Deep space explorer facing the deep-six
From the time I was a little girl and would gaze up at the stars with my dad and shared the wondering if there was a dad and daughter on another planet looking at us and wondering the same thing, I've been fascinated with astronomy.
I'm beginning to hear, even in the news, about an asteroid of significant size that will whiz disconcertingly close to our planet in 2027, and possibly even more dangerously close a few years later. I hope to be alive at that time to see just what comes of it.
Neil de Grasse Tyson, astrophysicist, explained on C-Span recently that this asteroid, if it did collide with Earth and landed in an ocean, would completely wipe out coastal cities. However, nobody need die, because we'd have sufficient warning and would be able to go somewhere else. The second fly-by is the one to be more worried about, he says. Even now scientists are working on plans to nudge the asteroid into a different orbit when it comes close the first time. But the nudge better be a good one, because the wrong nudge will just make it collide somewhere else on earth. Can you picture that? American scientists nudge an asteroid to land in, oh, say, well, whatever country we feel like invading but don't have the funds or manpower at the time to do the job.
We think we're safe. We're not. I think we know that at an intellectual level. Some of my fiber artist colleagues are concerned about using only materials that will last at least 200 years. In the art world, you learn to speak the language of archival, acid-free, and other terms. I don't have a problem with that. Yet at the same time, we might have under fifty years left as a species, and that's only looking at things from the point of view of a certain asteroid already discovered. Though many of us will have already gone, most of our children and grandchildren will still be here.
I don't have any answers. I don't even know what the questions might be. It's just interesting to think that our immediate heirs might have to deal with something we can't even imagine.
What's sad is the lack of available funding for the best equipment to track this asteroid. I suppose that is just part of the larger picture where we don't find the funds for things that really matter. Global warming, education, poverty, starvation…
Funny thing, that. The funds exist. And the gap between the wealthy and the poor continues to widen, and we continue to support a lifestyle that makes that possible.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
in our own back yard
Sitting at my kitchen table again, sipping my first cup of coffee, this time I'm reading about Circuit City dumping its highest paid employees. Highest paid? Oh, about $15/hour is what I'm hearing. In general, that amounts to $30,000 a year. That's not bad, unless you want to buy a house, or raise a family, or even afford an apartment. As I understand it, the newly fired folks will be able to reapply for their jobs again after ten weeks, and at a lower pay, about $10/hour.
A bit later, sipping my second cup of coffee, I mused on terrorism. It may just be me, but loss of income is terrifying, much more so than car bombs and…well, whatever else our esteemed leaders want us to think is threatening us. Circuit City is based in Richmond, Virginia, so maybe that means one of the terrorists organizations we need to fear is right in our back yard.
But wait. Is it terrorism if there are laws written to protect activities that nevertheless threaten and terrorize law abiding citizens here? Oh, what a dilemma.
It would be so easy to fight the legalized terrorism in our back yard, and it wouldn't even be violent, nor would it be expensive. In the case of Circuit City, all we need to do is boycott them. That's all. Shop elsewhere. Or, if we're really brave, we simply won't shop at all. And, if they say we're hurting the economy, or tempting them to lay off more of our brothers and sisters, well, if we wanted to, we could take care of our own and bring a terrorist organization to its knees, all without bloodshed. What a concept.
According to what I'm reading, the newly fired employees were making at least 51 cents an hour above a pay range acceptable to the company. If they laid off 3,400 employees across the country, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out just how much these highly paid workers were costing the company, and it should be even easier to compare that figure with however much the CEO of Circuit City makes yearly. Would you like to take a guess at how those figures compare?
Sure. I think terrorism is a real thing. I suspect there really are "terrorists" who hate the United States and are figuring out ways to blow themselves up over here on our soil. But it seems to me we're blowing ourselves up in slow motion every time we cluck in passive dismay over some stranger's job loss. Kinda makes you wonder who else hates the United States, or at least hates the patriotic citizens here.
Hate? Did I say they hate us? Nah, they don't hate us any more than herd animals are hated. Herd animals are tolerated, even cared for, as long as they're giving their owners fresh meat, or blood, or toil.
p.s. After posting this, I discovered that the yearly income by the Circuit City CEO was posted by The Washington Post, but not by The Columbus Dispatch, my own local newspaper of a certain conservative bent. How interesting.
A bit later, sipping my second cup of coffee, I mused on terrorism. It may just be me, but loss of income is terrifying, much more so than car bombs and…well, whatever else our esteemed leaders want us to think is threatening us. Circuit City is based in Richmond, Virginia, so maybe that means one of the terrorists organizations we need to fear is right in our back yard.
But wait. Is it terrorism if there are laws written to protect activities that nevertheless threaten and terrorize law abiding citizens here? Oh, what a dilemma.
It would be so easy to fight the legalized terrorism in our back yard, and it wouldn't even be violent, nor would it be expensive. In the case of Circuit City, all we need to do is boycott them. That's all. Shop elsewhere. Or, if we're really brave, we simply won't shop at all. And, if they say we're hurting the economy, or tempting them to lay off more of our brothers and sisters, well, if we wanted to, we could take care of our own and bring a terrorist organization to its knees, all without bloodshed. What a concept.
According to what I'm reading, the newly fired employees were making at least 51 cents an hour above a pay range acceptable to the company. If they laid off 3,400 employees across the country, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out just how much these highly paid workers were costing the company, and it should be even easier to compare that figure with however much the CEO of Circuit City makes yearly. Would you like to take a guess at how those figures compare?
Sure. I think terrorism is a real thing. I suspect there really are "terrorists" who hate the United States and are figuring out ways to blow themselves up over here on our soil. But it seems to me we're blowing ourselves up in slow motion every time we cluck in passive dismay over some stranger's job loss. Kinda makes you wonder who else hates the United States, or at least hates the patriotic citizens here.
Hate? Did I say they hate us? Nah, they don't hate us any more than herd animals are hated. Herd animals are tolerated, even cared for, as long as they're giving their owners fresh meat, or blood, or toil.
p.s. After posting this, I discovered that the yearly income by the Circuit City CEO was posted by The Washington Post, but not by The Columbus Dispatch, my own local newspaper of a certain conservative bent. How interesting.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Sugar blues
I sit at my kitchen table in the morning, reading the newspaper, and wonder about monster toads caught in Darwin, Australia. Is this just another curious bit of frivolous information, or does it have some actual significance to this suburban grandmother? Google may help me, here, since the newspaper doesn't.
Cane toads, as they're called, were imported from South America during the 1930s in an attempt to control beetles on Australia's sugar cane plantations. The thought of plantations reminds me of our cotton plantations, slavery, and ruinous farming practices in the early days of our country.
My first stop on the Google express was here. Coke benefiting from Child Labor in Sugar Cane Fields in El Salvador. This was reported in 2004; children, some as young as eight years old, were laboring in dangerous and unhealthy conditions, and were forced to miss the first several months of school. In addition, they had to pay for their own medical care when they were injured by the machetes.
Ah, our friend Coca Cola, found on practically every street corner, either in a dispensing machine, a store shelf, or a can thrown onto the sidewalk.
Next, putting it into some historical context, I read that in the late 1800s Australian sugar producers kidnapped unsuspecting Kanakas to use as cheap labor so the producers could compete with overseas producers.
So slavery isn't just an American blotch, and of course we know it's not, given some very grim figures available today. What this says to me is we didn't invent greed, powerlust, ignorance, and self indulgence, but we sure haven't walked away from them, have we, as we toss our Coke cans and candy wrappers?
Unfortunately, the damage goes further than the atrocities of slavery and forced child labor. It seems we are damaging the earth itself.
Late last year, in Uganda, the owner of a sugar cane plantation attempted to gain permission to clear a rare rain forest in order to expand the plantation's operations. At this point, I don't know who the owners are, what country funds them, or whether they were successful.
All I know is we go through a lot of sugar consumption in this country, much to the delight, I'm sure, of some wealthy plantation owners and their stockholders. Of course, as disease attacks our bodies, in part due to our unhealthy eating habits, we can always get medical assistance, much to the delight of drug company owners and their stockholders.
I think it's time to ditch the Coca Cola again, among other things.
Cane toads, as they're called, were imported from South America during the 1930s in an attempt to control beetles on Australia's sugar cane plantations. The thought of plantations reminds me of our cotton plantations, slavery, and ruinous farming practices in the early days of our country.
My first stop on the Google express was here. Coke benefiting from Child Labor in Sugar Cane Fields in El Salvador. This was reported in 2004; children, some as young as eight years old, were laboring in dangerous and unhealthy conditions, and were forced to miss the first several months of school. In addition, they had to pay for their own medical care when they were injured by the machetes.
Ah, our friend Coca Cola, found on practically every street corner, either in a dispensing machine, a store shelf, or a can thrown onto the sidewalk.
Next, putting it into some historical context, I read that in the late 1800s Australian sugar producers kidnapped unsuspecting Kanakas to use as cheap labor so the producers could compete with overseas producers.
So slavery isn't just an American blotch, and of course we know it's not, given some very grim figures available today. What this says to me is we didn't invent greed, powerlust, ignorance, and self indulgence, but we sure haven't walked away from them, have we, as we toss our Coke cans and candy wrappers?
Unfortunately, the damage goes further than the atrocities of slavery and forced child labor. It seems we are damaging the earth itself.
Late last year, in Uganda, the owner of a sugar cane plantation attempted to gain permission to clear a rare rain forest in order to expand the plantation's operations. At this point, I don't know who the owners are, what country funds them, or whether they were successful.
All I know is we go through a lot of sugar consumption in this country, much to the delight, I'm sure, of some wealthy plantation owners and their stockholders. Of course, as disease attacks our bodies, in part due to our unhealthy eating habits, we can always get medical assistance, much to the delight of drug company owners and their stockholders.
I think it's time to ditch the Coca Cola again, among other things.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Who's the winner and what does everybody else lose?
Group's Pepsi deal goes flat. Cute title. I approve.
What interests me about this is something most of us of a certain age either don't care about or don't know, which is Pepsi advertising in the schools. I'm not currently walking through the schools, but as long ago as twenty years ago I walked through a high school and was both surprised and dismayed to see attractive posters in the halls, compliments of one soft drink company or another. For that matter, soft drink dispensing machines were a surprise, too. And so on. No, I'm not a purist. I just finished a Coca Cola myself. Yes, I know it doesn't have any health benefits and the company itself is highly suspect. I guess I have some issues of my own to address, but right now I'm addressing something else.
In our competitive world of winners and losers, anybody who lives in Dublin, Ohio, the location of interest here, is an economic winner by almost any standard. Of course, "winning" is relative, wouldn't you say?
To make a relatively boring article as short as possible, Dublin schools contracted with Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Columbus Ohio to receive a portion of sales proceeds in exchange for advertising and an exclusivity contract. Apparently how it was handled on the Dublin schools end has caused some difficulties with the school administration.
I don't want to get bogged down in the specific details, contracts, legalities, and misunderstandings and assumptions here. You can read the article for that. Instead, let's look at something else.
Why is it acceptable to have soft drinks sold and advertised in the schools in the first place? Can the school district not raise the funds needed to run the schools? Remember, this is Dublin, Ohio, wealthy by most standards. Who is the real winner in this acceptable practice?
I have a gut feeling it's Pepsi. They dangle a bit of money at people in exchange for…what? I suppose Pepsi doesn't really care how the school district spends the money it will get from them. Pepsi will obviously make more than what the school district will receive.
I don't think Pepsi gives a rat's *ss about the judged unconstitutional ways Ohio has funded its schools, nor about the incredible discrepancies between the richest and the poorest school districts. I'm guessing Pepsi doesn't care, either, about what's taught, (and not taught) in the classrooms.
All I know is Pepsi makes a deal with a school district to advertise in their schools, and sell their product without competition. In return, the school district gets some money. There is just something about this that stinks, and I don't care that the practice is widespread and "everbody does it." It still stinks in a state that hasn't figured out how to fund the schools fairly and adequately in the first place.
What interests me about this is something most of us of a certain age either don't care about or don't know, which is Pepsi advertising in the schools. I'm not currently walking through the schools, but as long ago as twenty years ago I walked through a high school and was both surprised and dismayed to see attractive posters in the halls, compliments of one soft drink company or another. For that matter, soft drink dispensing machines were a surprise, too. And so on. No, I'm not a purist. I just finished a Coca Cola myself. Yes, I know it doesn't have any health benefits and the company itself is highly suspect. I guess I have some issues of my own to address, but right now I'm addressing something else.
In our competitive world of winners and losers, anybody who lives in Dublin, Ohio, the location of interest here, is an economic winner by almost any standard. Of course, "winning" is relative, wouldn't you say?
To make a relatively boring article as short as possible, Dublin schools contracted with Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Columbus Ohio to receive a portion of sales proceeds in exchange for advertising and an exclusivity contract. Apparently how it was handled on the Dublin schools end has caused some difficulties with the school administration.
I don't want to get bogged down in the specific details, contracts, legalities, and misunderstandings and assumptions here. You can read the article for that. Instead, let's look at something else.
Why is it acceptable to have soft drinks sold and advertised in the schools in the first place? Can the school district not raise the funds needed to run the schools? Remember, this is Dublin, Ohio, wealthy by most standards. Who is the real winner in this acceptable practice?
I have a gut feeling it's Pepsi. They dangle a bit of money at people in exchange for…what? I suppose Pepsi doesn't really care how the school district spends the money it will get from them. Pepsi will obviously make more than what the school district will receive.
I don't think Pepsi gives a rat's *ss about the judged unconstitutional ways Ohio has funded its schools, nor about the incredible discrepancies between the richest and the poorest school districts. I'm guessing Pepsi doesn't care, either, about what's taught, (and not taught) in the classrooms.
All I know is Pepsi makes a deal with a school district to advertise in their schools, and sell their product without competition. In return, the school district gets some money. There is just something about this that stinks, and I don't care that the practice is widespread and "everbody does it." It still stinks in a state that hasn't figured out how to fund the schools fairly and adequately in the first place.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
You go, girl!
Good for you, Elizabeth Edwards. I'm not making a judgment call on anybody's intentions. I'll leave that to the self-righteous know-it-alls who prefer spewing venom to solving problems.
But good for you. You are showing us that you can live while you're alive. If it were me, I'd do the same. The comments about stress being bad for recovery? True enough. As I see it, keeping my spouse from doing what he believes to be important would also be stressful, especially if I, too, believed it was important.
But good for you. You are showing us that you can live while you're alive. If it were me, I'd do the same. The comments about stress being bad for recovery? True enough. As I see it, keeping my spouse from doing what he believes to be important would also be stressful, especially if I, too, believed it was important.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Brunner begins to clean house
Something I enjoyed reading in the 20March07 Columbus Dispatch written by Mark Niquette:
Our new Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has issued an ultimatum to Cuyahoga County's board of elections: resign or be fired. The board chairman, Robert T. Bennett, is also chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. He says Brunner hit the wrong target and he won't resign.
Yada, yada, yada. Given everything that has gone on in Ohio regarding voting, Bennett should be glad he was given a choice.
We can read the story 'til the cows come home, and we'll never know for sure who did what, most likely. But we do know the voting system was highly suspect in Ohio, that recount volunteers met with hostility, that J. Kenneth Blackwell effectively threw up roadblocks that prevented examination of voting records and machines, that, well, we know the drill. At this point, like it or not, if you're a Republican in Ohio, especially a Republican who has worked your way up into a position of "importance" in the party, chances are you aren't a wrong target.
How about this. Mr. Bennett, if it helps ease your pain, consider yourself to be collateral damage…
Our new Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has issued an ultimatum to Cuyahoga County's board of elections: resign or be fired. The board chairman, Robert T. Bennett, is also chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. He says Brunner hit the wrong target and he won't resign.
Yada, yada, yada. Given everything that has gone on in Ohio regarding voting, Bennett should be glad he was given a choice.
We can read the story 'til the cows come home, and we'll never know for sure who did what, most likely. But we do know the voting system was highly suspect in Ohio, that recount volunteers met with hostility, that J. Kenneth Blackwell effectively threw up roadblocks that prevented examination of voting records and machines, that, well, we know the drill. At this point, like it or not, if you're a Republican in Ohio, especially a Republican who has worked your way up into a position of "importance" in the party, chances are you aren't a wrong target.
How about this. Mr. Bennett, if it helps ease your pain, consider yourself to be collateral damage…
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
dilemma
The car ahead of me had two stickers on its backside.
The first proclaimed these words:
Protect America.
No amnesty for
illegal aliens.
The second was the Chrisian symbolic fish with the name of Jesus inside.
The first is the language of law.
The second is the language of love.
Who will win the heart of this driver? It cannot be both. Jesus had a few things to say about Pharisees.
The first proclaimed these words:
Protect America.
No amnesty for
illegal aliens.
The second was the Chrisian symbolic fish with the name of Jesus inside.
The first is the language of law.
The second is the language of love.
Who will win the heart of this driver? It cannot be both. Jesus had a few things to say about Pharisees.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Unconstitutional school funding in Ohio
I'll be upfront about this. Most of the legalities and behind the scenes dancing by personalities I don't know are beyond me.
But this is what I do know. Too much of funding for schools is dependent on property taxes within the school districts. Thus, wealthy districts have wonderful schools, poor districts get indoor plumbing that usually works.
Also, as the problem of school funding was addressed, I could hear the folks in the wealthy districts not wanting any of their money going to the poorer districts. Well, so much for lip service to the principles of Christianity, upon which so many folks like to say is the basis of our entire country's laws.
Ten years ago this topic hit the big screen, and it's not done yet. Joe Hallett wrote an interesting summary of the process of addressing this problem here in Ohio in the March 18, 2007 Columbus Dispatch.
Sixteen paragraphs down something he wrote hit me between the eyes: "He (Douglas) and Pfeifer, two maverick Republicans who nurtured reputations for siding with the little guy…"
I read that again and chewed on it. Somebody said that. Outloud, more or less. In the Columbus Dispatch, a newspaper that is by and large a voice of the Republican party here. Is he saying that Republicans who side with the little guys are mavericks? Well, I won't act like I'd never considered that possibility myself, but it was so nice to see it in print, even if it was printed deep in the bowels of the Sunday paper where half of the front page was devoted to basketball. Oh well.
I also don't know whether Joe Hallett was trying to put a positive or negative spin on his words. It was enough for me to hear maverick, Republican, and siding with the little guy all stitched together. Again, it reminds me of what I've heard before. The test of any law is the effect it has on the poorest among us.
But this is what I do know. Too much of funding for schools is dependent on property taxes within the school districts. Thus, wealthy districts have wonderful schools, poor districts get indoor plumbing that usually works.
Also, as the problem of school funding was addressed, I could hear the folks in the wealthy districts not wanting any of their money going to the poorer districts. Well, so much for lip service to the principles of Christianity, upon which so many folks like to say is the basis of our entire country's laws.
Ten years ago this topic hit the big screen, and it's not done yet. Joe Hallett wrote an interesting summary of the process of addressing this problem here in Ohio in the March 18, 2007 Columbus Dispatch.
Sixteen paragraphs down something he wrote hit me between the eyes: "He (Douglas) and Pfeifer, two maverick Republicans who nurtured reputations for siding with the little guy…"
I read that again and chewed on it. Somebody said that. Outloud, more or less. In the Columbus Dispatch, a newspaper that is by and large a voice of the Republican party here. Is he saying that Republicans who side with the little guys are mavericks? Well, I won't act like I'd never considered that possibility myself, but it was so nice to see it in print, even if it was printed deep in the bowels of the Sunday paper where half of the front page was devoted to basketball. Oh well.
I also don't know whether Joe Hallett was trying to put a positive or negative spin on his words. It was enough for me to hear maverick, Republican, and siding with the little guy all stitched together. Again, it reminds me of what I've heard before. The test of any law is the effect it has on the poorest among us.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Working Sick
A study published by ACORN shows a pattern of companies not providing paid sick leave to their employees, and those employees are the least likely to be able to afford to take days off without pay in the first place. Cruising through the list of stingy companies, I saw that many of them are the traditional landmarks around our town.
Look at these examples…
Outback
Cracker Barrel
Burger King
Jack in the Box
Kohl's
McDonald's
Wendy's
Ruby Tuesday's
Applebee's
Now just to throw a little balance into the mix, take a look at CEO pay in 2005 for these same companies:
Outback: $22,000,000
Cracker Barrel: $8,800,000
Burger King: $7,900,000
Jack in the Box: $2,800,000
Kohl's: $1,600,000
McDonald's: $3,400,000
Wendy's: $5,300,000
Ruby Tuesday's: $5,300,000
Applebee's: $2,900,000
I certainly don't fault employees who come to work sick, especially if they have families to provide for. Oh, did you think it was only teenagers who flipped burgers at McDonald's? But think about what gets sneezed onto your food as it's being prepared.
Do you suppose the CEOs of these companies are concerned about their own health care? Oh how silly of me to ask such simple questions!
Look at these examples…
Outback
Cracker Barrel
Burger King
Jack in the Box
Kohl's
McDonald's
Wendy's
Ruby Tuesday's
Applebee's
Now just to throw a little balance into the mix, take a look at CEO pay in 2005 for these same companies:
Outback: $22,000,000
Cracker Barrel: $8,800,000
Burger King: $7,900,000
Jack in the Box: $2,800,000
Kohl's: $1,600,000
McDonald's: $3,400,000
Wendy's: $5,300,000
Ruby Tuesday's: $5,300,000
Applebee's: $2,900,000
I certainly don't fault employees who come to work sick, especially if they have families to provide for. Oh, did you think it was only teenagers who flipped burgers at McDonald's? But think about what gets sneezed onto your food as it's being prepared.
Do you suppose the CEOs of these companies are concerned about their own health care? Oh how silly of me to ask such simple questions!
Friday, March 16, 2007
biological sin?
Mohler Says Gay Gene Should Be Manipulated, If Possible
So now the Rev. Albert Mohler Jr. wants to "fix" defective babies still in the womb who are biologically disposed to be gay? This is making a lot of noise in some circles, including the group of those who snoop around in the back pages of the third sections of newspapers.
I have a better idea. Let's find the biological basis for homophobia and fix that problem right at the two cell stage. We could snoop into the wombs of all women and eliminate fear and hate before our new brothers and sisters even reach the blastula stage. Oh my. Then, maybe we can find that the biological basis for homophobia is actually the result of sinful thinking on the part of those who have contributed the DNA in the first place. Oh, what a purge of the sinful that would be, tee hee.
I mean, well, after all, following the lead of those who believe "gay" to be sinful, well, since what we "believe" carries more weight than the facts, then I can believe homophobia is sinful, too. God told me. Who's gonna argue with God?
So now the Rev. Albert Mohler Jr. wants to "fix" defective babies still in the womb who are biologically disposed to be gay? This is making a lot of noise in some circles, including the group of those who snoop around in the back pages of the third sections of newspapers.
I have a better idea. Let's find the biological basis for homophobia and fix that problem right at the two cell stage. We could snoop into the wombs of all women and eliminate fear and hate before our new brothers and sisters even reach the blastula stage. Oh my. Then, maybe we can find that the biological basis for homophobia is actually the result of sinful thinking on the part of those who have contributed the DNA in the first place. Oh, what a purge of the sinful that would be, tee hee.
I mean, well, after all, following the lead of those who believe "gay" to be sinful, well, since what we "believe" carries more weight than the facts, then I can believe homophobia is sinful, too. God told me. Who's gonna argue with God?
Thursday, March 15, 2007
State of the State, well stated
I don't usually listen to State of the State addresses, figuring it's all about posturing and hot air. I'm more interested in the action end of things. However, reading today's newspaper, I see I missed some action. Governor Strickland got a gasp out of the Republican side when he announced a budget recommendation of a moratorium on new charter schools and elimination of almost all school vouchers. I'm sure one of the reasons they gasped was because they were surprised, and, delightfully, one reason they were surprised was because Ted Strickland didn't distribute his speech ahead of time. I like that.
Joe Hallett, a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch, noted, "And there was a lot for those who view government as a guardian for children, the aged and the poor."
This focus is crucial, in my opinion.
This from the vision of our new governor, and noted by a reporter of a conservative newspaper. I am pleased, at least in this moment. We'll see how it all plays out.
Joe Hallett, a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch, noted, "And there was a lot for those who view government as a guardian for children, the aged and the poor."
This focus is crucial, in my opinion.
This from the vision of our new governor, and noted by a reporter of a conservative newspaper. I am pleased, at least in this moment. We'll see how it all plays out.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
beemused
Honeybees in Ohio are endangered.
I wonder, sometimes, if the bullet that finally does us in is a lot closer than terrorists from the other side of the world. Could it be the bees? Without pollination, we lose a significant amount of our food supply. We know that, or at least many of us read it in our textbooks. But do we really care? How many of us actually have gardens of our own? How many of us actually think about our food supply any deeper than clipping coupons or zipping through the drive-thrus? When I taught, I had students who had no idea what beef was. It just came wrapped in plastic, don'cha know?
I think about disease in our bodies, how bacteria and germs can make us sick, then we get better. We'll get sick again sometime, and recover again. Except not always. One day, unless we get run over by a truck, we'll die from a disease, most likely, because we're old and unable to ward off the disease any more, even with help.
How healthy is our environment?
That's what concerns me. I don't think we know enough yet to know which straw is the last one. And, I don't think, as a population, we're mature enough to care.
I wonder, sometimes, if the bullet that finally does us in is a lot closer than terrorists from the other side of the world. Could it be the bees? Without pollination, we lose a significant amount of our food supply. We know that, or at least many of us read it in our textbooks. But do we really care? How many of us actually have gardens of our own? How many of us actually think about our food supply any deeper than clipping coupons or zipping through the drive-thrus? When I taught, I had students who had no idea what beef was. It just came wrapped in plastic, don'cha know?
I think about disease in our bodies, how bacteria and germs can make us sick, then we get better. We'll get sick again sometime, and recover again. Except not always. One day, unless we get run over by a truck, we'll die from a disease, most likely, because we're old and unable to ward off the disease any more, even with help.
How healthy is our environment?
That's what concerns me. I don't think we know enough yet to know which straw is the last one. And, I don't think, as a population, we're mature enough to care.
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