Krakatoa: historical event is food for thought
Posted on 28. Sep, 2009 by annied in DEFRA, climate change
Listening to and old episode of the Dinner Party Download from APM’s Marketplace making dinner Friday night, the last day of the UN’s Climate Week. A segment of the
from Wikimedia Commons
program told the story of the Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia. The volcanic erruption in 1883 caused alterations in global temperatures for at least five years and “red” “volcanic” skys as far away as Scandinavia. The ash altered cloud composition in earth’s atmosphere making them more reflective (there were more particles in them) resulting in a global temperature reduction of 1.2 degrees Celsius for about 5 years. The chemical composition of the ash, sulfur dioxide caused red skies throughout the earth. The phenomenon was even well documented by artists of the period, most notably “The Scream” by Edvard Munch.
DEFRA combines it's wherewithal with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion-- artistry and climate change
A worldwide temperature decrease is the opposite (obviously) of what we face today: global warming. A scream right now would be appropriate. The history of Krakatoa provides excellent existential and philosophical grist for the mental mill at the start of the week: how will today’s artists document climate change? How have they already?
Places like the Centre for Sustainable Fashion are combining knowledge about traditional techniques in textiles making from several countries. The finished product is both artistic and indicative of artisanal documentation of the next age for our species.
A bit more food for thought: The climate did return to normal which proves what? the resiliency of nature, or nature’s ability to renew itself? After all, acid rain fell and the sulfur dioxide was cleaned from the atmosphere. If we human species clean up our ways will we recover from just a few decades of warmer temperatures and severe weather? Is that hopelessly optimistic? Leave a comment please.