Inflammation Thoughts

The take home thought here is that inflammation is an indicator of an imbalance of proteins in the affected region.  It arguably supports therapies that stimulate all this.  Because rigor is still lacking, a lot of this is mere guess work.

Forgetting propaganda about the immune system may at least eliminate another flawed misdirection as often happens in medicine.

The idea that a protein imbalance can be corrected is a useful idea.  It is certainly no more wrong in terms of application.  One leads to a dose of anti inflammatories and the other perhaps to a massage.  Either will not harm and either may actually help.  Better still, take an aspirin and get a massage as the first step in any regimen.  Then ask your doctor if there is a real problem.

Again this helps open eyes to possibilities denied by medical misdirection far too unwittingly common.

Inflammation: Take a Look at the Lymphological View

Sunday, December 26, 2010 by: Karl J West CL, PCE, citizen journalist

http://www.naturalnews.com/030835_inflammation_lymphatic_system.html

(NaturalNews) In 2001, the medical community began admitting that inflammation is a common denominator of every degenerative disease known to man. The life`s work of Dr. C. Samuel West should therefore have been officially validated. Today the official story on inflammation is primarily one of blame on the immune system. According to current medical consensus - your immune system might be out to get you! However, there seems to be many gaps in the usual explanations for inflammation. The ability to see these gaps is the ability to recognize measures that can prevent inflammation and much of what results in virtually any disease process.

Inflammation is not a single phenomena. It is a group of a great deal of combined phenomenon that may only be properly explained through lymphology or cellular ecology. The main thing to understand about inflammation is the way that the initial process impacts the cell environment and therefore the organisms that become exposed to those conditions. It is obvious that the conditions in which these cells must interact must be corrected before we can expect to correct how the organisms function and behave.

One aspect of inflammation that is particularly neglected in formal educational institutions is the way that blocked circulation by way of "trapped plasma proteins" produce the conditions that result in any degenerative disease one might care to name (and in no way have the conventional medical curriculum ever properly implicated trapped plasma proteins in the causation of any disease). So it is an amazing dichotomy when inflammation itself is such a process of blocked circulation and is finally determined to be a common denominator of every disease, and yet the immune system is found to be the culprit of it all...

In the 70`s Dr. C. Samuel West became the first in the world to lecture publicly on "trapped plasma proteins" and developed a method of activating the lymphatic system dynamically that he called The Art of Lymphasizing, a group of techniques used to disassociate the plasma proteins and pull out the excess fluid from around the cells. As Dr. West taught, "this brings the oxygen back into the cells and turns on the electric generators that give each part of the body the power to work properly".

The original Art of Lymphasizing is a combination of deep breathing, bouncing, stroking, compressing tissues, and energy techniques that have been used successfully by tens of thousands of people around the world.

Today, the Academy Dr. West founded is adding stretching, yawning, earthing, vibratory techniques, percussion, and a system of contraction and relaxation to the "Art". Yet they are quick to call people's attention to the fact that every ancient culture on the face of the planet has a ritual of activating their lymphatics in one way or another; all animals in nature have ways of activating lymphatics, and there is in reality an unlimited variety of ways in which to effectuate the lymphatic system.

Performed regularly or as needed people can use various methods of lymphatic effectuation to bring their cells back into the vacuum packed state found in all healthy tissues. This describes a way to fully reverse the anoxic conditions that always precede every case of chronic inflammation; or to fully reproduce the conditions that enable the aerobic life process (and healing) once again.

Sources for this story include: The Golden Seven Plus One by Dr. C. Samuel West DN, ND, Chemist & Lymphologist

Arthur C. Guytons Textbook of Medical Physiology 2nd & 8th Editions.
Introduction to The Science of Lymphology & The Art of Lymphasizing by Dr. C. Samuel West.

About the author

Karl J. West is the current acting President of the International Academy of Lymphology. As one of Dr. C. Samuel West's offspring he began his experiences in the field of Health Care at a very young age. He is currently focusing on his writing and studying the works of other leaders in the field.

You may visit htp://www.ial.org to subscribe to 7 Free Introductory Lessons.

"The divinity within compels each of us to spread the truth and the light we have come to know and trust. Let us be EMPOWERED and united in our hearts and minds for the equal manifestation of all our virtuous dreams: 'A Healer in Every Home'." KJW

Small Shark Victory

This is long overdue.  There is nothing sustainable about the present shark fin fishery.  The fish itself is not short lived or particularly rapid in reproduction.  Thus it is easy to quickly deplete stocks.

On top of that the flesh requires special handling if one wants to use it.  Otherwise it becomes quickly tainted with urine taste.  Removing the skin is no joy either.  All this means is that the cutting out of fins is usually the only real value to fishermen.  The rest is chucked.

Again we begin another small step toward managing the marine environment properly.  I fear we will not do it right until every fisherman is driven out of business by their own greed as happened on the Grand Banks.  That has not recovered.

Victory for sharks: U.S. bans shark finning

By John Platt   Dec 22, 2010

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=victory-for-sharks-us-bans-shark-fi-2010-12-22

It won't get the same press as the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but the U.S. made an important conservation leap this week by banning the deadly practice of shark finning.

The Shark Conservation Act, passed Tuesday, bans the controversial yet lucrative fishing practice of catching sharks, cutting off their fins and dumping the still-living creatures back into the water where they slowly and painfully drown.

Shark fins are highly prized for their use in shark fin soup. Many shark populations around the world have dropped 90 percent or more as a result of rampant overfishing.

The U.S. actually banned shark finning in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico in 2000, but loopholes in that law allowed the practice to continue in the Pacific. The new law requires fishing vessels to retain the entire shark carcass while at sea, a measure that will help authorities track the number of sharks that are caught and which vessels come from nations that have more lax shark conservation rules. It also forbids any vessel in U.S. waters from carrying shark fins unless they remain attached to the shark's body. 

"We've finally realized that sharks are worth more alive than dead," Oceana's Elizabeth Griffin Wilson said in a prepared statement after the act passed the Senate on Monday. "While shark fins and other shark products are valuable, the role sharks play in the marine ecosystem is priceless. The U.S. has helped set a high standard for other countries and international management organizations to follow."

The act was a long time coming. It was first introduced on January 6, 2009, and passed a vote in the House of Representatives on March 2 of that year. It was delayed in the Senate this year when Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) demanded that the $5 million bill pay for itself, a feat accomplished through cuts in the federal fisheries grant program. It was finally voted on by the Senate Monday, then again by the House on Tuesday. It now awaits President Obama's signature.

Mass Bird Die Off Panic

This story is a bit much, but the press is running with it and what would have been a series of natural events is getting celebrity treatment.  It is winter, folks.  In fact for most it is the worst part of winter until we get a break in the weather.  Wild populations are also already stressed because it has already been around a long time and it has been nasty.

Where were those red winged black birds feeding?

Exhausted birds flying into a sudden cold front would put paid to a lot of critters.  And conditions have been that nasty this year.

The same is true for fish which can be suddenly overwhelmed for a sudden change in temperature in normal currents.

We have always known that a seriously colder winter was going to severely cull the wild populations that have expanded nicely over the past decade or two.

This is a seriously colder winter.

Mass Bird & Fish Die-Offs Go Global, Spark End Times Panic

Brazil, Sweden and New Zealand hit with strange phenomena as speculation rages

Paul Joseph Watson

Prison Planet.com

Wednesday, January 5, 2010

http://www.prisonplanet.com/mass-bird-fish-die-offs-go-global-spark-end-times-panic.html

The mass bird and fish die-offs that have affected parts of the U.S. over the last week have now gone global, with Sweden, Brazil and New Zealand becoming the latest countries to experience a phenomena that has sparked both scientific intrigue and apocalyptic panic in equal measure.

Following the sudden deaths of thousands of birds that fell over Beebe Arkansas on New Year’s Eve, in addition to 100,000 dead fish found along a 20-mile stretch between the Ozark Dam and Highway 109 Bridge in Franklin County, 500 dead blackbirds and starlings weresubsequently discovered in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana.

Large numbers of dead birds were also found in Kentucky around Christmas and more were found in the following days. Earlier this week, tens of thousands of small fish were found washed up in the Chesapeake Bay area. Despite their deaths being blamed on a cold snap, experts are bewildered that the fish didn’t swim to warmer waters as would be their normal response.

In a separate report emailed to us by an Alex Jones Show listener, more dead birds were seen near St. Louis, Missouri.

“I just wanted to let Alex now that I encountered over a hundred blackbirds killed on Christmas Day. This was about 30 miles south of St. Louis, MO near highway 55. The intersection was covered with them,” states the email.

The phenomenon has now gone global, with dead jackdaw birds falling to their deaths across central Sweden shortly before midnight on Tuesday.

In New Zealand, hundreds of dead snapper have washed up on Coromandel beaches. The fish looked fat and healthy, ruling out the weather or starvation as a cause of death.

“People at Little Bay and Waikawau Bay, on the north-east of the peninsula, were stunned when children came out of the sea with armfuls of the fish and within minutes the shore was littered with them,” reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, 100 tons of fish (sardine, croaker and catfish) have turned up dead off the coast of Parana over the course of the last week.

“Apart from Paranagua, (Edmir Manoel) Ferreira said the dead fish are starting to appear in other coastal towns,” reports Parana Online. “The dead fish are going to Antonina, and Guaraqueçaba. We need an urgent solution to this,” he warned.

The number of different cases of dead birds and fish around the U.S. and globally has been matched by the myriad of different explanations as to the cause of their demise. While some theories are rooted in scientific verbiage, others have taken on an altogether more spiritual and apocalyptic context.

The more mundane causes are cited as fireworks, localized hail, power lines, or other temporary phenomena that caused the birds to panic and fly into one another. However, this doesn’t explain why similar events are occurring in different areas of the country or indeed the world and it doesn’t address the issue of mass fish deaths.

As we have documented, the primary suspects should always be governments given the fact that they have routinely engaged in secret testing of biological and electromagnetic weapons that have detrimentally impacted both humans and animals many times in the past.

Others point to the New Madrid fault zone coming to life again as a result of being disturbed by the BP oil spill and threatening the onset of a series of mega-earthquakes which will hit Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. Why this would be preceded by mass bird deaths is not properly explained.

An example of one of the more esoteric theories behind the die-offs was explained by controversial Pastor James David Manning, who labeled the phenomena a “Global Katrina 2,” and an act of “biological warfare,” voicing his belief that the strange sequence of die-offs was a harbinger of tribulation and the biblical end times.

Web searches for bible prophecies and end time scenarios have exploded as some Christians fear that the mass die-offs mark the beginning of a series of catastrophes.

“Internet keyword searches continue to register off the charts. Queries like “dead fish Bible,” dead birds and fish Revelation,” dead birds and fish die End Times.” were being entered by the million Tuesday,” writes Jim Hagerty, with forum moderators kept busy answering questions about the opening of the Seventh Seal and whether or not a great pestilence will follow soon.

It seems unavoidable that the closer we get to 2012 and the onset of the widely prophesied end times theory, where a series of cataclysmic or transformative events will coincide with the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mayan Long Count calendar, which will subsequently herald the end of the world or the beginning of a new spiritual age, that every bizarre event will be cited as evidence of this coming transformation.

The mass deaths of birds in particular strike a resonant chord within the human psyche for a number of sociological and cultural reasons, not least of which is the fact that they are often seen as an early warning system for harm that could later come to human beings, which of course is where the term “canary in the coal mine” originates.

Although mass die-offs of birds and fish are by no means unprecedented, any increase in their regularity will combine easily with 2012 fever to whip up more frenzy and wide-eyed speculation. This in turn will distract millions of Americans from both real environmental crises that could be connected to the bird deaths, as well as very real political conspiracies and financial plots that continue to spell doomsday for the very existence of the American republic, with no reliance on idle speculation about Mayan calendars or 2012 end times prophecies.

*********************

Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show. Watson has been interviewed by many publications and radio shows, including Vanity Fair and Coast to Coast AM, America’s most listened to late night talk show.

Fo-Ti Hair Restoration

One of the benefits of living in Vancouver is a large collection of Chinese herbal remedy shops able to support traditional Chinese medicine.  The difficulty is that the labeling is typically in Chinese and generally opaque to western eyes.  I expect that this will begin to seriously change over the next twenty years as plenty of new comers are conversant in English and can handle the translation and marketing issues.  I am seeing plenty of indications that this is happening and the sooner the better.

The Chinese have developed a major empirical resource that is a long way from been understood and exploited.  Our own medicine is now accepting much of this into usage.

Here we have a herb whose direct benefit is some restoration of hair health in the aging.  Other benefits are indicated and noted.  It does not claim to be a magic bullet, but does claim improvement.  I am sure someone will try to produce a magic bullet.

Since no creditable alternative actually exists, this is an improvement.  It is noted that hair condition can change abruptly due to emotional shock and that electro stimulation will also increase growth.  All that has suggested that subtle improvements in nutrition could well make a major difference.

Age Old Chinese Herb Fo-Ti is Widely Used to Restore Hair and Reverse Gray

Sunday, December 26, 2010 by: Susan Laverie, citizen journalist

http://www.naturalnews.com/030837_Fo-Ti_hair_loss.html

(NaturalNews) The ancient Chinese herb Fo-Ti, also known as He Shou Wu and Polygonum Multiflorum, stands alone as a highly effective hair loss treatment amidst the plethora of hair restoration products such as vitamins, nutritional supplements, pharmaceutical drugs and gloppy creams. Fo-Ti is not only a superlative natural herbal product useful for hair restoration, but also reverses color loss and helps gray hair regain its pigment.

The Chinese believe Fo-Ti acts as a longevity tonic. It has many uses in traditional Chinese medicine and is helpful for ailments ranging from premature aging, weakness, infectious diseases and angina pectoris to impotence. It is reputed to restore energy and strength and is also beneficial as a digestive aid.

All this and a cure for balding too!

All jesting aside, modern Doctors of Oriental Medicine use the herb to prevent premature hair loss, reverse color loss in graying hair and regulate many of the ills that appear with excess aging. Fo-Ti helps prevent thinning hair and restore dry, brittle and damaged hair. It shows efficacy for use in genetic pattern balding as well as hair loss from diseases such as hypothyroidism.

How Do Chinese Herbs Restore Hair and Prevent Hair Loss?

Chinese herbs treat more than merely the hair follicles and scalp.

Oriental medicine views hair loss in direct correlation to reduced kidney energy and poor blood circulation or toxicity. Herbal tonics use a holistic approach and treat the entire body. Chinese medicine believes that by strengthening the organs of elimination, the kidneys and liver, and by increasing circulation to the scalp through healthy blood flow hair follicles can be stimulated into restoring hair.

Chinese Herbal Tonics Act as Baldness Cures

Improving the quality of a person's blood, balancing hormones and increasing circulation to the scalp and head can be achieved through a variety of Chinese herbs prepared as an herbal tonic or a tea. Fo-Ti or He shou wu is the primary herb used for hair re-growth either on its own or in combination with other Chinese herbs such as ligustrum, dang gui, drynaria and sesame.

Use of Chinese herbal tonics for hair restoration and thinning hair should be viewed as a long-term cure. It is not an instant fix. Once the inner essence or vital force is restored, the beneficial effects of these herbal treatments may be seen on the scalp and hair.

Course of Use for Fo-Ti for Hair Restoration and Revitalizing Hair Color

Three weeks to a year is recommended by Chinese herbalists as an acceptable period in which to see adequate changes to the scalp to restore thinning hair, alopecia and natural hair color pigment.

Consult a Doctor of Oriental Medicine or an expert in Chinese herbs for preparation and the appropriate dose.

Side Effects of Fo-Ti

Most side effects are mild and a simple adjustment of the dose will be enough to eliminate occasional diarrhea or stomach upset. There have been reports of severe liver problems in rare instances for sensitive individuals. In the instance of jaundice or yellowing of the skin or pain in the upper right abdomen over the liver, stop consuming the herb and seek medical attention. Some estrogenic effects have been noted and an increase in estrogen dominance has been noted in susceptible individuals.

For those looking for an effective product for hair restoration or to bring natural color back to graying hair, Fo-Ti may be the answer.

Sources:

http://www.agelessherbs.com/hairlos...
http://www.vitaminsdiary.com/herbs/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygo...
http://herbalmedicine.suite101.com/...
http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com...

About the author

Susan Laverie is a freelance writer whose focus is on alternative healthcare, holistic nutrition, foods that heal and green living. Laverie has written articles for Homeopathy Today, The American Homeopath, LiveStrong.com and Suite101.com, as well as elsewhere online. With a passion for history and design, her hobby has been collecting and selling antique jewelry. Having retired from practicing classical homeopathy and natural medicine for 25 years, Susan now spends much of her time writing about health, nutrition and alternative methods for healing body, mind and spirit.

Follow her at 

http://www.suite101.com/writer_arti... 

and on Facebook at 

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!...

Learn more:

http://www.naturalnews.com/030837_Fo-Ti_hair_loss.html#ixzz19MRl8SD3

Starbucks Scores Millions on LED Install

It has been pretty hard not to notice, but we are passing through a lighting revolution and this mass refit at Starbucks is effectively the beginning of the last phase of that revolution.  Full spectrum LED lighting became possible two years ago and it is now the practical replacement for all installed lighting.

This shows that mass retail is about to happen.

Getting lighting changed out has been a decades long development objective and it was the low hanging fruit when it came to consumer power usage.  A few fixes with household heating are in order but we can easily live in an energy efficient home today.

Perfection now entails proper insulation to minimize energy usage for heating and cooling.

How Starbucks Saves Millions a Year in Energy with LED Lighting

By Claudia Girrbach

Published December 02, 2010

http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/12/02/how-starbucks-saves-millions-year-energy-led-lighting

Starbucks recently finished replacing nearly all of its incandescent and halogen lighting with LEDs during a two-year roll-out to over 7,000 company-owned stores, most in the United States and Canada, but with some in Europe and Asia. This is the largest deployment yet of LED technology in an application that is very sensitive to the quality of light; Starbucks' success proves that the new digital lighting is ready for mass install.

Jim Hanna, Director of Environmental Impact for Starbucks confirmed that the LED lighting program is on target to slash consumption by more than 80 percent compared to existing lighting. My back-of-the envelope calculations [see notes below] found that

• Each LED light bulb saves approximately $30 annually in energy costs and eliminates the equivalent CO2 as half a barrel of oil;

• Each 1,000 square foot store on average would save nearly $600 annually and eliminate the equivalent CO2 as 10 barrels of oil

To capture these impressive benefits, for both the bottom-line and the environment, it took more than replacing a light bulb. When Starbucks was examining which energy efficiency projects to deploy in its stores, lighting was an obvious choice, since retailers consume a large amount of energy on lighting to provide ambiance and to showcase products.

But Starbucks had already installed energy-efficient fluorescents in many areas of its stores. The remaining halogen and incandescent lights were in its beverage and sitting areas. The soft, warm light provided by incandescent bulbs was critical to creating an inviting experience. And halogens were used to highlight products. Fluorescent was a poor fit in these areas due to its inferior color rendition. Although CFLs are prevalent in offices, older and inefficient lighting technology is common in many retail and other high-end applications.

Starbucks investigated LED lights and appreciated the low energy use and the quality of light, but LED products on the market at the time required replacing both the light bulb and fixture driving costs up considerably.

Rather than wait for the price of technology to drop, Starbucks reached out to its partner, General Electric. Hanna said, "GE worked with us to develop a LED light bulb that provides similar output as incandescent but uses a fraction of the electricity. GE kept retrofit costs low by designing a bulb that could fit the track lighting and recessed cans that were already installed."

The roll-out after initial trials proceeded smoothly. It is too early to confirm the LED longevity, but Starbucks is confident in its approach. Hanna explained, "The GE partnership reduces the risk of new technology should issues surface." The Starbucks case study illustrates that emerging technology can provide significant savings and is worth the extra effort to make new technology work for your requirements.

Hanna agrees with the U.S. Department of Energy assessment that "LED usage will accelerate … since … no other lighting technology offers as much potential to save energy and enhance the quality of our building environments." Starbucks achieved a notable LED milestone, but that's one record that Starbucks is happy to see beaten. Will your facilities be the next LED winner?

Notes

I did some calculations after my discussions with Jim Hanna to estimate just how much money Starbucks is saving due to its LED retrofit. Here's what I found:

• A new LED bulb requires 7 to 10 watts, depending on light output. It replaces 50 to 60 watt bulbs, either incandescent or halogen. [Source: Starbucks interview]

• Common practice in retail is to leave some lighting on 24/7 for security and advertising. For this calculation it was assumed that one-third of lighting remains on 24/7, while the rest of the bulbs were lit during operating hours. [Source: Author visits to several stores]

• According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average cost of electricity in 2010 in the U.S. is 10 cents per kilowatt-hour.

• The savings estimate did not consider reduced maintenance which given the exceptionally long life of LED would increase savings and accelerate payback. • Carbon savings were estimated using the EPA's Clean Energy calculator.

• About 50 percent of the retail square footage is lit by LED, the other portion of the store is lit by CFL. [Source: Starbucks interview]

• 258,000 green bulbs were deployed in US and Canada to date (both LED and CFL bulbs) [Source: Starbucks interview]

• Company owned stores used 6.8 KWH / square foot / month on average in 2008 prior to LED deployment. [Source: Starbucks CSR 2009 Report] [PDF]

• The new LED lights reduced total store energy consumption by 7 percent when compared to the baseline. [Source: Starbucks interview]

LED photo CC-licensed by Velo Steve.

The Arctic is Warm

I continue to note that the Arctic has been able to retain its apparent dominant heat signature through all this. Sometime at least thirty years ago, the heat been transferred from the tropics into the Arctic made an incremental increase, which we may describe as delta H.  This has continued unabated ever since and now continues into next year.

This remarkable report describes the continuing observations.   The resultant changes have kicked us this winter, but has changed nothing else.  The sea ice is continuing to rot apace and if this is all correct, we are now entering a protracted period of semi open Arctic seas in the late summer.  I do think that the stage is set for a total breakup like event in 2012, although we have claims of ice reversal that seems creditable. 

The fact is that the statistical data systems continue to paint a warmer globe.  Yet this is a position that I deeply mistrust.  A shift of real heat into the Arctic is real and has been seen before and seems to follow a millennial cycle.  So far so good.  However, on a global basis, I think that the data gathering itself is subject to serious upward creep that we have been unable to correct properly for.  It is not much, but a half of a degree is all we have to begin with.  An error here and an error there always made on the upside soon accumulates to give you this.  The best data had exactly that problem in spades.

I not no one has the guts to correct it using annual tree rings.

That snow outside is what global warming looks like

Unusually cold winters may make you think scientists have got it all wrong. But the data reveal a chilling truth

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/20/uk-snow-global-warming

 George Monbiot

 guardian.co.uk, Monday 20 December 2010

A zebra stands in its snow-covered pen at Whipsnade Zoo, north of London on December 20, 2010 Photograph: Max Nash/AFP/Getty Images

There were two silent calls, followed by a message left on my voicemail. She had a soft, gentle voice and a mid-Wales accent. "You are a liar, Mr Monbiot. You and James Hansen and all your lying colleagues. I'm going to make you pay back the money my son gave to your causes. It's minus 18C and my pipes have frozen. You liar. Is this your global warming?" She's not going to like the answer, and nor are you. It may be yes.

There is now strong evidence to suggest that the unusually cold winters of the last two years in the UK are the result of heating elsewhere. With the help of the severe weather analyst John Mason and the Climate Science Rapid Response Team, I've been through as much of the scientific literature as I can lay hands on (see my website for the references). Here's what seems to be happening.

The global temperature maps published by Nasa present a striking picture. Last month's shows a deep blue splodge over Iceland, Spitsbergen, Scandanavia and the UK, and another over the western US and eastern Pacific. Temperatures in these regions were between 0.5C and 4C colder than the November average from 1951 and 1980. But on either side of these cool blue pools are raging fires of orange, red and maroon: the temperatures in western Greenland, northern Canada and Siberia were between 2C and 10C higher than usual. Nasa's Arctic oscillations map for 3-10 December shows that parts of Baffin Island and central Greenland were 15C warmer than the average for 2002-9. There was a similar pattern last winter. These anomalies appear to be connected.

The weather we get in UK winters, for example, is strongly linked to the contrasting pressure between the Icelandic low and the Azores high. When there's a big pressure difference the winds come in from the south-west, bringing mild damp weather from the Atlantic. When there's a smaller gradient, air is often able to flow down from the Arctic. High pressure in the icy north last winter, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, blocked the usual pattern and "allowed cold air from the Arctic to penetrate all the way into Europe, eastern China, and Washington DC". Nasa reports that the same thing is happening this winter.

Sea ice in the Arctic has two main effects on the weather. Because it's white, it bounces back heat from the sun, preventing it from entering the sea. It also creates a barrier between the water and the atmosphere, reducing the amount of heat that escapes from the sea into the air. In the autumns of 2009 and 2010 the coverage of Arctic sea ice was much lower than the long-term average: the second smallest, last month, of any recorded November. The open sea, being darker, absorbed more heat from the sun in the warmer, light months. As it remained clear for longer than usual it also bled more heat into the Arctic atmosphere. This caused higher air pressures, reducing the gradient between the Iceland low and the Azores high.

So why wasn't this predicted by climate scientists? Actually it was, and we missed it. Obsessed by possible changes to ocean circulation (the Gulf Stream grinding to a halt), we overlooked the effects on atmospheric circulation. A link between summer sea ice in the Arctic and winter temperatures in the northern hemisphere was first proposed in 1914. Close mapping of the relationship dates back to 1990, and has been strengthened by detailed modelling since 2006.

Will this become the pattern? It's not yet clear. Vladimir Petoukhov of the Potsdam Institute says that the effects of shrinking sea ice "could triple the probability of cold winter extremes in Europe and northern Asia". James Hansen of Nasa counters that seven of the last 10 European winters were warmer than average. There are plenty of other variables: we can't predict the depth of British winters solely by the extent of sea ice.

I can already hear the howls of execration: now you're claiming that this cooling is the result of warming! Well, yes, it could be. A global warming trend doesn't mean that every region becomes warmer every month. That's what averages are for: they put local events in context. The denial of man-made climate change mutated first into a denial of science in general and then into a denial of basic arithmetic. If it's snowing in Britain, a thousand websites and quite a few newspapers tell us, the planet can't be warming.

According to Nasa's datasets, the world has just experienced the warmest January to November period since the global record began, 131 years ago; 2010 looks likely to be either the hottest or the equal hottest year. This November was the warmest on record.

Sod all that, my correspondents insist: just look out of the window. No explanation of the numbers, no description of the North Atlantic oscillation or the Arctic dipole, no reminder of current temperatures in other parts of the world, can compete with the observation that there's a foot of snow outside. We are simple, earthy creatures, governed by our senses. What we see and taste and feel overrides analysis. The cold has reason in a deathly grip.

Important Heat Flow Change in Gulf Stream

This is big news.  I posted four years ago now that the most likely explanation for the apparent changes in the climate and in particular, the specific erosion of sea ice in the Arctic was a specific change in the total heat been delivered by the Gulf Stream which we may simply label delta H.  Simply applying a delta H since the seventies perfectly explains our observations since then and led me to predict a possible pending complete breakup of the Arctic sea ice as early as 2012 and inevitably soon thereafter.

We continue to have warmer than normal Arctic conditions.  However the Navy is claiming that the ice has finally began to thicken again over the past two years.  So far it is the only available evidence that the warming delta H may have ended.  If it has ended, then an Arctic breakup is aborted.

This report tells us that for the past forty years that the Labrador Current was much weaker.  This means several things.

1                    A strong current mixed vigorously with the Gulf Stream, partially cooling it.  This was hugely reduced when the current abated.

2                    A warmer Gulf Stream carried more heat or delta H as a consequence into the Arctic and was instrumental in eroding the sea ice.

3                    An offsetting counter flow somewhere else took over and this had little effect on the Gulf Stream.  The net effect was to modestly strengthen the Gulf Stream.

Now the geological record shows us that the Gulf Stream has been much warmer by a couple of degrees and that long cyclic warm eras are common.  If my own interpretation holds up, we are entering a prolonged warm period in Europe similar to the Medieval optimum as part of an apparent thousand year cycle that I have been able to identify on a preliminary basis over 5,000 years.

I would be quite surprised if the implied claim of no similar events for 1800 years were to hold up.  Right now we have a well positioned coral reef able to act as a monitor.  There will be others and we may be able to go further with this form of testing.

ATLANTIC CIRCULATION ON THE FASTTRACK FOR CHANGE

Analysis by Tim Wall 

Tue Jan 4, 2011 05:55 PM ET 

http://news.discovery.com/earth/atlantic-circulation-on-the-fasttrack-for-change.html

Bell-bottom jeans, Abba, and the Labrador Current -- one of the three is not making a retro comeback. Temperature-tracking coral reefs indicate that the circulation of water in the Atlantic Ocean has changed dramatically since the 1970's.

That could be part of the reason areas in the northern hemisphere have had harsh winter storms and summer droughts say researchers.

The evidence for changing currents comes from ancient gorgonian coral reefs growing off the coast of Nova Scotia. The reef was studied by a team of biochemists and oceanographers from Switzerland, Canada, and the United States.

Like most organisms, corals are what they eat and changes in their diet are recorded in the reef structure.

The Canadian corals showed that the cold, south-bound Labrador current is losing ground to the warm, north-bound Gulf Stream current. The corals of the deep north Atlantic have been feasting on nutrient-rich warm water since the 1970's.

The researchers looked at the concentrations of a certain isotope of nitrogen, called delta 15. Different concentrations of the isotope allow scientists to trace a creature's food sources.

The levels the researchers found in the Nova Scotian coral indicated the coral had been feeding heavily on nutrients brought north from the subtropical regions for approximately 40 years.

The coral had been feeding primarily on subarctic nutrients for the previous 1800 years.

That abrupt change in food sources caused by changes in currents coincides closely with the onset of observable changes in Earth's climate caused by industrialization.

"The researchers suspect there is a direct connection between the changes in oceanic currents in the North Atlantic and global warming caused by human activities," said one of the participating institutions, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences and Technology in a statement to the Associated Foreign Press.

   

The coral reef research was published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Recent heavy snowfalls and harsh winter storms along with droughts and heat waves in the summer, could be explained by a changes in the circulation of the Atlantic's water, say climate researchers. A 2004 paper by NASA explained the possibility of melting arctic sea ice triggering colder weather in Europe and North America.

As my colleague, Mr. Cox, pointed out in the above blog post, the term global warming is a misnomer in many senses. Humanity faces global climate destabilization. The weather patterns our agriculture and industry have adapted to over the centuries are changing rapidly.