This will be the century of disasters.

Meltdowns, floods, tornadoes, oil spills, grid crashes — are more things going wrong?

By Joel Achenbach Slate.com

In the same way that the 20th century was the century of world wars, genocide, and grinding ideological conflict, the 21st will be the century of natural disasters and technological crises and unholy combinations of the two. It'll be the century when the things that we count on to go right will, for whatever reason, go wrong.

Solar flares, scientists believe, are a disaster waiting to happen. Thus one of the sessions at the American Physical Society's annual meeting was devoted to discussing the hazard of electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) caused by solar flares or terrorist attacks. Such pulses could fry transformers and knock out the electrical grid over much of the nation. Last year the Oak Ridge National Laboratory released a study saying the damage might take years to fix and cost trillions of dollars.

While pondering this, don't forget the Cascadia subduction zone. That's the plate boundary off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, one that could generate a tsunami much like the one that devastated Japan in March. The Cascadia subduction zone runs from Vancouver Island to northern California, and last ruptured in a major tsunami-spawning earthquake on January 26, 1700. It could break at any moment, with catastrophic consequences.

All of these things have the common feature of low probability and high consequence. They're "black swan" events. And yet in the coming century, these or other black swans will seem to occur with surprising frequency. There are several reasons for this. We have chosen to engineer the planet. We have built vast networks of technology. We have created systems that, in general, work very well, but are still vulnerable to catastrophic failures. It is harder and harder for any one person, institution, or agency to perceive all the interconnected elements of the technological society. Failures can cascade. There are unseen weak points in the network. Small failures can have broad consequences.

Natural disasters will increasingly be accompanied by technological crises—and the other way around. In March, the Japan earthquake triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant meltdown. Last year, a technological failure on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico led to the environmental crisis of the oil spill

One wild card for how disastrous this century will become is climate change. There's been a robust debate on the blogs about whether the recent weather events (tornadoes, floods) can be attributed to climate change. I think it's clear that climate change will exacerbate natural disasters in general in coming years, and introduce a new element of risk and uncertainty into a future in which we have plenty of risks and uncertainties already. This, we don't need.

Read full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43034779/ns/slate_com/t/century-disasters-how-you-can-cope/

My Comment:

Particularly disastrous was the chain reaction ignited by BP's ecocide in the Gulf of Mexico and this festering wound might yet contribute significantly to tipping the global climate into an Ice Age by disrupting ocean currents and, in turn, wind currents. The Gulf Loop current is reportedly already broken, disrupting the northern Jet Stream and bringing yet another harsh winter to the European northern hemisphere.

Last week I did an article on The Powers in the Heavens will be Shaken. I received this reply: The evidence is pointing to the fact that the earth is now cooling again and not warming. Read the Climate Gate emails and they will show that even the global warming scientist now admit that we are getting cooler again.

This was my response that also fits it perfectly with this MSNBC news article.

Global Warming and Global Cooling are one in the same. As the planet was getting warmer the Arctic ice started melting and braking off in chunks the size of Manhattan Island. As this fresh water ice started hitting the top of the salt water Gulf Stream, it started slowing it down. Add the Gulf oil spill which was much worse than reported also getting into the Gulf Stream it is reported that it now has not only slowed down, but is intermitted at points.

It is the Gulf Stream that distributes the warm equator waters around that keeps the planet at a constant seasonal temperature.

So yes we are now into Global cooling in many parts of the world. However as we watch the intensity of storms hitting America such as Hurricane/Tropical Irene, it is due to the warming waters of Mexico.

What is happening now is as the southern waters warm up for the Gulf Stream is not moving the warmer waters north as they should; America is seeing storms that will only get worse while the rest of the world goes into a cooling down as it no longer receives the volume a warm tropical waters needed. This is the scientific formula for an ice age.

Remember last winter when England and many parts of Northern Europe had record snow falls in places that it rarely snows and record braking cold spells. Check out my newsletter, Coming Winter to be Coldest in 1000 years. Sorry about the formatting in it, when we installed a better program for the forums we lost all the formatting in the older posts, it is worth the read even if it’s hard.

As the Gulf Stream has slowed and is now not carrying all the warm equator waters around the world, the Pacific Ring of Fire (40,000 km - 25,000 mi horseshoe shape) is trembling violently, now setting off so many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in the basin of the Pacific Ocean that we’ve lost count. The potential for disaster is horrific, as events in Japan have recently shown. Human infrastructure is fragile and a direct hit on a key facility – like the Fukushima nuclear power plant – can effectively erase all prospects of normal human life across whole areas. Indeed, Fukushima is turning out to be 2011′s ‘oil spill’, one which at this point looks even darker than the one in the Gulf of Mexico.

While winter 2009-2010 was harsh, 2010-2011 turned out to be colder and snowier. Among the places that suffered record or near record cold temperatures we find Siberia, Australia, Ireland, Great Britain, California, Las Vegas, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Cuba, New Zealand and Edmonton. Looking at these statistics, it’s quite laughable that 2010 was announced as “the warmest year ever”. http://americasforum.org/archives/128

Lord Stirling is right to suspect that the vast quantity of oil affecting the Gulf Stream, which has in turn disrupted the regular patterns of the Jet Stream and given continents that rely on its warmer air throughout the winter months to witness record cold spells and snow falls. Even if nature has graced us a reprieve before a full blown ice age, the fact remains that this is where we are headed. As long as the oil remains in the ocean currents, how can it not affect their movements? Of particular significance was a scientific report providing evidence of an anomaly in the Gulf Loop current. The Gulf Loop is connected to the Gulf Stream, if the Gulf Stream breaks down; parts of the northern hemisphere will find itself in an ice age. Watch his video at http://www.sott.net/articles/show/220629-Ice-Age-Now-Damaged-Gulf-Stream-affects-Jet-Stream-Lord-Stirling

The Bible gives us many signs to watch for before Christ returns; however a new ice age is not one of them. Many may chose to believe that the Gulf Stream will self correct. I believe that if indeed the earth is heading for a new ice age, we will not be here.

The question I have for the forums today is, could Isaiah 24:6 or another verse be talking about an Ice Age that will leave the earth desolate for the millennium?

Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left. (Isaiah 24:6 ESV)

Brother Chris  

Psalm 41…Monday September 12^th, 2011

A prayer for God’s mercy when we feel sick or abandoned.

When we are sick or when everyone desserts us God remains at our side

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak,

the Lord delivers him in times of trouble.

The Lord will protect him and preserve his life

He will bless him in the land

And not surrender him to the desires of his foes

The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed

And restore him from his bed of illness

Have mercy…heal me for I have sinned against you

Have mercy…raise me up and set me in your presence forevermore

Psalm 41

God’s care for the weak, the poor and the needy and we see His blessing on those who share this concern

God’s eternal love and care for us reveals we should trust him even in the day to day experiences of life

The Lord delivers us out of every situation and distressing encounters.

The Lord is a shield to us who lack the strength to stand against the devil’s evil schemes.

He preserves our life from the attacks of the enemy and blesses us with His favor and the abundance of divine grace

He sustains us when sickness overtakes us

He restores our true self

Tell God your frustrations and take time to anticipate that which God in love reaches forth to so accomplish both in us and through us

The Lord draws nigh to bring you forth to encounter all that He has intended and the full benefits of salvation yet becomes a greater reality

We are never alone for amidst the aloneness you experience consider how Christ felt in regards to Judas betrayal but Christ abides faithful in all situations of life on our behalf

Study by Charlotte September 2011