Polar Cities a Haven in Warming World?

Polar Cities a Haven in Warming World?

so asked ANDREW C. REVKIN of THE NEW YORK TIMES on his DOT EARTH BLOG in 2008, writing:

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/polar-cities-a-haven-in-warming-world/

One vision of a “polar city” in an overheated world. -- (Illustration by Deng Cheng-hong) [of Taiwan]

Danny Bloom, a USA freelance writer and editor living in Taiwan, is on a one-man campaign to get people to seriously consider a worst-case prediction of the British chemist and inventor James Lovelock: life in “polar cities” arrayed around the shores of an ice-free Arctic Ocean in a greenhouse-warmed world.

Dr. Lovelock, who in 1972 conceived of Earth’s crust, climate and veneer of life as a unified self-sustaining entity, Gaia, foresees humanity in full pole-bound retreat within a century as areas around the tropics roast — a scenario far outside even the worst-case projections of climate scientists.

After reading a newspaper column in which Dr. Lovelock predicted disastrous warming, Mr. Bloom (a frequent comment poster on Dot Earth) teamed up with Deng Cheng-hong, a Taiwanese artist, and set up Web sites showing designs for self-sufficient Arctic communities.

Mr. Bloom told me his intent was to conduct a thought experiment that might prod people out of their comfort zone on climate — which remains, for many, a someday, somewhere issue. [Ed. note: sci fi author Jim Laughter from Mounds, Oklahoma is also writing a book independently about polar city life in 2080 titled POLAR CITY RED.]

I interviewed Dr. Lovelock two years ago on his dire climate forecast and prescriptions — and also his ultimately optimistic view that humans will muddle through, albeit with a greatly reduced population. There’s a video of my chat with Dr. Lovelock here.

“At six going on eight billion people,” Dr. Lovelock told me, “the idea of any further development is almost obscene. We’ve got to learn how to retreat from the world that we’re in. Planning a good retreat is always a good measure of generalship.”

The retreat, he insists, will be toward the poles. Bloom calls himself  ''James Lovelock's Accidental Student.'' [GOOGLE]

It’s a dubious scenario, particularly on time scales shorter than centuries. But — as we’ve written extensively in recent years — there is already an intensifying push to develop Arctic resources and test shipping routes that could soon become practical should the floating sea ice in the Arctic routinely vanish in summers.

Sensing the shift, the Coast Guard has proposed establishing its first permanent Arctic presence, a helicopter station in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in the United States.

It’s not a stretch to think of Barrow as a hub for expanding commercial fishing and trade through the Bering Strait.

The strategic significance of an opening Arctic recently made the pages of Foreign Affairs magazine, in an article by one of my longtime sources on this issue, Scott Borgerson, a former Coast Guard officer who is now a scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“It is no longer a matter of if, but when, the Arctic Ocean will open to regular marine transportation and exploration of its lucrative natural-resource deposits,” he wrote.

 So even if humanity isn’t driven to Arctic shores by climate calamity at lower latitudes, it’s a sure bet that the far north will be an ever busier place. Urban planners, get out your mukluks.

In the meantime, scientists, marathon runners, and others are already making the North Pole a busy place.

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THE RAINBOW COVENANT

In spite of the evidence, many people in Tuvalu don't
believe they will be forced to leave their sinking island in the Pacific , and point to their Bibles for proof. In this deeply missionary-fed Christian country, great faith is placed in the
words of Genesis, which says that rainbows are proof God is keeping
his covenant made with Noah to never again flood the earth. What is
going to happen to a nation without their home islands to anchor what
is left of their culture?

Asks a documentary by Juriaan Booij

An interview with an American NGO on Tuvalu about his work helping the island nation survive climate change, come hell and high water!

1. Why did you go to Tuvalu and when did you go there for the first time?

DAVID: I came here 6 years ago, and fell in love with the place and the people. The views are stunning, the sunsets out of this world, and I am doing what I can to get the word out that Tuvalu is the ground zero of rising sea levels in the battle against coal and oil burniong and CO2 emissions worldwide? I plan to stay here for the rest of my life.

2. What in your earlier life in New York made you feel you want to work
with climate issues on a small faraway island in the Pacific?

At college, I majored in Environmewntal Studies. I read books by Lovelock and Mark Lynas. I am an atheist. I believe we are in deep trouble.

3. How old are you now?

I am 35 years old. Male pattern baldness runs in my family and I am beginning to lose my hair, especially in the hot tropical sun here. I love it. Bald is beautiful!

4. How long have you been in Tuvalu and how long do you plan to stay there?

been here since 2004 and plan to stay until I die.

5. are you worried about climate change and global warming? in your
lifetime or later in the future?

I am very worried about global warming right now.

6. are you worried about rising sea levels? in your lifetime or later
in the future?

I am very worried about rising sea levels right now.

I am very worried. That is why I am here now. Remember Baba Ram Dass and his BE HERE NOW books? Well, I am being here now.

7. What is it like living in Tuvalu, thinking every day that YOU are
living as Ground Zero of climate change?
I mean, since Tuvalu is the place where the rising sea will strike
FIRST, how does it feel to be living there,
having friends there? how do you FEEL inside in your heart? your
emotions? is it hard to there? or full of joy?

I like it here. The people are wonderful. They are friendly, kind and animated. They love life, they love their islands. They love God. I feel at home here.

8. are you religious? do yuou feel God or Buddha will protect Tuvalu from rising seas? Is religion important to the
people of Tuvalue , in your opinion?

I am an atheist. Humans need to stop use of coal and oil now. NOW!./ In spite of the evidence, many people in Tuvalu don't


believe they will be forced to leave their sinking island in the

Pacific , and point to their Bibles for

proof. In this deeply missionary-fed Christian country, great faith is

placed in the

words of Genesis, which says that rainbows are proof God is keeping

his covenant made with Noah to never again flood the earth. What is

going to happen to a nation without their home islands to anchor what

is left of their culture?
9. who are your heroes in Tuvalu?

The people. They rock!

10. Who are your heroes in the whole world, in USA or everywhere?

James Lovelock and James Hansen and Andy Revkin and James Hansem and James Howard Kunstler and Margaret Atwood are my heroes. Ghandi, Martin Luther King, all those who stood up for truth and justice.

Non-Existent Interview with gagged Japanese NGO activist Haruna Kitazoe in Tuvalu

We asked Japanese NGO staffer Haruna Kitazoe in Tuvala if we could interview her about her work there for a Japaense NGO. She told us that we had to send her the questions in writing first and that she would ahve to asked her Japanese NGO boss in Tokyo Mr Hideo Saito if it was okay to communicate with this climate blog. Sicne Japan is still a semi-feudal and semi-police state that does not allow its citizens freedom of speech, even when overseas and working for the betterment of society, Miss Kitazoe, who is fluent in perfect English and is in her mid-20s, was apparently not allowed to answer our questions, since after the initial contacts by email and Facebook, she has refused all contact with this blogger now, obviously under
strict orders of her semi-feudal boss who does not allow his employees to speak freely to the media, which show how Japan is more like communist China than free and democratic North America or Europe. Sigh. But between the lines, we can infer that Haruna might have said the following things, after seeing her in a recent TV documentary titled ''TAIVALU'', in which she did speak freely...

.







1. Why did you go to Tuvalu and when did you go there for the first time?









SHE MIGHT HAVE SAID, if had not been under a gag order: I wanted to see what was happening in Tuvalu up close and personal.







2. what in your earlier life in Japan made you feel you want to work



with environment issues?







SHE MIGHT HAVE SAID: I have always cared about the Earth and the environment and I love to



walk of Tuvalu's sunny sandy beaches, especially during the Christmas holidays. It is so beautiful here.









3. How old are you now?







SHE MIGHT HAVE SAID, if had not been under a gag order: In my 20s.









4. How long have you been in Tuvalu and how long do you pkan to stay there?







SHE MIGHT HAVE SAID, if had not been under a gag order: I am not allowed to answer this question, sorry. Gomenasai!









5. are you worried about climate change and global warming? in your



lifetime or later in the future?







SHE MIGHT HAVE SAID, if had not been under a gag order: I am very worried, sure. In my lifetime, yes. But I am not allowed to answer this question truthfylly due to Japan's strange PR interview rules. We are a bit



like communist CHina in this regard. Japan is not a free and open society, as you know.









6. are you worried about rising sea levels? in your lifetime or later



in the future?







SHE MIGHT HAVE SAID, if had not been under a gag order: See answer above.









7. What is it like living in Tuvalu, thinking every day that YOU are



living as Ground Zero of climate change?



I mean, since Tuvalu is the place where the rising sea will strike



FIRST, how does it feel to be living there,



having friends there? how do you FEEL inside in your heart? your



emotions? is it hard to there? or full of joy?







SHE MIGHT HAVE SAID, if had not been under a gag order: I am not allowed to say my true feelings, gomensai.









8. Are you religious, Haruna? do yuou feel God or Buddha or the Shinto Gods



will protect Tuvalu from rising seas? Is religion important to the



people of Tuvalu , in your opinion?







SHE MIGHT HAVE SAID, if had not been under a gag order: In spite of the evidence, many people in Tuvalu don't





believe they will be forced to leave their sinking island in the



Pacific , and point to their Bibles for



proof. In this deeply missionary-fed Christian country, great faith is



placed in the words of Genesis, which says that rainbows are proof God is keeping



his covenant made with Noah to never again flood the earth. But what is



going to happen to a nation without their home islands to anchor what



is left of their culture?









9. who are your heroes in Tuvalu?







SHE MIGHT HAVE SAID, if had not been under a gag order: I am not allowed to speak to the media without permission of my boss.









10. Who are your heroes in the whole world, in Japan or everywhere?







SHE MIGHT HAVE SAID, if had not been under a gag order: I cannot tell you for fear of retribution.

So you see, all ye who are reading here, we asked Japanese NGO staffer Haruna Kitazoe in Tuvala if we could interview her about her work there for a Japaense NGO. She told us that we had to send her the questions in writing first and that she would ahve to asked her Japanese NGO boss in Tokyo Mr Hideo Saito if it was okay to communicate with this climate blog. Sicne Japan is still a semi-feudal and semi-police state that does not allow its citizens freedom of speech, even when overseas and working for the betterment of society, Miss Kitazoe, who is fluent in perfect English and is in her mid-20s, was apparently not allowed to answer our questions, since after the initial contacts by email and Facebook, she has refused all contact with this blogger now, obviously under strict orders of her semi-feudal boss who does not allow his employees to speak freely to the media, which show how Japan is more like communist China than free and democratic North America or Europe. Sigh. But between the lines, we can infer that Haruna might have said the following things, after seeing her in a recent TV documentary titled ''TAIVALU'', in which she did speak freely...

Future headlines for POLAR CITY RED, a novel by Jim Laughter...

Tulsa novelist goes where no man has gone before: Polar cities in our future?

Climate thriller shines light on possible polar future

Tulsa novelist imagines 'polar cities' for climate survival

Tulsa novelist pens climate dystopia set in 2080

Tulsa novelist imagines climate dystopia after Lower 48 collapse

Tulsa novelist imagines
climate dystopia for
'polar refugees'

Diary of a Polar City Prepper

I am a polar city prepper. By that, I mean that I am preparing for the worst case scenario in the climate scenarios unfolding in our time, and that is that I am preparing for life in a polar city sometime in the future: probably Alaska but I might end up in Canada or Russia, too, depending on how the lottery goes. Or Tasmania or New Zealand.

It's not that I want to live in a polar city. No, I'd rather keep my apartment in Los Angeles, close by the Hollywood studios where I get paid handsome fees to write movie scripts, most of them un-produced by the way. I got me a wife, two kids, a nice home, ocean nearby, nice car, vacations in the Maldives and Paris in the summer, what more can a man ask for?

But yes, I am a polar city prepper. I am preparing for the worst. As I see it, the entire Lower 48 will be gone, a wasteland. No water, no food, no fuel, no people. Those who survive will make it up to north Alaska and Canada, maybe over to Russia or Norway by ship. There won't be any more airplanes by then. We are talking End of the Known World. A new world being born, and not a pretty picture at all.

DIARY CONINTUES at http://pcillu101.blogspot.com

Survivalism -- ''Polar Cities'' Just Might Be the Ticket in 2121 A.D.

They call themselves 'polar city preppers.' They are regular people with homes and families. But like the survivalists that came before them, they're preparing for the worst -- polar cities in Alaska, Canada and Russia, and Tasmania and New Zealand, too...

http://pcillu101.blogspot.com/



Jessica Barnett reports

Misa Bradford is what you'd imagine of a stereotypical soccer mom. She drives a white Tahoe SUV. An American flag flies outside her suburban Phoenix home. She sells Pampered Chef kitchen tools and likes to bake. Bedford and her husband have two young children, four dogs, and go to church on Sunday.

But about a year ago, Bedford's homemaking skills went into overdrive. She began stockpiling canned food, and converted a spare bedroom into a giant storage facility. The trunk of each of her family's cars got its own 72-hour emergency kit—giant Tupperware containers full of iodine, beef jerky, emergency blankets, and even a blood-clotting agent designed for the battle-wounded. Bedford started thinking about an escape plan in case her family needed to leave in a hurry, and she and her husband set aside packed suitcases and cash.

 Then, for the first time in her life, Bedford went to a gun range and shot a .22 handgun. Now she regularly takes her two young children, 7 and 10, to target practice. "Over the last two years, I started feeling more and more unsettled about everything I was seeing, and I started thinking, 'What if we were in the same boat?'" says Bedford, 29.

In the past, survivalists and conspiracy theorists might go out into the woods, live out of a bunker, waiting (or sometimes hoping) for the apocalypse to hit. It was men, mostly; many of them antigovernment, often portrayed by the media as radicals of the likes of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. In the late 1990s, Y2K fears brought survivalism to the mainstream, only to usher it back out again when disaster didn't strike. (Suddenly, unused survival gear began showing up in classifieds and on eBay.)

A decade later, "polar city preppers" are what you might call survivalism's Third Wave: regular people with jobs and homes whose are increasingly fearful about the future—their paranoia compounded by 24-hour cable news. "Between the media and the Internet, many people have built up a sense that there's this calamity out there that needs to be avoided," says Art Markman, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Texas who studies the way people think. And while they may not envision themselves as Kevin Costner in Waterworld—in fact, many preppers go out of their way to avoid the stereotypes that come along with the "survivalist" label—they've made a clear-eyed calculation about the risks at hand and aren't waiting around for anybody else to fix them. "I consider it more of a reaction than a movement," says Tom Martin, a 32-year-old Idaho truck driver who is the founder of the American Preppers Network, which receives some 5,000 visitors to its Web site each day. "There are so many variables and potential disasters out there, being a prepper is just a reaction to that potential."

That reaction, of course, means different things to different people. Some prep for economic disaster, while others prep to escape genetically modified foods. An organic farmer could be considered a prepper; so might an urban gardener. Some preppers fear putting their names out in public—they don't want every desperate soul knocking down their door in the event of a disaster—while others see it as a network they can rely upon were something horrible to happen. Some preppers fear the complete breakdown of society, while others simply want to stock up on extra granola bars and lighter fluid in case of a blackout or a storm. Hard-core survivalists might think of preppers as soft; "Eventually, the Chef Boyardee is going to run out," jokes Cody Lundin, the founder of the Aboriginal Living Skills School, a survival camp based out of his home in Prescott, Az. But prepping, says Martin, is just a new word for a very old way of life. "You don't have to have a survival retreat loaded with guns secluded in the wilderness to be a prepper," adds David Hill Sr., 54, a former jet mechanic who runs the Web site WhatisaPrepper from his home in rural West Virginia. "There are many people who live in urban and suburban areas who don't own guns who also identify themselves as preppers."

Researchers say that interest in survivalism can often be a barometer of social anxiety; and in many cases, says sociologist Richard Mitchell, it can be a response to modern stress. If that's true, it's no surprise we're seeing an uptick in it now: from climate change to the economy, swine flu to terrorism, the current state of the world is enough to make even the biggest cynic just a little bit worried. As U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano reminded us in a recent speech at the American Red Cross, 90 percent of Americans live in an area where there is moderate or high risk of natural disaster. "I think what we're experiencing is a kind of generational panic attack," says Neil Strauss, the former New York Times writer whose latest book, Emergency, is about how to survive in a disaster. "We were born in a good time. We experienced booming technology and rising stock prices. And then all of a sudden, 9/11 happened, Katrina happened, the economy plunged. And it's like the rug being pulled out from under our feet."

While there's no scientific data to track survivalism's recent growth, some preppers have speculated it's reached a level not matched in decades. Emergency-supply retailers say they're seeing business boom; the Red Cross has had a surge in volunteers over the past year (up some 160,000 over 2008), and there are networks of preppers—from Prepper.org to the Suburban Prepper, to Bedford's own blog, "The Survival Mom"—sprouting up all over the Web. FEMA's new head under Obama, Craig Fugate, has encouraged Americans to get in touch with their inner survivalist. "I encourage all Americans to take some simple steps to make their families more prepared, such as developing a family communications plan," he tells NEWSWEEK. His organization recently launched a "Resolve to be Ready" campaign suggesting that Americans to make preparedness part of their New Year's resolutions. "I think what people have come to realize is that [organizations like ours] can't always be everywhere we need to be as quickly as we need to be," says Jonathan Aiken, a spokesman for the American Red Cross. "So I think the messaging has changed, from FEMA on down, that in the event of an emergency, people need to be prepared to take care of themselves for a couple of days until the rest of us can come out and get to you."