is NOT summer. This is January. Why is so much of the US burning? Global warming?
Click map to enlarge.
We know the National Guard is involved and that "three Black Hawk helicopters were also deployed from Louisiana to Texas". The military is helping to fight the fires.
12/13/2005 Earth / Quakes. Powerful earthquakes strike under sea near Fiji
