An "armada of icebergs" has just advanced on the North Atlantic ocean. The implication of this has barely registered on the general public. The story has not caught on. AP, in an April 5 dispatch, calls it an unusually large swarm. The estimate is that some 450 icebergs have already moved into North Atlantic shipping lanes. Regardless of the cause, this is unusual, and its implication is serious.
A 5x increase
Last week the icebergs were off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, and they represented an increase of more than 400 from the week before. Some movement of icebergs is common, but this is seen as unusual.
For one thing, it is earlier than past iceberg movement. The increase is five times what is normal. Ships in the Atlantic where the Titanic sunk are now watching the influx with care.
Heinrich events
A large number of icebergs moving from Greenland into the Atlantic is called a Heinrich Event, named after marine geologist Hartmut Heinrich. The possibility of such an event, in which stone found in icebergs sinks to the floor of the Atlantic when the ice melts, is alarming to those who believe that such climate events are a pattern due to human interference with the atmosphere. A good description of this may be found at the tweet below.
Cybercommunities reckon with Rising Oceans. Only a slight increase in the oceans can devastate coastal settlements, and some areas of the world are already forced to reckon with these events.
It is almost certain that at some point the seas will rise and imperil vast areas where we have built to be near the water. Cybercommunities are a collection if ideas for the future building based on environmentally sound premises.
Rising oceans
In the case of rising oceans, caused by an acceleration of Heinrich events, cybercommunities accomplish two basic goals.
They are car free, nipping the growing presence of cars in the bud. They are also built anywhere, and therefore can be located in areas that are not prone to weather emergencies.
An Armada of Icebergs Has Just Invaded The North Atlantic https://t.co/2fABalAJfY
— Stephen C. Rose (@stephencrose) April 9, 2017
Mega storms
One has only to recall the effects of recent mega storms like Sandy and hurricanes like Katrina to be aware of the costs and trauma associated with major weather events.
The rapid increase in ice entering the Atlantic necessitates significant changes in shipping and suggests that there is more to danger come. This relates to the thought around cybercommunities. They are a relevant resource for moving toward a more prosperous and just future. They are a template for a sustainable world.
