Once upon a time, there was a vast sea in the middle of Central Asia. The Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world covering 26,000 square miles, larger than Lake Huron and 14 times the size of the Great Salt Lake. Now, it is the Aralkum Desert.
This didn’t occur over millions of years- the Soviet Union diverted the two rivers that fed it in the 1960’s for irrigation. Fifty years later, the Aral was four small remnant pools saltier than the Dead Sea. Also gone was 40,000 fishing jobs.
aral sea from space- before and after
With the temperature- moderating body of water gone, the area is now 4°F-12°F hotter in summer and colder in winter. This is REAL man-made climate change.
The Colorado River once flowed 1,500 miles through the desert into the Gulf of California. There was a 5,000 square mile desert Delta at the mouth with cottonwood and willow forests in stark contrast to the surrounding desert. No more.
Now all of the water is completely diverted and pumped out. The end of the river is miles from the coast in Morelos, Mexico. The forest is brackish mud flats and salt cedars. This man-made feat was accomplished in six years with the construction of the Hoover Dam.
colorado river delta
Humans have also managed to change the map in a more positive way, with the land reclamation project in the Netherlands. Through a series of dikes, pumping stations, and sea walls, the Netherlands added 2,700 square miles to their now 16,000 square mile country.
This did take a bit more time- about 350 years and ongoing for over 400- but still fairly short in the grand scheme of things.
Another event that involved human contribution occurred in Comal County, Texas. In 2002, water spilling over the Canyon Lake Dam in Texas during a flood event, carved a one mile long, quarter mile wide, fifty foot deep gorge in three days. The maximum water flow during this event was 67,000 cubic feet per second.
As dramatic as these events are, they pale in comparison to Mother Nature.
The Great Salt Lake is a remnant of Lake Bonneville. The glacial lake was larger than Lake Michigan and held a lot more water. When it breached the alluvial dam, the water released flowed at 33,000,000 cubic feet per second, carving out the massive 600- foot deep Snake River Canyon in a matter of weeks.
The water flow also gouged out the Columbia River, forming a channel like the St. Lawrence seaway that allows shipping deep inland.
before
Some of you will remember the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington that reduced the elevation of the mountain over 1,300 feet. The 24 megaton explosion, flattening and scorching everything in a 230 square mile area, was the equivalent of 1,200 Nagasaki atomic bombs.
after
Mt. Vesuvius, which buried Pompeii and several other villages under 20 feet of pumice and ash, released 100,000 times the thermal energy as Nagasaki.
Paricutin, a volcano in Mexico, suddenly surged out of a cornfield in 1943 and grew 1,400 feet in nine years.
Did you know that the Sahara Desert was grassland until about 2,000 BC? A shifting monsoon and overgrazing led to rapid desertification over a few hundred years.
Look at a map of Mississippi River states. Boundaries drawn using the river 200 years ago have significantly changed, with borders now zig-zagging across the location of the river now.
What is my point with all this?
I remember when they first taught us about the Grand Canyon. They pointed to that little river in the bottom and said “that little river carved out this huge canyon! It took it millions of years.”
Call me ignorant, but I just didn’t buy it. I looked at the giant canyon and the little river in one of the crevices, and decided it wasn’t possible. Not even in a jillion years.
The “settled science” man-made climate change advocates point to a 1° temperature rise- over a hundred year period. When Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted in 1991, the global surface temperature was reduced by 2° for two years.
My point is that our revered institution of modern Science is inconsistent and dishonest. Not reliable or valid far too often. Snake River Canyon- weeks. Grand Canyon- millions of years. Temperature changes? NOT volcanic or solar activity (observed and proven) BUT humans.
I am fascinated by many of the “young Earth” theories. Many of them are more plausible than the “Big-Bang” pushers.
I think if given a choice between “The Theory of Natural Selection” or Genesis, I’ll take God’s Word.
Everytime.
Bondo- the real deal 