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Friends of Gaia, in honor of Pakalolo, present news from our Polar Regions [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-02-20
Friends of Gaia, in honor of Pakalolo, present news from our Polar Regions
~~~~~
The illusion of incremental attrition.
One of our greatest strengths as a species is our ability to adapt.
Not only does this chameleon like flexibility cover nearly all interactions with life, while employing both our minds and our bodies to the upmost of their capabilities, but it might been seen as the backbone of our gift for survival.
Due to this largesse, we’ve been able to extend our range of habitat beyond that of most other species — an ability that is contested by only a few others and bested only by viruses, bacteria and various other micro organisms. Along with these, we would appear to share a propensity to replicate indiscriminately and lay waste to life forms unfortunate enough to get into our sights.
Although we are able to adapt rapidly when the need arises, a great deal of the adjustments we make, take place at a slow enough pace to escape our notice.
In the case of environmental degradation; the mostly incremental change that it exhibits, albeit in fits and starts, causes us to respond in kind, which enables denial to maintain an illusion of overarching normality.
This inverts the survival benefits of adaptability.
Our subconscious minds are adroit at absorbing information that we are not necessarily conscious of, but is nevertheless essential for processing our life experience. Denial can, and frequently does interfere with this process, editing out that which we find ourselves uncomfortable with or not conducive to our projected desires.
Despite environmental disasters taking place all around us, as we adapt to altered environments and traumatized psychic ‘landscapes’, denial relentlessly ‘photoshops’ our image of reality, making a composite from snapshots and fragments it patches together with the ‘glue’ of comfort bias. Furthermore, like the tongue of a chameleon, it can lash out as the conscious mind grapples with direct experience, to snatch away inconvenient facts and obscure memories.
In this process adaptability underwrites the great sideshow of our petty desires, and we remain dazzled by glittering costumes and novel sets. As the tent begins to fill with smoke, the crowd reacts by moving closer to the stage, jostling for a better view — entranced by the actors, with their attention subsumed by the grand spectacle fluorescing narcissism.
There are those who’ve seen this show enough times to have lost interest, having long ago realized how flimsy the plot is. Their attention has been directed elsewhere, toward the actual drama and tragedy unfolding all around them. Denial no longer shields them by creating the illusion of stability. For them, change is no longer incremental and this awareness has served to jumpstart proactive adaption.
As a witness to rapidly changing Arctic weather, Coolspring has been adapting.
News from the Arctic:
Here is his latest report from Alaska:
Today the temperatures will reach 28 degrees F.
Another sunny day that my solar power array will like.
There is so little snow cover that the rodents no longer need to tunnel under the snow to forage food.
The resident ermine that lived around my pigeon cote killed over 20 pigeons before we caught it in a live-catch trap.
The Cook Inlet is loosing what little icy skim it has again and the mountain range of volcanoes are still not completely covered. Ironically, the moose look well fed this winter.
Even in December, the darkest month of the year, half the month was above freezing.
This winter, so far, we have not had to run the generator that much to charge batteries as we do most years. Never had a winter where I’ve run the generator so little normally from Nov 15 thru Jan 15 I have recharge every other day, This year one a week of every two weeks.
Fortunately the bear are still in hibernation, bears waking up mid-winter with nothing to eat, sends them dumpster diving.
We still have about 2 months of winter left to see what the weather will do next.
For context, I came across this article laying out the process coolspring is observing first hand and the rapidity at which it is taking place: Earth’s Tipping Point: Arctic Meltdown Signals a Climate Catastrophe
From the article:
“A new review paper, published in Science on February 7, 2025, examines these changes and their far-reaching consequences. The study is led by Julienne Stroeve, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and a professor at the Centre for Earth Observation Science at the University of Manitoba.”
‘“The Arctic is warming at four times the rate of the rest of the planet,” said Stroeve. “At 2.7 degrees Celsius of global warming, we will see more extreme and cascading impacts in this region than elsewhere, including sea-ice-free Arctic summers, accelerated melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, widespread permafrost loss, and more extreme air temperatures. These changes will devastate infrastructure, ecosystems, vulnerable communities, and wildlife.”’
~~~
This link was provided by our great anonymous benefactor:
Cracks in Greenland Ice Sheet grow more rapidly in response to climate change, study warns
2/5/25
From the article:
“Using 3D surface maps, scientists led by Durham University, U.K., found crevasses had significantly increased in size and depth at the fast-flowing edges of the ice sheet over the five years between 2016 and 2021.”
There is enough ice on Greenland to raise sea level 7 feet should it all it thaw. At the current melt rate, estimates project 1 foot of sea level rise by the end of the 21st-century. When added to ice loss in Antarctica and the rest of the northern regions, including glacial attrition worldwide, snorkeling will become a normal home activity along with dirtying dishes and petty domestic squabbling, for much of the world’s populace.
~~~
Arctic Ice: Why Climate Could Be Lost Already - YouTube
The results of this year old study is telling us that by worse case scenario, the Arctic ice sheet may be gone in 5 to 6 years or by 2050, best case. Before the report from Nature was released, which inspired this video, the previous UN ICPP report estimated this event taking place as far off as 2080. This documentary explores the possibility that this adjustment could mean that we’ve lost the battle to halt climate attrition and save ourselves from our own willful stupidity.
cawfeemug sent me this link on 2/5/25 to a Guardian article on, along with a brief remark:
“This link is no joke and it substantiates Hanson’s latest work. Hanson claims things are speeding up. For him to say so carries a lot of weight and I would imagine it took a lot for him to say it.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/04/temperatures-at-north-pole-20c-above-average-and-beyond-ice-melting-point
From the article:
“Julien Nicolas, a scientist at the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, said the unusually mild temperatures in the depths of the polar winter were linked to a deep low-pressure system over Iceland, which was directing a strong flow of warm air towards the north pole.”
…and this, which I felt should be singled out for its overarching comprehensive value:
“Climate scientists estimate global temperatures through the re-analysis of billions of weather measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations. But in remote regions such as the central Arctic, where there are fewer direct observation sites, it was “difficult to estimate the exact temperature anomaly”, said Rantanen.”
~~~~~
News from Antarctica:
From another friend who conscientiously combs her morning msm news for climate news to send me:
Antarctica’s Hidden Volcanoes: Climate Change Awakens Giants
From the ‘surprise side-effects dept.’ of our interfaced world, come this ‘corker’, or perhaps ‘un-corker’ would be more accurate:
It turns out that there are over a hundred volcanoes under the ice of Antarctica. As the ice melts it releases the pressure bearing down on these which has suppressed their activity. Many of them may awaken as their magma expands from the removal of this weight, the release from which increases the possibility of eruption. Ironically, due to the vast amounts of sulphur spewed in the process, this could act to create cloud cover and cool the planet, but at a horrendous cost — infinitely greater than that of curbing our wasteful consumption.
I heartily recommend watching this beautifully produced, 1.2 minute video. Here are two screenshots from it:
She sent as well, this related geo-engineering nightmare:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/what-if-we-woke-up-volcanoes-to-fight-climate-change/vi-AA1vZnLY?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=7824c45fd2534bcbe097643dcc5b37a2&ei=19
The lengths we’ll go to, to avoid having to give up wallowing in consumer excess. When profit is ascendent over survival, our level of species maturity becomes crystal clear.
This screenshot from the 7 minute film link above, which is part of the series “What If?”
In one of my earlier diaries I described geo-engineering as a ‘Trojan Horse’. It needs to be seen as a ‘gift’ from the ‘enemy’ — that being anyone with vested interest in preserving the status quo. This can includes us as consumers.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/11/2168728/-Solar-Geo-Engineering-is-a-Trojan-Horse-w-Pandora-s-Box-inside-We-can-choose-better
~~~
Because the only propulsion available to massive rogue icebergs is wind and ocean current drift, even though this may have been revved up some by the effects of global warming, their progress can be incremental.
Therefore, it is likely that this ‘update’ on the progress of two of them is still relevant.
coolspring sent these contributions with comment on 1/24 & 1/25/25:
Scientists track iceberg the size of London - BBC Two bergs the size of Greater London and Cornwall are drifting towards an area where they could affect shipping and nature. www.bbc.com
These icebergs include A76a, which is nearly twice the size of London, England and is estimated to weigh close to a trillion ton. It currently trajectory has it moving towards an island penguin and seal rookery.
https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-largest-iceberg-may-crash-into-a-wildlife-sanctuary/
1/25/25 rogue iceberg
From the article:
“The island, located in the southern Atlantic Ocean, is often referred to as a “wildlife sanctuary.” It is a true oasis amid the tumultuous Southern Oceans.
From penguins and seals to whales and albatrosses, this sanctuary is home to a dazzling array of species.
“The iceberg, at least in satellite images, appears to be maintaining its structure and has not yet broken up into smaller chunks, as previous “megabergs” have done,” noted Dr. Meijers.
“It is presently in a meander of the current and not moving directly towards the island, but our understanding of the currents suggests that it is likely to again move towards the island soon.”
“If this happens it could seriously impede access to feeding grounds for the wildlife – seals and penguins mostly – that breed on the island.”
Musk had better act soon, if he wants any of these ‘sitting ducks’ for his ‘Ark to Mars’ :-(
… as it is, there are a lot of Texas shore birds who won’t be making the trip.
Recently, while discussing this berg with a friend, he mentioned there was talk of trying break it up — however a quick google search failed to turn up information about any such plans.
~~~
To wrap up for now, here is a sorry example of how the human mind processes information — even, or it would seem especially, when it comes larded with threats to our continued ‘well-being’ (if there is such a thing).
It would seem that no matter how ‘unassailable’ the evidence is documenting the enormous damage already done to the planet by environmental collapse, we cannot connect the dots unless the dots are connected for us.
From my msm comber 1/26/25 :
Eerie side-by-side photos of Alaska and Florida weather surges climate change fears - MSN A bleak side-by-side image of the weather on opposite sides of the United States this week appears to show a stark shift in weather behavior. This week, several states in the South saw a rare and ...
“Well, this is unusual! Photos taken Thursday show snow on a Florida beach and no snow in the Alaska wilderness.
Historically, Juneau averages 25 inches of snow in January, but it has only had 8.1 inches so far. Pensacola received 8.9 inches on Tuesday.”
This sort of contrast only has impact on the blissfully uninformed :-(
Pardon me if I do not act surprised.
~~~
On a more positive note:
Because they’re collectively smarter than humans, absolutely no penguins support the current administration’s anti-environmental policies :-)
[END]
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