Mother Nature rears its ugly head

In the past few days our country has been pounded with a serious spring storm. Areas of the midwest have been pounded with snow and the Gulf states have been hit with serious thunderstorms. Beginning tomorroow the northeast is expecting a nor'easter, which will make for torrential rains, flooding, and gusting winds. "This is very odd for this time of year," National Weather Service meteorologist John Koch said Saturday in New York. "This is something that you would expect to see more in the middle of winter."
As it is temperatures in NJ haven't been even close to record norms. We should be feeling some beautiful 60 degree weather by now, but the past few weeks we've been lucky if it makes it into the 50's. I'm starting to wonder if we'll even have seasons anymore in the next few years. It was in the 60's and 70's in mid March, and then winter came back to slap us in the face. Thanks alot global warming.

Who will Save Our Selves?

Oh, how different our country would be if Al Gore had been elected in 2000. Gore has come up big yet again, organizing Live Earth concerts to be held July 7 in cities around the world. The show, aimed at raising climate control awareness, will feature greats like Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer at Continental Airlines Arena in the Great Garden State. Other shows will take place in London, Sydney, Shanghai, and Tokyo among others. This marks the start of the Save Our Selves campaign, led by The Alliance for Climate Protection. (chaired by my man Al Gore)
The show will be broadcast live in the US on NBC, as well as live from several other stations around the world. All proceeds will go toward the battle against global warming, which is really great. It's nice to see that people are really recognizing how serious the problem is and are mobilizing an effort to make things happen. Come on Al, you're making things happen, and you could do even more as el presidente. So do us all a favor and PLEEEASE RUN FOR THE 2008 ELECTION!! Thanks =)

one fish, two fish...

I found this article after writing my previous post. Scientists have determined that global warming is already beginning to wreak havoc on our ocean life. Rising ocean temperatures are killing phytoplankton, which not only serve as a food source, but also process and create carbon dioxide and oxygen. Warmer waters already contain less oxygen than colder waters, which could make spell serious problems for certain types of fish. Warmer waters will also help jellyfish to thrive, which means several species of fish may start disappearing. Just another way global warming will come to bite us in the ass.

could the end be near??

A global warming conference held in Belgium on Friday warned of the serious effects of climate change if we don't do something now. They reported that the poorest countries will suffer most, predicting that Africa will be hit hardest. The report predicted:
-increased hunger is Asia and Africa
-extinction of 30% of our species is temperatures rise
-dry areas will be at higher risks of disease and hunger
-all areas will be at greater risk of floods, storms and erosion
Experts say the problems can be solved, but it will cost trillions to fix on a global level. Will it be done? Will our government and others around the world really work together to fix this? We have done serious damage to our planet and now it's our job to fix it, by actually doing something instead of just talking about it. The end could indeed be nearer than we think. Maybe not in our generation, but maybe in our childrens' or grandchildrens' generations. We've worked so hard to progress as a society, but all of that has come at a serious cost. Could we have brought upon our very demise? I certainly hope not. A serious change would do us good, otherwise the future looks pretty grim.

ge foods leaving a nasty taste

Last month the press quickly brushed over the halting of Genetically Engineered alfalfa by a federal judge. Many of you might not have even heard about it, and many of you might not even know a whole lot about GE foods and why they're potentially harmfuk. The saying goes, "You are what you eat," which means that everyone should be aware of what's going into their bodies.
Everyday we eat foods that may have been genetically altered in one way or another. Not enough testing has been done on GE foods for us to know if they're safe to eat, or whether these altered crops could effect our ecosystems. People in favor of GE foods swear that it could cure hunger around the world. Hell, if I know it's safe and other countries can benefit from it, then great. But growing GE crops is an expensive process, and I seriously doubt that any third world nations could afford it.
The other argument is that it could end the use of pesticides, when in reality, the use of pesticides has actually actually increased with the introduction of GE foods. Gee, what a coincidence that the same companies that create GE foods also make the pesticides themselves! It seems to me that the motives are clear, and this is yet another money-maker at the cost of our health, and the future of our environment.

Biofuel: too good to be true

Biofuel has been a hot topic in the past year, and many have been hopeful that it would be the cure-all our country needs. It could mean signifigantly lower gas prices, replenishing oil and battling climate change and global warming. Now it's looking like biofuel is indeed too good to be true, and will not be the miracle our country has hoped for. There are growing concerns that there is simply not enough land to grow these bio-fuel crops, which could seriously increase starvation in poor countries. Rainforests and ecosystems are being destroyed to grow these crops, and the burning to clear the land is seriously increasing pollution.
It goes to show that there is no clean cut solution to this problem. We have done serious damage to our environment, and we're beginning to feel the repercussions. The solutions we've found have turned out to not be solutions after all, but how will our government react, or the American people for that matter? We would all love for prices at the pump to go down, but at what expense? If biofuel isn't really helping our environment, and could potentially cause mass starvation, then it's certainly not worth it to me.

He's got the whole world in his hands

A January article from ABC News showed one case ofreligion and science coming together. Seems like a foreign concept as the two are always at odds, but a coalition of scientists and religious leaders have decided to put aside their differences to do some environmental good. These Christian fundamentalists have decided that global warming, pollution and other issues plaguing our planet are indeed moral issues as well, and are compelled to lend their hand to the world of science.
Whatever the motivation, this is clearly a huge step. Science and religion are probably the two biggest institutions in the world, and if they can begin to forget their differences and unite for a common good then that's incredible. This coalition has stopped aruging about the origin of our planet to realize that either way it's our duty to protect it. Will they be shaking hands over abortion issues anytime soon? Clearly no, but this is a huge step in bridging the gap.