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The National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has made many determinations of late confirming what most of us already knew, 2006 was the hottest year on record & 2007 is proving to be hotter yet. Global Warming activists & environmental groups have latched onto he sudden climate change since 2004 as proof that global warming is accelerating & that human generated greenhouse gases are the cause.

The evidence for global warming is irrefutable, the planet is warmer. The increase in carbon dioxide & other greenhouse gases is also well established. What isn’t in evidence is that the greenhouse effect is responsible for the sudden change in global temperatures over the past 2 years. There is more. The greenhouse effect ignores many important factors, planetary axis shift & oceanic carbon dioxide sequestration.

Planet earth has undergone many axis shifts over human history. The best documented are the axis shift following the eruption/explosion of Krakatoa & the 2004 axis shift following the indonesian earthquake & tsunami. The most recent of these shifts is responsible for changing the latitude of the Northern hemisphere by 1/2 to 1 degree relative tot he incident angle of the sun’s rays. Clear? In plain English, virtually everyone in the Northern Hemisphere moved south 200 miles that day. I live in the Orlando area, now I’ve Miami weather.

Oceanic carbon dioxide sequestration is more hard to explain. Imagine that the deep ocean floor is a “carbon dioxide battery.” Under the right water temerature & salinity, the ocean water “charges” the “battery” by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide out of the air. As a result, greenhouse gases are reduced & global tempertures drop. Under different ocean conditions, the “battery” releases carbon dioxide which bubble or even boils to the ocean’s surface.

This sudden & explosive release of carbon dioxide has been documented on film as early as the 1930’s when a US Navy freighter sank suddenly as the ocean around it foamed & lost bouyency. It has been estimated that in the time it took for the ocean to engulf the freighter & the release to end that the equivalent of 1 year worth of human & domestic animal carbon dioxide production was released.

What does all this mean to global warming?

It means that the problem is far more complex than simply decreasing fossil fuel use. There’re global factors that move in cycles set in geological time. Events that we can no more predict than we can control have a far greater impact than all human endeavor & domestic animal cultivation combined.

On the other hand, the entire global climate system is like a household budget. In my home, I’m the long range planner, infrequently spending large sums of money on large family purchases. My wife is the short range budgeter, spending smaller amounts daily to keep the household going. We both negatively impact cash flow. I’ve big effects, but they’re rare, just like planetary axis shifts & oceanic sequestration. My wife has a constant effect, but it’s sustained & if just slightly over budget, will have a large negative impact.

Our human effect on global climate change is incrementally small, but if excessive, will yield a global catastrophe equal to the 2004 axis shift or Krakatoa.

Dr. Maurice A. Ramirez is the founder & president of the consulting firm High Alert, LLC.. He serves on expert panels for pandemic preparedness & healthcare surge planning with Congressional & Cabinet Members. Board certified in multiple specialties, Dr. Ramirez is Founding Chairperson of the American Board of Disaster Medicine & serves the nation as a Senior Physician-Federal Medical Officer in the National Disaster Medical System. Dr. Ramirez has a new book: You Can Survive Anything, Anywhere, Every Time. His website is http://www.High-Alert.com

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