Bag's Rants

Mini Ice Age? What does that really mean?

I was reading this article on how an ocean current could lead to a new mini ice age for Europe. As usual with these things it appears that there is dispute over what the facts mean and the impact.

Anyway, the more I thought about it the more I realised I didn't really understand what a drop of 10 degrees means to us. Maybe it is a good time to get into nuclear power as a 'cheap' way of generating power to keep us all warm but what is the implication for our way of life rather than just a slight seasonal change that needs extra heating.

I've noticed that in my lifetime that winters have changed. And, before you start I'm not that old. It used to be that every XMas had snow. It usually lasted several weeks and as a kid it was one of the things XMas was all about. Now, you don't get real snow until February and it only lasts a couple of weeks. Of course, that is where I live. I live on a peninsula and that seems to keep all the bad weather out. I missed out on the snow a couple of weeks ago. Does the drop mean we can expect it to be here for longer like Scotland or for a lot longer like Denmark or Iceland?

Also will this drop be negated by Global warming? If so we need to reverse our trend for the greenhouse gases. If so, that would be typical. Those advising us with hindsight say they were wrong when it is too late.

This whole area is full of contradictions and false theories all which seem to fit into the facts so much so that we cannot all agree on the best way forward. Should we all be digging holes to move into and then build nuclear power stations to keep them warm and heated. How about making all roads underground as well. Our road tax would probably cover that if it was all spent on the roads. Plus we could expand them at the same time. Yippee!

Bottom line though. No matter how much you read about this subject there seems no clear consensus on what is likely to happen, how to control it, as much as possible, and how to deal with it long term. Is this really less important than a thesis on toast falling butter side down?

posted by Bag @ 11:12 am