on global warming

So hey, I'm getting a little perplexed by the nastiness of those who refuse to believe in global warming. I have often said that it would be easier to believe that Mother Nature and God would take care of everything, and to believe global warming was some sort of hoax cooked up by those pesky smart people with letters after their name, using "science" to take over our lives by Big Brother government. God calls us to be good stewards of His planet, and science and religion are not in conflict here.

To me, this is simply a case whereby people who have already arrived at their conclusions twist the facts around to fit those predetermined ideas. Soooo...if you're someone who distrusts govt., likes big business, and is suspicious of intellectuals, then you're going to believe there is no such thing as global warming. If you're someone who believes government can look out for the common good (and in fact we need it to do so because capitalistic greed just isn't going to), needs to hold big business in check, and believes in the scientific method, then you're going to believe that global warming is happening. We may not know the exact specifics, but it's happening. Although it is harder to accept that fact, hiding our heads in the sand is not going to save the planet for future generations or the vulnerable who share the planet with us (animals, plants). God calls upon us to take care of His planet, to be good stewards, and care for the less fortunate among us.

Furthermore, blizzards like the ones we've seen this past week actually help to confirm the fact that our planet is heating up. Warmer air means more moisture and more precipitation. These weather extremes have been cited for decades as evidence of our planet being out of balance. I've been reading this literature since college (my apologies to the people out there who distrust universities....there I go again) and it has been consistent. We will have extremes: droughts in summer, blizzards in winter. hurricanes and flooding in between.

From the New York Times on 2/11/10:

"A federal government report issued last year, intended to be the authoritative statement of known climate trends in the United States, pointed to the likelihood of more frequent snowstorms in the Northeast and less frequent snow in the South and Southeast as a result of long-term temperature and precipitation patterns. The Climate Impacts report, from the multiagency United States Global Change Research Program, also projected more intense drought in the Southwest and more powerful Gulf Coast hurricanes because of warming.

In other words, if the government scientists are correct, look for more snow."

snowmageddon

or snowpocalypse. Whatever name you give it, this is an epic snowstorm, the likes of which I haven't seen since my freshman year at Wisconsin attempting to walk to class in a blizzard! There is something surreal about the white softness that surrounds us and the forced peace of that snow upon upon upon snow. Work closed this Saturday; we're all home safe, with electricity, food, gas, water and an amazing awe of nature.

Snowed in with some good books: Crazy Beautiful, a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast; and Gateway, another YA book that I just started at lunch yesterday. It has begun well, and is in the time travel/fantasy/romance vein. Still halfway through Vive La Paris, which is quite good and has a funny narrative voice, but still makes me a little sad because it is about bullying.

Jacob just commented, as he put down his unfinished breakfast: "I've lost my appetite...with all this excitement!" Yes, snowpocalypse indeed! Let's grab that shovel.

It's snowing books

This happens to be one of my favorite times of year to read and read and read. Days are shorter and there's something relaxing about curling up with a good book, cuppa something, and not feel pulled to be outside (as I so often am at other times of the year). Like any addiction, the more you turn to it, the more you crave it. So with already 7 books under my belt this year, I wanted to share some quick thoughts before I forget the things that made them so memorable. Outliers, The Anybodies, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Alabama Moon, The Cupcake Queen, A Reliable Wife.

Alabama Moon was surprisingly good--great book to recommend to boys who like Gary Paulsen or Holes. I read it and could envision it as a movie, did a quick internet search and found that it has already been made into a film w/John Goodman, but maybe hasn't been released yet! Cupcake Queen I read in a flash last night. It reminded me a bit of Sarah Dessen's books--but lighter and for younger girls. Loved all the bakery bits--my ideal job would be to run a bookstore/bakery. The Anybodies took me a bit to get into, but I really liked its quirkiness and the house made out of books. Loved that I could figure out almost every book she wove into the story. Guernsey and A Reliable Wife were both for my book group and they were great. Totally different from one another, but very enjoyable. Guernsey was unique in that it's all told in letters, and was a lighter read. A Reliable Wife really got under my skin and was disturbing and the rare example of a book where my dislike of the characters' actions didn't make me dislike the book or even the characters themselves. Finally, Outliers was the sole non-fiction selection and was excellent! I really found it engrossing and as a parent, I could apply some of the examples. More on that later...

Next on the bookshelf: Going Bovine (Printz award-winner for 2010), Half-Broke Horses, I am the Messenger, Vive la Paris.

2010 marches on

New year, new blog posting, loooooong overdue! How did I manage to go months without blogging here? I am big on beginnings, fresh starts, clean breaks and other such things that one reflects upon at the advent of a New Year. I am usually full of resolutions, most of which I fail to keep. Some are pedestrian fare (lose weight/exercise more) and others are simple: get outside for at least 15 minutes everyday. (in Pittsburgh with its very rainy weather this is sometimes easier said than done). But this year, I have decided to tackle something doable that will also hopefully make our family's life easier. The kids already tease me about it, but at least they're cognizant of it and, in their way, helping me keep to the commitment. I no longer want to go rushing around from place to place, feeling like we're going to be late. (And annoyingly, half the time that I rush around thinking we're going to be late, we arrive early and I feel I've wasted my energy!). So for the punctuality freak in me, I just want to stop that mad rush so we are easily on time to all the random appointments/rehearsals/lessons/services. Hmm..what do you think? It's working so far. Yeah, only 11 days in, but still that's better than I've done with some past resolutions.

on passing

Feel compelled to document my sadness over the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy, not that it was unexpected or particularly tragic in its timing.  But like the end of summer, which looms like a large shadow as school begins tomorrow, it is a bittersweet and melancholy moment that both pulls you back to reflect on the past and pushes you forward to face the new day.  If it means a passing of the torch, a metaphor they've been talking up since Kennedy endorsed Obama in the presidential race, then this moment is somewhat anticlimactic.  But how fitting that the Obama's chose to vacation in Martha's Vineyard this summer, only a stone's throw from the Kennedy Compound and within palpable reach (both literally and figuratively)  of this great figure in American political history.   I hope the legacy of Ted Kennedy endures beyond cable television tributes, and his dreams of social justice and health care for all come to pass through the Obama presidency. 

end of 23 things, beginning of....

the rest of our lives in a techno age.  Looking forward to continuing to expand my use of:  library databases (before we lose them to the budget slashing!), flicker, blog uploads and embedding--which  I never really mastered, and delicious.  

Check out the Art Institute of Chicago

Check out the Art Institute of Chicago

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