Though the Gulf Stream usually moderates the weather in Britain, it's not happening this year, and I attribute its wonkiness to climate change (global warming, climate instability - take your pick).
I read the following in HEAT, by George Monbiot:
The Gulf Stream is part of a general oceanic circulation, which is mostly driven by the sinking of surface waters in the far north of the Atlantic. As they roll southwards over the seabed, they create the currents, which, after a long journey, return to northern Europe, carrying heat from the tropics.
The reason they sink is that they are both cold and salty, and therefore denser than the waters beneath them.
[Link to Gulf Stream]
For at least twenty years, some oceanographers have warned that this sinking, and therefore the ‘overturning circulation’ (the deep ocean currents which drive the whole system), could either weaken or stop altogether because meltwater flowing into the Arctic seas would dilute the salty surface waters.
If this happened, northern Europe could be reduced to tundra, while the tropics, as heat was not transported away from them, would become very much hotter.
This has taken place before.
As the Gulf Stream weakens and England cools I predict the demand for fossil fuels (and many types of insulation) will surely rise - along with the price of said fuels.
["Wanted - all types of insulation": link to photo]
We don’t need a rocket scientist to tell us what happens to the economy of a country or lifestyle of its citizens when the price of fossil fuels rise sharply.
Is this a good time to suggest we live small, or reduce spending, pay down debts, and save money for tough times ahead?
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Raise your hand if you know how to knit your own woollen long johns.
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