As a child like all other children I loved dinosaurs, painted rainbows and admired very rare beautiful sunsets.
Mostly boring sunsets. Sol dropping down without much color in the surrounding atmosphere. My generation rarely saw them and when I first came across Turners work I assumed he was simply part of impressionism fascinated by adding color. Art books rarely talked about anything beyond technique and analysis.
Turner painted sunrises/sunsets obsessively. (1750s)
Turners obsession came during the first industrial revolution. A time when Fossil fuels and particularly steam technology changed the colors of the sky. Back then pollution wasn't much of a concern.
For the last decade I'm seeing individuals all over the world take pictures of rainbows all over the world and something I enjoyed for its beauty and rarity I no longer do.
All these incredible sunsets and rainbows mean increased particulates in the air. Increased through moisture and a lack of settling onto the ground during the day.
Sahara dust windstorm pollution active volcanoes wildfires contribute to this phenomenon especially around evaporating lakes and rivers. Basically soot dust chemicals sea salt ash etc.
Another factor is Co2. Creating heat domes. Humans thrive at 200 to 380 ppm. We're at 420 ppm at the moment. It's one of the reasons our population grew. Dinosaurs thrived at 700 co2 to 2500 co2 ppm. That level would have been toxic to us long term and lasted for 150 million years. Most likely due to supervolcanoes brought about by tectonic plates shifting.
I was watching a relatively recent interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger. When he was governor he couldnt convince anyone; no one cared about smog or pollution, but when he exaggerated that babies were dying he was able to get enough public support to get his bill passed.
I've mentioned before, while obviously important to me and my readers most people don't care about biodiversity, mass extinction but affect health noticeably and we probably would have had better success in preventing this.
P.S. forgot this good article on rainbows
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/rainbows-climate-change-increase-myths-omen
I learned something new today. I didn't realize that this is what was causing the beautiful sunsets.
ReplyDeleteCarl
Toxic beauty
DeleteMost people are very Environmentally Unconscious rather than Environmentally Conscious, and they tend to mock those of us who have been protecting the Environment and think we're hastening some of the bad things happening Environmentally. I didn't know Colorful Sunsets were due to particulates... so I learned something new... and we have ahhhhmazing Sunsets in Arizona that are very Colorful. Desert Air does tend to have a lot of particulates tho', so it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteCodex
DeleteYours is natural. Mostly. Same with oceans. Wonder if Iceland has a lot of them.
Hastening? How so?
Bo do native am. Consider rainbows/sunsets good or bad?
DeleteFor Question No. One, I think Humans tend to hasten some things that might be Naturally occurring whether we were here or not, like Climate Change, which, I think the Earth has done for Millennium with or without us, but we do so much to damage our own Ecosystems and Environment... so might just be adding to it to quicken it... perhaps? I have never heard any of my Native American Relatives mention much about Rainbows or Sunsets, but most Indigenous do revere the Natural World and Honor the Lives of all Sentient Beings, no matter what they are, Plant, Animal, Reptile, etcetera. I was Raised that way and I couldn't imagine being any other way, it just makes sense to me to Honor Mother Earth and all of the Creatures we inhabit the Earth with and try to protect it all for Generations to come and not just be thinking of this Moment alone and irresponsible with what we're Stewards of. I do know my Dad found it odd to consider that any of the Earth "Belonged" to any Individual, if it were not for our Mom, I doubt Dad would have thought of Owning Property. There were many things he considered Sacred and found it rather Odd of what most Anglo Religions considered Sacred while not necessarily Honoring what the Creator had Created for us all to inhabit together and should work in Harmony.
DeleteI misunderstood. Thought you ment environmentalists sped it up.
DeleteWe definitely did this. Would take 100s if not millions of years to change what we managed in 200 years.
Codex
ReplyDeleteJust looked Iceland sunsets are spectacular. Added an article link.
Couldn't read the article, behind a paywall. But when I asked if particulate matter in the sky increased rainbows or increased their visibility since they form through sunlight and water, the answer was particulate matter in the atmosphere would dull rainbows as if looking at them through smoke or dust which of course we would be down here looking up. Sunsets, oh yes, I knew that.
ReplyDeleteThis planet has undergone five major extinctions in the past history of the planet, we are currently in the sixth. Man made? Absolutely. Global warming aside, humans have destroyed habitat as they spread across the globe, cutting down forests, killing everything in sight. It only took 20 years to bring the buffalo to the brink of extinction. this attitude that humans are the end all and be all and that everything else on the planet if for our use, the arrogance that no other life matters and doesn't affect us is rooted in Abrahamic religions. The creation story says as much. Unfortunately humans twisted caring for the planet and its inhabitants to take this world and use it up.
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DeleteIt does and depends on the type of particulate.
Try what is the reason for an increase in rainbow sightings.
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ReplyDeleteI don't disagree with you except for the religious part.