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Date: Sun, 15 Jun 1997 20:03:29 -0700
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From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: The Hamaker Hypothesis (6 of 7)
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Video Review:
"Stopping the Coming Ice Age"
Directed by
Larry Ephron
Produced by the
Institute for a Future
Looking back, it seems that 1988 was the year for important,
"new" environmental issues and concerns to surface. In
particular, this was the year in which the idea of the so-called
"greenhouse effect" finally gained public acceptance, if not
notoriety -- a year that saw record-breaking drought,
hurricanes, and forest fires. Suddenly, the idea of global
warming was appearing everywhere in the media, and it seemed that
concerned scientists and politicians were unanimous in their
support for the global warming scenario.
However, this unanimity is an illusion, media coverage to the
contrary. In fact, there is much controversy within the
scientific community as to the climatic effects and socio-
political ramifications of the greenhouse effect. It is far from
certain that the climate changes we're seeing are leading to or
caused by global warming. In fact, there is actually
considerable evidence that points to a very different conclusion:
that the planet may be teetering on the brink of another Ice Age.
One of the foremost proponents of this latter view is John
Hamaker, a mechanical engineer who has extensively analyzed
climate and ecological patterns, and has developed a
comprehensive and holistic approach to understanding global
climate change. His theories, expressed in his book The Survival
of Civilization, are now being supported and disseminated by a
foundation called "Institute for a Future" which recently created
a remarkable video presentation: "Stopping the Coming Ice Age."
This video is inspiring, frightening, challenging and very
informative, as it takes us around the world in search of
answers. While Hamaker agrees that the greenhouse effect is a
very real threat, he believes -- and backs this up with hard
data and expert opinion -- that it will not warm the Earth
uniformly, but instead will increase the temperature differential
between the equator and the poles, causing increased thermal
convection, atmospheric turbulence, and rapidly shifting and
bizarre weather patterns. In this scenario, high winds moving
from the equator towards the poles will drop their abundant
moisture in the higher latitudes in the form of snow and ice,
often creating drought conditions in the temperate regions. He
believes that the tropical and sub-tropical zones will indeed get
hotter, but the temperate zones are likely to get cooler and
drier.
Hamaker's understanding of the greenhouse effect takes us far
beyond the popularized, watered-down information available
through the mass media, because he explores deeper levels of
cause and effect, process and purpose. The most profound
information presented in this video concerns the connections
between the greenhouse effect and the development of an ice age,
and the importance of understanding long-term cycles (100,000
years!) of climate change. The video demonstrates the causal
connections linking together all the different environmental/
atmospheric phenomena that combine to bring on an ice age:
(1) soil erosion and demineralization
(2) the subsequent weakening and dying of the forests
(3) the resulting increase in insect infestations, forest
decay, and massive forest fires
(4) the dramatic increase in carbon dioxide released into
the atmosphere by these natural causes, which induces
the greenhouse effect
(5) and in the 20th century -- as opposed to 100,000
years ago -- man-made pollution and our destructive
tampering with the natural balance of life are
intensifying and hastening the process.
According to Hamaker, an ice age performs a vitally necessary
natural function. As the glaciers advance and then retreat, they
move and grind up immense quantities of rock, thus spreading
gravel and rock dust over much of the temperate zones. This
process, along with the winds that help distribute this rock dust
even further, gradually remineralies the soil -- which feeds
the plants and forests, promoting rapid and healthy growth --
during which time the plants breathe in much of the excess carbon
dioxide, use the carbon, and release the oxygen back into the air
which we and all other animals breathe!
Thus, a primary function of glaciation is to remineralize and
help reforest the Earth. The reason this video is called
"Stopping the Coming Ice Age" is that Hamaker thinks we humans
can -- indeed must, if we want our civilization to survive --
remineralize the Earth ourselves. We ourselves can fulfill the
vital role played by an ice age, rendering such a geological
event obsolete.
This means, however, that the governments and peoples of all
countries and regions would need to make it a top priority to
remineralize our depleted soils, and also to engage in massive
reforestation projects, planting billions of trees worldwide.
Without healthy forests, we have no chance at all of slowing the
tremendous buildup of carbon dioxide which fuels the greenhouse
effect. As the video puts it, "The trees of the world are our
best friends now, and only they can save us." Obviously, then,
we also need to stop clear-cutting our forests, both here and in
the tropics, and to limit our fossil fuel burning, which has been
accelerating the greenhouse process. Only by doing all these
things, says Hamaker, can we avoid horrific consequences for
humanity in the very near future.
The audacity of this theory and this proposal lies in its utter
simplicity and common-sense quality. Yet, many people may not
heed Hamaker's message and information because we have become so
enamored of "high-tech" solutions and short-term planning,
gratification and profit. Hamaker's plan demands a clear
understanding of our planetary dilemma, and a deep commitment to
creating a viable future, as well as some sacrifice of comfort
and convenience. The video concludes with these questions:
"Have we got the guts to do it? How much do we really want to be
here?"
Whether or not Hamaker's proposal is every implemented on a large
scale, we can all do things individually and collectively to help
educate people and help heal the planet. The video points out
that, even if these theories are not totally "provable", or even
completely accurate, we should still do the things that Hamaker
suggests, for the sake of ecological balance, conservation, and
planetary sanity.
In addition to the ideas discussed in this review, this video
explores many other aspects of our ecological and social dilemmas
-- many more than can be dealt with here. There is so much
vital information presented, within such a comprehensive
framework, that this video ranks as a definite "must see" for
anyone at all concerned about environmental issues and social
change.
[This review was published in Katuah Journal, Spring, 1989.]
# # #
========================================================================
Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness
B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine
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