What an Abandoned Village Teaches About Climate Change
Lead: Climate change is a teacher and this is an important chapter!
The presumably sleep-deprived scientists were the ones who first told us that they had a high degree of confidence that the tipping point for the climate change of the world would occur by the middle of the century (2025). This was not what I wanted to hear as a supporter of keeping things as they are in the world today.
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is known as AMOC. It follows the North American coastline from Florida to Nova Scotia. Likely known as the Gulf Stream. It takes a detour to the east from Canada to brush Iceland and Greenland's southernmost points. It turns south again after passing the Irish coast and continues till it reaches the western coast of Africa. The entire process then restarts when it heads east and travels across the Atlantic to the United States.
Fans of the Weather Channel are aware that tropical depressions off the coast of Africa are picked up by the Gulf Stream. The breakdown of the AMOC was predicted to occur in 2050, or in the next century, leaving it firmly in the hands of our children and grandchildren. But according to this recent report, the calamity may possibly occur! Given how crucial the AMOC is to the functioning of the climate system, we shouldn't dismiss such obvious signs of impending collapse.
Impending collapse: What exactly are we discussing here?
The National Oceanography Center's Prof. Penny Holliday, Head of Marine Physics and Ocean Circulation, tells us the following not at all reassuring bedtime tale: After a few decades, the entire northern hemisphere (land and ocean) would experience substantially lower surface temperatures and higher winds if it were turned off. There would be a substantial decrease in rainfall over Europe, North and Central America, North and Central Africa, and Asia as a result of major rainfall zones shifting. Sea ice would flow from the Arctic into the subpolar North Atlantic in a southerly direction.
Do some deep breathing for a while. Then read her comments about the food chain:
This would have a significant impact on both citizens and governments, drastically altering each country's capacity to feed and hydrate its people. With altered climatic circumstances, the supply and demand of energy would fluctuate quickly, necessitating significant infrastructure investment to cope.
Disease:
It would have a significant impact on the patterns of vector-borne disease and health (particularly mental health). The planet's animal and plant life would suffer greatly as many terrestrial and marine ecosystems around the world would be unable to adapt to the rapidly changing climate conditions.
We may all warn our children that "the convenience with which we visit the grocery store and fill a cart with delectable food will take a direct hit."
Remember the COVID-19 pandemic-related supply chain disruptions? If Holliday is correct, there will be a lot more of it in the future. Some of you are saying, "That's okay, I'm a prepper," which I can hear.
Hey, preppers—no offence intended—but don't be too arrogant about your eco-friendly way of life.
The abandoned village
Occasionally, hikers in the area come to encounter deserted villages. There, a stroll down Main Street resembles a walk through a dense forest. House foundations made of crumbling stone support the path on both sides. An historic well is located next to each home, however it is partially buried by vegetation and tree roots. Good luck if you stumble into one of those secret treasures.
No harvest means no wintertime food
Every month throughout the summer of 1816, residents of a community like that planted, but after a few weeks, there was a fatal frost. All of their seed was consumed, but they received nothing in return. By harvest time, all they had left were barren fields. They relied on hunting to get by for the following six months because they had nothing to save for the winter.
