More Than Virus Its Us

                     The water's ten foot high and rising; seems a good time to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and not mess with mister in between.
                    

                    We see some thought provoking happenings and doings around us these days. Some few trained expert observers, some few men and women are keeping an expert eye on the happenings in our arctic and sub arctic around what we have called the north pole and they are saying that what they see happening there is happening more than twice as fast as are the worldwide changes. Did you get that last sentence?
                  

                     I have checked out some of what we have been being told for many, many decades. It seems that since the early '70s a significant number of began to hear and even understand what was being said. I began to pay better attention just before the first Earth Day when I was asked to write an appropriate paper. I even recalled my 7th and 8th grade science teachers telling us that we were living in calm and mild times on Earth and to expect greater and more rapid change in the future. Without scaring us they seemed to be that they were saying that we had best consider ways of adapting. Anyway when I started this paper three or so years ago I began to think that it may be useful to sound a definite alarm now. An alarme our great grandfathers might have sounded is "High water! Its ten foot high an risen'!"  "High water" Meant it was time to get the women, children, and stock to high ground. They probably ought to have already put the homestead on high ground. But the did already have a way to safety in mind.
                    

                    Here I am trying to say that now may be a very good time to consider ways to safety for our families and our culture. I began to write briefly and sensibly about how to put the "homestead on high ground" and what to do if it is too late to do that. It is not too late to seriously considering what we do now. It is not easy because the changes to are Earth may be sooner and bigger than many of us expected. We are already seeing  big ongoing change. We are seeing the biggest changes in 100 years. We may come to see the biggest changes in 1000 years or more. The changes are so big and life changing that people are leaving their homes for safety. The food crops that have been harvested in county may no longer grow well enough in your country. Adaptation is necessary for survival. Our adaptation may be necessary. 
                    

                    In the US the new settlers had much adapting to do.
                    

                    The changes we see may be bigger and more life changing than anyone of us likes to believe.
                    

                    It may be pleasing to know that many of the changes, perhaps most of them, are not our fault. The fact seems to be that we don't have s snowball's chance in hell of changing many of them. Perhaps we can't change most of them. We can adapt. We are very adaptable beings. Humanity has adapted to many changes. We can adapt and we can even co-operate in doing so. We can consider what we can do to help are children and youth survive and thrive. We can help them to do much for themselves. 
                    

                    There is that we cannot stop or even change. We may not be able to stop the truck coming toward us. but we may very well be able to get out of its way. We can act. We can adapt. We have made crosswalks, and pedestrian over- passes and underpasses to! We can make preparations for the future, even a fast approaching future.
                    

                    Many changes are celestial. To us many of us, those changes seem very slow some, others very fast. Most of them we cannot change. We can adapt to a great many of them.
                   

                     It may be pleasant to know that many problematic changes are not our fault. Still we causing ourselves trouble by avoiding even thoughts of some problems we can take care of or make corrections for. If we will, there is much we can do. There is that which each one of us can do, which we can do now. We are adaptable and able, each of us. 
                    

                    There are climate changes we do not welcome and which are causing more and more problems. However, there are problems which do not seem directly related to climate changes or our lack of understanding. What about volcanoes. There are times of more volcanism and times of more.There are times of less earthquakes and times of more. There are times when it is not easy adapt more. Major changes to the Sun ocure which we cannot, but have adapeted to. Large comets and asteroide seem to have had times of being more or less active. There are happenings which we have been unable to stop, but we have often had the ability to adapt before or after the effects of such happenings. 
                                     

                For now I just offer a view of that which seems to  have begun to cross our path.
    

                To avoid being overwhelming, I'll restrict myself to telling a bit about melting ice and thawing permafrost, and that which is being released.
     

                    Here goes, to begin with its water, a lot of it. Ten feet high and rising. Not surprising, but true.
   

                     A few years ago some 75 year old anthrax was released and it killed about twenty reindeer and one boy. Merry Christmas. Some snow and ice was bulldozed over it. That snow and ice is melting. 
    

                    Some radioactive waste has been exposed. And oh, oh. Some think more is being exposed.
   

                    Some very old antibiotic resistant bacteria is being released and no one is stopping that release. And, other bacteria are reviving.

    

                    Happenings keep happening.
   

                     Who is to blame. Not me. A fair number of good scientists say that slow and not so slow shifts, and wobbles, and such of our Earth's axis have been causing changes in our climate since long before Noah. Right now the best of them are saying that such axial tipping has led to a warming of our northern hemisphere, because we are tipping so as to get a bit more sunshine each year. That's probably not the fault of anyone we know.
     

                    Now that you might be semi-stunned, I'll put out some more thoughts, information, a couple of questions and a suggestion that you begin to check some of this out for yourself.
    

                    There is now a rapid release of antique methane gas from arctic and subarctic melts and thaws. Could that include the release of  ancient virus?
    

                    Could such melting and thawing turn out to be an existential threat to humanity?
   

                     May pay us to wake up and be more aware.
     

                    Permafrost, by the way, is frozen wet soil and plant matter that has frozen many yards down. Its been frozen so long that it has been called permafrost and houses and airports have been built on it.
   

                     Among the matter being released from thawing permafrost are gases including CO2 and methane. We have a lot to learn. You may have to look stuff up. I did.
    

                    Methane burns and causes burning which puts more CO2 in our atmosphere--which is our "greenhouse gas." Greenhouse gas causes warming of the Earth which causes the melting of  Earth's ice and permafrost which releases ... Of course  burning causes  the release of other stuff too. Like soot. Black soot covers white snow and frost and being as dark as soot, absorbs heat from the sun and so causes the melting of snow, ice, and permafrost which releases... You can start to figure it out.
   

                    Methane and other stuff being release can be useful. Methane's the main part of "natural gas" widely used for cooking and heating.
    

                    Then again methane is  suffocating, colorless, odorless and is increasing as a percentage of our atmosphere. I remember it being called swamp gas and as causing mysterious fires in swamps.
    

                     I hope our youth find more time to learn more about chemistry than we did. There is a lot to learn. We might end up learning a thing or two ourselves. This "new" world may be a tough place for an old man and not so easy for an older woman either.
     

                    Just about thawing and melting there is much more to learn. For example, northern ice in contact with warming sea water is melting and releasing  ancient matter into the sea and that includes mercury. Mercury accumulates in plants and animals and often does them harm. Top feeders, like humans, get harmed a lot.
    

                    Now I find that shallow seas and not so shallow seas have at their bottom earth and vegetative matter frozen to great depths much like permafrost. And now like permafrost it has begun to melt and release methane and much else. There in the sea depths CO2, virus, bacteria, and uncounted other materials are being released into the water and air.
    

                    The sun shines east and the sun shines west. The sun shines best on that part of the Earth tipped toward it. That's us here in our northern hemisphere. Earth's axis slowly and not so slowly wobbles and tips a bit differently each year. The tip we are now experiencing is one of the more extreme tips of recent centuries. Lucky us.  
    

                    Changes are a bit more extreme than we have experienced in our history. So, for example, Canada may soon have the best far north year round sea ports seen in our time on Earth. They can expect some competition from Russia. Canada may grow tropical fruit in their south. However they may both hundreds of years before either grows another good wheat crop. I may be exaggerating a bit but, great climate changes lead to great changes in growing patterns
   

                     Some of this stuff needs to be repeated to sink in. From the thaws and melts in our north come massive emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases, and also a variety of microorganisms. These emissions lead to other changes. 

    

                    Metals are being released, among them, mercury. Mercury is toxic, causes brain damage and it accumulates in human bodies as well as in fish, fowl, cattle, etc. Mercury accumulates in seaweed I'm told. We use a seaweed product to make ice-cream.  So, one way we may help our children is to take away their ice-cream.
    

                    Sorry, but stuff is happening and more shit is coming. Its a good thing that we can learn, We have a lot of learning to do. We still have the job of taking care of ourselves and our children. There are not only massive emissions of CO2 and methane already here, but ancient and new sources of disease are also being released. And we are still having trouble protecting ourselves from one weak little c19 virus.
     

                    Frozen fungi, spore, bacteria, and virus are being released from 500 years ago, 1,000 years ago, 10,000 years ago, 20,000 years, 30, 40, an 50 thousand years of frozen sleep! Many are reviving. Some have been revived. Most are of little danger to us even when they are very live. Some are of value to humanity. Some others would sicken and kill us. Where did C19 come from. Weak little bugger.
   

                     Researchers have revived one virus which had been frozen for more than 30,000 years. It was reactivated, revived right before their eyes. It is one, it seems, which does us no harm.
     

                    There are things we can do to protect ourselves and our children. You can think of a thing or two yourself. With friends and neighbors, more. With the help of students of the problems and of scientists, even more. With cooperation we can do a lot. We can organize, We can handle these dangerous changes. Trying seems a lot better than calling one another names.
    

                    Some few persons began to do what they can some years ago. They have been doing what they can to protect themselves and others. Some have been collecting and saving seeds and storing them in 'safe'' places. Crops that were once grown on one continent may no longer grow there. That's a big change which can cause massive movements of people and crops. Some people will find it useful to have seeds which will grow where they are. One of the largest and most famous of these 'safe' sites for seeds came to be called the Doomsday Vault. That vault for preserving seed has been invaded by melt water. Melting is proceeding faster than anticipated.
         

                    Change continues at a faster rate then we have been accustomed to.
    

                    Bacteria dormant for many centuries and trapped in permafrost and ice are reviving with warming and melting, and thawing. This release is happening much more rapidly than we were prepared for. Time to get busy.
    Some good things may happen automatically. Perhaps one of the few bacteria that can be deadly to humans will kill enough of us so that we will no longer feel the need to kill so many of one another as we have for so long.
    We know that vectors for anthrax, smallpox, Spanish flu have long been trapped in ice and permafrost. And now that some are reviving. Might we be able to learn something from our public health expert that we can use to help one another.
    We were once accustomed to cooperate to protect one another. I bet that there are some truly helpful things we can do. We could try killing fewer foreign health experts. I'm willing to try.
     Recently history seems to be catching up with us. A couple of years ago a 30,000 year old non dangerous virus revived. An 8 million year old virus is said to have revived. A giant virus has revived. Potentially dangerous virus are reviving. Recent studies suggest that antibiotic resistant bacteria many millions of years old are reviving. Holy Moly!
    It might be good to start some conversation about practical doings for interested parties to take up. We could ask experts what's what. We can get ourselves taught. We could try to arrange to cooperate to live.
    Do you think that this has been less than a pile of words. Check it out for veracity. If you don't know how to check it out, this might be the time to learn.

                    Some blame for our state of affairs may correctly be placed on us, but a large number of good scientists suggest some causes are universal or, at least, solar systemic. The speak of slow and not so slow shifts, wobbles and such, of our Earth's axis have been causing changes in the Earth's climate since long before Noah and to this day.Right now the best of them are saying that it is clear that such axial tipping has led to warming of our northern hemisphere, because we are being tipped so as to get more sunshine here. Others say the results may be complicated by other factors. That's probably not the fault of anyone we know.

Still, if we want to be comfy here on Earth we need to make some adjustments in our lives.

                    I suggest that it would be useful for more of us to continue checking this stuff out. We can learn how to do so.

                    We know that one thing leads to another. There is now a rapid release of antique methane gas from arctic and subarctic melts and thaws, and that leads to other changes. As an example methane gas has a stronger greenhouse effect than does co2. An interesting side effect is that the melts and more specifically the thaws lead to the release of reviving ancient virus.

                    So melting arctic ice causes a number of threats to humanity. I also means that Canada and Russia are getting some new sea trade routes.

                    It is healthy for us and our youth to keep up on that which is going on with a bit more understanding of what it means for our well being. It pays for us and ours to be aware of our situation so as to be more ready to adapt.

                    I have probably already said that permfrost is no longer permanent and is made up mostly of frozen soil and plant matter which has been frozen deep into the earth and even deep into the earth below the sea. That matter releases microbes, methane, co2 and more, most of which has deleterious effects on us. The permafrost seemed so permanent that constructed buildings and airports on it. It is now quickly changing from cement like ice to slush and the remains of  ages.

                    We have a lot to learn. Many of us are just hearing about  the nature of co2 and methane. You can tell us what you are learning by using the "comments" app below.   

                    Methane can catch on fire with no help from us. That fire releases co2 which leads to climate warming. That will be good to know when another Ice Age begins. We have come to know co2 as a greenhouse gas which causes warming of the Earth which causes the melting of polar ice leading to a rise in sea level and the release of methane,etc.

                    Of course burning causes the release of other stuff too. Stuff like soot which is damaging to lungs. Black soot also lands on white snow and frost. being dark it absorbs heat from the sun and so transmits heat to snow and ice melting it; that melting has is own effects and around we go.

                    There is probably a way to capture some of the released methane. We can use it for cooking and heating, but that releases co2. Methane is the main portion of the natural gas we use in our homes. We know it as a colorless suffocating gas. The percentage of methane in our atmosphere is increasing. I do not think that our sky will burn, but I do remember that what we called swamp gas is methane and it caused mysterious fires in swamps.

                    I hope our youth will have time to learn more chemistry than we did. There is a lot to learn. Much of it good and interesting. We could do some learning on our own. This new world may be a tough place for a old man and not easy for an older woman either.

                    There is a lot to learn just about melting and thawing. Polar ice in contact with sa water is melting and releasing ancient matter faster than ever.

Just the addition of so much fresh water so quickly causes problems for sea life and even so changes the flow of sea water so much that it causes other climate changes. The matter released includes mercury. Mercury accumulates in plants and animals doing them harm.We eat sea life. Top feeders like humans can get harmed a lot. We can find out what to do about that.

                    Not very long ago, I learned that in shallow seas and in some not so shallow, that there is soil, plant matter, and more which has frozen deeply into the earth at the bottom of the sea. It is subsea permafrost and it is melting, quickly. It has been frozen long and long. That melting permafrost is releasing methane and much else. I don't think the sea will burn, but the gas might as it bubbles to the surface.Among other things being released are co2, virus, bacteria fungus, and heavy metals like mercury. Ancient life is reviving. 

                    The sun shines east and the sun shines west. The sun shines best on that part of the Earth tipped or turned moat toward it. That seems to be us in our northern hemisphere. Although here in the Colombian highlands the sun does shine but its often cold and rainy. All the Earth's climate is affected by our changing relationship with the Sun, bit each part a bit differently. Over time the orientation of the Earth changes; sometimes slowly at other times not so slowly. The tip we are experiencing is one more extreme for a long time. Lucky us. We are having a learning experience.