[MD] Clouds

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

[Platt to Dan]
How come the world was hotter during the Middle Ages?

[SA]
Where did you source this from?  I've been hearing that the hottest years on
record have been within the last 10-15 years.  I'm open to the actual facts,
so, if you have a more accurate source I'd like to see for myself, thanks.

[Arlo]
Some geological placement. The "normal" climate of the earth is what we had for
the millions and millions of years the dinosaurs enjoyed. Every once and while
the north and south magnetic poles line up over land (rather than sea) allowing
for the formation of polar caps. This cools the earth, which is why they call
it an Ice Age. During any given Ice Age, cycles of glaciation occur, reaching
like fingers towards the equator, then retreating, then stretching, then
retreating.

We, the Glorious and Divine Human Race, inhabit the world in the midst of an Ice
Age, in a period between glaciation cycles. Eventually will come the glaciers
again... or perhaps before the next glaciation round the magnetic poles will
drift off land and over sea, causing the polar caps to melt and the earth to be
reborn into its normalcy, for another many million of years of Dinotopia.

I, for one, am ready for "mankind" to be kicked around a bit. Its really the
only way all this smug "superiority" nonsense will go away. Mind you, come what
may, these natural cycles will occur. Personally I find the debate about
whether or not we can speed up (or slow down) the inevitable off-target. Were
we concerned about the Quality of our air, water and land NOW, then whatever
maximization we could get we'd get naturally.

There was a word I recall that was popular in the Seventies.
"Conservationalist". Since the right-wing propaganda attack on anything
"environmental" has continued unabated for twenty-years, I find myself
returning to this word. It reminds me, in many ways of the Miner/Gardener
metaphor, which I think overlays much of the Victorian/Indian metaphor, not to
mention "an enemy of the world and not a part of it."