Abraham's Feuding Children

Let me tell you a little story about this fella named Abraham. Some 6,000 years ago he started a small family, based on his beliefs in one all-knowing God, and a whole host of well meaning values and morals. His first born was Judaism. Then, some 2000 years ago he unexpectedly saw his second born come to life, named Christianity. Six hundred years after that, yet another child came to be, named Islam. Although different in their own small ways, Abraham's children were nonetheless offspring of their father, and all steadfast believers in the core values he instilled in them. Yet, despite their familial ties, they feuded. Oh, how they feuded.

Judaism would do and say things like, "I'm the oldest, wisest, father's first...the chosen one"...to the resentment of the two younger children. Soon enough though, the second born would mature and start flexing his muscles, saying, "oh yeah, I'm the stronger, younger version of you, and father favours me." The youngest, Islam, would jump in and add "father wouldn't have had any more children if you two were so perfect...third time's a charm!"

Years would pass, and the children would fight...crusades this, holocaust that, september 11th this, settler-lands that...you name it...a three way tug-of-war for their father's love and attention, failing to see that they are all one family, fundamentally the same, and that their father loves them equally, despite their faults.

Today the feud continues, as childish as ever. Islam is outraged at Christianity's new hobby of drawing offensive caricatures of it, and publishing them for the world to see. Christianity tells Islam to grow up and get a sense of humour, and tries to explain the concept of free speech to the young one. So, after its initial violent temper tantrum, Islam takes a crack at edgy humour and holds a competition for the best cartoon depicting the holocaust, Judaism's darkest hour, and asks Christianity to publish the winning entry. Christianity agrees to do so, and the rivalry instantly transforms into an odd alliance, as blame is redirected to the oldest child. Fascinating behaviour.

As with any family fued, so goes this one. Alliances are formed and broken in an instant. Both the yongest and the oldest are at odds with the middle child, but still vying for their support, to shift the balance of power against the other. Father Abraham remains very disappointed, and is dreaming of a day when he'll be able to see his three children live peacefully, side by side. Who knows, that day may come soon enough, and if it doesn't, he can always propose a family retreat...maybe he'll suggest a hike to Sacrifice Mountain...if he could just remember where he put his knife.

Ice cold or fiery, hell?

Climate change. Who to believe? For decades we've been hearing about global warming and how human activities are causing a build up of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, leading to higher average temperatures, melting of the ice caps, desertification, and other calamities. This year Ottawa (the world's 7th coldest national capital) has even expressed concerns that its Winterlude festival will be marred by the unseasonably warm weather. The Rideau Canal may not be skateable, and the ice sculpture exhibits would vanish before anyone even gets a chance to comment on how labour-intensive yet pointless they are. Ottawa would lose yet another claim to fame in its pathetic attempt to remind the world that it is the capital of Canada, and not Toronto, the Big Smoke as they refer to it, whom they probably blame for this global warming thing.

Lately, I've been seeing more and more scientific claims that suggest a trend of global icing rather than global warming though. Many cite that we are overdue for another ice age, while others add that pumping CO2 into the atmosphere is actually beneficial and keeping the next ice age at bay. One supposed environmentalist even went as far as to say that we should burn even more fossil fuels, and quickly deplete the world's supply because that would really force industry to come up with more environmentally friendly alternatives. Nothing drives innovation like desperate necessity. Hmm, why do I get the sense that his paycheques are stamped by some major oil conglomerate? That aside, there are credible scientific sources that believe global cooling is occurring. The journal of Nature reports that British researchers have detected a weakening of key currents in the North Atlantic, responsible for bringing cold arctic waters south and warm waters north. Slowed by as much as 30% in the last decade, this could cause progressively colder winters for Canada and Europe. So, are we destined for an ice cold hell or a fiery one?

It's funny how both extreme camps of "scientists" often fail to mention that we really don't know jack. At best, our data shows but one century of the earth's 4.6 billion-year existance. How can we make such drastic predictions of where the planet is heading next with any certainty? We can't. And rest assured, the Earth will persevere no matter what we do to it, but whether we'll be around for the next phase of its existance is a matter of us behaving ourselves or not (read up on the Gaia theory). The Earth's current state is ideal for us, but throughout its history that has mostly not been the case. Should we not do our best to keep the status quo so as to avoid a major paradigm shift (buzzword of the day)?

Regardless of the theory you prescribe to, which scenario would you prefer? I find an ice age much more attractive than a desert world. I think we're better at finding ways to heat ourselves, than we are at finding drinking water in arid places. You must also understand that even in an extreme ice age, the tropics would be relatively pleasant. Plus history has shown that nothing speeds-up human innovation like an ice age. It's one of those things that if it doesn't kill us (and it never has), only makes us stronger. As for polluting the atmosphere further in an effort to slow down an oncoming ice age...I give that idea a stiff 2 finger salute!

Aside: Too often I hear people cite ozone depletion as the cause of global warming. This of course is not the case. Ozone depletion is caused by the release of CFC's (aerosols) which eat away at the ozone layer, causing the polar "ozone holes". This does not cause global warming, but rather allows for deadly solar rays to reach us and give us skin cancers, instead of bouncing off into space harmlessly. Global warming on the other hand is caused by the release of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, which when they accumulate in great amounts, prevent heat from escaping from the planet. They form an atmospheric blanket around earth, causing the planet to get hotter and hotter. Venus is the perfect example of the runaway greenhouse effect. Mars on the other hand got stuck in an ice age. So far, our Earth is a happy medium. Also, if ozone (O3) is created by our factories and when released near the surface, is considered pollution, how come no one has found a way to shove it up where it can be beneficial to us and plug up the ozone holes? Just wondering.

Update: It seems ozone depletion is not the only culprit in the apparent increase of skin and other cancer cases. The Earth's magnetic field has weakened by as much as 6% in the last century. This magnetic field is what shields us from the onslought of deadly cosmic rays that would normally tear our bodies apart if they weren't mostly deflected out into space by the shield. Obviously other factors play a role in cancer prevalence as well...people living longer, greater daily exposure to chemicals, etc.