T he Bitter End The Times, They are a Changin' By Captain J. Gary “Gator” Hill
J
ust like the lyrics from great American balladeer Bob Dylan’s protest song, our times are truly changing. Unless you’re one of those people who turns to the very last pages to start their read, then you’ve probably read Amy’s column on controversial topics. Like Amy said, we don’t use this magazine as a platform for one-sided thoughts and beliefs. The following is merely taken from articles I’ve read, and I’ll interject some of my personal beliefs, but with that being said, I welcome discussion and debate. The first thing I want touch on is weather. I’m going to explain why they’re called weather men, though maybe that’s a misnomer. It’s simple. They really don’t know if it’s going to rain, if it’s going to snow, or if the sun is going to shine. At best it’s an educated guess, based on weather models and other arcane means, like chicken bones and Ouija boards. A couple of decades back the big buzz word was global warming. Tons of money, time and research was thrown into this study, and at the end nothing conclusive was found. Yes, Earth’s temperature had risen minutely over the course of a few decades, but at the end of it all, the debate was still there. With nothing concrete that both sides could agree on, the term climate change was touted out. Now there’s a novel concept, climate that changes, yep we can all pretty much agree now, climate and weather do change. Go figure! The big concern now is how fast it’s changing, is it normal for this to happen, and if so what impact are we having on it? I’m going to start with the third point first – the one that will generate the most finger-pointing. Is mankind having an impact on the planet? Yes, most assuredly we
Snow in Savannah? Are we doomed? Photos by Amy Thurman are. But are we the catalyst? Not being a scientist I can only state my personal belief, which is that mankind isn’t much more than a gnat on the skin of Mother Earth. Of course, if left unchecked, even a gnat can become an issue. If we become irritating enough, we’re going to get swatted, and that swat may be on a global scale. Then Earth will go through a reset and climate change will continue. Why? Because that’s the very definition of the word change: non-static, constantly moving from one state to the next. We, modern man, have only been around a few thousand years, but our planet has been around for billions of years. In comparison that’s only equivalent to about how long it takes to inhale a single breath. We’re quick to point out things like the polar caps receding, sea levels rising, snow in Savannah, and lets not forget about the Beast from the East in the UK. Well, yeah all that is occurring, but I just finished an article about a human jawbone found just off Florida’s Gulf Coast. Early results indicate these remains are about 7000 years old, found at a depth of about 21 feet, in what appears to be a more extensive grave site. Other finds like this have mostly been in peat bogs, about 10 feet above sea level. So the fact that these remains were found in 21 feet of water indicates that in 7000 years the water rose 31 feet. Other finds like this are taking place all around the world. So did our ancestors impact Earth to cause this climate change? I dare say not. I wanted to get to some other topics but I’m out of space for this month. However, to wrap this up on a positive note, I’ll close with this: Personally, I feel we should do all we can to preserve and be good stewards to our planet. It’s the only one we have. Until next time, I'll see y'all on the water!
Email: jgaryhill@gmail.com 30
Southern Tides Magazine
March 2018
