KRAKATAU

As for climate change, you may recall that when Indonesia's Tambora (Fig. 1) erupted in 1815, it produced enough climate cooling to cause many New Englanders to move to the Ohio River Valley. They had not been able to grow crops for two years in New England and were concerned about their future. Most serious, however, was Mt. Toba's (Fig. 1) eruption, on Sumatra 71,000 years ago. That eruption blew 800 cubic kilometers of ash into the air -- 4,000 times as much as Mt. St. Helens.

Toba buried most of India under ash. This was a true cataclysm, as opposed to a less intense catastrophe, because it had significant worldwide effects. An estimated 75 percent of the Northern Hemisphere's plants may have died. At the end of the first six years of climate cooling, a thousand-year ice age began. Perhaps only a few thousand people, living in isolated pockets in Africa, Europe, and Asia survived. Thus, it's just possible that the readings'-predicted "darkening of the Sun" (3976-15) may be severe enough that there will be little or no food to import from other countries, and it may take hundreds of years for a new social reality to emerge.

While it seems foolish to many to even think in such terms, Earth scientists are familiar with assessing such possibilities. And as for those who espouse “traditional knowledge,” one Hopi elder has said, "When the changes begin, there will be a big noise heard all over the Earth." Note that the 535 eruption was heard as a low rumble thousands of miles away. If we hear such a rumble, should we not drive as quickly as possible to grocery and drug stores to load up on necessities? As the saying goes, "Trust in God, but tie your camel first."