Al, no I am doing it myself. Almost 80, I am still obsessive about global energy poverty and practical environmentalism. I have been an energy activist for the last 23 years.
Al, I think you tried to cover too much ground, reach too many horizons, in this post.
Regarding one topic which strikes a chord, I'd like a reference if you have one for this:
“Global sea level rose by a total of more than 120 metres (393 feet) as the vast ice sheets of the last Ice Age melted back.”
One area where I have done a lot of research, and the post presented corroborating information, is the loss of Earth's water. Given a rough estimate based on the extent and volume of ice cap at peak glaciation, when all that ice melted the oceans should have risen something like 150 meters, yet most sources report a 100 meter rise (roughly 300 feet). This leaves water missing in an amount that is a small percentage of the total volume of water, but something like 50% of the water that was actually returned to the water inventory (primarily, oceans). A huge amount of what I call anecdotal evidence corroborates this, including disappearing watersheds like the Saharan, which you described. We should talk more, and maybe I should add another track to my Substack posts using some of the articles and ancient literary references I have collected; or maybe we should collaborate somehow, since you have an interest. Some of my first Substack posts were in this area, which is why I started off with the name Global Challenge.
Thanks for the interesting comments, David. Yes, I do tend to cover a wide range, I suppose because I have a wide range of interests, but as you imply, when I mention a lot of different things, I fail to go into a lot of depth on most of them. My original intention was just to talk about the Dust Bowl, but then I got thinking about all the other indicators of past change. My source for the "120 meters" sea rise is from the National Oceanography Center: https://noc.ac.uk/news/global-sea-level-rise-end-last-ice-age - it's about the 3rd paragraph. On your comment that there seems to be some of earth's water "lost", my immediate question would be "where did it go?" Is there more H2O in the atmosphere? It seems it would be hard to know for sure if any was lost, since we have to to make assumptions before making an estimate of how much there was to begin with. I also have always wondered how much water there is beneath the earth's crust (there I go again; another subject) - it seems like when we drill deep enough, subterranean water can be found in most places - not sure how that factors in to the glacier melt...
One of relatively recent climate extremes that's almost forgotten now is the abnormally cold winters of 1970ies in the Northern hemisphere. In 1977-78 in North America and in 1978-79 in Eastern Europe, there were exceptionally strong cold waves with temperatures sometimes dropping ~30 °C and more below normal. Pipes blew, transportation stopped, in some areas it was almost the end of the world. Some older folks still remember some of all that, and you can find some crumbs here and there on the internet, but most of it is memory-holed.
Al, no I am doing it myself. Almost 80, I am still obsessive about global energy poverty and practical environmentalism. I have been an energy activist for the last 23 years.
Well, I almost need a staff just to keep up with you- LOL
I'm 82 and a slow reader. I was a physics major, but only at the undergraduate level.
Another great piece, Al.
Thanks, Stephen - that means a lot, coming from you. How do you publish so much? Do you have a staff?
Al, I think you tried to cover too much ground, reach too many horizons, in this post.
Regarding one topic which strikes a chord, I'd like a reference if you have one for this:
“Global sea level rose by a total of more than 120 metres (393 feet) as the vast ice sheets of the last Ice Age melted back.”
One area where I have done a lot of research, and the post presented corroborating information, is the loss of Earth's water. Given a rough estimate based on the extent and volume of ice cap at peak glaciation, when all that ice melted the oceans should have risen something like 150 meters, yet most sources report a 100 meter rise (roughly 300 feet). This leaves water missing in an amount that is a small percentage of the total volume of water, but something like 50% of the water that was actually returned to the water inventory (primarily, oceans). A huge amount of what I call anecdotal evidence corroborates this, including disappearing watersheds like the Saharan, which you described. We should talk more, and maybe I should add another track to my Substack posts using some of the articles and ancient literary references I have collected; or maybe we should collaborate somehow, since you have an interest. Some of my first Substack posts were in this area, which is why I started off with the name Global Challenge.
We need to talk.
Thanks for the interesting comments, David. Yes, I do tend to cover a wide range, I suppose because I have a wide range of interests, but as you imply, when I mention a lot of different things, I fail to go into a lot of depth on most of them. My original intention was just to talk about the Dust Bowl, but then I got thinking about all the other indicators of past change. My source for the "120 meters" sea rise is from the National Oceanography Center: https://noc.ac.uk/news/global-sea-level-rise-end-last-ice-age - it's about the 3rd paragraph. On your comment that there seems to be some of earth's water "lost", my immediate question would be "where did it go?" Is there more H2O in the atmosphere? It seems it would be hard to know for sure if any was lost, since we have to to make assumptions before making an estimate of how much there was to begin with. I also have always wondered how much water there is beneath the earth's crust (there I go again; another subject) - it seems like when we drill deep enough, subterranean water can be found in most places - not sure how that factors in to the glacier melt...
One of relatively recent climate extremes that's almost forgotten now is the abnormally cold winters of 1970ies in the Northern hemisphere. In 1977-78 in North America and in 1978-79 in Eastern Europe, there were exceptionally strong cold waves with temperatures sometimes dropping ~30 °C and more below normal. Pipes blew, transportation stopped, in some areas it was almost the end of the world. Some older folks still remember some of all that, and you can find some crumbs here and there on the internet, but most of it is memory-holed.
This was longer that usual but very informative. I liked it.