People and Climate

Much of the country has been gripped in extreme bitter cold these last few days.  I know it is still winter, but it is time for spring to begin showing its face.  We are fortunate to live far enough south that, although it is the coldest spell we have experienced all winter, our temperatures are not too bad.  We have had to deal with frozen water tanks for the first time over the last few days.

It is amazing how people and animals adapt to the harsh temperatures.  If you are not a part of agriculture, you mostly cope by staying indoors rather than being out in it.  If you have livestock to feed and care for, it is a very different story.  Hopefully, there is adequate shelter for the stock to get out of the wind.  High quality feed helps also, because it provides the energy necessary for the animal to stay warm through biological mechanisms.  They should be carrying more fat and more hair during the cold months that help to sustain them when temperatures drop.

People bundle up in layer upon layer of clothing that holds the body heat.  Cold is the natural state of space and warmth only comes because of the input of energy which is trapped within the atmosphere.  Sunshine is an amazing "heater" only because of our atmosphere.  Otherwise the energy would pass right through and continue on its merry way through space, or be reflected back into the coldness never to return.  Instead, it bounces around between molecules of air and the water and other compounds suspended in it, exciting those molecules to a state of vibration which in turn releases more energy.  (I'm sure my description of the science here isn't perfect, but the gist of it is correct.)

The balance of heat capture versus release within the atmosphere is a delicate thing.  If too much heat/energy is trapped, we experience global warming of the atmosphere.  If not enough is trapped we experience cooling.  The earth tends to regulate itself thanks to the most important molecule to life -- water.  Evaporation due to heat adds water into the atmosphere which forms droplets around particulates suspended in the air -- such as carbon molecules -- which then precipitate back to earth carrying some of the heat from the atmosphere along with it.

It is fear of the long-term consequences that drive many to have an alarmist view of this action.  It is natural and cyclical.  Does human activity affect the cycle?  Probably.  Is it irreversible?  No.  Nature will correct the course.  The correction may be difficult for those who live through it because it will likely cause more and more extreme weather events.  Radical human-driven solutions will not change the natural cyclical nature other than to possibly affect the duration of the cycle in a very limited way.

Fortunately, mankind will adapt.  It has happened many times through the eons that mankind has been on this planet.  Just like the folks and their animals up north have adapted to the harsh conditions this winter, we will figure out ways to live through it.  We are amazing, yet sometimes foolish creatures.  Amazing in our adaptability yet, foolish in thinking we are in control.