Stephen Hawking is Pretty Smart

First Day of Spring!

     Looking over the past few things I posted, I realized that I had gotten away from my goal of being trying to put some "funny" into the discussion about Climate Change. You will have to excuse me, but I had the flu earlier this week and that just wasn't very funny. Any humor that I may have had inside did not remain there. I will spare you the details, but let's just say that I lost weight and look great now! And today's the first day of Spring! So I got that going for me.

     Speaking of losing weight, did you hear about the Totten Glacier in East Antarctic Ice Sheet? Recent studies discovered that there are some pretty lengthy and deep outflow channels buried under the ice glacier. Those channels allow warmer clean water to flow under the glacier, which could speed up melting (Totten is indeed melting faster than any other East Antarctic glacier) and expose more surrounding ice to warmer waters. Much bigger and with a tremendous amount more water than the West Sheet (bigger than Greenland in fact), the melting of Totten could trigger a massive melt off that could raise sea level by over 11 feet. "Hallelujah! Holy Shit! Where's the Tylenol?"*

      Just what you wanted to hear on a beautiful Pre-Spring Morning in March, right? But, hopefully some of you have started, or will start, to bypass the episode review for "The Americans" while you drink your coffee and start reading about these types of things that will have a long term impact on your future. (After you check the hockey scores and tightening playoff race, because there's nothing more important than that, am I right?)

     Also, if you missed my post What Would Reagan Do? about the Op-Ed piece that former Secretary of State George Schultz wrote about how he thought Ronald Reagan would have handled the threat of Climate Change, you can do that here. Go on...click the link! Everybody's doing it.

     Last but not least, a quote from Woody. Because its true and we need to be reminded of this sometimes. We are not alone.

*quote from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, 1989

Thursday Movie

     Check out this great little video about the effects we are having on Climate Change and the Planet. Its only a few minutes long. Leaner what you can do to make a difference and Save the World.

What Would Reagan Do?

     George Schultz is a pretty smart and respected guy. He was Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State and when Schultz talks, much like EF Hutton, people listen. Recently Schultz penned an Op-Ed in the Washington Post (a liberal newspaper) to outline what he believed President Reagan would have done to address the issues of global warming and Climate Change. Since so many conservatives love to quote and reference President Reagan with love and respect, I was unsure of what to expect from Mr. Schultz. To say the least, Schultz hit a home run.

     You can read Schultz's piece here. Before you dismiss Schultz as a senile old man, keep in ind he has all of his faculties and writes an insightful, intelligent and pragmatic article. Without stripping away conservative ideals, he offers up a theory on what Reagan would have done, based on his past actions concerning things like the environment and global stability. In a nutshell, Schultz proposes that Reagan would have taken out an insurance policy of sorts, by putting a price on carbon emissions while letting the market dictate the costs. Sound familiar?

     Worst case scenario? If climate change turned out to be not as bad as people believed or not happening, the innovation and growth from said innovation would have driven the economy and led to growth. Of course, once they had seen climate change was indeed happening, the steps Schultz proposes would have most likely slowed the greenhouse effect, prevented massive melt off of sea ice, glaciers and mountain snows and we wouldn't be where we are today.

     Isn't time to let the free market system so many conservatives in this country worship take center stage in the battle against climate change? If our political leaders on the hill and governing the states really want to save money and spur economic growth, isn't it time they stopped with al this nonsense and put a price on carbon? That's what Reagan would do. Just saying.

Reduce, Reuse...Recycle Less

   One of the most well known phrases in the environmental movement is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. But, after having conversations, giving presentations and interacting with others in my travels, it has become apparent to me that many people skip the first two R's and go straight to the last one: Recycle. While recycling is important, without the first two steps, recycling only slows the inevitable.

    Resources are still needed to make new products, even when using recycled material. Products made from recycled material still need about 67% of their materials from somewhere else; there are not any plastic bottles or toys that are made from 100% recycled material. Hence, the Reduce and Reuse steps in the process. The idea is to reduce what you use that needs to be thrown away or recycled. Then, reuse the things that you buy that are not single use items. (Single use items can give off toxic materials that are harmful to your health. Not to mention it's just incredibly wasteful to use a plastic bag one time and then throw it into the yard for the wind to carry away.)

     Check out this link from David Suzuki to learn more about how to full implement the 3 R's in your home and business. Spread the word! Make it a contest with your neighbors and friends: who can recycle less, reuse more and reduce your environmental footprint. Everyone wants to win at something, right? How's your chance to put your neighbors in their place, and save some money too.

TV Series Review: BBC's South Pacific

     My wife and I recently hunkered down and watched "South Pacific", from the BBC. No, not Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. (Although watching that with your wife is bound to be one enchanted evening.) The mini-series explores the islands, people, creatures and the amazing diversity in the most amazing areas in the Southern Pacific ocean. I would run out, get Netflix and watch it if you don't already have the streaming service. You can also watch it online.

Mataiva Atoll

     Of course, watching the different episodes, I was struck with how unique and special life on this planet is. Despite the South Pacific being desolate and far from most of the densely populated areas of the world, it is still threatened by our activities. Many of the small islands and atolls are under serious threat from sea level rise. Whole cultures are on the brink of disappearing. Anyone who can watch this and not care just a little bit about preserving these natural wonders and the people who live near them... Well, let's hope that's not the case.

     The final episode, "Fragile Paradise", is especially poignant. As the other oceans of the world see sharp declines in their fish populations, nations are hightailing it to the South Pacific to meet their quotas, further impacting a delicate balance. The word of the 21st Century should be sustainability. And we should do what it takes to ensure that the South Pacific and the rest of the world's oceans are there for future generations.