So far in 2011, we have seen a record number of tornadoes, unprecedented flooding, rampant earthquakes, disturbing volcanic eruptions and a tsunami in Japan that none of us will ever forget. So why are there so many natural disasters in 2011? Our top scientists seem to be at a complete loss to explain what is happening. It just seems like there is one disaster or emergency after another. Many Americans are getting “disaster fatigue” as the requests to donate money to various relief efforts never seem to end. There has never been a time in recent history when we have seen so many natural disasters compressed into such a short period of time. So exactly what is going on here? Is something causing all of this or is this all one big coincidence?
Well, there is one thing that we can rule out and that is the theory of man-made global warming.
The truth is that the climate has always changed and it will always be changing. But it is not because of anything man is doing. The following are just a few key points to remember as to why the theory of man-made global warming is completely and totally wrong….
*Ice core records have shown that global temperatures rise before levels of carbon dioxide go up. When temperatures rise, it causes a “life bloom” and this causes levels of carbon dioxide to increase.
*Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were far greater in the distant past than they are today. In fact, the truth is that our atmosphere actually does not have nearly enough carbon dioxide.
*During periods when advocates of the theory of man-made global warming claimed that the earth was heating up due to human activity, all of the planets in the solar system were actually heating up. The ice caps on other planets were not melting because of carbon dioxide levels on earth. Rather, all of the planets in the solar system were experiencing higher temperature levels because of the giant ball of fire called the sun that they are moving around.
*A growing body of scientific research shows that changes in the energy output of the sun account for most of the recent heating and cooling that we have experienced.
*Carbon dioxide is one of the basic building blocks of life on planet earth. If there was no carbon dioxide we would all die.
*If we reduce levels of carbon dioxide it will make it harder for crops to grow and could set off a global famine.
*An increasing number of scientists are acknowledging that carbon dioxide has nothing to do with global warming.
*Over 95% of all carbon dioxide emissions would still occur even if humans were not present on Earth.
Yes, the climate is changing. It has always changed and it will always be changing.
But carbon dioxide emissions are not doing the changing.
So now that we have cleared that up, let us get back to all of the crazy natural disasters that we have seen so far in 2011.
Right now, a major tornado outbreak is almost a nightly occurrence in the United States. In April, there were approximately 600 tornadoes across the country. That is the most tornadoes that have ever been recorded in a single month inside the United States. Usually, we only have about 1,200 tornadoes for the entire year.
The massive tornado outbreak in the southeast U.S. at the end of April is being called the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina. One F5 tornado that ripped through the Tuscaloosa, Alabama area was reportedly a mile wide and scientists are estimating that it had winds that exceeded 260 miles an hour. Tuscaloosa looks like a war zone right now.
The tornado that ripped through Joplin, Missouri recently is being called the deadliest single tornado in more than 60 years. It ripped a path of destruction more than a mile wide and more than 6 miles long directly through the city. One British newspaper has some amazing before and after pictures of Joplin that you can view right here.
But it is not just tornadoes that are increasing in frequency and power. Major earthquakes are happening more regularly all over the globe, and the earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan in March was one of the largest ever recorded. That earthquake spawned the worst tsunami that any of us have ever seen.
Unfortunately, that tsunami also absolutely devastated the nuclear power complex at Fukushima. TEPCO is finally admitting that there were at least partial meltdowns at three of the nuclear reactors at Fukushima. It has been more than 2 months since the disaster and TEPCO still does not have the situation under control. Highly radioactive material continues to be pumped into the environment at a frightening pace. Many believe that all of this radiation will ultimately render much of northern Japan uninhabitable.
Greenpeace recently conducted some tests for radiation on samples of seaweed, fish, and shellfish off the coast of Japan, and what they found is extremely disturbing….
The results of the details analysis are back – and we can say that the situation in the ocean along the Fukushima coast is worse than we originally thought.
The new data shows that some seaweed contamination levels are not only 50 times higher than safety limits – far higher than our initial measurements showed – but also that the contamination is spreading over a wide area, and accumulating in sea life, rather than simply dispersing like the Japanese authorities originally claimed would happen.
The news just keeps getting worse and worse.
Now, on top of everything else, the path of Super Typhoon Songda (with sustained winds of 160 mph and gusts up to 195 mph) could take it directly over the Fukushima complex.
Needless to say, that could potentially be a nightmare.
Sadly, more catastrophic seismic events may be on the way. As I have written about previously, there is a growing body of evidence that the “Ring of Fire” is waking up….
*In February, a large earthquake absolutely devastated Christchurch, New Zealand.
*Two massive volcanoes in the Kamchatka region of Russia erupted at almost the exact same moment when the massive magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan back in March.
*One of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, Mount Karangetang, erupted just a couple of hours after the earthquake hit Japan in March.
*The Fuego volcano in Guatemala absolutely exploded back in late February.
*800 meter high ash plumes rose from the Santiaguito volcano in Guatemala near the end of February.
*A number of other volcanoes along the Ring of Fire have been erupting recently.
*Although not on the Ring of Fire, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is also in the Pacific Ocean and it has also been extremely active lately. It shot lava 65 feet into the air a couple months ago.
*2011 is just continuing a trend of increased activity along the Ring of Fire that began last year. It turns out that 2010 was a banner year for volcanic eruptions around the Ring of Fire.
*The west coast of the United States is also along the Ring of Fire. Last year, over 2000 earthquakes struck southern California in just one week.
*A magnitude 8.8 earthquake rattled central Chile in February 2010 and produced a tsunami that killed 524 people. The earthquake in Chile was so powerful that it actually knocked the earth off of its axis and shortened the length of the day.
We have also seen extreme heat and cold in many areas of the world over the past 12 months. Last winter was called “the coldest winter in 1000 years” in some parts of Europe.
Last summer, the hottest summer ever recorded destroyed crops and caused wildfires all over Russia.
Over the past year we have also seen unprecedented flooding in Australia, China and Pakistan. Some of the flooding has been so dramatic that is has been hard to believe that it is actually real.
In the United States, we just experienced one of the worst Mississippi River floods ever. It is being called a flood that only happens “once every hundred years”.
John Michael Riley, an agricultural economist at Mississippi State University, is estimating that the damage to farms alone is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 billion dollars.
In Iceland, a massive eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano a few days ago sent a plume of white ash 18,000 feet into the air. Volcanoes all over Iceland (and all over the world) have been erupting with increasing frequency lately and nobody seems to know why this is happening.
Something really unusual is going on. All of these natural disasters should not be happening at the same time.
The following video has some really great footage of many of the natural disasters that we have seen over the past 12 months….
Sadly, all of these natural disasters are coming at a time when the world economy is coming apart at the seams. The truth is that almost all of the economic news is really bad right now.
The Greek debt crisis continues to get worse, the Japanese economy has plunged into a recession, the United States has never recovered from the last economic crisis and the price of food and gasoline are skyrocketing.
If natural disasters keep happening at the same pace for the rest of 2011, it may be enough to push the struggling global economy over the edge.
The world has become an extremely unstable place, and nobody is really sure what is going to happen next. In times like these, it is imperative that you make certain that you and your family are prepared.
So what do you think about all of this? Do you think that you know why there are so many natural disasters in 2011 so far? Please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below….