Has anyone else noticed?

1997

I was 12 years old. I remember hearing the words El Niño on the news at my grandmother's cottage in Nova Scotia (about 2 hours North of Halifax). Now, I have always been a bit odd, feeling things and noticing things that others don't. But, that year others noticed the strange things that happened.

First, there was wave after wave of abnormal creatures for our area. Things I have never seen before, like clear jellyfish that don't sting; thousands of them. There were also new sea gulls. Don't misunderstand, we had sea gulls, and lots of them. They were a very distinct pattern, pristine white, grey wings, a red dot on the bottom of the end of their beak. Yes, they are flying rats, but ours had their own beauty.

The invaders look like someone threw mud at ours. Dirty-looking mottled grey with a black-tipped beak.
Then, came the fish. Thousands and thousands of small, silver fish that looked like they were staring at you. No one had ever seen them before. It would have been fine if it was in the water that we were observing them, but no, they died by the thousands, all over our private beach. And, when they died, their pectoral fins (the ones on the sides) stuck straight out.

You might not immediately realize what this means. It basically means that when you go for a walk on the beach, you have to tip toe around thousands of dead fish (some of which were slightly buried in sand), in order to not have them embed themselves in the sole of your foot.

Ever since then, I've noticed something else. Something that I have no recollection of happening before. The weather, at the very least here in Eastern Canada, started to follow a very cyclical pattern. El Niño was in effect between 1997 and 1998, then again between 2014 and 2016. It has happened before, many, many times, the earliest recorded being 1790-93.

The thing is, it seems to strengthen the changes every time it happens (from my very short time viewpoint, using an incredible ability to see patterns). Since that time in 1997, there is a very noticeable warm-cool-warm-cool cycle, just about every 3 days.

I've seen the effects: people getting sick more often, arthritis increasing in pain levels, global warming, hotter, dryer summers, followed by record-breaking winters. The natural cycle is being...warped.

We blame it on pollution and carbon buildup. Perhaps we are right. Back during the Triassic period, there was much higher carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere, but, being 200 million years ago, was at a very different time for the Sun's life cycle. Our sun is brighter than it was then. This means as we increase the carbon dioxide in the current atmosphere, the changes will happen MUCH faster.

Carbon dioxide was (coincidence or not) at its highest levels at every extinction event before we were here.

As much as I disagree with a Carbon Tax (Dictator Trudeau's newest poverty enhancer), maybe it is what is necessary for us to start using less fossil fuels, which will at least help a little.

Warm, carbon-enhanced food for thought.