1 00:00:00,359 --> 00:00:05,270 Hey everyone, welcome to Shark Week at Half as Interesting! 2 00:00:05,270 --> 00:00:07,520 This year, we got rid of all of the sharks. 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:13,179 That’s because I have something even scarier: it’s an index card that says “the ocean 4 00:00:13,179 --> 00:00:18,410 is getting a little less salty.” 5 00:00:18,410 --> 00:00:20,160 Why isn’t everyone screaming? 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,210 Is that not scary enough? 7 00:00:22,210 --> 00:00:25,790 Well, what if I told you it might kill thousands of people in Europe? 8 00:00:25,790 --> 00:00:31,240 Ok… what if I told you it might kill thousands of people in Western Europe? 9 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:37,780 See, it is scary, and it all has to do with the collapse of everyone’s favorite gulf-based 10 00:00:37,780 --> 00:00:39,070 stream, the Gulf Stream. 11 00:00:39,070 --> 00:00:42,810 Now, before you go get performative depression about the Gulf Stream collapsing to impress 12 00:00:42,810 --> 00:00:47,310 your latest Tinder match, I should probably explain what the Gulf Stream actually is. 13 00:00:47,310 --> 00:00:51,410 Basically, it’s a major ocean current—one of the many continuous streams of seawater 14 00:00:51,410 --> 00:00:56,110 that keep our oceans moving and interconnected, sort of like our proud American railway system, 15 00:00:56,110 --> 00:01:00,170 except faster, more reliable, and somehow filled with fewer dead fish. 16 00:01:00,170 --> 00:01:04,070 The Gulf Stream, specifically, is the current that extends from the tip of Florida, across 17 00:01:04,070 --> 00:01:08,140 the Atlantic ocean, and splits up around the UK and Northern Europe. 18 00:01:08,140 --> 00:01:12,320 Now at this point you might be thinking, “Boy, I’m sure glad I didn’t bring this up on 19 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:14,400 Tinder, this doesn’t sound titillating at all! 20 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,470 You’re the worst pick-up artist channel I’ve ever watched.” 21 00:01:17,470 --> 00:01:19,130 But here’s the deal: you’re wrong. 22 00:01:19,130 --> 00:01:23,950 The Gulf Stream is titillating, in much the same way that Al Gore is titillating, because 23 00:01:23,950 --> 00:01:27,360 it has a massive impact on the way that our climate works. 24 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:32,670 You see, the Gulf Stream transports ocean water at an insane rate of between 30 and 25 00:01:32,670 --> 00:01:38,229 150 sverdrups—that’s a flow unit based on, from how I understand it, how fast oceanographer 26 00:01:38,229 --> 00:01:43,210 Harald Sverdrup could chug ocean water, which, famously, was one million cubic meters per 27 00:01:43,210 --> 00:01:44,210 second. 28 00:01:44,210 --> 00:01:48,030 To put that into perspective, the combined force of every single river that connects 29 00:01:48,030 --> 00:01:52,530 to the Atlantic ocean only totals to about 0.6 sverdrups. 30 00:01:52,530 --> 00:01:57,570 But crucially, this huge stream of water originates near the equator, making it some of the warmest 31 00:01:57,570 --> 00:01:59,270 water in the Atlantic ocean. 32 00:01:59,270 --> 00:02:04,280 The Northward flow of all of that warm water—and therefore warm air—accounts for about 20% 33 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:09,390 of all heat on Earth, and that plays a major role in Europe’s not-totally-frozen climate. 34 00:02:09,390 --> 00:02:13,000 That’s why you always hear that classic British small-talk about the weather––little 35 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,959 quips like, “Warm, innit?” and “I see that the unfeeling ocean currents have continued 36 00:02:16,959 --> 00:02:19,490 to spare us from eternal winter, uh… mate.” 37 00:02:19,490 --> 00:02:23,819 But here’s the problem: that might not last for long. 38 00:02:23,819 --> 00:02:29,130 You see, the Gulf Stream is weaker than it’s been in more than 1,600 years, and new research 39 00:02:29,130 --> 00:02:33,240 from earlier this year showed that it could be nearing a complete collapse. 40 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:35,250 So, why is that happening? 41 00:02:35,250 --> 00:02:39,180 Well, the short answer is climate change—or, if you don’t believe in climate change, 42 00:02:39,180 --> 00:02:42,450 the answer is that God is punishing you for not believing in climate change. 43 00:02:42,450 --> 00:02:47,070 But the long answer requires a little explanation of why the Gulf Stream exists in the first 44 00:02:47,070 --> 00:02:48,070 place. 45 00:02:48,070 --> 00:02:51,030 Basically, it’s caused by two main forces. 46 00:02:51,030 --> 00:02:55,750 The first is wind: the Northeast Trade winds to the South and the Westerlies to the North—which, 47 00:02:55,750 --> 00:02:59,840 when you say it out loud, is kind of a headache—work in tandem to create a gyre in the Atlantic 48 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:02,290 ocean that circulates water clockwise. 49 00:03:02,290 --> 00:03:05,230 The other force, however—and this is the part of the video where you should start paying 50 00:03:05,230 --> 00:03:07,700 attention—has to do with salinity. 51 00:03:07,700 --> 00:03:12,450 As the Gulf Stream crosses the Atlantic, the warm water cools down and evaporates, making 52 00:03:12,450 --> 00:03:15,069 it saltier, and therefore, denser. 53 00:03:15,069 --> 00:03:19,280 This salty, dense water is more likely to sink towards the bottom of the ocean. 54 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:23,610 You can test this out at home by sprinkling a little table salt on a lead weight and dropping 55 00:03:23,610 --> 00:03:27,580 it into your toilet—it should magically sink to the bottom. 56 00:03:27,580 --> 00:03:31,530 By the time the Gulf Stream reaches the North Atlantic, it, too, sinks to the bottom and 57 00:03:31,530 --> 00:03:36,200 gets caught up in deep sea currents that circulate it back Southward—this creates a continuous 58 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,879 force that pulls the Gulf Stream in circles, like a conveyor belt. 59 00:03:39,879 --> 00:03:45,390 But now that conveyor belt is facing a problem: to really boil it down, basically, a handful 60 00:03:45,390 --> 00:03:48,840 of stock photo business guys pulled too much dinosaur goo out of the ground and now Greenland 61 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:50,540 is melting into the ocean. 62 00:03:50,540 --> 00:03:55,290 These ice caps are made of freshwater, not saltwater, so the runoff is diluting the entire 63 00:03:55,290 --> 00:03:58,900 North Atlantic, making it less salty and dense. 64 00:03:58,900 --> 00:04:03,280 This has dramatically slowed the Gulf Stream conveyor belt, and might eventually stop it 65 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:04,319 entirely. 66 00:04:04,319 --> 00:04:08,390 Now, that raises a few questions: when is that going to happen? 67 00:04:08,390 --> 00:04:09,510 What’s it going to do? 68 00:04:09,510 --> 00:04:10,720 Am I going to die? 69 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,180 Is it a good idea to turn this into an environmental thriller starring Dennis Quaid? 70 00:04:14,180 --> 00:04:15,960 Is Dennis Quaid going to die? 71 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:20,590 These are all good questions, but only the last two have definitive answers, and both 72 00:04:20,590 --> 00:04:21,590 are no. 73 00:04:21,590 --> 00:04:24,060 As for the first three, it’s a little up in the air. 74 00:04:24,060 --> 00:04:28,110 If the Gulf Stream is going to collapse, climate scientists believe it could happen in as soon 75 00:04:28,110 --> 00:04:31,949 as a decade, but it might take up to a few hundred years for the current to come to a 76 00:04:31,949 --> 00:04:33,180 complete stop. 77 00:04:33,180 --> 00:04:37,939 The effects would also be difficult to predict, and are highly disputed, but here are some 78 00:04:37,939 --> 00:04:44,210 theories: Europe would likely get much colder—dropping up to 10° C or 18° F—with severe winters 79 00:04:44,210 --> 00:04:46,379 and considerably harsher weather. 80 00:04:46,379 --> 00:04:50,620 India, West Africa, and much of South America would likely experience increased droughts 81 00:04:50,620 --> 00:04:54,849 due to a disruption of monsoon patterns, and agriculture in those regions would suffer 82 00:04:54,849 --> 00:04:56,069 immensely. 83 00:04:56,069 --> 00:04:59,590 The buildup of water masses along the East Coast of North America would also likely lead 84 00:04:59,590 --> 00:05:02,650 to flooding and devastating hurricanes in much of the US. 85 00:05:02,650 --> 00:05:04,599 In short, it could get really bad. 86 00:05:04,599 --> 00:05:07,589 But as for the question of whether you’re going to die, here’s the good news: either 87 00:05:07,589 --> 00:05:09,589 way, death is inescapable. 88 00:05:09,589 --> 00:05:11,999 But you know what is escapable? 89 00:05:11,999 --> 00:05:13,960 Bad, time-wasting habits. 90 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,550 If you’re anything like me—and if you’re watching these videos, you probably are—it’s 91 00:05:17,550 --> 00:05:22,009 very easy to get sucked into an endless wormhole of scrolling through social media every morning, 92 00:05:22,009 --> 00:05:23,970 just to keep up with current events. 93 00:05:23,970 --> 00:05:28,729 That’s why I switched to Morning Brew: Morning Brew is a free daily newsletter that arrives 94 00:05:28,729 --> 00:05:32,800 in your email inbox each morning and gets you up to speed on news from around the world, 95 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,080 broken up into witty, bite-sized pieces. 96 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:39,639 Instead of reading long, dense articles, or scraping the internet for the latest story, 97 00:05:39,639 --> 00:05:42,979 it only takes me five minutes to get informed and start with my day. 98 00:05:42,979 --> 00:05:47,189 Like, take this Morning Brew article on the US’ eviction moratorium: it gets straight 99 00:05:47,189 --> 00:05:51,199 to the point, and tells me what I need to know without wasting any of my time. 100 00:05:51,199 --> 00:05:55,050 So, if you want to unshackle yourself from the dreaded wake-up scroll, and make yourself 101 00:05:55,050 --> 00:05:58,819 better informed about what’s happening in the world, Morning Brew is completely free 102 00:05:58,819 --> 00:06:02,939 and only takes fifteen seconds to sign up for by clicking the button on-screen, or heading 103 00:06:02,939 --> 00:06:04,129 to the link in the description.