///NATURE


STRIKES BACK///////


PART THREE 29


Nature’s Fury


As CO2 concentrations increase, ecosystems are disrupted, and the very fi rmament beneath us is fractured by human beings, will we survive Earth’s attempt to restore equilibrium?


N


EW RESEARCH SUGGESTS that drought wiped out the Mayan civilization. Are we next? While it’s often difficult to draw direct a line between a specifi c “natural” disaster or event and human activities, in the scientifi c community,


a consensus is emerging that droughts, fl oods, “super- storms” and other unusual climate events are side eff ects of an Earth out of balance. Some changes are anecdotal, but nonetheless real. In


the Northeast, for example, we’ve seen some of the mild- est winters in living memory, with spring thaws occuring months too early, eerie periods of balmy weather in mid winter, and erratic temperature shifts that have confused


blossoming trees and plants, exacerbated tick infestations and put snow plow operators out of work. In a few cases, cause and eff ect have a direct correla-


tion. Research suggests that recent earthquakes in Ohio, for example, may be directly correlated with under- ground “fracking” exploration for natural gas. If you’re one of the many who think of natural gas as a clean, green alternative to other fuels, go down to your video store and rent “Gasland.” The costs of cheap natural gas may be borne by generations of Americans who won’t even get the benefi t of using it. As human beings accelerate or interrupt natural pro-


cesses, nature is responding in kind. And chances are, we’ve only seen a hint of what’s to come.


www.greenbuildermag.com 06.2012


PHOTO: WWW.123RF.COM/


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76