1. The water cycle

2. The oxygen cycle

3. The nitrogen cycle

4. The carbon cycle.

Discussion

The finding of human caused events causing changes, also, naturally, put a bomb under the “natural cycle” theory of climate change denial. Climate does change naturally, and has changed drastically, many times. That’s normal; but in many cases, it changes the world into a very different Earth.

Humans couldn’t have lived at all in some geological eras and climates. The climate and the environment were quite different. In the dinosaur ages, many familiar plants didn’t exist. Grasses, on which human economy has depended since the hunter gatherer days, didn’t exist, for example. Nor did flowering plants, until the Cretaceous.

In other eras, the equator was so hot even the dinosaurs couldn’t live there, albeit in a very different continental configuration. These days, the equator is the sweat band of the Earth, and the seas are comparatively hot.

The various cycles are directly impacted by climate and land use:

Oxygen cycle – Oxidization is a core process of life. CO2 eats up a lot of oxygen. There are currently anoxic (no oxygen) areas in many traditional fishing grounds. These fishing grounds are full of giant jellyfish, protected from predators by lack of oxygen. Lack of oxygen doesn’t help human metabolisms much, either.

Water cycle – The water cycle responds to temperatures. Deluges and droughts often coexist side by side. Some of the worst droughts we’ve ever had in Australia coincided with severe flooding.

Nitrogen cycle – The nitrogen cycle is a core element of plant growth. No plants = no food for just about everything. This cycle depends on water and oxygen at the micro and macro levels.

Carbon cycle – The movement of carbon through ecologies is critical to carbon-based life. Screw that up enough, and you get anomalies. In some cases, the greenhouse effect actually is acting like a greenhouse, promoting plant growth. That said – heat only supports growth to a point. After that, it consumes energy and affects plant health.

The fact is that the climate is changing, and not for the better. Humans contributing billions of tons of carbon per day obviously isn’t helping. The average car generates more toxins per mileage than an army of smokers over its product life.

The weird cocktails of chemical compounds are another imponderable factor. It’s halfwit alchemy on a global scale. Heat mixes chemicals and elements. The result, which includes virtually any mix of industrial materials, chemical byproducts and oxides, isn’t “safe for baby”. Particulate materials, the usual suspects for just about all pollution and respiratory issues, also conduct heat. So heat loss is slower, therefore temperatures remain higher than they would otherwise be. So an increase in temperatures is therefore hardly unexpected. If you know anything at all about thermodynamics, you won’t need a lot of help reading this report.

NOAA is simply calling a spade a spade. This is simply a series of studies of major events, all happening in one year. This is the fourth study since 2011, and of course, someone will simply say it’s not happening, or that any number of other causes are involved, from a mini-solar winter to natural change.

The fact is that if the climate changes, there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it. The resources now being wasted so prolifically won’t be around to help manage the effects. Ironically, the most valuable resource of all, carbon, which can be used for far more valuable and more environmentally responsible purposes, is the one most wasted.

Poetic or karmic justice; the world doesn’t need humans, humans need it. When it comes to a choice between money and breathing, however, I’m sure some committee will find in favor of money. Nice knowing you, humanity – Well, not really. Do drop in again sometime.