Climate Lynx

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This collective movement to be responsible is not new to mankind. The fact is, in general, mankind did these things out of practical necessity and common sense for thousands of years. An exhibit at the County Museum, in Ostersund, Sweden, always brings to my mind the ability of man to use wisely all that is given him. The Sami, or Laplanders, herd and live by their ability to utilize every part of a reindeer. The museum had a whole reindeer cutup, dried, and labeled with pictures of every part of its use. Each bone, tooth, sinew, piece of hide and organ had a use. Nothing, that I could see, was wasted. When I was a kid, my mom darned my socks, patched the holes in my jeans, and never threw out good food. If food was past its real use by date it went to the compost heap. Our boots were oiled, polished and resoled. Tools were repaired. Clothes outgrown went to friends or charity. We are unique in history. We have, in only one generation, become members o...

       How significant are you? Did you ever wonder if anything you did mattered? Have you ever slid into the “OH, whatever, what can I do?” zone? I have. One easy way I snap out of that dark attitude is to remember to greet others warmly, smile, and give someone that looks like they need a little more of my time, a little more of it. Maybe, in this small way, I can make someone else’s day a little better. To me, this is significant. There is also one issue that makes everything we do, each day, significant. We were born and now live in the age of human caused climate change. Since the dawn of our creation, except for the birth of Jesus Christ, this is man’s most significant moment. We are the ones, like it or not, who will enhance or degrade the climate for generations to come. We are and will be the most important generation ever to live, eat, and breathe on Mother Earth. Not to put too much pressure on but, I think that is significant. We can wor...

Food! One of my favorite subjects. Little by little, as I was introduced to the world of diverse foods, and the benefits of different diets I became aware of the nutrition values of various foods. This knowledge, coupled by metabolism changes with age, have necessitated changes in     my eating habits. Now, with the specter of climate change some of what I have learned reinforces the benefits of a diet high in grains, beans, vegetables and fruits. At the Air Force Academy, as a hockey defenseman, I felt I needed more bulk to clear those pesky forwards out from in front of the net. My life was a constant, unsuccessful, food search and devour mission. I could not gain weight. Something changed at about age 30. I was flying my first civilian commercial job off an oil rig in the Arctic Ocean. As a carnivore, this was heaven. The rig had very accomplished cooks. They served four meat laden meals a day. I gained 31 pounds in 30 days! Later, I took a job outside aviation and ...

I deliberately talk with strangers about climate change. Listening to folks express their feelings, conceptions, and misconceptions has been an enlightening experience. Each viewpoint challenges me to find meaningful ways to interact. I was on my way through Bergland to a climate meeting in Houghton when I stopped to fill up. A gentleman and I chatted briefly. He was perplexed with the amount of rain we endured recently. “Where is all this rain coming from? Doesn’t the earth have only so much water?” My reply, “The gas we are putting in our cars will soon be carbon dioxide. This will cause the earth to warm. The oceans warm and they evaporate more water into the sky which sometimes comes here.” “And”, I added, “If we do not do something, we can expect a lot more.” In a way, this question and answer encompasses most of the challenges of our changing summer weather. Admittedly, my response was very basic, but basically correct. The earth has only so much water. Much of it is so...

On October 9 th my e-mail box was jammed with messages from every publication employing a science journalist. The foremost climate change organization on the planet had issued an exhaustive study. The IPCC is elite scientists that gather and study the work of thousands of other leading climate scientists. Organizationally, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a union of the U.N. Environmental Program and the World Meteorological Organization. There are 194 nations participating. Our U.S. scientists and organizations play important roles in formulating, gathering and analyzing this data. This last report was the synthesis of 6000 scientific studies. The island nations of our planet pleaded with the IPCC to do this climate analysis now because the coral reefs surrounding their islands are dying and the oceans are creeping up the beach. To put this in perspective, they are not worried about their financial well-being, they are worried about their survival. The IPCC re...

                           The Ocean Water Garden Overheats Here in the Midwest our closest tie to the ocean is probably the Friday Night Fish Fry. 130 columns ago I wrote about coral reefs, warning of their demise due to global warming and carbonic acidification. This is caused primarily by the excess CO2 we push into the air. There are more reasons we should pay attention to oceans. First off, much of the world depends on healthy oceans for food, especially protein. Second, many people make a living fishing and taking people out to fish or dive. Third, oceanside cities and seaports are built to operate where the sea level is now.   Fourth, oceans, via evaporation, create much of our rain and mega-rain events. Fifth, North America’s stable weather depends on an ice-covered Arctic Ocean. And, last but not least, the organisms in the ocean free up oxygen, a whoppi...