Antarctica

Most people pay to see penguins or whales or anything to do with Antarctica. I traveled to the Continent as a result of work opportunities (which by the way, are available each year through USAP as well as non-U.S. governmental agencies).

McMurdo Beach, Antarctica, 2010

Waves crashed perilously on the beach, offering frigid tendrils of sea salt and ice to the sun-bitten land.  The sea mocked the sun in the sky, resisting its warmth.  Cold, dry winds are relentless in their journey to the ocean.  Katabatic winds, or fall winds, tear across the continent as cold air pours down from high elevations and gain momentum along the way to sea level. Weather here really helps explain the vast dynamics of the globe. In the distance, however, youthful seals played in the otherwise treacherous waters, ignoring all but each other.

McMurdo, Antarctica, 2010

Antarctica is the last place on Earth.  It is protected under the Antarctic Treaty that protects it from militarization and commercial exploitation.  Bases here are for scientific research and for the regular Joe--not that scientists are any different--to get the hell away from the rest of the world. The support staff of each base provides hot meals, general maintenance, and warm conversations. Science in the Deep South inseparable from the support staff. Without the plumbers, electricians, HVAC specialists, drivers, firemen, cooks, bartenders, and all the rest, the facilities would not offer comfort or security from the hostile environment.

Landed on Ice

No one knew we landed until it was announced on the intercom system.  It was the softest landing in my life, with less than 10 feet of ice below us.

RV Nathaniel B. Palmer

This was the reason why I took a trip around the world. I was afforded the opportunity to experience 64 days at sea for the CLIVAR S4P research cruise in 2011. CLIVAR stands for Climate Variability and Predictability. CLIVAR is a research program with the objective of understanding the global climate and its changes--both natural and anthropogenic. It is a participant in the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). As most people now know, carbon is the name of the game. 

Changes in carbon dioxide and biological systems within the environment are critical to almost every aspect of life on Earth. One chain of events that carbon dioxide affects is the following: plant growth accelerates, causing rates of transpiration to increase, increasing moisture content in the atmosphere. Water in the atmosphere is much more effective as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. So from the sole perspective of plant growth, the potential for carbon dioxide to affect climate change is quite severe. Weathering, ocean pH fluctuations, and warming are only a few exciting topics that our children will get to explore and exploit.

Explore and exploit?!? But isn't carbon dioxide a bad thing?

Not at all. It is strange that so many people oppose fossil fuel emissions such as automobiles and coal plants. This is due to the emotional stigma of politics. Carbon dioxide and global warming are now talking points for pundits, just as "an adult conversation" or "ObamaCare" or "Gun Control". The loudest people are always heard, and clever people take advantage of them. Radical behavior gets our attention, a natural instinct that is used to detect danger. If you hear a scream, most people involuntarily respond. It is no different when you hear an extreme position on social policy.

In many ways, I agree with the Republican attitude that Global Warming is not real. It reflects the attitude that we should not change our behavior because extreme environmentalists are claiming Wolf! Infrastructure is definitely something that needs reevaluation in the face of global changes, but our behavior should not cripple the economy or bow to the demands of extremists.

Increasing the carbon dioxide in the planet offers a greater advantage to our civilization. Warmer weather means more powerful weather events. During the warming events of the ancient past, the planet sustained more life than any other time. Dinosaurs and other giants existed during the warmest climates. Thus, wind turbines, tidal generators, and other renewables will offer higher energy performance. Don't forget that our fusion reactor--the Sun--has a good five billion years of safe power left.

Emit more, generate more. Emit nothing, stagnate everything.

More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could not be better for our planet. Since these changes are also a natural cycle, details about these changes are well-known as a result of the geologic record. Ocean levels rising will create more fishing. Warming global temperatures will make northern latitudes more habitable and create more farmland. If the poles melt, then more trade routes will be available.

The Kyoto Protocol is an economic disaster: consume less fuel, restrict growth, so that when these changes do occur, no nation is prepared to meet those changes (because it would take more energy to remove carbon dioxide than all the fuel that was converted into carbon dioxide; as the law of thermodynamics are not on our side: solid-liquid-gas... going the other way is an energy hungry process). This is foolhardy. I do not believe that changing energy consumption is going to give us an advantage to climate changes.

Everyone knows the weather is unpredictable. Now add warming into that equation. Should we stop spending on R&D and infrastructure to appease some fantasy about controlling the climate? Carbon dioxide is here to stay. Climate change is here to stay. Economic restrictions on fuel consumption is lunacy. If there are resources available, we should not restrict ourselves. We should use them to give ourselves an advantage to looming changes.

What about droughts and floods?

When have they ever been predictable? When has a drought-free season ever been guaranteed? These are events that demonstrate the need to adapt--not stagnate. Floods provide years of water resources for the clever civilization willing to capture and store it. Droughts offer faster evaporation: salt production, for example. The world needs its salt!

Carbon Footprint

This is another atrocious invention of extremists. "What's your carbon footprint?" As big as I can make it. My carbon footprint represents my willingness to improve the world. If I burn ten tons of coal, then fewer people will suffer from cold. It means fisherman will have more seas to fish. It means more water resources for the planet.

Melting Poles

More water means more rain. More rain means less drought, at least for some areas.