Now, this is not a scientifically researched theory – it’s not even a complete enough thought to be classed as a theory. Perhaps you could call it just a whim or musing, but it’s uncomfortably hot in here and I feel the need to vent somewhat.
Think of me as a mad citizen scientist who mostly talks rubbish, or speculatively, if you want to be kind, but there might be something in what I’m saying that’s worth looking into.
What I would like to rage about right now is dams. Yes, those magnificent constructions that stop the flow of gigantic rivers in order to harness Mother Nature’s awesome power and convert it to usable energy for lightbulbs and other creature comforts of modern towns and cities.
The problem is that dams significantly disrupt the flow and movement of our planet.
Just one of those gigantic dams can actually slow down the rotation speed of Earth by a fraction of a second. Multiply that fraction by the thousands of dams that are currently keeping many cities alight, then you are talking about creating serious friction in some way for the planet.
Now, as I say, this argument has no scientific basis that I know of, but I know from school science lessons in my early teens that friction generates heat.
In other words, the world’s dams are causing global heatwaves and wildfires by increasing the temperature of the Earth itself by slowing down its rotation which creates friction, which, in turn, generates heat.
To me it’s no surprise that several dams have burst in the past few days – amid the heatwaves and wildfires.
The planet as an in-built mechanism for attempting to balance itself, so the increased heat has caused sudden and heavy rainfall, which has filled up rivers and burst their banks, flooding towns and cities across Europe and China, to mention but two regions.
Many people blame “global warming” for the wildfires currently raging in the northwestern region of the US. This is likely true, and the ongoing global effort to clean up the planet and stop polluting it is probably helping, or at least not hurting.
But is it time to take a more urgent look at the effects of dams and, while we’re at it, ask ourselves if we can get by without as much energy as we use, and if we can more quickly switch to power generating systems that do not have such a dramatic effect as actually slowing down the speed of rotation of an entire planet?
You don’t need to be a scientist to think there’s got to be consequences there. I mean, you try constantly getting in someone’s way while they’re going to work or shopping. You’ll see sooner or later that their temperature will rise and they might blow up.
But then, you already knew that.