Once in a Blue Moon

This New Year's eve will be extra bright, as it falls on a blue moon, the second full moon in a month. The expression goes "only once in a blue moon" but surprisingly, blue moon are not that rare. They occur about once every 2 1/2 years. But the last time New Years coincided with a blue moon was nearly 20 years ago, in 1990. It will be interesting to see when it will next occur.

A new epidemic... sort of

picture from http://punditkitchen.com/page/3/

Santa threatened by H1N1

This year, with the swine flu still going around, one job is at more risk from the virus than others. The shopping mall Santa, who takes thousands of kids onto his knee for photo opps each day is getting a little worried. There was even a nation wide movement to classify Santas as high risk, so that they would have priority over vaccines, but it was unsuccessful. Many malls plan to have their Santa's use copious amounts of hand sanitizers, but I would be surprised if there wasn't already a strain of H1N1 that is resistant to hand sanitizer. Over use of hand sanitizer could prove disastrous. The best solution still is to wash your hands, and possibly, not to go to close to santa.

Aspen growth affected by elavated CO2 levels

A study done at the University of Minnesota at Morris has found that in the past 50 years, higher CO2 levels have boosted quaking aspen growth rates by 50%. At first, you may think that is not actually bad, bigger trees are usually better. But Aspen are considered foundation species, which means they have a strong influence in their environment. Their accelerated growth could cause other plants who are more slow growing to not do as well. And since they cover about 42 million acres in Canada, whatever changes they cause will be felt. Oddly enough, this growth spurt has not been seen in other plant species, notably the oak. The trees are also expected to max out in a couple of decades, the consequences of which we can only begin to imagine.

Stem cells now funded by government!!

As promised by Obama in March, the U.S Government has approved the first thirteen batches of human embryonic stem cells. This has enabled the researchers at Harvard who made them to receive millions of dollars in federal funding. Obama was able to do this by lifting restrictions set by the bush administration, but he could not remove the restriction set by congress that restricts federal funding to be used to make stem cells, which supposedly causes destruction of the human embryo. But the funding makes it possible for researchers to use the stem cells that others have made. This funding opens the door for so many cures. Stem cells are extremely versatile, and can be used to make any body part. Now there is hope for people who need a kidney, or burn victims who need skin grafts, and countless other afflictions.

Yoga is good for the heart

A study done at the Indian Institute of Technology has shown that people who regularly do yoga, have a higher heart rate variability which is a sign of a healthy heart. It means that the heart rate is steady, but ready to respond when necessary. The study was done with 84 volunteers, 42 regular practitioners, and 42 who did not do yoga. There was an improvement in parasympathetic control (the nervous system that slows heart rate) seen in those who picked up yoga. Maybe Yoga classes should be covered by health insurance.

National debt is due to be demolished

With our government trillions in debt to countries like China, author Robert H. Frank points out that we are "bankrupting our grandchildren". We will be paying for the last administrations bad choices far into the future, and counting on the countries we borrowed from not to raise our interest rates too high. The out look seems rather bleak, but there is a possible solution. A CO2 tax. Companies that put out sulfur dioxide are already being taxed, a CO2 tax wouldn't be that different, except it would be more geared towards consumers (rather than manufacturers) who drive. Bigger cars put out more CO2, and as Frank points out, increase the risk of others dying in accidents. Taxing CO2 may not completely eliminate national debt, but it may help a fair amount.

Hemopurifier

A new invention called the Hemopurifier has the ability to cleanse blood, much like dialysis machine. It requires the drawing of blood from an artery which is then sent through a tube into the machine, where antibodies on spaghetti like fibers capture and remove viruses before cells and organs can be infected. It takes about 8 minutes for your entire circulation to flow through it, making it possibly useful for emergency situations, but it the article doesn't say if it only takes one circulation for the blood to be completely free of any viruses. The article also doesn't say if it could only be useful immediately after the person is infected, or if it could do some good for people who have already suffered damage due to a virus. It does say that the hemopurifier does work on filtering out the HIV virus, which is a major break through. It also says that it can be used on many different viruses, including the flu, (the cartridge can be programed to selectivly capture viruses) which may eventually lead to overuse. No side-effects were mentioned.
image from http://www.acc-tv.com/images/wjla/news/vidcap_hemopurifier0314.jpg

Not always about diet

A recent study has shown that done at Cambridge has shown that obesity may not all be environmental factors (for some). Scientists there discovered that if parts of chromosome 16 is deleted, the child will be severely obese at an extremely young age. With this knowledge, people who are prone to obesity and wanting to have a child will be able to check through genetic testing (in the future) to see if their child will have this problem, and be able to take measures to control their child's weight better. This study has also helped with children who have been put on Social Services because it was assumed that their parents were overfeeding them as a form of abuse. Some have even been taken off social services now. Finally, a step forward towards ending the obesity epidemic.

Change, but will it be enough...

This year, Obama is scheduled to attend the U.N. Climate summit, but the United States is only planning to cut emissions by 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. With global warming progressing at such a fast rate, I don't think that slight improvement will really be enough to actually make any difference. Hopefully the world, especially the united states will come to it's senses and make drastic changes, before it is too late.

Will Capitalism carry us safely into the future?

In the past, capitalism has been a necessity so that the population as a whole could progress, and expand. However, times have changed now. We have expanded as far as we can, and we are not progressing in ways that are helpful for our population. But capitalism keeps pushing. “We are facing a historic juncture in which, for the first time, the limits to increased prosperity are not the lack of man-made capital but the lack of natural capital” (Paul Hawken) and if we fail to recognize this fact, and take action for the betterment of our world, and not for profit, we could potentially change the world as we know it for the worst. It endorses the selfish side of people, and encourages a drive for money, no matter what the cost to the environment, as well as those who are less fortunate. And in today’s society, shouldn’t we be above that?

One of the main reasons capitalism is considered by many to be a good thing, is that it encourages competition. Competition gets things done, and helps keep our economy from tanking. But Competition is not always a good thing. As pointed out by Michael Parenti, “enterprises must expand in order to survive”. Sooner or later, this leads to only big companies surviving, and now we have the problem that “Approximately 1.6 percent of the population own 80 percent of all stock, 100 percent of all state and municipal binds and 88.5 percent of corporate bonds…Some two hundred companies account for about 80 percent of all resources used in manufacturing” (Parenti). Capitalism is advertized as a system that allows people to go from “rags to riches”, because supposedly if you work hard, your hard work will pay off and you will move up and earn more money. This is rarely the case, with big companies out there having so much power. As Parenti, cites from “the people”, “Far form being a machine for bringing people out of poverty, capitalism perversely condemns millions to poverty in the midst of the means sufficient for creating an abundance for all and in the midst of the obscene luxury enjoyed by the capitalist minority”. This leads to even greater social problems, people see all that people have and want to have it too. They soon come to the realization that they will not ever be able to attain it, and this leads to hatred towards those who are more prosperous, which in turn, leads to the development of crime, and terrorist groups that cause problems all over the world.

There is another side to capitalism that is even more detrimental. As Paul Hawken points out “industry still operates by the same rules, using more resources to make fewer people more productive. The consequence: massive waste—of both resources and people”. We are operating under the idea that there will always be enough environmental resources for continuing to operate as we do. But at the moment natural capital is considered a minor contributor, even though we receive “trillions of dollars of critical ecosystem services” (Gretchen C. Daily), Like clean air and water, climate stabilization, and many other services, including waste production, which is typically overlooked. Waste production is one of the most important for a capitalist economy, because “about 94 percent of the materials extracted for use in manufacturing durable products become waste before the product is even manufactured”(Hawken). The bottom line is that if we continue with our capitalist society as it is now, which endorses as much production as possible; we will get ourselves into a situation that will be hard to reverse. But as Hawken puts it “The future belongs to those who understand that doing more with less is compassionate, prosperous, and enduring and thus more intelligent, even competitive.”

New yorker Cartoon mocks the lengths we will go to not to spread germs.

Catch 22

Coal power plants, which in the past, polluted air at an unprecedented rate, now have to comply with stricter air pollutant laws. But now, with the scrubbing technology that takes many chemicals out of the air, they are dumping them into rivers and lakes all over the united states. California, luckily, has very few plants that have committed such atrocities, compared with the east coast, but the problem still exists. Some plants claim that they have installed water cleaning plants that take out the chemicals before dumping the water, and then put the chemicals into a land-fill with a synthetic lining, to prevent leakage. But records still show that they are dumping amounts of chemicals into water that are still unsafe. It is affecting the health of people in the are too, and a recent study done by the E.O.A. in 2007 showed that people living near power plant landfills had an increased risk of cancer by 2,000 times higher that federal health standards. With so many more options for energy, I think that plants that cause damage like this should begin to be shut down. There are so many better options that may not be cheaper, but will at least save people money in medical bills.

Lessen our dependence on forign oil, or preserve our few remaining natural environments

A plan to drill for oil and natural gas on the Roan Plateau in Colorado has been met with a strong resistance. The area is one of the few remaining places with minimal human and cattle damage in the west, and has even been dubbed a microcosm of the west. Unfortunately, there is also supposedly a vast store of natural gas under it, that big companies are waiting on pins and needles to tap. Natural gas is a much cleaner burning fuel that releases less CO2 that oil, but to extract it often causes severe land degregation and uses alot of fossil fuels to extract. The company that wants to drill claims that it will avoid creeks, and drill holes close together to avoid causing too much damage to the environment and stress on the wildlife. But there is still run off to be considered, and roads would soon criss-cross the terrain. Wildlife gets along best when left completely alone. We should be putting more effort into developing ways to run our lives off fuels from heaven, and not hell.

A possible cure for those previously deemed incurable

In the past week, California's Stem cell agency announced that it had $230 million in grants for stem cell research for treating previously incurable diseases. This is especially exciting because in the past, the use of stem cells has been considered unethical, because given the right conditions, that group of cells could turn into a human fetus. They have much better uses though, as I have seen first hand, when I got to watch a horse have his tendon's repaired using stem cells. It was amazing to watch him recover, without the huge scars that happen when a horse has it's tendons repaired using conventional methods. Unfortunately, stem cell use in humans has not been tested yet, but it is expected to be ready for human testing in three years, which is unusually quick. I think it is great that we have this agency, because at the moment, the federal government will not fund stem cell research. I am hopeful that many cures, that were thought to be impossible will come from this research money

Drastic times call for drastic measures

The newly instated Police Chief George Gascón is now proposing that the city resume the controversial use of spies. His reasoning is legitimate: that San Francisco is an iconic city, much like Washington, or Los Angeles and that anyone wanting to make a point against the United States would be likely to use it as a target. It make sense, but I would think that since this has been publicized, anyone who is plotting something would be smart enough to move their planning operations out of San Francisco, so that the risk of them being discovered is lessened. So I don't really see the point of spies, if the enemy knows about their existence. Note: this article seems to get really off topic towards the end.

Honestly, what's the big deal?

It is now recommended that you get vaccinated for the swine flu. But really, there is very little reason behind the public hysteria that has been taking place. Typically, 36,000 people die a year from the regular flu. Granted they are usually older people, and the H1N1 virus affects younger people most often, which may be why people are so freaked out. But still, with 37 states reporting cases, in the whole country, only 24 people have had to be hospitalized, and only one person has died, and she had a pre-existing medical condition. It does spread easier, and to a different group of people than the typical seasonal flu, but I honestly don't think such a big deal should be made of it.

Have we given in to Iran's requests?

Iran has now agreed to buy Nuclear fuel from abroad, but will not give up it's uranium enrichment activity. Seeing as Western nations fear that Iran having nuclear weapons would be dangerous, It would seem that Iran's nuclear fuel would only be useful for the use of energy. Especially since the article says that Iran has agreed to ship it's existing fuel rods to France and Russia, to be made into more pure fuel rods. I am assuming that these fuel rods would only be able to be used for energy purposes, because we have agreed to it. The fact that Iran has agreed to it says otherwise though, since they seemed intent upon having nuclear weapons. The article doesn't say, but maybe their policies have changed. Iran has also decided to allow international inspectors into their newly discovered facilities, suggesting that maybe they have switched to a more conventional pursuit. However, it may also be that since they have only been able to make uranium with 5% purity, they may need help from other countries to even do anything with their facility at all.

Public Option still has wind in it's sails

Despite the fact that the public option has been met with increasing opposition, there is still hope that the senate will pass it. True, it is a different public option, than the one originally proposed, it would not be nation wide like medicare, but in essence, it is the same. Conservatives argue that it will not help lower prices and would give the government too much power. Former associate director of the White House Office of Management and Budget during George W. Bush's presidency, James Capretta says that "Government setting prices and payment regulations is very much at the heart of our current problem". But looking back on all that the former administration has done for us, if he made decisions in accordance to this expressed opinion, than it would seem that lack of government control is at the heart of our current problems. I believe, along with many other democrats, as well as the president, that a public plan will stimulate competition between other health care providers, and will consequentially lower rates. Private health insurers are against it though, because they fear it will saddle them with too many unprofitable insurers. This is a fear that I believe is the problem with this society. We are so driven by money, that we fail to see the greater good. We want to end poverty, and one of the many reasons people end up on the streets is their inability to pay off medical bills. But we fail to look at the bigger picture. Hopefully, with a public option, we will be able to break out of this unfortunate mold, and start being able to help those who need it most.

Green Horizons

The Obama administration is supporting a plan that would allow home owners to finance energy-efficient improvements on their homes, by giving them lower property taxes. Not only will this save people tons of money (about 300 to 1,200 dollars a year) but it will also create new jobs, installing the improvements. This is, in my opinion, the first step in the green revolution. If we are able to pursue this path, our future may have a market dominated by jobs for decreasing our carbon footprint. If this plan gets passed, it will not only help our environmental situation, but also our economic situation. The argument against it is that it will only create only a small number of jobs. Doc Hastings claims that“Jobless Americans can’t afford policies that just create one type of job". This policy would not only create jobs though, with companies being able to spend less on electricity, they will also be able to keep more of their employees. And sometimes, things can't start on a huge scale. The key may be to save America, one job at a time.

Pakistan is trying to play by the rules

On Monday, the Pakistani Army reported that it had made significant head way against the Taliban. They had used 28,000 troops, and had come at South Waziristan (the Taliban's stronghold) from three sides. But Pakistan forgot to take one major thing into consideration. The civilian population living there. The United Nations estimated that about 170,000 would be displaced because of the military operations. It also said that people would not be given shelter and services. Apparently they had been trickling out while the fighting was going on. I understand that an element of surprise was essential to this operation, but there should have been some measures in place to protect civilians. This incident illustrates another one of the Taliban's most detrimental tactics, their use of innocent people as shields. So the military essentially hurts the people they are trying to protect.

Don't we have more important things to dispute?

The white house is now taking a swipe at Fox news. While we have soldiers in the middle east, people out of jobs, and poverty, they are taking the time now to try to convince other news stations to sever their ties to Fox. Granted, Fox has said some pretty rude things about the current administration. And they are as Anita Dunn puts it "opinion journalism masquerading as news". But still, in life, everyone should learn to turn the other cheek. When some one is provoking you, the best option is ignore them. This method is taught in second grade, and every child knows the phrase 'sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me'. Maybe we need to remind the white house of this. And as far as it pretending to be something they are not, let them play dress up. If America is intelligent, they will see through the mask. Then again, their ratings are up by 20% this year, so this may be wishful thinking. Still, the message remains the same, Obama has better things to occupy his time.

Taliban strike again

NATO- led military forces in Afghanistan extended for a year by U.N. Security Council, following an attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul. It took place on Thursday and left 17 people dead and 63 injured, most of which were civilians. The motives seem not very clear, seeing as India is the sixth largest doner to Afghanistan, for reconstruction efforts. Why would the Taliban want to bomb their embassy? Afghan and Indian officials suspect Pakistan's spy agency to have been involved in the attack, but Pakistan denied the accusation. It makes me wonder, if the Taliban want us out, why would they keep causing problems, because that is a sure fire way to get us to stay and attempt to work things out. Terrorist groups work in ways completely foreign to the American way of thinking apparently.

Water we doing?

Scientist at NASA on friday will deliberately crash a spacecraft into the moon, to attempt to find water. It is suspected that darker craters on the south pole may contain water. So they are going to crash a space shuttle into the moon, and then send another spacecraft to collect samples of the resulting cloud, and quickly send data back to earth, to see if there was any water in the cloud, before the spacecraft itself crashes into the moon as well. Now as useful as this may be in the future to find out if there is water on the moon, right now, I think we should be putting more money into saving the earth, rather than preparing for if we destroy it.

Obama forced to compromise?

Obama, who claimed that one if his first priorities was to get troops out of the middle east, may now be forced to back a major troop increase. In fact, Robert Gibbs told reporters that pulling out was off the table. But Obama is hopefully working on a compromise. Gen. Stanley McChrystal wanted to send in 40,000 additional troops. Obama appears to be trying to steer towards a middle ground, by approving a troop increase, but more in the range of 10,000 or 20,000 new troops. In my opinion, it is good that Obama is trying to stick to his policies as much as possible, but seeing as we have been fighting a limited war for a rather long time now, and it hasn't made any radical differences, maybe we should try a different tactic. Normally I am more of an anti-war person. But seeing as we are already there, and appear to not be able to accept anything other than a win, I have changed my opinion. It may be more beneficial for the United States to put all resources towards the war. It may produce a quicker victory. But that may put too much strain on the already greatly weakened economy. That tactic may have been only useful in the beginning of the war, and now may be too late. But at the moment, we are fighting a war of half measures. We either need to commit, or pull out, without victory.

A blow from Britain

In the Guardian, author Paul Harris asks, "Will California become America's first failed state?". The article starts out with quite a negative tone, saying that"California is like a patient on life support". Not a difficult assumption to understand, considering our unemployment rate is at 12%, and the government issuing IOUs during the summer. But it is a bit of an exaggeration, California is in a bit of a sticky spot, but we are also the leader of innovation and green technology. The article gets less cynical towards the end, pointing out that while California is ranked 47/50 in education, the number of solar panels in the state has risen from 500 a decade ago, to over 50,000 now, and we generate twice as much energy from solar power than all the other US states combined. This is quite a testimonial to California's ability to adapt and move forward. The potential is there, we just need to take to take the initiative to move forward. Even if Britain is skeptical.

Economies don't just bounce back

Following the worst recession since the Great Depression, economists don't expect the economy to recover quickly. Expansion is expected to continue during 2010, but at a much slower rate than before. It is also expected to take until 2014 or 2015 till the unemployment rate falls below 5% again. But at the moment, we are not even on the downhill slope yet, because unemployment is expected to reach 10.2% in February. This would be a lot of people who would be filing for unemployment insurance benefits in the next couple of years, and that might lead to an increase in taxes. Surprisingly though, the option that is being looked at now is tax cuts, for employers that are hiring. This makes sense, but only if those who are getting jobs are spending more money, and with the statistics showing now, that more and more people are saving their money, this doesn't seem like a good option to me. but raising taxes might not work either, because then more people would stay on unemployment benefits longer, and we might never recover. So there really is no easy fix. Though the worst thing that could happen to the economy, according to the article, would be a so-called "double-dip recession" which would be lethal, according to economists. What being lethal would entail, we can only hope not to find out.

are we getting too involved in Pakistan?

Last week, congress approved a measure under which the U.S. would provide $1.5 billion to Pakistan every year for five years. The money is said to be intended for building schools, alleviating poverty and helping to build democracy. In my opinion it will be a kind of control. They would be obligated to be on our side of any matter, if we were giving them this much money. For us, this would be a very good thing. But it feels too much like buying respect and control rather than earning it. My view is shared by many in Pakistan, but for different reasons. Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesperson for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (the largest opposing party) says
"

The bill categorically states that Pakistan will cease to support terrorism and
cease to indulge in acts of terrorism," he says. "Now that is an indictment"

Personally, I think this is a perfectly viable request for the united states to make. Indulging a thing that works to complete goals by brutality, threats, and often killings should be morally wrong, in my opinion. Things appear different in Pakistan though. the other, more reasonable objection to it is that we will be paying for a friendship, based on them being a proxy state. And unfortunately, the military opposes it, and going against the military could lead to a coup. One reason I am against it is because right now, America really doesn't have any money to spare. We are already in debt with other countries, and our economy is still in a recession. Where will we get $1.5 billion to donate? But if Obama get approval, then we will get to see just how thing play out.

ChicaGO for Gold

Obama has made a bid for the 2016 Olympics to be held in Chicago. He flew all the way to Copenhagen in Air Force One to make his case. Why is this significant? you may ask. Olympics bring tourism, which is extremely beneficial to economies. This may be the boost we need to pull ourselves out of the recession. An event of this magnitude will bring thousands and thousands of people from all over the world, who need to fly in, sleep somewhere, eat a lot, and most likely do some sight seeing. Chicago is also special to Obama, because it is his home town. We've got a good shot, but the other cities in contention are Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Madrid, giving us some stiff competition. The host city will be announced tomorrow... cross your fingers!!

Progress in Pakistan

"Obama adminsitration officials have been proud of the fact that largely because of
better intelligence, unmanned predator drone strikes against Taliban and al Queda forces in Pakistan have been more successful in the first eight months of President Obama's presidency than in the previous two years combined."
The key to this success? Better intelligence, because now the Pakistani government is more willing to cooperate, and we have a stronger U.S. counter-insurgency program on both sides of the Afghanistan border.
This article I do not like as much after this point because it then lists the number of terrorists and civillians killed, and makes it sound like we are doing target practice, or playing a video game. My only hope, is that this improvement in strikes against terrorists will accelerate our removal of troops from the Middle East, the sooner the better.

Finally, Climate change is getting the attention it needs

Obama presented a bill that would cut out green house gasses by 20% by 2020. This bill would require companies to purchase 'right to pollute vouchers' and assumes that the companies are transitioning to cleaner energy. It also proposes that more money go to research and production of greener energy. Obama is now calling climate change a matter of national security. In my opinion, this is very good. Now, finally, global warming is getting the urgent attention it needs. This bill would not affect the general population in the fact that it does not propose a Co2 tax for anyone other than big companies. A rise if prices of energy and some products may be seen, but people who own SUVs will not be forced to pay big bucks (other than at the pump). Not a perfect bill, but a huge leap in a very beneficial direction, not only for the US, but for the rest of the world too.

To Build Walls, or to Build Windmills... That is the Question

Gavin Newsom has proposed that San Francisco start erecting windmills. The idea is that by the year 2030, San Francisco will be carbon neutral. In Newsom's proposal, windmills will be put anywhere they can. That would mean parks, buildings, and even homes. To be honest, this proposal makes me feel a little uneasy. Being carbon neutral would be a wonderful thing, but it would drastically change the look and feel of San Francisco. From what I've heard, wind turbines are not very quiet. They also pose a threat to birds of prey, because smaller birds often roost in the turbines, and the larger birds often get clobbered by the windmills. And because global warming is making our weather more intense, we may in the future have storms that could topple a turbine easily. Those things are huge, and could take out a lot if they were to fall. I think that we should be pushing more solar energy, depending on which one is more expensive. Solar panels are relatively unobtrusive, and are also useful. At DVC, they serve as shade for the parking lots. And once, at the Horse Expo, I saw ones that slowly turned so that they were always facing the sun. But the problem with solar energy in San Francisco is the near constant cloud cover. So my final opinion is that we should give it a shot. It is a step in the right direction

A Break through!! (kind of)

A possible vaccine has been identified for AIDS. At this point it is only 31.2 percent effective, but considering how challenging it is to prevent AIDS in the first place, that is an incredible achievement. This study was also unusual in the fact that it tested on humans, rather than animals. It was done in Thailand, and all of the participants were promised health care if they got aids. But still, I think it is slightly unethical, since these people will now have to live with the disease for the rest of their lives, unless a cure is discovered. Another worrying fact, is that right now, our world population is being kept from exploding because of diseases like this. Without these diseases, there would be very few natural threats to our species. The only negative side of finally discovering a vaccine would be the population explosion, but hopefully by that point, we will have been able to level out our growth curve.

Following in Denmark's footsteps

Finally, an effort on the part of the USA to curb CO2 emissions, or at least one state. California has pulled ahead of the rest of the country to impose a CO2 tax on large companies. But we are still only leading by a nose. If we wanted to go all out, we should start charging a tax on car size. People argue that charging people more money wont change the climate. But it will, by giving people incentive to produce less CO2 and to innovate. The tax is also expected to raise 63 million dollars next year which will go into monitoring and regulating greenhouse gases. Personally, I think that money should go into improving public transportation, and planting more trees, as well. But regulating greenhouse gases is also helpful. The act, called AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, Calls for the state's emissions to drop to 1990 levels before 2020, and our guvernator says we are already 40% of the way to that goal. One small step, but a good one, in the right direction.

Don't think, BELIEVE!!!

As if America wasn't already the laughing stock of the rest of the world. Sure, we're powerful, but the people we churn out are getting kind of ridiculous. This guy, Inhofe, made it into a position of political power. Which I think is a little scary. His idea that he is planning to take to the climate change summit in Copenhagen is ridiculous. He calls it "another view" and claims that global warming is a hoax. He also really doesn't want taxes to be added. I think that paying a few extra dollars is worth our planet. Apparently, God is up there. Yep, and we are just going through natural changes. A five year old could tell you that's not true. Science has tested, and retested theories and come to the same conclusion. We are changing our world for the worst. Countless experts have proven this time and time again. Well then this bimbo waltzes in and starts firing off that the science lies. The science lies, and this is all natural. Has this guy even taken a history class? No changes this radical have ever happened on the face of this earth in the history of the earth. We have ways of figuring that out now. O, but I suppose those are all lies too!! He has done no work, no research, there is no proof that his theory is correct. And his entire argument? That ours is wrong. That's like using the comeback "well...well...You're Stupid!!". I wonder what his defense will be when the world starts to come to an end. Maybe wizards did it.

Is Ayatollah getting to big for his breeches?

Iran has recently agreed to allow UN inspection of their nuclear sight. But this facility seems to be destined for two uses, at least according to Ayatollah. The first, more innocent pursuit of the project is said to be for electrical power. But in my opinion, the location seems fishy. In real estate, what is said to matter most is location, location, location. And what better location for a nuclear power plant, than a heavily guarded, underground facility? Ya, it doesn't seem right to me either. Nuclear energy is dangerous, but not dangerous enough to need this kind of protection, it would seem. My misgivings were supplemented by the Ayatollah's assertion that it will pose a threat to those who oppose Iran. Now unless we get into a competition on who can cut their reliance on oil back more, I don't think he is referring to the facility for the use of power. Especially not after Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani said "This new facility, God willing, will become operational soon and will blind the eyes of the enemies". The article does not say who this guy is, but I doubt after this comment the world will be hearing much more from him, seeing as his country is now trying show that they will be using it for power only. Although it is not illegal for a country to possess nuclear weapons, I am sure the UN would find a way to not allow Iran to. Maybe just for that comment.

These Times are a Changin'

In the past, America has been the leader of the world in innovations, science, business and many other fields. We were considered the land of opportunity, where people came to make a new start. Currently though, we are falling well behind Europe and many other nations due to our inability to accept the fact that we need to change. We are building walls around ourselves, hurting our image. We are embracing stupidity, and forgetting the value of knowledge. And we are closing our minds to the prospect of change. In Thomas Friedman's book Hot, Flat, and Crowded, the problems with America today are explored along with ways that we may pull ourselves back onto our crumbling throne.
After 9/11, America took a defensive stance against the rest of the world. No longer is America the land of opportunity, where we welcome immigrants with open arms and minds. Our security now restricts many from even entering the country, and as a result, the way the rest of the world views us has fallen drastically. As Friedman points out

"An America living in a defensive crouch cannot fully tap the vast rivers of
idealism, innovation, volunteerism and philanthropy that still flow through our
nation" (5).

It has turned into a vicious cycle, kids in foreign countries see America as where they want to be, and how they want to live. When they are denied the luxuries we enjoy, they understandably hate us, and consequentially tend to join group like the Taliban. Right now we are spending billions on war and defense. If we were to put more money into starting American style schools in foreign countries, and welcoming anybody who wants to try the American lifestyle, we would begin to end problems like terrorist groups, intent on our destruction. This idea of spreading knowledge, not war, is pretty liberal, and many would oppose it, but seeing as the war method has not really gotten us anywhere near world peace, maybe we should try a new tactic.
Another disturbing trend that is affecting America is the notion that we can be

"as dumb as we want to be"

This frightening aspect of our current culture puts little emphasis on solving important problems, like ones having to do with the health of our population, and our environment. instead, we indulge ourselves in bickering about red state, blue state aspects of our political scenery. The easy solution to this is a simple wake up call. We need to wake up and smell the CO2 buildup in our atmosphere. Then we need to put more money into saving things vital to the survival of our species, like our planet, rather than investing in petty political campaigns. If we destroy the planet and don't survive, it will not matter what political party you are with. Some will contest that all great nations come to an end, but it is the hope that we have been able to evolve since then, and to learn where others made mistakes. Should we go on ignoring the signs, we may cause history to repeat itself, with dire consequences.
At the moment, we are far behind other countries in our ability to sustain ourselves with energy not from foreign nations.

"France Gets 78% of its electricity from nuclear plants and much of waste is
reprocessed and turned into energy again"(14).

We are almost completely dependent on foreign oil. While other countries have very high gas prices, and high mileage requirements, we continue to not raise our standards for cars, allowing car companies to continue to produce Hummers and SUV's, facilitating the need to import oil. The defense is that raising taxes would upset the economy. We have proof that it will not (if instituted correctly) after the Danish government raised gas prices, and imposed a CO2 tax, their economy

“has grown 70 percent while our energy consumption has been kept almost flat”
(18).

Europe and Japan, with their high gas prices and taxes on engine size now are making smaller and smaller cars, which are much better for the environment. The good news is that in 2007, Congress moved the fuel economy standard up to 35 miles per gallon, by 2020. Sadly, this is where Europe and Japan are already. If we were to take action quicker, with more drastic measures, we might be able to catch up. But our leaders are more concerned with upsetting the economy than saving the planet. In this area, we have already lost our title of world leader.
As a country, we have been great. That is undeniable. We have created an image for ourselves that now, we cannot uphold. Our values of equal opportunity, innovation and change for the better have all but been forgotten in recent years and we have suffered accordingly. We no longer are considered the first, the leading country. If we wish to crawl back to our spot on top, some serious changes will have to be made quickly. The means for improvement are there, we just need to take advantage of them. But the one thing we have to watch out for is time, the number one non-renewable resource.

Scary Statistics

"The average cow expels 600 liters of methane a day, climate researchers report" (quoted by Thomas L. Friedman in Hot, Flat, and crowded. Quote from Tom Wirth of the EPA). Considering the number of cows on this planet, that is a ridiculous amount of gas!! normally in nature, cows would not normally be considered a significant contributor to green house gasses (although I can't remember seeing a cow in the wild ever). But now that we cram them into feed lots by the thousands, we are causing significant damage to the environment. Because not only is methane a greenhouse gas, it is also highly explosive, and can cause suffication if enough is enhaled. Who knew the average bovine could be so dangerous?

What is Australia doing right?

Australia's business confidence is the highest since 2003!! I find this very odd, because in a world where the economies are so enter-twined, you would think that America's situation would have a bigger effect on countries like Australia, seeing as we are much larger and more powerful. Yet it seems that they must have done something different, and better, considering our current standings. But there is talk about raising interest rates, so we will see how long this high will last...

sensationalized news? or down right scary fanatic.

with news these days being available 24/7, information tends to get sensationalized as a way for news programs to get higher ratings. This news clip from CNN has parts that are difficult to know if they are being exaggerated or not. Other parts though, like the pastor's thoughts are definitely chilling. Beliefs are beliefs, and everyone is entitled to their own, and should not be openly scorned by others. America is supposed to be an open country, with an accepting culture. Religion is one thing, but when people start believing that their way is the only way, and anyone who doesn't agree with them deserves to die, that is in my opinion, inappropriate. I believe that it is perfectly fine to have religion, and practice religion, and even preach your beliefs, but I don't think it is ok to trash other peoples' or discriminate against them because of their beliefs. True, the president is an extremely influential being, because of his status. But this pastor's sermon is in my opinion, inappropriate

Cash for clunker may be gone, but the program for old appliances lives on!!

Although cash for clunkers was ended by the government, a new program that is the equivalent for old appliances is now in place. In fact, the amount you get for turning in an old appliance to be recycled is more than the cost of just throwing it out (because it contains hazardous materials that must be taken care of). In my opinion, this program is extremely beneficial for the economy and the environment, if the appliances are being recycled in the proper facilities in the united states. I believe that programs like these should be started for other things too, like computers, televisions, and other electronics. That way people would be buying more and stimulating the economy.

Hot, Flat, and crowded

An interesting quote from the book Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman-

"There is a chinese proberb that says, 'when the wind changes direction, there
are those who build walls and those who build windmills'".

This quote goes along with Friedmans other idea that americans are

"as dumb as we want to be".

The resources are there, the technology is there, all that is left is the initiative to take action. The wind has changed direction, and right now we are building walls, blocking out reason. At the moment, we should be building windmills, both literally and metaphorically. We must call what friedman calls, a "code green", a summons to the country to pull together to change, and begin to end global warming. We must build windmills, or end up being blocked in by walls.

orange crop menace!!

could an insect cripple the california orange growing industry?

Here I go!

I will be blogging about governmental and economic issues occuring in our world, throughout the school year