It never occurred to me that this would be such an issue, but I guess it is. Sssshhhh.. Can you hear the silence? [curious.com] Sorry in advance to those that can't load this page.
People have no idea of the effects we have brought to the planet. I once read a report that we have moved so much water around (dams, river alterations, human made lakes, water tanks above and below ground and so on) that we have actually changed the wobble of the earth.
I guess it's possible, but I kind of doubt it seeing how 96.5% of the water is in the ocean. And if you only look at fresh water, nearly 70% of that is in glaciers and ice caps. Very interesting stuff. [usgs.gov]
@Captain_Feelgood Remember climate change is reducing the size of glaciers and water is getting warmer (expanding) and the sea levels are rising. I am not a scientist but this report was on NPR and I can see it. Perhaps doing a search might help.
One wonders how human activity compares with nature. The course of the Mississippi River was changed by the New Madrid earthquake and plate tectonics, punctuated by massive earthquakes, perpetually alter the local sea level in the regions where plates impact. Personally, I would like to see a comparitive study that analyzed human activity vs. natural activity, when it comes to water displacement's impact on the 'wobble' of the Earth's rotation.
@p-nullifidian [scientificamerican.com]
It is not just water being moved from place to place but what happens when that water is moved.
I don’t hear silence. My ears started ringing fifty years ago.
I had Tinnitus for a few days many years ago, and it sucked. Sorry you've had it this long.