I just finished reading
Apocalypse 2012 by Lawrence E. Joseph, in which Mr. Joseph lays out his case for why 2012 will likely be a year of great change, if not the end of civilization as we know it (
btw, I found it at the library).
The book is divided into 6 sections that lay out the arguments that 2012 is the year of the Apocalypse. In each section, Joseph lays out the science backing each argument and leads you through as he himself questions whether this prediction leads to 2012 as the end of civilization.
I will highlight the support for 2012 being the year of intense change and then I will talk about what I got from the book. As for what I think will happen in 2012 or beyond, you can tune in Thursday for that post.
Section I: Time:
In this section, the main focus is the Mayan calendar whose end date is 13.0.0.0.0, or in our terms, 12/21/2012. The Mayans had a sophisticated mathematical and observation based formula for developing various calendars. The system has stood the test of time so far. The Mayan teaching is that 13.0.0.0.0 will be a year of "new birth and spiritual enlightenment" or "the end of time". In the case of new birth, Mayan elders point out that birth is not without its share of blood and pain, but the end outcome is better than if you had not gone through the trauma of the birth. The prediction/belief is that things will be more and more turbulent as we get closer and closer to that date.
The Mayans view this as the natural circle of time. It is interesting to note that Joseph says in his book that the Mayans believe that everyone who was ever on Earth will return to have a chance to make things right and turn to the higher power. That is why (they believe) the population increase has been so intense in recent (relatively) years.
Section II: Earth:
The biggest (no pun intended) point of this section is that Yellowstone, a super volcano, is showing signs of increased activity and is threatening to erupt in what can only be described as a life altering (if not ending) massive explosion that would literally rock our world. I have to admit that this argument and it supporting facts were a *tiny bit* disturbing, since I live the central US. I am not necessarily close to Yellowstone, but I am not necessarily anywhere near far enough away from it if it were to explode. I would be in the zone where estimated ash would be, oh, several feet deep. Not that it matters, since there would be enough ash and such in the air to cut off the sun for about 2 years. So much for those solar flashlights I just purchased.
There are also the matters of a potential pole shift (leaving us with less protection from the sun while the North and South poles switch as they have done many times before), increased storm activities, weakening pressure on continental plates with the ice cap melting (therefore they will move more easily) and an enormous crack in Africa that many people have come to realize will be the future bed of a new ocean floor once Mother Nature moves on with her plan.
Section III: Sun:
This seems to be Joseph's strongest argument for why 2012 will be a year of catastrophic change. The sun goes through 11 year cycles of solar maximum and solar minimum, times when the storms on the surface of the sun are either increased or decreased. In late 2004 and 2005, the sun went a little crazy and was more active than nearly any other time in history that we have information on. The increase in the sun's activity coincided with the huge Indian tsunami and with Katrina, Rita,
et.
al. There is a lot of info in this section, so I am sure I am not doing it justice.
Anyway, all this increase in activity was during a solar minimum, or when the sun is supposed to be quiet. Many scientists believe that things are setting up for the solar maximum (2011, 2012 would be the height of it) to be unbelievable active. That being said, yesterday I was reading some information on NASA.gov noting that 2008 (the year
after this book was published) and so far, 2009 have been unbelievably quiet and other scientists are predicting a less active solar maximum - go figure.
There also is the tiny issue of global warming, but that is so over talked about that I will just leave it pretty much alone. Suffice it to say that there is evidence that right now it is warmer than it has been for the past 50,000 years (overall, on average). Joseph also goes into why there is a growing belief that the Earth and Sun interact, meaning the Earth can affect the intensity of the storms on the Sun and how global warming could impact that interaction.
Section IV: Space:
I have to admit, when it comes to outer space, I am baffled. It is inconceivable to me how we can understand so much of what is out there - billions and billions of miles away. Regardless, it would seem that the Earth enters into a solar system eclipse once every 26,000 years, when the solar system blocks our view of the Milky Way's center (which appears to be a black hole). This has some not so great implications when put together with the next part.
There is research supporting that we are in an interstellar energy cloud that will mess with the Sun's behavior and Earth's reaction to it and various challenges we already face within Earth's own atmosphere. I will not even attempt to summarize the details, but I will say this part was really engaging, interesting and is worth a read.
One thing to note is that scientists do agree that the Sun has the power to impact us with enough energy to wipe out our electrical grids for a good, long time. That would spell catastrophe for much of the developed world and the developing world that depends on the developed world happily continuing to function as is.
Section V: Extinction
We are way overdue for a mass extinction. That is the premise of this section. The range (including the outliers) of times between when 90% of the species on Earth go extinct is at least every 62 - 65 million years. A mass extinction of some sort (
ala, the dinosaurs). Call it purification of the Earth. We are at the edge of that range, at 65 million years. Of course, a year or two is quite a small fraction of that large amount of time, so who knows if this really predicts that 2012 is the actual year.
This section also covers the risks of comets and the fear of the unknown of what is out there.
Section VI: Armageddon:
I found this section somewhat disturbing, although not terrifying as it is subject to interpretation. Here is what I mean: Several ancient texts (including The Bible, supported in The Bible Code by Michael
Dronsin) have signs and symbols that point to 2012 as the end of time. Some very interesting information here about what appears to be encoded in The Bible.
Joseph goes on to cover a lot of Armageddon stuff that we have already heard, such as the four trumpeters and the predictions laid out in the Book of Revelations. He even goes so far as to suggest who could be the great deceiver (wow). It is eerie how so many varied religions have predicts surrounding this time.
Joseph also points out how dangerous this time is in that we have a lot of our roommates here on Earth that would love to see the Armageddon stuff played out sooner rather than later - folks who have read this information and are trying to make the "signs" happen so as to usher in the final days. Mainly people that don't care if they die. He warns that some of us could make 2012 a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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I have to say that I did enjoy the book. Joseph is an entertaining writer, injecting humor in an otherwise rather dire subject. He does seem to ask a lot of the questions I was asking myself, so I appreciated his thoroughness in that regard. I could tell that his belief was grounded in his gut reaction to meeting a lot of the experts to which he spoke, as would be the case for any of us. You know, how you met someone and just get a good feeling about them (or not). The unfortunate thing about reading about his meetings with these people is that you cannot gain the same level of trust just reading about it. Nevertheless, I will say that I have no reason to suspect that any of the experts are not being truthful - all seem to have good credentials.
Of course, since no one can ever KNOW for certain what will happen in the future, these are just (very, very) educated guesses based on each person's years of research and study, just as the book is the result of months of study for Mr. Joseph. And, of course, for every person you find with a theory, you will find at least one with the opposite theory. I just don't put a lot of credibility in the theory that says, "Earth and life as we know it will always be as it is today because that is how it has been for a while now and none of us want it to change." Support the theory with facts and trends, and then we can talk.
I will say this: I don't think that anyone will argue with the fact that the past several thousand years have been relatively stable for our planet. Unusually so, in fact. It is highly unlikely that things will stay as is forever. Now, whether this stability will change in 2012 or sometime in the future, is up for debate - for sure.
Overall, the book was very interesting, had a lot of information (and agreed with that information) from several other sources I have been reading over the past few years, and was often funny. Joseph does a good job of organizing the material and leaving you with a lump in your stomach at times.
Tune in Thursday for my thoughts on the future after reading this book.
