Apocalypse 2010: The year of earthquakes, oil spills...Part 1

Apocalypse 2010: The year of earthquakes, oil spills, floods, heat waves and other ecological catastrophes Part 1

Part 2 will be posted on Monday, August 16, and part 3 (conclusion) on Wednesday, August 18

In a previous article on Extreme Weather Events that I posted on my blog in November 2009, I wrote that there was a high probability of much more ‘Extreme Weather’ to come in 2010, and in following years. Back in February of this year, after the Haiti earthquake, I wrote that 2010 will probably be the most catastrophic year for weather related disasters, so far this century. The following quote is from that article: “It seems that the weather in 2010 is no less extreme than in 2009 and this may indeed turn out to be the most catastrophic year of the century so far, with the Haitian earthquake already claiming nearly the same number of lives as 2004 tsunami with hundreds of thousands more injured and maimed.” 

Although we are a little more than halfway through 2010, it would appear that this year has already proven to be the worst one so far this century for extreme weather, environmental catastrophes and ecological disasters. While the media jumped all over the Haiti earthquake, since that time, most of the other quakes, and major ecological disasters have been under reported, so in most people’s mind this year is not much different than past years. But for those of us who heed Jesus’ warning to ‘Watch and Pray’, to look for signs of the end, we know that this is anything but a normal year. In this series of articles, I would like to take inventory of extreme weather related problems, and other major environmental and ecological disasters that have struck already this year to draw people’s attention to the fact that ‘climate change’ is indeed a reality. It may not be happening the way the environmental agenda people, such as Al Gore tell us it is happening. The causes of these changes may also be completely different than those assigned to ‘climate change’ by the global warming crowd, but nonetheless, things are different this year and seem to be getting stranger by the day, as confirmed by stories such as that of millions of dead fish and marine life washing up on shores all over the world. It would be reasonable to surmise that such changes will escalate, both in number and intensity in the coming months and years. Weather related environmental problems of this year will almost certainly lead to a catastrophic reduction in food supply fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy of ‘famines in diverse places’ as a major sign of the end of the age.

The following is a list of some of the major climate related disasters, and environmental and ecological catastrophes that have overtaken our planet already this year, thus we should ask ourselves, might this be the beginning of the end?

·         The Gulf of Mexico and other recent GLOBAL oil spills – Spills may not be the right word, especially in the context of The Gulf but there have been oil spills in Australia, China, in Egypt, in Michigan, Nigeria, and now in India. There have been so many major spills this year that although it is only August, we can safely dub this ‘The Year of the Oil Spill’. The Gulf problem has apparently been fixed; even if the leak has been completely plugged, I do not believe anyone can accurately predict what the effects of this catastrophe might be in the long term. One Exxon Valdez was such a major disaster when it happened, and this year we have had a 100, maybe 500 Exxon Valdez sized disasters and yet most of the mainstream, politicians and media, are pretending that it is no big deal. Two cargo ships collided near Bombay, India that resulted in a major oil spill; they said that it will take 45 days to clean up, but the news report was written to make it sound that it was not a major problem! Talking about oil, why has the price of gas not skyrocketed; normally, if an oil rig worker catches a cold, the price shoots up! Does that not tell people that the markets are rigged, if they want to shoot the price up to $200 a barrel, they can, or they can crash it down to $10 a barrel, if they so desire. Here are links to major oil spills this year: if the Exxon Valdez took years to clean up, how is it possible that all these spills have been cleaned up already, or have they been cleaned up? Are the reports of the Gulf spill having been 75% cleaned up reliable? The truth will out as the saying goes, so we watch and wait; I have a feeling that the Gulf problem has not gone away, and its effects will be felt for a long time, especially among the residents of the Gulf States, and in Mexico. 

·         Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill / because of its magnitude and length, not to mention the loss of 11 lives, this disaster received the most media attention of all the oil spills around the world. This may still be an ongoing problem for quite some time, despite the political and media exuberance, it may be too early to break out the champagne.

·         Oil spill threatens Australia's Barrier Reef / 

     Oil leaks from the Chinese-registered bulk coal carrier Shen Neng 1 that rests aground on Douglas Shoals, 113 kilometres east of Rockhampton, Australia. (Queensland Maritime Safety/Associated Press) 

·         China oil spill doubles in size, called 'severe threat' / this story was first reported on July 21^st, just about 3 weeks ago but it has completely disappeared from the news, why? Has the problem disappeared; is the threat not so severe any longer? 

 

        In this photo released by Greenpeace, a firefighter submerged in thick oil during an attempt to fix an underwater pump is brought ashore by his colleagues in Dalian, China on Tuesday. 

·         Egypt oil spill threatens Red Sea marine life / (AFP) – Jun 20, 2010. From April onwards, it appears that there has been at least one major oil spill every month this year, the latest one in Mumbai this month.

·         EPA: Michigan oil spill may have exceeded 1M gallons / this story too has fallen off the front pages but it impact will be felt for some time to come.

·         Nigerian Oil Spill / the linked video shows the extent of the problem in Nigeria, which in its totality impacts a greater area and far larger population than in the Gulf of Mexico, yet no one is held accountable! Royal Dutch Shell, and other European and American oil companies reap billions in profit from their Nigerian operations but have turned the Edenesque Niger delta into a Chernobyl like wasteland.

·         Mumbai oil spill continues, 300 containers tumbled into water so far / this is truly a strange story of how two cargo ships collided with each other in the port of Bombay. I would assume that ports have a guidance system for ships like air traffic control systems. I suspect that cargo ships just don’t back in and out of ports like cars out of a grocery store parking lot, so how did these ships collide?  

I am sure there have been many more oil spills this year than the ones noted above; and though the MSM does not seem to have connected the dots it would appear that 2010 has to be the worst year ever in history for oil related ecological disasters. The question remains as to how long before these catastrophes are finally cleaned up, and what might be the long term consequences of the contamination of so many bodies of water all across the globe? Is there any connection to the millions of dead fish washing up along shorelines in many parts of the world?

·         Worldwide Floods in Pakistan, India, China, Central Europe, Brazil, Peru, Australia, and Canada, and many other parts of the world. Click on link to see videos of how widespread and extensive this problem has been this year, so far. In Pakistan, floodwaters have swallowed whole villages, and have reportedly killed 3000 people so far. The 3000 number is a preliminary count, and when the final numbers come in, the toll could be in the tens of thousands. These floods are in a major agricultural belt, so more devastation will be seen later in the year, and next year as a result of crop loss. In China, torrential rains brought on the worst floods in a decade, causing mudslides that buried whole villages and left roads under two meters of water. Floods have also ravaged many parts of India, and also caused much damage and loss of life in Poland, The Czech Republic, Lithuania, Germany and some other central European countries. There was also major spring flooding in France and Spain earlier this year.

·         Unprecedented Heat Waves: In contrast to over precipitation and flooding in parts of the world, other parts of the world are being scorched by abnormal and intense heat waves. Many parts of the US have seen record breaking temperatures for extended periods of time this summer. Many crops have failed or are in danger of failing because of this heat, and that in turn will put a strain on food supply and prices later into this year and next. Wheat prices have already gone up by 50% since June of this year, and continue to rise. Sadly the price of food, even essential foods is not determined merely by supply and demand but more so by speculations in commodities trading. When there is a problem in the supply chain, traders jump all over it and speculate the prices way beyond what they would normally rise to, if there was no speculation. The greed of man knows no limit as evidenced by this well researched article, and these videos by Professor Jayati Ghosh of JN University in Delhi, India. Is it really necessary to speculate in essential foods so that some Goldman Sachs executive can get a 15 million dollar yearend bonus? Does this not show us who the governments of all countries around the world really work for? If they really worked for the little people, those who ''democratically'' voted them in to power to supposedly lead their nation, would they not ban such evil speculations? Speculations that cause millions to reduce their already subsistence level diets, and cause many more to pay with their lives, and with the lives of their children? Then people wonder why God will judge this world so harshly? 

·         Fires in Russia: The latest extreme weather problems that have many people intrigued as to their cause are the wildfires in Russia. There is something very fishy about this story and it may be an instance of weather warfare. We have all seen wildfires, especially the ones close to L.A. a few years ago that caused a lot of damage but nothing like this. And these fires are not limited just to Moscow but cover some 300,000 + acres across a vast area of Russia. Apparently the Russian President, Medvedev fired some Navy officers, holding them responsible for their negligence in allowing some of these fires to get started. I wonder if it was mere negligence or something else that was going on that caused this problem. The end result however is that Putin has put a moratorium on wheat exports from Russia till the end of the year. Russia is the world's third largest wheat exporter and officials there say that the drought will cut the grain harvest by 25 percent. Grain exports could drop by a half this year.  World wheat prices are already up nearly 50 percent since early June. Here’s a quote from a person who follows such matters: "Grain prices are going up.  Food prices are going to be going up," said Lester Brown, who is with the Earth Policy Institute.

So what on Earth is going on?  Is it simply a coincidence that such extreme weather is being experienced at the same time worldwide? Or are these signs of catastrophic climate change on a global scale?  The U.S. National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration reports that the earth has been warming over the past three decades, and that the most recent decade is the hottest ever. "Even if the temperature trend were flat, we would see extreme weather. What we will see in a changing climate is that these things are more frequent. They may be of higher magnitude, meaning more severe when they happen and that's what we can truly see in a changing climate," said Deke Arndt, with NOAA. Brown says it does not necessarily mean global warming, but "what we can say is that given the projections for future temperature rises, that we will be seeing more and more Russias around the world.  The next time it may be in China, may be in the U.S. Midwest or Great Plains. Could be in two or three of them at once. Then we are in real trouble." Brown says to watch for three key indicators -- the number of hungry people in the world, the price of grain and the number of failing states.  This link is to an audio report by Lester Brown on the subject of extreme weather and food prices. I am not endorsing this gentleman’s views for I am sure that organizations such as EARTH POLICY INSTITUTE have a hidden agenda that does not necessarily serve the interests of the average person. However, there is much that can be inferred from the information that is made available by such organizations that influence, maybe even dictate policies that have a direct bearing on the lives of billions around the globe.

Is this gentleman merely speculating or is he privy to information not available to average folks? We do not really know how many hungry people there are in the world since the MSM does not report on these matters in case they upset the sensitive stomachs of their well fed Western audiences. When I was in India recently, it was plain to see that the majority, YES THE MAJORITY of people in that nation are undernourished (and we are talking about a billion people underfed in a nation of 1.25 billion.) Yet the western media continues to swoon over the economic miracle of India, bah humbug! Although I have heard this term many times now, what exactly is a ‘FAILED STATE’? Lester Brown seems to be indicating that the coming ‘Food Crisis’ or rather the coming ‘Food Catastrophe’ will cause many nations to fail? Is he suggesting revolutions, mass uprisings, and total chaos? In a worldwide food shortage problem, such scenarios are all too likely to be played out in more than one country with loss of life on an unprecedented scale.

End of Part 1