Saturday, March 14, 2009
climate change=death
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Surfing for Global Warming
Friday, March 6, 2009
Global Warming Satire
I sometimes wonder if all the debate on global warming has become a joke. Political cartoons and the media have had a significant impact on how we view the issue of global warming and global climate change. What makes the news of course are the "end of the world" scenarios if we don't do somthing to stop global warming. In "The Happening" episode of South Park shown above (1:54), illustrates how much influence the fanatics of global warming has had on pop culture. Is this what it has come down to? Easy jabs at our political leaders, late nite comics over exagerating and compartamentalizing the issue to socialsit tree hugging hippies? Global warming has been talked to death that even the global warming jokes sometimes fall flat. But why are there jokes about global warming the the first place? Popular TV shows have illustrated how global warming has been percieved by our leaders for the past eight years such as Will Ferrell's vignette on SNL. It seems everywhere you go, the topic of global warming has become today's never ending reality TV show. One of those guilty pleasure shows we just can't seem to take our eyes away from. If this is such a concerning issue, why has it become late nite fodder? Is this our way or resigning ourselves to the inevitable truth? I remember in a psychology class reading how when people get nervous they use humor as a defensive mechanism, or a way to deflect the issue by trivializing it. Well, i'm not a psychologist, but i'm beggining to feel that the media, while bringing attention to the issue, has been responsible for also decreasing the scientific message of global warming and has now become the laughing stock issue. The effects of global warming are real, and because we live in an industrialized wealthy nation where we may not feel it's effects directly, does not mean it's not happening. This article by Michael Specter who is a writer for The New Yorker writes about the impact of global climate change. The people who live in the slums of India i'm sure don't see the humor of global warming, instead they worry if the water they are drinking will kill them, or if there will be sufficient rain fall for vegetation. These are the stories that truely deserve front page exposure and perhaps then we can start doing something about global warming and stop making the issue into satire.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The Lies About Global Warming
Monday, March 2, 2009
The environmental recession
For the first time since i've been keeping track of the dow jones industrial average, i saw it drop below the 7,000 point mark. Why do i care about how low it will go? Well...last year i turned 30 years old and i finally decided that i should start caring about my future. In my golden years, i want to be able to travel, and live a comfortable life. So, i decided to start investing into my 401k plan. I went really aggressive and deep. I was putting in 150$ a month and my employer was putting in 4% of my salary. I got really savvy about the market and saw my investments grow. So why am i telling you all this...well, i checked my balance this past weekend, called my financial advisor and after a long intervention i decided not to pull my money out. But i did decide to go more conservative since i had lost 30% in my investments in just a few short months. While this story is happening to many Americans i wondered how else this deep recession is afecting the causes i care about. I saw this article in the NY Times about a potential new pact on global climate change. I was thrilled that Mr. Obama and our government is spearheading these new negotiations on how to deal with global warming. But, i wondered...if we didn't make sweeping change in times of economic prosperity, why should i believe we would make sweeping change during economic hardships? The youtube video (1:30) asks us if we believe the economic recession will further delay environmental advancements. I have to admit, right now, i'm more concerned about my job security, my ever shrinking 401K (which i'm still contributing to but at a reduced monthly amount) and i'm concerned if i'll be able to get aid for school for next year. Going green is NOT cheap and while i care about the long term conditions our planet may face if we don't do anything now, i'm more concerned about the short term effects this poor economy will have directly on me. Is it possible to achieve job growth and a sustainable environmental future at the same time? (image source)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The hype on climate change
There has been a lot of debate on global climate change, and with a new administration, it is the hope of many proponents of global warming that President Obama will lead us to an energry efficient and environmental conscious nation. But has there been too much hype on the subject of global warming? Whatever side your on, exaggeration, and overdramatization are often pitfalls in our arguments. The NY Times reported how Al Gore, now the face of global warming has become the most visual casualty of inaccuracies and overstatements. Speaking to an audience on global warming, Al Gore stated that "global warming is creating weather-related disasters that are completely unprededented." In addition, columnist George Will, a frequent opponent of global climate change attacked scientists for "fear mongoring"the American public and was quick to point out how they have been wrong in the past by predicting a looming "ice age". However, they are not alone. President Obama, durring an appearance at a California climate conference stated that "science pointing to human caused warming was beyond dispute". Beyond dispute? While i support our efforts to curtail human enduced causes to global warming, i hardly doubt that it's beyond dispute. There's lots of evidence that should give people pause of the effects of global climate change. Scientific data is continually changing and providing us with new information around global warming. But they are all prone to human error. While i think its wonderful that advancement in technology has allowed us to provide better data, they have not been around long enough to give us the proof beyond dispute. When we hear stories such as Mr. Gore having to pull slides showcasing disaster, it tends to give his critics more ammunition. Many proponents of global warming say that we have seen extreme weather paterns, changes in percipitation and rise of sea levels. But is it all caused by global warming? How do we know that the carbon dioxides released are the main cause? And, if it's true that we are living in a "ice house" world, why are we concerned about global warming in the first place? And finally, it's been really cold in the streets of NY lately, so cold that my skin dries up, my con ed bill has gone up and i've had to pull out the extra comforters to keep warm. I may be just hyping it up, but isn't that what get's people attention in the first place? (image source)