WHO DONE IT?
This season's more than plentiful supply of serious hurricanes and associated tornadoes along the southeast coast of the United States make us aware of the fact that climatic changes are always afoot and that any quirk in their usual patterns may be a minor part of a major, much more profound change in climate which could re mold our civilization radically. We are all a part of such changes, know it or not.
I find it difficult to believe that a scant five thousands year ago, dependng on who's clocks and calenders we use, the area in which I now live was covered with layers of ice. If pale-Indian men lived in this area at all, they would have had a rugged time of it. For foods they would have hunted the mammoth, the bison, a giant sloth and tapir. Judging by what tools and weapons men of that time must have been a forced vegetarian. Tradition, however, holds that early man did indeed “hunt”for food. He was able to kill large animals by his skill and craftiness; by being able to deceive animals and to lure them into traps or to stampede herds of them over the edge of high cliffs and the, to butcher to his liking those which were killed in the fall. The mammoth, the bison must have been favorites. This is commonly described method of hunting in primitive times. The giant sloth was much larger than the creature found today. It was not carnivorous, even docile and easily killed and could, in a fully grown example, yield about eighteen hundred pounds of edible meat. That may explain, in part, why both the giant sloth and the tapir seemed to have died out. Were they killed out by man in his search for sustenance?
As the climate warmed, the ice coverings melted away and ,in due time, the coast lands were modified to new lines. A glance at the underseas edge of our continent will how you a “shelf” all along the seaboard which edged the seas in former times.. That changed when the continental ice coverings melted and we should remember today that we still have The Arctic and the entire continent of Antarctica, plus Greenland, and numerous mountain crests all around the world yet to melt. That water, augmented by violently increased amounts of rainfall in revitalized area could increase the physical size of our seas and oceans so that a new, inland shoreline would be developed. We could, you see, here in Virginia replace Norfolk with Richmond, or, with additional water the coastline may recede to quite near the Blue Ridge Mountains is some areas.
Unlikely? True, but possible. It even become probable in the mind of many when we experience such destructive power of wind and water has been evident in the storms which have hit the eastern coast in recent weeks.
Another hurricane is on the way this morning, forming even now in the South Atlantic and headed for the recently hard-hit areas once again. When it hits, and if you are in it, think about all of this for a moment. Are you a small part of something really big?
Each storm is a harsh reminder of our situation. Our tenure is temporary and short.
A.L.M. September 15. 2004 [c555wds]
