Friday, November 09, 2007

"Quack" Science?

All this "hoo ha" about global warming has been falling on deaf ears in this household. I don't tend to consider the opinion of celebrities nor Al Gore to be expert about much of anything. Especially since such phenomena are cyclical and have been going on to some degree since the beginning of time. Not that global warming isn't happening; I just don't buy into the doomsday scenario. Especially since other planets in the solar system are undergoing similar changes and those certainly cannot be attributed to man. Try solar activity. Makes a tad more sense - but then what do I know. I'm neither a scientist nor a celebrity nor a former politician missing the limelight.

An article, however, in the current issue of the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary magazine has given me pause. It seems back in 1992 a load of rubber ducks was tossed overboard from a storm wrecked Chinese cargo ship. The first survivors were discovered off the coast of Alaska later the same year but it seems most headed on toward the Arctic.

By the year 2000 they had made their way through the icy seas and emerged in the Atlantic and now even more sightings have been made off the coast of Britain. It is said they have been bleached white by the sun and sea but I should think it's their "mature" color. Duckies don't stay yellow forever you know!

The point is if the Arctic waters hadn't thawed to the point the little guys could make their way through the ice floes and polar bears, we'd not be seeing them now. This just could be proof positive of the truth of global warming. And also debunk the doomsday predictions that nothing will live to see another day.

They're expected to come ashore at Cornwall along with the blue frogs, green turtles and red beavers that accompanied them. They'll all be somewhat less colorful than their former selves, but that's a small price to pay for survival. Isn't it?

1 comment:

Lil ol' me... said...

Global Warming: Mari, so the big news seems to be that the sun discolors rubber duckies? Amazing, how your post took me from climate change to rubber ducks. I wasn't expecting that.

One theory is, that as the sun proceeds to burn itself out, it becomes bigger and bigger (which happens to older stars), and thusly radiates more heat. But we don't have to worry about it burning out for another few million years.

Since I'm near the ocean, maybe I should stuff a message inside a rubber duck and toss it in the ocean. I wonder where it would end up...