Author Topic: Climate Change !  (Read 10672 times)

Offline mmitch

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #13 on: August 17, 2023, 10:08:03 AM »
That's it thanks. Could happen in any part of the world, anytime.....
mmitch.

Offline MartinR

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #12 on: August 16, 2023, 08:04:18 PM »
@mmitch: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer

TL;DR
In 1815 Mount Tambora erupted in the Dutch East Indies.  Also possibly adding to the effect was Mayon on the Phillippines.  Widespread famine in Europe and North America followed, and the weakened population then succumbed to a typhus epidemic.

Offline mmitch

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #11 on: August 16, 2023, 03:00:22 PM »
I only have a very basic story in my head ( perhaps someone can give more details?) That about 200 years ago a volcano (I think in Iceland?) erupted and blacked out the Sun over Europe. There was no Summer that year and the crops failed with resultant starvation...The Industrial revolution was only just starting then, no modern transport to move food about quickly.....
mmitch.

Offline stuartwaters

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #10 on: August 16, 2023, 12:12:43 PM »
On the subject of volcanoes Vs climate change, I read a couple of inconvenient facts recently (inconvenient for the climate change zealots anyway). How much truth there is in them, I can't say,but interesting anyway.

Members will remember the eruption under the glacier in Iceland about 12 years ago. The one which put billions of tons of dust and ash into the air, so much so that transatlantic air travel had to be stopped lest the ash and dust damaged jet engines. I read that that eruption put so much co2 into the air that it basically undid all the co2 savings made up to that date.

The second interesting and inconvenient fact was that in 1991 Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted for the first time in recorded history and was erupting on and off for about a year. During that time, the volcano put more sulphur dioxide into the air than humans have. Ever. Sulphur Dioxide is a more potent greenhouse gas than Carbon Dioxide.

Think about that for a moment. One major volcanic eruption or god forbid, the eruption of a Supervolcano and never mind climate change, we'll all be well and truly up the creek without a paddle in sight.
"I did not say the French would not come, I said they will not come by sea" - Admiral Sir John Jervis, 1st Earl St Vincent.

Offline mmitch

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2023, 09:52:41 AM »
When I read about the sea warming, I think about undersea volcanos. How many are there? How many are active now? No 'expert' can answer that because nobody knows everything about the sea. It is often quoted that we know more about the moon than we do about our seas.
El Neno is supposed to be caused by warm sea that occurs about every 4 years. What if that is an undersea fissure of some sort. No 'net zero' can shut off even one volcano!
mmitch.

Offline johnfilmer

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #8 on: August 06, 2023, 08:05:16 PM »
I found the recent report about clouds interesting. It seems that a significant lowering of the sulphur content of maritime fuel, something like 3.5% down to 0.5% has meant that the clouds are more translucent, especially over busy sea routes like the Atlantic.

So now more sun penetrates all the way to the ocean surface, apparently helping to warm the sea.

Be careful what you wish for!
Illegitimus nil carborundum

Offline MartinR

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2023, 09:40:37 PM »
Stuart, a very sensible attitude, one not a million miles from me.  I would point out though that the Frost fairs on the Thames had other contributory causes.  Old London Bridge had a series of relatively small spans, the flow being further reduced by "starlings" or protective timberwork around the base of the piers.  The restriction of the flow could lead to a drop of as much as 6' between one side and the other.  Salt water carried up on the flood tide could not penetrate this barrier, so upstream of London Bridge was always fresh water.  Water in London is brackish rather than brine, but even so will freeze 2 or 3 °F lower than fresh.  Furthermore, in winter the seas are warmer than the land, and the tidal churn keeps the estuarine water slightly warmer than fresh water tributaries.  As mentioned above, the tidal churn ended at the bridge.  In summary: water above the bridge was colder and froze at a higher temperature than today's central London Thames.

Offline stuartwaters

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2023, 09:23:47 PM »
I've seen more dragonflies this year. I even had one fly into the cab of my lorry in the week. It got shooed out with a piece of paper. I've driven through many swarms of flying ants this year on my travels around the south east of England. My wife and I were away in our caravan seeing the in-laws in Cambridge when a swarm of bees flew over.

As far as Climate Change is concerned, there's no doubt that it's happening. I am no Climate Change denier, but I do not think human activity is the sole cause. It may be contributing to it, but it is by no means the sole cause. Historically, the planet's climate goes in cycles. Those cycles also run in cycles, cycles within cycles within cycles. As a planet, Earth is heading into what is known as an Interglacial Period. That transition will not end for several tens of thousands of years. At the end of that transition, only Antarctica will be permanently frozen. The last Ice Age has not yet ended, it is still in the process of ending and is a long way from being over.

2,000 years ago, when the Romans came to Britain, the climate was warmer and sea levels were higher. About 400 years later, the climate was cooling and that cooling and the resulting climate changes, along with instability at the center of the Roman Empire led to it's partial collapse. Fast Forward 1,000 years and Britain was in the grip of the "Little Ice Age", when the River Thames at London Bridge would freeze hard enough to hold a fair on the frozen river. Fast forward another 400 years and we are where we are.

That stated, I personally am fully behind efforts to transition to clean power generation. We are in the third decade of the 21st Century and in this day and age with the technology available to us, there is no excuse for pumping billions of tons of pollution into the air every year.
"I did not say the French would not come, I said they will not come by sea" - Admiral Sir John Jervis, 1st Earl St Vincent.

Offline castle261

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2023, 11:10:41 AM »
Thank you all for your input - remember the - `Knife Man ` - at Rochester Cathedral Garden`s
Well - I saw dozens of `Dragonflies`- all rising up from the grass - when I sat down - to view him.

Offline johnfilmer

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #4 on: August 02, 2023, 10:30:23 AM »
Up here on the North Downs, in yesterday’s sunshine we had wasps, bees, butterflies and other flying things. Yet to see a dragonfly this year.

My wife got stung by an unidentified flying object a few days ago when doing some pruning, still red and angry (as is she!).

Lots of birds on our feeders. We have gone up from a 5kg bag of peanuts to 12.5kg in the hope of keeping up.

Lesser spotted woodpeckers are common on the peanuts, but this morning there was a green woodpecker on next door’s lawn, hunting ants? Unlikely to come on ours as our drake is a bit territorial, although he happily lets a cock pheasant scavenge for dropped birdseed. We call the pheasant Cedric.

We could hear the skylarks yesterday and the shrieks of the buzzards, but couldn’t see either.

The only climate issue recently has been that all the onions and leeks bolted. We let them flower, an absolute bee magnet, even after we cut them down when seed started to set. The last 30odd flower heads are stood through some old mesh and still the insects come. Also made useful cut flower addition for the house.
Illegitimus nil carborundum

Offline MartinR

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2023, 01:24:20 PM »
My wife and I walked up to Aldi before lunch (well to be strictly accurate, she walked and I trundled).  On the way we saw at least a dozen butterflies, and something that looked like a dragonfly.  I say "looked like" because it was at a distance and there was no standing water nearby.  No bees though.

Update: walking around Eastgate Gardens in Rochester this afternoon there were plenty of bees, butterflies, day-flying moths and this little fellow.  More bees and butterflies  in the Cathedral Garth.  Today has been bright and moderately warm so the insects will not be in danger of drowning, being washed away or being too cold to function.

Offline MartinR

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Re: Climate Change !
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2023, 09:24:03 AM »
Well we seem to have avoided the wasps this year, but the ants were everywhere earlier.  Likewise when the weather permits a walk along the Medway there are plenty of butterflies, particularly Red Admirals.  The two shots below were taken: (1) 2023-07-23_14:52:09 at Gillingham (205mm, f/5.0 1/320s ISO 640) and (2) 2023-07-19_18:09:58 at home in Rochester (55mm, f/5.6, 100s, ISO 160).  Earlier in the year (June) there were plenty whites down at The Friars.  I didn't get close enough to tell the exact species, and in the Peace Gardens there were insects feeding and pollinating everywhere.  In summary, and very strictly only in my personal non-scientific recollection, we had plenty of wildlife in the warmer weather, but with the cold and rainy July they (and me) have sought shelter.

Offline castle261

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Climate Change !
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2023, 08:40:03 AM »
People in Kent - must have noticed the change in birds & insects habits - these last few months.
BEES are not so many lately - I have only seen one Bee - one butterfly - a Cabbage White
Even Wasps - one of them too - Swarms of Flying Ants - have been seen in a part of Rainham.
Could it be - that they have to fly off - to where their food have moved on to - hot or cold - ?
What do YOU think ?