Redwood Reader

Several articles in CO2 Science (www.co2science.org ) magazine this week argue that while greenhouse emissions are at an all time high, global temperatures are not. Particularly worrisome is the notion that man made climate oscillations are insignificant compared to the scale of change naturally occurring repeatedly even in the last million years. They suggest glaciations and changing sea levels of catastrophic scale will and have recurred regardless of greenhouse gas levels. Looking at obvious effects in Canada and Alaska and the Arctic Ocean (Earths Past Points to Warming Future http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/03/23/polar.icemelt.ap/index.html CNN #/23/06) including melting glaciers and earthquakes caused by melting ice, we wonder what other mechanisms or oscillations could be in play, like shifting magnetic poles or magma plumes. Nonetheless, the gas concentrations for methane and CO2 are higher now than at any time in the last 6650000 years according to Greenland and Antarctic ice cores. But it looks pretty clear that even if global temperatures are not rising, Arctic temperatures are .
Science always adapts to new information. Recently the connection of Solutrean points and Clovis points, made the same way but more refined, opened the door for main stream scientists to distinguish this culture from Asia, where embedded microchips were used for large killing point, an altogether different technology absent from the Americas. This changes our thinking to European immigration in times until recently thought to be devoid of humans. One big surprise was that many Clovis digs had stopped at the agreed time of 11500, or had continued but not included older findings in their reports for fear of being ridiculed by their peers. We hope some of these digs will be re-examined in light of the new thinking.
Americas Stone Age Hunters (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3116_stoneage.html) exposed mans adaptability and what we call gravity flow, or ease of lifestyle. A pre-Clovis site at Gault, Texas revealed a settled area near with hunting grounds nearby but only one large point. It seems these folks were eating birds and turtles. There is little evidence of megafauna among the remains. But a picture emerged of a very capable culture from before the accepted date, with various lines of investigation converging to form the new picture.
We have discovered several dozen stone tools on our private property. Most are arrowheads but we have found a large appear point, obsidian scraper from the east part of the state, a small perfectly shaped flake with a hook we used for cutting very tough iris leaves, used for thread and rope, and on rabbit skins. It worked better than steel. As time passed we eventually returned these items to areas near where they were found. This is an area of nearly current stone tool use and it is fascinating to see ancient people craft all they needed out of chert, flint and obsidian.
Man is adaptable to whatever conditions he realizes. The problem is not recognizing problems or waiting too long. So the new points took out most all of American large animals in a few hundred years. So it is with rising sea levels. It is happening. It happened in the past. What is most at risk is our infrastructure along the coasts and valleys. It would seem to be time for some serious planning or the next generations will be forced into react mode rather than prepare mode. By the same token steps that can reduce this impact are known to be available but we see little concern in this regard.
China, on the other hand, seems to see what lies ahead and is not afraid to use its government to steer growth in environmentally friendly directions. Keith Bradsheer of the New York Times reports on new taxes on large cars, chopsticks and a range of other fuel and forest friendly measures to lessen the impacts of its massive growth in China Raises Taxes to Curb Use of Energy and Timber (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/business/worldbusiness/23yuan.html?ex=1300770000&en=0f3ade0218b51b71&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss . They are taking some lessons into account and it is very interesting to see them modernize with an awareness of what that implies. They are sharing with all the people in the sense that while several hundred million are now in a Western type economy, cell phones have brought coverage to the entire nation without the infrastructure of phone lines, and satellite computer and television are available in every village. This means everyone is able to use these services at least to some extent.
This is in strong contrast to Gale Norton advocating more road building on Federal lands on her way out of office, as reported in Grist today (grist@grist.org ). Interesting to see the two papers it names as sources are from Utah and Alaska, where the issue of vehicles on public lands has created quite a stir. This blog has shown what is lost in road building and destruction of subsoil landscape components, and California also has a strong off road lobby. In fact, these lobbies all insist on the right to burn gas to destroy natural systems that we, as biological creatures, depend upon. It has amazed us that for all the talk no one complains about the amount of fuel used in racing at all levels, the amount of exhaust or any of the development parameters like the golf course opponents list, from land prices to pesticides. We need better ways to prevent ecological destruction in the name of fun, promoted by oil and auto conglomerates or we are contributing to undermining our own infrastructure and quality of life.