"In October 2003, a series of explosions rocked the outer surface of the sun. A massive flare flash fried Earth with x-rays equivalent to five thousand suns. A slingshot of plasma barreled toward us at two million miles and hour. The radioactivity it contained was the equivalent, said one scientist, of taking every nuclear warhead that has ever been made-not exploded, mark you, but made-and detonating them all at once.
"And yet nobody on Earth felt a thing. The most massive solar flare since records began and one of the biggest radioactive maelstroms in history together met a far more formidable foe. They each arrived and then one by one they simply bounced off…thin air."
This is how Gabrielle Walker, the author of "An Ocean of Air", concludes her book and it is a testament to the way we live our lives with constant reports of imminent environmental disaster and remain oblivious to the way the Earth continues to function in a very hostile galaxy, at the center of which is a blazing, thermonuclear star called the Sun.
In the short history of civilization the Earth's climate has surely been the subject of much dread, particularly since most of human history was devoid of the amazing scientific discoveries that have given us-not only the marvels of modern technology we unquestioningly accept as the norm, but an understanding of how the Earth functions that was denied to countless previous generations.
In some ways that knowledge is a comfort. In other ways it is a legitimate source of concern. What we know, but apparently refuse to accept, is that the Earth is not only an astonishing self-adjusting mechanism, but is also a place that seems-and probably is-utterly indifferent to our existence.
For millions of years dinosaurs dominated the Earth. Where are they now? Extinct. Indeed, scientists calculate that 95, oxygen at 20.94, carbon dioxide at 0.033.
Many aspects of life on Earth emit CO2. It includes all humans and animal species. At the same time, however, all plant life on the planet absorbs CO2 as the most vital element to their existence and growth while giving off oxygen. Had not photosynthesis begun and billions of tiny plant-like organisms generated oxygen, all other life would not exist. We literally live because of an ocean of air that surrounds the Earth. Without it, Earth would look like Mars.
Walker writes that early scientists, trying to discover the factors affecting the Earth's climate determined that, thanks to the Industrial Revolution, "humans were producing carbon dioxide at the same rate" as volcanoes or oceans, or indeed any other natural process." I frankly do not know if this is true or, being true, is not offset by many other natural factors such as the absorption and release of CO2 by the oceans.
Moreover, I am inclined to believe that the natural cycles as well as unusual sunspot activity (magnetic storms) on the Sun play a far greater role than anything mankind does. The known cycles, too, of ice ages cannot be ignored. The action of the great wind belts of the world insures the transfer of heat on and from the Earth's surface. Much about the Earth's vast ocean currents largely remains a mystery.
Changes in these vast forces, including the ocean of air that surrounds the Earth pose a far greater threat to human existence than anything our present lifestyles seem to suggest.
We take the air for granted. We take the Sun for granted. We live out our short lives beset by all manner of threats to our health. We live in a human world that history tells us has been forever at war in a quest for power and wealth. Just as the air invisibly surrounds us, so too do myths and ignorance.
Life does not come with a guarantee, only an expiration date. The air we breathe is the air that causes our bodies to incur the normal vicissitudes we associate with aging. We rust.
About the author:
Velimir Lackovic runs internet portal "Energetika" ( http://www.energetika.co.yu )
dedicated to renewable energy sources,oil gas and energy efficiency. Velimir has
completed gratuadte studies in power systems engineering and
has industry experiance of over 20 years in this field.
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