The envelope said "DO NOT DESTROY OFFICIAL DOCUMENT." Inside was "2009 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CENSUS."
It was a Republican fundraiser. I'm thinking of responding to their "census," without money. After all, what is an unemployed person supposed to do.
Their questions:
Political Profile
1. Do you generally identify yourself as a: Conservative Republican; Moderate Republican; Liberal Republican; Independent Vote who leans Republican; Other ________________
2. Do you traditionally vote in all elections? Yes or No.
3. Did you cast a vote in the following elections? 2008 Presidential Contest: Yes, No, Unsure. 2006 Mid-Term Elections: Yes, No, Unsure.
4. What age category below applies to you? 18-29, 30-44, 45-59, 60+
5. How close do you think your views are to other voters in your community? Very Close, Somewhat Close, Not Very Close, No Opinion.
6. From what media source do you regularly receive your political news? (You can check more than one) NBC/CBS/ABC, CNN/MSNBC, News Websites, Local Newspaper, Friends, Fox News, Facebook/MySpace, Internet Blogs, Radio, Twitter, Candidate Websites, National Magazines, Other ______________
7. How much does it concern you that the Democrats have total control of the federal government? Very Much; Not Too Much; Not A Concern; No Opinion
But I do have an opinion: The Democrats may have a majority but control?
General Issues
1. Do you think things in this country are generally going in the wrong direction, or do you feel things are starting to improve? Wrong Direction; Starting To Improve; Unsure
I haven't seen a direction yet, mostly because of Republican obstructionism but some from Democratic Party chaos.
2. Please indicate the top three issues that you believe are most important to people in your area: Economy; Environment; Immigration; Government Expansion; Federal Spending; Energy; National Security; Protecting Traditional Values; Taxes; Health Care; Foreign Policy; Education; Social Security; State Spending; Other ___________
For this question to be of any value I would think that my "views" must be "very close" to "the voters in my community."
3. Which political party do you feel is best able to handle each of the following issues? [Choices for each are:] Republican, Democratic, No Opinion. War in Irag/Afghanistan; War on Terror; Economy; Taxes; Health Care; Federal Spending; Social Security; Strong Military; Foreign Policy; Environment; Immigration; Energy; Education; Protecting Traditional Values
The last, "Protecting Traditional Values," I'm sure they don't define quite the same as I do. I'd like to think that the USA I am a citizen of will continue to protect the traditions of individual liberty as opposed to imposing sanctimonious morals on others.
4. How do you rate the Obama Administration thus far when it comes to dealing with America's major problems? Approve, Disapprove, No Opinion
5. How do you rate the Democrat controlled Congress? Approve, Disapprove, No Opinion
Domestic Issues
1. How confident are you that America's economy will improve in the next six month? Strongly Confident; Not To Confident; Somewhat Confident; Not Confident At All; No Opinion
2. Which Party do you think has the solutions to solve our current economic crisis? Republican; Democratic; Combination of Both; No Opinion
3. Which of the following factors do you feel is most adversely affecting the economy in your area? Burdensome Taxes; Severe Government Regulations; Unstable Real Estate Market; Growth of Government Spending; Threat of Terrorism; Loss of Jobs; Loss of Retirement Value; Other___________
4. Which of the following is the single most important economic issue facing you and your family? Health Care Costs; High Taxes; Loss of Retirement/Investment Values; Unemployment; Inflation/Rising Prices Overall; Other______________
5. Do you feel that the huge trillion-dollar solutions the Democrats have advanced to boost our economy will help or hurt our nation in the long run? Help; Hurt; No Opinion
At least it is less than the multi-trillion dollars that Bush and company spent for nothing. They might as well just have blown the money up. (Oh, they did.)
6. Would you like Congress to pass additional tax cuts to further stimulate our nation's economy? Yes; No; Undecided
7. Should Republican candidates in 2010 push for a total reform of our nation's tax laws that would make them more fair and simple? Yes; No; No Opinion
8. Do you worry that the Obama Administration is committed to greatly expanding the government's role in your life? Yes; No; No Opinion
9. Are you comfortable with our current levels of government spending? Current spending levels are okay; Spending should be decreased; Undecided
Spending should be increased for some things, reduced for some things, and taxes raised to cover the funding--from those who actually have the ability to pay. Corporate taxes should be on world-wide profits based on their percentage of revenue from the U.S.
10. Should Republicans do whatever is necessary to keep the Democrats in Congress from enacting government-run health care? Yes; No; No Opinion
All elected officials should become statesmen on this issue and get the best package for the citizens and residents of the U.S. There is no way that the best package includes the excessive profits of Health Insurance Companies based on ridiculously high expenses. Medicare for all!
11. Do you think that all Americans should be required to have some form of health insurance even if it requires the federal government to underwrite the costs? Yes; No; Undecided
There is no way that anyone should be required to contribute to the profits of Health Insurance companies.
12. Do you trust the Obama Administration to keep America's borders secure to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into our country? Yes; No; No Opinion
No Republican controlled government stopped the flow. In fact, their governing led to the arrest and conviction of two border guards who were doing their job to stop illegal aliens and drugs.
13. Do you believe that global warming is an issue that must be dealt with immediately? Yes; No; No Opinion
14. Using the numbers 1 through 5 (with 1 being the top priority) please indicate the policies you support most to address how the U.S. should meet future energy needs: Increase drilling in Alaska's ANWR; More funds for alternative fuels research; Build new oil refineries in the U.S.; Expand off-shore drilling; Greater investment in wind/solar power; Tap previously unrecoverable oil; Build new nuclear plants in the U.S.; Other___________
15. Do you believe that Congress must reform the current practice of earmarking or "pork barrel spending" that adds billions of dollars to appropriations bills? Yes; No; Undecided
How about the billions of dollars of fraud committed by government contractors?
16. Do you think the Democrat efforts to restore the "Fairness Doctrine" that will destroy conservative talk radio is a violation of free speech? Yes; No; No Opinion
Since the current laws do not give public personalities any recourse for the outright lies and what should be the illegal modification of video and other records, ... Do I believe that any "fairness doctrine" will correct these deficiencies?
17. Do you believe the Republican Party should continue to embrace social issues? Yes; No; Undecided If yes, please register your opinion on the following social issues: Key: 1=SUPPORT, 2=OPPOSE, 3=NO OPINION School prayer; Ban burning of the flag; Ban human cloning; Faith based initiatives; Ban all abortions; Prohibit homosexual marriage; Other______________
National Defense
1. Do you believe the Obama Administration is right in dramatically scaling back our nation's military? Yes; No; No Opinion
2. Do you favor or oppose increasing American troop presence in Afghanistan by tens of thousands of soldiers? Favor; Oppose; No Opinion
3. Do you trust the Democrats to take all steps necessary to keep our nation secure in this age where terrorists could strike our country at any moment? Yes; No; No Opinion
4. Are you concerned about the stability of other key countries in the Middle East--especially Pakistan--and their future as key American allies in the War on Terror? Yes; No; No Opinion
There they go again with the "War on Terror" phrase. I thought that officially we were no longer in a "war on terror."
5. Do you worry that Russia is moving away from its relationship with the U.S. and trying to re-establish itself as a military and economic superpower? Yes; No; No Opinion
If you've managed to read this far, please feel free to comment and let me know how you would like me to respond. If you want me to send money, you will have to supply it. I must warn you that my fundraising costs are excessive, like the Insurance Companies, which means that no money sent to me for this purpose will actually reach the Republican Party.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
I Don't Blame
I don’t blame Kaiser, but I do.
They wouldn’t settle for an image less than true.
By the time they did the MRI she asked,
Three months had passed.
Then she agreed to the CT Scan too.
I don’t blame Kaiser, but I do.
I don’t blame Kaiser, but I do.
Maximum radiation through and through
Was their advice and she felt trapped.
So she was zapped
For a colorectal cancer that surgery alone should do.
I don’t blame Kaiser, but I do.
I don’t blame Marilyn, but I do.
She promised me when our vows were new
That we’d grow old together, just us two.
Fifty-nine isn’t old, by quite a few.
I’ve been alone before but never knew.
I don’t blame Marilyn, but I do.
I don’t blame me, but most of all I do.
As normal, I left your decisions up to you.
I should have insisted on pap smears and scans,
Forced you to revise your plans.
There should have been something I could have done to still have you.
I don’t blame me, but most of all I do.
I don’t blame me, but most of all I do.
Gone the opportunity to say some things to you.
Often what I did say came out wrong but I always hoped you knew.
Far longer than the traditional vows, my love is true.
I’ve only had one soul mate and it was you.
I don’t blame me, but most of all I do.
They wouldn’t settle for an image less than true.
By the time they did the MRI she asked,
Three months had passed.
Then she agreed to the CT Scan too.
I don’t blame Kaiser, but I do.
I don’t blame Kaiser, but I do.
Maximum radiation through and through
Was their advice and she felt trapped.
So she was zapped
For a colorectal cancer that surgery alone should do.
I don’t blame Kaiser, but I do.
I don’t blame Marilyn, but I do.
She promised me when our vows were new
That we’d grow old together, just us two.
Fifty-nine isn’t old, by quite a few.
I’ve been alone before but never knew.
I don’t blame Marilyn, but I do.
I don’t blame me, but most of all I do.
As normal, I left your decisions up to you.
I should have insisted on pap smears and scans,
Forced you to revise your plans.
There should have been something I could have done to still have you.
I don’t blame me, but most of all I do.
I don’t blame me, but most of all I do.
Gone the opportunity to say some things to you.
Often what I did say came out wrong but I always hoped you knew.
Far longer than the traditional vows, my love is true.
I’ve only had one soul mate and it was you.
I don’t blame me, but most of all I do.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Tenth Toastmaster Speech...
Again with the qualifier that I don't really read it so what comes out is never exactly what was written...
My fellow Toastmasters and Honored Guests:
My speech tonight is “Inspiring. Who me?” It’s a personal story about the way I used to be and why I became better.
I now can admit to being a cynic most of my life, although, I’d rather you think of it as just being a healthy skeptic. My wife said that I should have been born in the “show me” state. In fact, it turns out that I do have some relatives living in Missouri—but I wasn’t born there.
How bad was I?
When I first read about a person who was convicted for his third strike and sentenced to 25 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family, I thought: “Yeah, most crimes never have an arrest. A high number of arrests aren’t prosecuted or are dismissed for technical reasons. He probably committed other crimes.” Besides, it costs more to incarcerate someone for four years than it does to pay for a four-year state college.
I was the kind of person who would walk by a homeless panhandler, and there were and probably still are quite a few in San Francisco, and while trying not to breathe think I was doing something great by looking them in the eye and mouthing “sorry.” Besides, Newsom passed his “care not cash.” I didn’t care, at least not then, not really.
My greatest cynicism has always been reserved for politicians. By the time they get to any higher elected office, they had to have sold themselves to the big buck donors, the special interests, and their cronies. I don’t know why I’ve voted in every election since I became eligible to vote, since often I felt like I was voting for the least worst?
I’ve worked for over thirty years at various companies and at virtually every one of them compromises were always based on figuring out the “what’s in it for me” for each person involved. Very rarely was the “what’s in it for me” something for the good of the company or the environment or people in general. Thank goodness this was always for small things like credit or control and not contracting out hazardous waste disposal to some company that would just pour it down the nearest storm drain.
Cynicism has an outward manifestation. I commuted into San Francisco on BART for years, first from Fremont and later from Pacifica. Every weekday, twice a day, I could have looked around at all the numb expressionless faces but I didn’t. My numb expressionless face was usually buried in a book or work or a puzzle in the newspaper.
It’s easy to be cynical. Events happen almost everyday that are cheap attempts to manipulate someone. Recently we found out that the Balloon Boy who wasn’t was staged in an attempt to gain a reality show. It’s easy to expect the worst in people and always see what you expect.
It’s also easy to parlay these manipulation attempts into believing that all tearjerker stories are made up. Certainly many of the email chains of sob stories are. A cynic would even have doubts about whether the nine-year old boy dying from cancer truly made his “make a wish” a wish for world peace, or, think “what a wasted wish.”
On the other hand, it’s hard not to be cynical. People who look for the best in people are considered fools, or at best gullible—by the cynics. In my cynical reaction to the person who stole the loaf of bread, I never even thought of how hard it is for an ex-con to find a legitimate job.
Even a cynic can be inspired. My loved ones are truly a joy that “inspired” me to endure work, commuting, even my own cynicism. Of course, they had to endure it too.
I’ve also been inspired by deadlines. I don’t know how many all nighters I pulled in college to write papers due the next day, well, later that same day.
I’ve been inspired by humor, not the Don Rickles’ kind of insult humor, not even most jokes as most jokes have victims, the butts of the jokes. Unless I threw them out, somewhere in a box I may have pages of such jokes that a friend gave me with blank lines where the “victim” is to go. My writing certainly improved with some humor—like this—that and a word processor that checks grammar.
While I have been inspired by some of my bosses, I wasn’t by the one who left a meeting with these words: “Be creative.” I can’t even remember what we were supposed to be creative about but I know we weren’t inspired or creative.
From time to time I’ve been inspired by words. I’ve handed out my favorite quote to quite a few of my direct reports because I’ve found these excerpted words from a book about the Scottish Himalayan Expedition inspiring: (Parts of it have been traced to Goethe.)
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."
But what is my commitment? What is yours?
It was in the depths of my despair while commuting after the loss of my wife that an event occurred, which struck me so profoundly, right to my heart, that I credit it as the trigger that turned my life around. This event hasn’t been the only thing that has happened that helped but my life is significantly different, better now in large part because of what this event started. What’s amazing, it’s something that everyone can do.
As I just said, I was commuting with my dead commuter face on, surrounded by other dead commuter faces and someone smiled. It wasn’t even directed at me but the genuinely warm smile brought her face to life and that started me thinking.
I didn’t start smiling right away but my thinking did lead to my own improved outlook. It led to me joining Toastmasters. It led to me taking up meditation. While I still have my moments of despair and outright sadness, I’m making it a point to smile more in the hopes that I can pass along the gift I was given.
Mr. Toastmaster
My fellow Toastmasters and Honored Guests:
My speech tonight is “Inspiring. Who me?” It’s a personal story about the way I used to be and why I became better.
I now can admit to being a cynic most of my life, although, I’d rather you think of it as just being a healthy skeptic. My wife said that I should have been born in the “show me” state. In fact, it turns out that I do have some relatives living in Missouri—but I wasn’t born there.
How bad was I?
When I first read about a person who was convicted for his third strike and sentenced to 25 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family, I thought: “Yeah, most crimes never have an arrest. A high number of arrests aren’t prosecuted or are dismissed for technical reasons. He probably committed other crimes.” Besides, it costs more to incarcerate someone for four years than it does to pay for a four-year state college.
I was the kind of person who would walk by a homeless panhandler, and there were and probably still are quite a few in San Francisco, and while trying not to breathe think I was doing something great by looking them in the eye and mouthing “sorry.” Besides, Newsom passed his “care not cash.” I didn’t care, at least not then, not really.
My greatest cynicism has always been reserved for politicians. By the time they get to any higher elected office, they had to have sold themselves to the big buck donors, the special interests, and their cronies. I don’t know why I’ve voted in every election since I became eligible to vote, since often I felt like I was voting for the least worst?
I’ve worked for over thirty years at various companies and at virtually every one of them compromises were always based on figuring out the “what’s in it for me” for each person involved. Very rarely was the “what’s in it for me” something for the good of the company or the environment or people in general. Thank goodness this was always for small things like credit or control and not contracting out hazardous waste disposal to some company that would just pour it down the nearest storm drain.
Cynicism has an outward manifestation. I commuted into San Francisco on BART for years, first from Fremont and later from Pacifica. Every weekday, twice a day, I could have looked around at all the numb expressionless faces but I didn’t. My numb expressionless face was usually buried in a book or work or a puzzle in the newspaper.
It’s easy to be cynical. Events happen almost everyday that are cheap attempts to manipulate someone. Recently we found out that the Balloon Boy who wasn’t was staged in an attempt to gain a reality show. It’s easy to expect the worst in people and always see what you expect.
It’s also easy to parlay these manipulation attempts into believing that all tearjerker stories are made up. Certainly many of the email chains of sob stories are. A cynic would even have doubts about whether the nine-year old boy dying from cancer truly made his “make a wish” a wish for world peace, or, think “what a wasted wish.”
On the other hand, it’s hard not to be cynical. People who look for the best in people are considered fools, or at best gullible—by the cynics. In my cynical reaction to the person who stole the loaf of bread, I never even thought of how hard it is for an ex-con to find a legitimate job.
Even a cynic can be inspired. My loved ones are truly a joy that “inspired” me to endure work, commuting, even my own cynicism. Of course, they had to endure it too.
I’ve also been inspired by deadlines. I don’t know how many all nighters I pulled in college to write papers due the next day, well, later that same day.
I’ve been inspired by humor, not the Don Rickles’ kind of insult humor, not even most jokes as most jokes have victims, the butts of the jokes. Unless I threw them out, somewhere in a box I may have pages of such jokes that a friend gave me with blank lines where the “victim” is to go. My writing certainly improved with some humor—like this—that and a word processor that checks grammar.
While I have been inspired by some of my bosses, I wasn’t by the one who left a meeting with these words: “Be creative.” I can’t even remember what we were supposed to be creative about but I know we weren’t inspired or creative.
From time to time I’ve been inspired by words. I’ve handed out my favorite quote to quite a few of my direct reports because I’ve found these excerpted words from a book about the Scottish Himalayan Expedition inspiring: (Parts of it have been traced to Goethe.)
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."
But what is my commitment? What is yours?
It was in the depths of my despair while commuting after the loss of my wife that an event occurred, which struck me so profoundly, right to my heart, that I credit it as the trigger that turned my life around. This event hasn’t been the only thing that has happened that helped but my life is significantly different, better now in large part because of what this event started. What’s amazing, it’s something that everyone can do.
As I just said, I was commuting with my dead commuter face on, surrounded by other dead commuter faces and someone smiled. It wasn’t even directed at me but the genuinely warm smile brought her face to life and that started me thinking.
I didn’t start smiling right away but my thinking did lead to my own improved outlook. It led to me joining Toastmasters. It led to me taking up meditation. While I still have my moments of despair and outright sadness, I’m making it a point to smile more in the hopes that I can pass along the gift I was given.
Mr. Toastmaster
Friday, October 9, 2009
Eliminate all laws
In an "Effective Listening" class at Toastmasters last night, I was privileged to be the "speaker" in the first exercise. One other person in our group suggested one of the 29 speech options, "What existing laws should be eliminated," and I agreed.
While I think the question was to generate more narrow selections, such as the laws around drug possession, it is my opinion, which I expressed, that all laws should be eliminated on the way to their complete replacement with much simpler laws. These simpler laws can be summarized even more simply as: "Do the right thing."
The problem is that the current laws are mostly just protection for legalized theft, theft by government entities, theft by corporations, theft by corrupt lawyers, ... All of these thieves wriggle out of their punishment and full restitution through the loopholes many of them have built into the laws. My prime example was the Simmons Mattress company who through a series of leveraged buyouts made all of the five purchasers money, phenomenal money, but loaded the formerly reasonably profitable company down with so much debt that this recent recession meant that they couldn't produce and sell enough mattresses to pay on the debt. They are now bankrupt and their employees are out of jobs. There ought to be a law...
There is. In fact there are millions of them. When combined with all the regulations that have the force of law, there are even more. I'm no lawyer but the robbery of the Simmons Mattress company to the point of insolvency was probably legal. What's more, even if it weren't, there is no redress. The five purchasers who made money just by buying and selling Simmons and didn't contribute to its business at all, will not have to give any of their profits back, will not have to make whole their robbery victims. Even if they did, it would be unlikely that any of the money would go to the business, just the last creditors.
One of the participants in my subteam commented on a ticket they just received in San Francisco. Her father just passed away and she was driving his former car in San Francisco only to receive a $60 ticket because it has a plastic cover over the license plate. San Francisco has a "law" that prohibits plastic covers as they may make the traffic light cameras ineffective. Not that they do, or in point of fact, that the one that her father had on his car for years did, or that she or he ever operated the car illegally, let alone by running a red light even at an intersection with a camera.
Yes, all we need is one page's worth of laws that boils down to "do what's right," disallow ill gotten gains from doing wrong, and further provide full compensation for the victims however long it takes.
While I think the question was to generate more narrow selections, such as the laws around drug possession, it is my opinion, which I expressed, that all laws should be eliminated on the way to their complete replacement with much simpler laws. These simpler laws can be summarized even more simply as: "Do the right thing."
The problem is that the current laws are mostly just protection for legalized theft, theft by government entities, theft by corporations, theft by corrupt lawyers, ... All of these thieves wriggle out of their punishment and full restitution through the loopholes many of them have built into the laws. My prime example was the Simmons Mattress company who through a series of leveraged buyouts made all of the five purchasers money, phenomenal money, but loaded the formerly reasonably profitable company down with so much debt that this recent recession meant that they couldn't produce and sell enough mattresses to pay on the debt. They are now bankrupt and their employees are out of jobs. There ought to be a law...
There is. In fact there are millions of them. When combined with all the regulations that have the force of law, there are even more. I'm no lawyer but the robbery of the Simmons Mattress company to the point of insolvency was probably legal. What's more, even if it weren't, there is no redress. The five purchasers who made money just by buying and selling Simmons and didn't contribute to its business at all, will not have to give any of their profits back, will not have to make whole their robbery victims. Even if they did, it would be unlikely that any of the money would go to the business, just the last creditors.
One of the participants in my subteam commented on a ticket they just received in San Francisco. Her father just passed away and she was driving his former car in San Francisco only to receive a $60 ticket because it has a plastic cover over the license plate. San Francisco has a "law" that prohibits plastic covers as they may make the traffic light cameras ineffective. Not that they do, or in point of fact, that the one that her father had on his car for years did, or that she or he ever operated the car illegally, let alone by running a red light even at an intersection with a camera.
Yes, all we need is one page's worth of laws that boils down to "do what's right," disallow ill gotten gains from doing wrong, and further provide full compensation for the victims however long it takes.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Speaking at Toastmasters...
It all started this way...
I prepared a somewhat humorous speech about riding my motorcycle, incorporating some of the experiences I "enjoyed" in my cross-country trek this last summer. Then three hours before I was to give it, I decided to edit it and add a couple other items. This meant cutting out words that I had already written. (Some of those words were deleted, gone from the electronic copy and as soon as I recycle the paper, gone from the hardcopy as well. Some of them I just put in parentheses as kind of optional words. If I am to keep it under 7.5 minutes, I doubt that I will be able to say many of them.)
I was done with this editing about an hour before I left for Toastmasters. Then I took another look at the Toastmaster book and the instructions for this particular speech. My attempt to be humorous didn't fit. So I pulled out some notes I had been making on Global Warming, less than a page of handwritten facts and decided to make my speech on "Climate Change." While I did review them, I really didn't refer to them for most of my speech.
I was planning on posting my speech, but I didn't write the one I gave out. I will write some of it here with the caveat that my written word is never exactly what I said, even if it were written in advance and practiced.
The speech:
While there are some who still question whether global warming is occurring, the thinning ice fields in Greenland and Antarctica, the ice free Northwest passage, and world-wide receding glaciers make it a fact. Not only that, it's accelerating. In 1910 there were 150 glaciers in Glacier National Park. Today there are 27.
Then there are those who claim it's a natural cycle and mankind has not contributed to it let alone be its cause. The evidence they use is that carbon dioxide always rose after a warming cycle. This is true as warmer oceans are unable to absorb as much carbon dioxide. While I believe the evidence refutes mankind's lack of involvement, which I will get to soon, ultimately it doesn't matter. Whether by the hand of man or nature, the fact of global warming will kill animals and plants up to entire species. As the sea level rises and storms surge higher millions of humans will be displaced. As weather becomes more extreme and temperate climates march further north and south, millions of acres of farmland will no longer be arable. Whether by man or nature, we are already to late to avoid the effects of global warming.
There are a lot of greenhouse gases, gases that accept light from the sun and inhibit the radiation of heat back into space. Carbon dioxide is but one. Water vapor is another. Methane is as well. Even though cows produce methane, I can make the argument that much of their production is also the hand of man. I can make similar arguments that some portion of water vapor is also due to mankind. The real bell weather still is carbon dioxide.
Now as I've already said, past warming cycles atmospheric carbon dioxide rose after the warming as the warmer oceans couldn't absorb as much. Since 1880, the oceans' average temperature is up only 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Over the past 300 years, since the Industrial Revolution, the atmospheric carbon dioxide has risen 35%. There is evidence that this is accelerating and for good reason. In 2006 the U.S. had over 250 million passenger vehicles, excluding buses and trains. These vehicles combined to produce over 1.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide in that year. There are also 600 coal fired electricity generation plants in the U.S. An average plant produces 3.7 million tons of carbon dioxide for another 2.2 billion tons. In point of fact, the U.S. on a per capita basis produces 19.5 tons of carbon dioxide, which is 6 billion tons. Unfortunately, on a per capita basis, Australia produces more at 20.6 tons per person.
Far down on the list on a per capita basis are China and India at 4.5 tons and 1.16 tons respectively. Unfortunately, their production is rising almost exponentially. India has introduced the Tata Nano, a cheap car for the masses of the new lower middle class. A gallon of gas produces 19 pounds of carbon dioxide and the refining and delivery of each gallon produces another 6 pounds. On an absolute basis, China is already the largest producer of carbon dioxide. While it is unlikely that India will surpass China, one is already ahead of the U.S. and the other will be soon.
In the face of this, what can we do? I'm not even sure whether we can become carbon neutral. Even if we were, China and India will keep the manmade cause of global warming moving right along. I also don't recommend buying carbon offsets. In my opinion, this is just a self-imposed fine to enable the excessive polluter to feel better. Even though the Northern Arctic is supposed to be ice free by 2040, I also don't recommend donating to Save the Polar Bears.
What I do recommend is taking the small steps, making sure your next car purchase gets well above average gas mileage, turning off lights in rooms, replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs or LEDs, unplugging chargers not being used...
It's not just about saving the planet, it's about saving humankind, the lives of our children.
I prepared a somewhat humorous speech about riding my motorcycle, incorporating some of the experiences I "enjoyed" in my cross-country trek this last summer. Then three hours before I was to give it, I decided to edit it and add a couple other items. This meant cutting out words that I had already written. (Some of those words were deleted, gone from the electronic copy and as soon as I recycle the paper, gone from the hardcopy as well. Some of them I just put in parentheses as kind of optional words. If I am to keep it under 7.5 minutes, I doubt that I will be able to say many of them.)
I was done with this editing about an hour before I left for Toastmasters. Then I took another look at the Toastmaster book and the instructions for this particular speech. My attempt to be humorous didn't fit. So I pulled out some notes I had been making on Global Warming, less than a page of handwritten facts and decided to make my speech on "Climate Change." While I did review them, I really didn't refer to them for most of my speech.
I was planning on posting my speech, but I didn't write the one I gave out. I will write some of it here with the caveat that my written word is never exactly what I said, even if it were written in advance and practiced.
The speech:
While there are some who still question whether global warming is occurring, the thinning ice fields in Greenland and Antarctica, the ice free Northwest passage, and world-wide receding glaciers make it a fact. Not only that, it's accelerating. In 1910 there were 150 glaciers in Glacier National Park. Today there are 27.
Then there are those who claim it's a natural cycle and mankind has not contributed to it let alone be its cause. The evidence they use is that carbon dioxide always rose after a warming cycle. This is true as warmer oceans are unable to absorb as much carbon dioxide. While I believe the evidence refutes mankind's lack of involvement, which I will get to soon, ultimately it doesn't matter. Whether by the hand of man or nature, the fact of global warming will kill animals and plants up to entire species. As the sea level rises and storms surge higher millions of humans will be displaced. As weather becomes more extreme and temperate climates march further north and south, millions of acres of farmland will no longer be arable. Whether by man or nature, we are already to late to avoid the effects of global warming.
There are a lot of greenhouse gases, gases that accept light from the sun and inhibit the radiation of heat back into space. Carbon dioxide is but one. Water vapor is another. Methane is as well. Even though cows produce methane, I can make the argument that much of their production is also the hand of man. I can make similar arguments that some portion of water vapor is also due to mankind. The real bell weather still is carbon dioxide.
Now as I've already said, past warming cycles atmospheric carbon dioxide rose after the warming as the warmer oceans couldn't absorb as much. Since 1880, the oceans' average temperature is up only 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Over the past 300 years, since the Industrial Revolution, the atmospheric carbon dioxide has risen 35%. There is evidence that this is accelerating and for good reason. In 2006 the U.S. had over 250 million passenger vehicles, excluding buses and trains. These vehicles combined to produce over 1.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide in that year. There are also 600 coal fired electricity generation plants in the U.S. An average plant produces 3.7 million tons of carbon dioxide for another 2.2 billion tons. In point of fact, the U.S. on a per capita basis produces 19.5 tons of carbon dioxide, which is 6 billion tons. Unfortunately, on a per capita basis, Australia produces more at 20.6 tons per person.
Far down on the list on a per capita basis are China and India at 4.5 tons and 1.16 tons respectively. Unfortunately, their production is rising almost exponentially. India has introduced the Tata Nano, a cheap car for the masses of the new lower middle class. A gallon of gas produces 19 pounds of carbon dioxide and the refining and delivery of each gallon produces another 6 pounds. On an absolute basis, China is already the largest producer of carbon dioxide. While it is unlikely that India will surpass China, one is already ahead of the U.S. and the other will be soon.
In the face of this, what can we do? I'm not even sure whether we can become carbon neutral. Even if we were, China and India will keep the manmade cause of global warming moving right along. I also don't recommend buying carbon offsets. In my opinion, this is just a self-imposed fine to enable the excessive polluter to feel better. Even though the Northern Arctic is supposed to be ice free by 2040, I also don't recommend donating to Save the Polar Bears.
What I do recommend is taking the small steps, making sure your next car purchase gets well above average gas mileage, turning off lights in rooms, replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs or LEDs, unplugging chargers not being used...
It's not just about saving the planet, it's about saving humankind, the lives of our children.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Camping and not on the Road to Alaska
First, riding a motorcycle with minimum planning, only the route, is not conducive to camping. So I ended up making good time and sleeping in hotels. Future motorcycle rides will require more planning with identified camping spots, maybe even reservations. One thing I can guarantee is that I won't be camping in RV Parks.
That isn't to say they were all bad. In fact, a few were truly great: West Lake Park, Iowa; Spearfish, South Dakota; Denali National Park, Alaska... The good ones all had a few things in common, quiet, clean restrooms and showers, and a nice place for pitching a tent. The bad ones also had a few things in common, mainly road noise and unmitigated dirt and gravel.
Unfortunately, being that far north, both the good and bad had one thing in common: light. I came to realize that I slept well in my first two years of college not just because I was young but because I "dormed" in a sensory deprivation chamber. Being an interior room with thick dark curtains over the window that only led to the hall anyway under tons of concrete, a stadium, was very much like living in a cave. Of course, comparing my fellow "dormies" to cavemen wouldn't stretch the analogy too far either. Needless to say, I was awake until late and awake again early. At least I got some good walking in.
With all the light around the Summer Solstice, I would be irritable in the summer and with all the lack of light around the Winter Solstice, I would be depressed in the winter. I guess I understand better the "unique" personalities of certain northern politicians. (One of whom was in Fairbanks the weekend after we left to quit her first term governorship with a picnic at Pioneer Park. It looked like the whole town was celebrating, maybe the whole state was.)
The real problem with all the light wasn't that the light solely caused the lack of sleep, it was that there was good light for driving at all hours. This was aggravated by the placement of most of the RV Parks close to the road that had the traffic. (If they hadn't been placed there, we probably wouldn't have noticed them and not stopped.) My parents did have a truly big book of RV Parks with a lot of information. This was used as the first filter. We selected the best of the ones both on our way and in a window of when we wanted to stop. Sometimes the choices were few and our first selections were inadequate or unavailable. When this happened, we drove on to the next. At least we didn't need to worry about driving in the dark.
Every once in a while we would stay at a hotel. If I had an unlimited amount of money, I'd probably do this all the time but hotels/motels were definitely a big plus every once in a while. The one plus was not having to put shoes on and walk for a mile to go to the bathroom. (I guess the light helping me get less sleep was a plus when tenting.) One other plus that I'll mention was the air conditioning. When tenting, in addition to being light, it was hot right up until the time it wasn't. This meant that if I were fortunate enough to fall asleep on top of my sleeping bag in spite of the jake brakes and light, I would be awakened in the middle of that sleep, right about when the darkness was as good as it was going to get for sleeping, and have to crawl into my sleeping bag wasting precious minutes of sleeping time. Invariably, the cold would often trigger a hike to the restroom as well.
Sometimes the better RV Parks would have campers that loved their campfire. We didn't have any but I still had all the advantages of our fellow campers' fires. Yes, I am still a smoke magnet. Unfortunately, I found that I don't sleep so well in smoke either. My sinuses clog up.
Unfortunately, Alaska was on fire. After one night of camping, we decided to stay at a hotel in Fairbanks and took the advice of a Northpole, Alaska, visitor center attendant as to where. As we found later but didn't know at the time, this was probably the one hotel that didn't have air conditioning. Instead we had fans that sucked all the smoky air we were trying to avoid into the room to cool it off.
Disclaimer: While it may not be obvious that the trip was fun in spite of the above, there were no exaggerations needed to make this story.
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