I was listening to "Earth And Sky" this morning on my way to work and was startled to hear a description of a sudden climate change scenario that was practically identical to the one that has been given by Whitley Strieber for the past few years. Actually, I had just finished listening to the discussion on climate recently posted in the Unknowncountry subscribers section. Per geologist Richard Alley: about 11,000 years ago, Greenland's temperature rose by about 15 degrees Fahrenheit over a ten-year period. The cause: "melting polar ice, which altered ocean circulation and weather patterns." And: "As today’s climate warms, ice is again melting near Earth’s poles."
This is probably a fairly conservative analysis; Whitley's climate change scenario happens in the course of a year or two, which actually sounds more probable than a ten-year shift--if you factor in evaporating pools of methane. However, this is a radical statement by a mainstream scientist, even if he is "just" a geologist, and not a climatologist.
I would like to find the exact quotation in The Key that specifies that a shift in ocean currents would bring about sudden climate change. If it is there, it would be significant. I'm not sure to what extent Whitley's views on climate change has been informed by scientific research. While it is likely that climatologists have been too compromised by the political mongering over climate change, a geologist would theoretically have no such axe to grind.
While for a long time I have considered the "superstorm" scenario possible--but by no means likely--I'm willing to give it a greater than 50/50 chance of happening--with the question now being "when," not "if."
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