Climate Change Poem 23

Minnows, June 2009

Two global events are occurring on September 24, 2011:

1. Moving Planet, a worldwide rally to demand solutions to the climate crisis.


2. 100 Thousand Poets for Change, a demonstration/celebration of poetry to promote serious social, environmental, and political change.


I thought: Why not do both?

Barring an emergency, I am posting from midnight to midnight, one poem per hour (at any time during that hour). That's starting from 00:00-01:00 and ending at 23:00-24:00 Eastern Time today.

All the poems are sonnets. Each takes its cue from an article dealing with climate change. The articles had been posted beginning on September 15 -- the date of the 24-hour Climate Reality Project that inspired me to do this -- to September 19, the day I drafted the twenty-fourth poem.

The poem for Hour 23 takes its cue from "Deep oceans may mask global warming" (Sarah Kellett, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sept. 19, 2011).

Depth Perception

If global warming energies abound,
Then why do we still wrap ourselves in wool?
U.S. and Aussie scientists have found
That surface temperatures may well be cool

Because the sea absorbs that excess heat.
The warming cycle just appears to slow.
A decade-long hiatus could repeat,
But temperatures keep climbing down below.

And if the simulations prove correct,
Eighteen percent is the expected rise,
When up above, a countering effect
Appears like a La Niña in disguise.

The ocean's circulation is the key
That might unlock this deeper mystery.

Audio (1:11):

Part of the Solution website (chosen at random)
Ecosystem Marketplace, "a leading source of news, data, and analytics on markets and payments for ecosystem services."
Elissa Malcohn's Deviations and Other JourneysPromote Your Page Too Vol. 1, Deviations: Covenant (2nd Ed.), Vol. 2, Deviations: Appetite, Vol. 3, Deviations: Destiny, Vol. 4, Deviations: Bloodlines, Vol. 5, Deviations: TelZodo, Vol. 6 and conclusion: Deviations: Second Covenant.Free downloads at the Deviations website (click here for alternate link), Smashwords, and Manybooks.

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