At War With Nature

hubris (noun)
DEFINITION -excessive pride or self-confidence, arrogance, conceit, pride, self-importance, egotism. ANTONYM - humility


Mankind believes itself to be at war with Nature. What we cannot tame, we declare to be out-of-control. But in our hubris we still believe we must claim responsibility. Global Warming is one of these conceits.

We are at the end of an epoch (period, time, span) known as The Ice Age. A vast glacial ice sheet extended nearly to our equator at one point. It has been receding for millions of years. During this time Man came upon the scene. From the deepest recesses of our pre-history to the present day, the ice has been receding.

Prior to the Ice Age, the world was a lush paradise with tropical equatorial jungles , vast temperate forests, and greenery at the poles. The oceans have fallen and risen at the advance and recession of the ice. Species of flora and fauna have come and gone. And Man, for his part, has witnessed but a tiny part of the tail end of the process.

The Ice Age was a huge phenomenon, epochal in scope and nature; the very Earth bending to the event that triggered it. An event that has taken millions of years from which to recover. And along comes Man, a gnat on the back of a woolly mammoth, claiming responsibility for whatever it steps on.

Here are some recent examples of Man's hubris:


Global Warming Causes Spruce Trees to Intrude on Tundra -- Rising temperatures fueled by global warming are causing forests of spruce trees to invade Arctic tundra faster than scientists originally thought, evicting and endangering the species that dwell there and only there, a new study concludes.

Tundra is land area where tree growth is inhibited by low temperatures and a short growing season. In the Arctic, the tundra is dominated by permafrost , a layer of permanently frozen subsoil.

The only vegetation that can grow in such conditions are grasses, mosses and lichens. Forests of spruce trees and shrubs neighbor these tundra areas, and the boundary where they meet is called the treeline.

In summer, the permafrost thaws, and the tundra becomes covered in bogs and lakes, allowing a unique habitat for plants. Climate change, meanwhile, has extended the summer warming season and promoted tree growth, causing the treeline to encroach on the tundra.

Spruce trees aren't intruding on the tundra. They are returning to the tundra.

The tundra and the permafrost and the tree growth and the habitat are adapting to the new conditions presenting themselves as the glaciers continue to recede. Things are getting back to pre-glacial normal. Mankind is NOT responsible for this. We are observing it.


Wind-whipped California Fire Damages Homes -- ANAHEIM, Calif. - Firefighters faced another day of scorching heat and dry weather Monday as they tried to corral a wind-whipped blaze that had already damaged two homes amid what is shaping up to be one of the driest years yet in Southern California.

Stoked by hot dry wind, the fire quickly spread south and west in an unincorporated part of Orange County and threatened multimillion-dollar homes here and in Anaheim Hills, about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Temperatures hit record highs for March 11 in many spots, including a mid-afternoon 97-degree reading in nearby Fullerton. The city's previous record high for the day was 84 degrees in 1959.

The dry weather comes two years after the region was awash with a near-record 37 inches of rain.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather models suggest that an emerging La Nina pattern of cold water in the tropical Pacific will keep the area dry.

Wildfires, mudslides and earthquakes. And multimillion dollar homes. Then blame it on the exhaust of the poor people driving to work every day. Did you ever think that maybe you are building in the wrong place? So make another self-indulgent speech and wear another ribbon. That'll make a difference.


Cancun, Nature at War Over Beaches -- CANCUN, Mexico - Cancun and Mother Nature are at war again.

Mexico spent $19 million to replace beaches washed away by Hurricane Wilma in 2005, but erosion has shrunk Cancun's sandy playground to the point where waves at high tide lap against some hotel patios.

To bring tourists pouring back after Hurricane Wilma, the ocean floor was dredged to rebuild eight miles of beach, nearly double their pre-hurricane size, and hotels were refurbished.

Just a year after the grand refurbishment was completed, the beaches have shrunk again, from 100 feet to less than 70 feet at mid-tide in the tourist zone, and swimmers are forced to clamber down 3-foot drops in the sand level to reach the water.

Once again, the gnat is trying to steer the woolly mammoth. Man just has to be the master of his environment. Millions of dollars wasted and monumental engineering feats accomplished and Nature has it's way.

Sometimes these things work and sometimes they don't. But the end result has very little to do with the gnat on the mammoth's ass.