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Because I hear so much about global warming, and
can see the changes in our climate, I decided to
investigate matters a little further.
1) The main cause of global warming is burning
fossil fuels for energy (timeforchange.cor).
2) Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide
upward into earth’s atmosphere where it floats
around the earth.
3) This floating layer of CO2 allows radiant
energy from the sun to pass through to our planet.
4) But as it thickens, the CO2 layer does not
allow enough of the sun’s radiant heat energy to
escape.
5) In turn, too much heat is trapped that normally
is reflected back out into space.
6) This trapped heat is now quickly melting the
polar ice caps causing oceans to rise
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth
Assessment Report).
This process, I now understand. Yet it seems logical
that because the warming trend is happening so
quickly that other factors might also be involved.
From a bookshelf, I pulled down Path of the Pole that
I read some time ago. In my thinking, I tried to
integrate its findings with global warming. The ideas
which follow were taken mostly from that book.
Researcher/author Charles Hapgood believes that
the magnetic axis, which runs through the earth
from the Arctic to the Antarctic is constantly
changing course. Hapgood and other scientists
believe that over very long periods of time, the end
points of this axis appear to move great distances
over the earth.
In addition, the idea that the continents are slowly
drifting over the earth’s surface is accepted
scientific dogma. In some locations, their movement
has been measured in inches; in others, by feet.
Up until now, the explanation for this continental
movement has been this: From deep within the earth’
s molten center, enormous convection currents rise
up underneath the continents and shove them along.
You can demonstrate this by dropping a toothpick
into a pan of water that is boiling very slowly. The
toothpick will not remain in place. Instead, it gets
shoved around as the heated water rises and
carries the toothpick along its surface. The water
then drops back down to the pan's bottom. The tiny
stick will be moved again and again as it is
intercepted by other currents rising up from the pan’
s bottom.
The ongoing rupture along the Atlantic Ocean
bottom has been charted both by photographs and
with sonar mapping devices. The Americas are
slowly moving away from the European continent.
On the other hand, the collisions of the continental
plates deep within the Pacific Ocean have also been
mapped.
But Scientists would not agree that convection
currents are solely responsible for continental drift.
His evidence comes from many sources, chiefly the
comparing of layers of the earth’s crust from a
variety of geographic locations around the earth. He
contrasted both surface and subterranean samples.
Using hollow drills, scientists bore deep holes in the
earth and under ocean bottoms to bring up core
samples.
Matching samples from disconnected locations
shows that in distant past ages land masses—
separated from one another today—at one time
were joined together on our planet’s surface
(Pangaea). Something made these continents
separate and move toward the poles.
can see the changes in our climate, I decided to
investigate matters a little further.
1) The main cause of global warming is burning
fossil fuels for energy (timeforchange.cor).
2) Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide
upward into earth’s atmosphere where it floats
around the earth.
3) This floating layer of CO2 allows radiant
energy from the sun to pass through to our planet.
4) But as it thickens, the CO2 layer does not
allow enough of the sun’s radiant heat energy to
escape.
5) In turn, too much heat is trapped that normally
is reflected back out into space.
6) This trapped heat is now quickly melting the
polar ice caps causing oceans to rise
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth
Assessment Report).
This process, I now understand. Yet it seems logical
that because the warming trend is happening so
quickly that other factors might also be involved.
From a bookshelf, I pulled down Path of the Pole that
I read some time ago. In my thinking, I tried to
integrate its findings with global warming. The ideas
which follow were taken mostly from that book.
Researcher/author Charles Hapgood believes that
the magnetic axis, which runs through the earth
from the Arctic to the Antarctic is constantly
changing course. Hapgood and other scientists
believe that over very long periods of time, the end
points of this axis appear to move great distances
over the earth.
In addition, the idea that the continents are slowly
drifting over the earth’s surface is accepted
scientific dogma. In some locations, their movement
has been measured in inches; in others, by feet.
Up until now, the explanation for this continental
movement has been this: From deep within the earth’
s molten center, enormous convection currents rise
up underneath the continents and shove them along.
You can demonstrate this by dropping a toothpick
into a pan of water that is boiling very slowly. The
toothpick will not remain in place. Instead, it gets
shoved around as the heated water rises and
carries the toothpick along its surface. The water
then drops back down to the pan's bottom. The tiny
stick will be moved again and again as it is
intercepted by other currents rising up from the pan’
s bottom.
The ongoing rupture along the Atlantic Ocean
bottom has been charted both by photographs and
with sonar mapping devices. The Americas are
slowly moving away from the European continent.
On the other hand, the collisions of the continental
plates deep within the Pacific Ocean have also been
mapped.
But Scientists would not agree that convection
currents are solely responsible for continental drift.
His evidence comes from many sources, chiefly the
comparing of layers of the earth’s crust from a
variety of geographic locations around the earth. He
contrasted both surface and subterranean samples.
Using hollow drills, scientists bore deep holes in the
earth and under ocean bottoms to bring up core
samples.
Matching samples from disconnected locations
shows that in distant past ages land masses—
separated from one another today—at one time
were joined together on our planet’s surface
(Pangaea). Something made these continents
separate and move toward the poles.
It would seem obvious that when these huge land
masses collided great topographical changes took
place. Mountains thrust upward in some areas while
weaker surfaces crumpled downward becoming
ocean floors. In other places, great lakes and seas
came about.
Depending on how far northward land moved, the
climate on those masses would change accordingly.
What was once a warmer equatorial climate, now
endured an ice age. Plants and animals which could
not adapt quickly enough became extinct.
Path of the Pole posits the theory that polar
wandering is the primary cause for the movement of
earth’s continents. Hapgood would begin his theory
by showing that the piling up of ice and snow on the
Arctic and Antarctic over enormous time periods
exerts overwhelming downward pressure on the
earth under the poles. The pressure is not equally
distributed because Antarctica is not displaced
evenly around the South Pole.
To relieve this uneven downward pressure from the
pole, land masses over the equator are forced to
bulge slightly outward due to the centrifugal force of
the earth’s spin. These pressures cause fissures
within the earth’s crust which fill up with material
from the molten center core. Volcanoes are the
result of the superheated core, melting rock into
magma, which eventually erupts outward as lava
flow.
The added mass to the equatorial regions causes a
slight wobble in the earth which realigns its axis to
establish equilibrium. Accordingly, the earth's poles
move. In the time period from 100,000 to 10,000
years before the present, Path of the Pole posits
three major positions of the North Pole before it
came to its present position: 1) the Yukon, 2) the
Greenland Sea, and 3) Hudson bay.
This can be seen in the chart. Movement of this type
can be demonstrated by attaching a small piece of
chewing gum to a top at its center. Now when spun,
the top wobbles a bit and has an axis different from
the original.
But to my way of thinking, the melting polar ice caps
are reducing downward pressure on the Arctic and
Antarctic forcing the earth back into a more
spherical form. Since there is less outward
pressure along the equator, land masses will be
forced to readjust and the earth’s magnetic pole will
move more quickly than in ages past.
Over a period of 100,000 years of climatic change,
the wandering poles of the earth have caused
dramatic changes in earth’s temperature. I made
the chart at the bottom of this article from
information in Path of the Pole.
Presently in 2010, in addition to what humans have
done to increase global warming; it seems all too
obvious to me that with the earth’s pole in its
present location, our earth is still following a natural
warming trend over all of our planet.
Will the continents drift about extra quickly resulting
in more frequent earthquakes and volcanoes? Will
the oceans eventually overwhelm the land? Will
violent storms increase as air above heated land
and water masses rises and cooler air rushes
across earth’s surface to take its place?
One conclusion seems certainly ominous, because
of both the greenhouse effect and the moving path
of earth’s axis; our continents will continue to drift
about—our species can expect a great deal of
disturbance over the entire planet.
masses collided great topographical changes took
place. Mountains thrust upward in some areas while
weaker surfaces crumpled downward becoming
ocean floors. In other places, great lakes and seas
came about.
Depending on how far northward land moved, the
climate on those masses would change accordingly.
What was once a warmer equatorial climate, now
endured an ice age. Plants and animals which could
not adapt quickly enough became extinct.
Path of the Pole posits the theory that polar
wandering is the primary cause for the movement of
earth’s continents. Hapgood would begin his theory
by showing that the piling up of ice and snow on the
Arctic and Antarctic over enormous time periods
exerts overwhelming downward pressure on the
earth under the poles. The pressure is not equally
distributed because Antarctica is not displaced
evenly around the South Pole.
To relieve this uneven downward pressure from the
pole, land masses over the equator are forced to
bulge slightly outward due to the centrifugal force of
the earth’s spin. These pressures cause fissures
within the earth’s crust which fill up with material
from the molten center core. Volcanoes are the
result of the superheated core, melting rock into
magma, which eventually erupts outward as lava
flow.
The added mass to the equatorial regions causes a
slight wobble in the earth which realigns its axis to
establish equilibrium. Accordingly, the earth's poles
move. In the time period from 100,000 to 10,000
years before the present, Path of the Pole posits
three major positions of the North Pole before it
came to its present position: 1) the Yukon, 2) the
Greenland Sea, and 3) Hudson bay.
This can be seen in the chart. Movement of this type
can be demonstrated by attaching a small piece of
chewing gum to a top at its center. Now when spun,
the top wobbles a bit and has an axis different from
the original.
But to my way of thinking, the melting polar ice caps
are reducing downward pressure on the Arctic and
Antarctic forcing the earth back into a more
spherical form. Since there is less outward
pressure along the equator, land masses will be
forced to readjust and the earth’s magnetic pole will
move more quickly than in ages past.
Over a period of 100,000 years of climatic change,
the wandering poles of the earth have caused
dramatic changes in earth’s temperature. I made
the chart at the bottom of this article from
information in Path of the Pole.
Presently in 2010, in addition to what humans have
done to increase global warming; it seems all too
obvious to me that with the earth’s pole in its
present location, our earth is still following a natural
warming trend over all of our planet.
Will the continents drift about extra quickly resulting
in more frequent earthquakes and volcanoes? Will
the oceans eventually overwhelm the land? Will
violent storms increase as air above heated land
and water masses rises and cooler air rushes
across earth’s surface to take its place?
One conclusion seems certainly ominous, because
of both the greenhouse effect and the moving path
of earth’s axis; our continents will continue to drift
about—our species can expect a great deal of
disturbance over the entire planet.
