According to AP News Mount Redoubt in Alaska is showing signs of preparing to erupt. A hole in the glacier clinging to the north side of the volcano had doubled in size overnight. The hole now spans the length of two football fields. Water is streaming down the glacier, indicating heat from magma is reaching higher elevations of the mountain.
A week ago, the Alaska Volcano Observatory detected a sharp increase in earthquake activity below the volcano and upgraded its alert level to orange, the stage just before full eruption--causing a rush on dust masks and car air filters in Anchorage.
According to the article:
"Alaska's volcanoes typically start with an explosion that can shoot ash 50,000 feet high and into the jet stream, but there are warning signs because magma causes small earthquakes as it moves.
Geologist Jennifer Adleman said the observatory has been recording quakes up to magnitude 2.1 but not at the frequency that preceded the last two eruptions in 1989 and 1990.
"We're looking for an increase of seismicity to match the precursor activity," Wallace said. "We haven't seen that yet.""
"What has this got to do with global warming?" you ask.
According to U S Geological Survey Fact Sheet 113-97:
"Nearly 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide were injected into the stratosphere in Pinatubo's 1991 eruptions, and dispersal of this gas cloud around the world caused global temperatures to drop temporarily (1991 through 1993) by about 1°F (0.5°C). The eruptions have dramatically changed the face of central Luzon, home to about 3 million people. About 20,000 indigenous Aeta highlanders, who had lived on the slopes of the volcano, were completely displaced, and most still wait in resettlement camps for the day when they can return home. About 200,000 people who evacuated from the lowlands surrounding Pinatubo before and during the eruptions have returned home but face continuing threats from lahars (giant mudflows of volcanic materials) that have already buried numerous towns and villages. Rice paddies and sugar-cane fields that have not been buried by lahars have recovered; those buried by lahars will be out of use for years to come."
This is what the government publication Air Now says about sulfur dioxide:
"What is sulfur dioxide?
Sulfur dioxide (SO2), a colorless, reactive gas, is produced when sulfur-containing fuels such as coal and oil are burned. Major sources include power plants and industrial boilers. Generally, the highest levels of sulfur dioxide are near large industrial complexes."
What I am trying to say here it that we (as people) are not in charge of global climate. I believe we have an obligation to be mindful of pollution and do what we can to stop it, but the global warming movement is not about pollution--it's about money. Just look at the behavior of the people screaming the loudest about global warming. Would they be traveling to their meetings in their private jets if they were really all that concerned? How much money has Al Gore made from the scam of carbon credits? Would Barack Obama have the thermostat set on 'sweat' in the Oval Office? These are the questions we should be asking.
Leave a comment