Hello all!
Some givens about Thanksgiving are:
1. it is the number one travel holiday in the year,
2. it is centered around food,
3. it is a celebration of working together with people who may have very different ideas
First I'll address number three. I don't know if the story of thanksgiving they taught me in kindergarten is actually true, but it is a nice story. I'd like to give it a little context however. This information is coming from personal research that I did when I was studying for an ecology paper last year, and I won't be quoting directly, but the info is out there. Changes in the Land by William Cronon is one of my sources as well as multiple papers about settlement, and land use practices of settlers and natives on the East Coast. Also my brilliant professors, Clow and Moore.
When the white people came, they had a totally different world view from the natives. They differed especially on their views of ownership and property, in other words they had conflicting territorial customs. To the whites, the natives appeared to have no sense of ownership. They traveled great distances, moved their homes, and they were often absent from a plot of land that they considered to be theirs. You can understand how this observable behavior would appear to the whites as a lack of ownership, but in fact the natives had a very specific system of territoriality. It was more common for natives to percieve their ownership as a right to specific activities in specific areas, rather than complete dominion over specific areas. This meant that when a native sold hunting land in exchange for guns, maybe the deal was meant to be the sale of hunting rights on that area, and then the white guy cleared a field and built a house there. Not to say that's wrong, but the christian view of land ownership at the time and especially among settlers is that "thou hast no right to land lest it be duly improved by works of man." or however they said it. In other words it was the settler's duty to work hard, clear fields, build fences and raise cows. It was the honorable and christian thing to do.
This is because europeans seem to have a strange and relatively unique idea of a binary world. "It's mine completely or it's not at all". This is what gives western culture the idea of epics and tragedies because there is good versus evil, but in a native culture you see more trickster stories. Our tragedy as opposed to their comedy. The creator is the trickster is the fool is the bringer of fire is the animal is the spirit and so on. This worldview is more of a network than a binary. Perhaps the network is made of many binaries, but it is still very different. For the natives, the gift of food and the knowledge of how to grow it could have had a very different meaning than it did for the settlers who recieved it.
In the light of this interesting difference in worldview, it is possible that at that time, the natives were trying to figure out how these new bearded men and cloth covered women would fit into their network of spiritual and physical relationships, while the white people were trying to figure out how to defeat the savages. I like the idea of the first thanksgiving. Because that was before American civilization really screwed up.
It is highly possible that the white people could at that point have simply become another tribe in the network of American tribes. making treaties, owning land, fighting wars like all the rest. Instead we have conquered the continent and subjugated the people who owned it. I believe that it is pertinent to be thankful for the gift of survival in this new world. And it should certainly not be forgotten that this gift was in part given willingly by the natives and in part taken from them by force. I wonder if there was ever a wigwam on the spot where my house is now standing...
OK, now as for travel, I don't know what the grand solution to this is. Well, you'll probably save money if you ride the bus. I rode it from Vermont to Montana. 3920 miles all told and it was about 109 bucks. I packed my food in advance and only spent my first dollar on the road on day three when I wanted some nachos or something. But also I got to speak spanish on the bus and met great people, so consider it. It really wasn't that inconvenient either. You don't have to drive, its comfortable and that's all I have to say about that. Other than that the best alternative is staying home. Trains too, I guess. that sounds like fun.
Further more, when you eat on the road you often end up with no option but fast food that's unhealthy for you and the environment. Fast food is usually so cheap because it gets its ingredients from the lowest bidder and therefore lowest quality and farthest distances. Bringing your own food from home will be even cheaper and then you can choose what you really want, and that choice can include local food and low packaging and other good things like that.
Friday, October 26, 2007
This is amazing
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071023/NEWS01/710230355
This is a link to an article about Will Forest and his Ebay stunt to show his dissapproval of the way The Yanks treated Joe Torre. I think its awesome. Will is my friend Spencer's Dad who lives in Montpelier where I grew up. I have always known him as a yankees fan and a great guy in general, he owned and operated a batting cage house in Vermont for a couple of years and we used to love going there and hitting balls and practicing pitching. Once my friend John threw a pitch that was so far off it went past all the idiot proof panelling around the pitching mound and punctured the insulation of the wall and got lodged inside the building! But Will's batting cage is only further proof of his devotion to baseball.
Well, Will decided to sell his loyalty to the team on Ebay and the winning bidder will choose his new favorite team. I love it. I like the way it demonstrates critical thinking rather than blind trust. He questions his favorite team just like its okay to question your government or your teachers, or your parents if they do things you don't agree with.
This is a link to an article about Will Forest and his Ebay stunt to show his dissapproval of the way The Yanks treated Joe Torre. I think its awesome. Will is my friend Spencer's Dad who lives in Montpelier where I grew up. I have always known him as a yankees fan and a great guy in general, he owned and operated a batting cage house in Vermont for a couple of years and we used to love going there and hitting balls and practicing pitching. Once my friend John threw a pitch that was so far off it went past all the idiot proof panelling around the pitching mound and punctured the insulation of the wall and got lodged inside the building! But Will's batting cage is only further proof of his devotion to baseball.
Well, Will decided to sell his loyalty to the team on Ebay and the winning bidder will choose his new favorite team. I love it. I like the way it demonstrates critical thinking rather than blind trust. He questions his favorite team just like its okay to question your government or your teachers, or your parents if they do things you don't agree with.
No New Coal
James Hansen is a scientist of great merit who has worked for NASA for a long time. He is considered the top climate change scientist in the country and he first started making waves about it in the early 80's when he testified before congress about the problem of anthropogenic climate change.
But on Monday night, he was clear that he wasn't speaking as a government employee, but as a private citizen.
New things you'll learn from him that were NOT in the Inconvenient Truth
Hansen said the beginning of our current glacial cycle was fifty million years ago when India collided with Asia, causing the formation of the Himalayas. As the weathering of this newly exposed and uplifted rock occured at an alarming (geologic scale) rate, it quickly drained CO2 from the atmosphere and put it into solid forms that were deposited in stream channels and in the ocean.
At right around the same time, the swiss Alps were forming. The added weight of these mountains on the tectonic plate reduced the rate of subduction of the oceanic plate under the continental one. Imagine trying to slide one piece of paper under the other. It's pretty easy, until you push down on the top sheet with your hand. This pressure was the equivalent of the mountains (that's my interpretation, don't take my word for it.)
Prior to these tectonic events the CO2 concentrations were so high that the well known Milankovich cycles could not sway the earth far enough to cool its surface to below freezing temperatures, even at the poles. Which means there was no ice.
Thanks to the Himalayas and the Alps, that blanket of CO2 was reduced and the Milankovich cycles reached a new center point that was much colder. This allowed the formation of ice caps, as well as the periodic glacial advance/retreat.
So ice ages have only been going on for fifty million years.
So that was the scientific side of the post which I find obligatory and awesome, but notice that I saved the best for last which is to say, the social and political aspect of Hansen's talk.
The Global Warming movement has now focused in on the reduction of COAL fired power plants. Preceding the lecture by Hansen, there was a rally outside called No New Coal which was organized by David Merrill and friends to bring awareness to possible coal developments in Montana and the states in general and why they are a TERRIBLE idea that don't benefit the country.
According to my Tree Bio teacher, who is also a climate scientist who has been devoted to disseminating information on climate change science for the last five years, When COAL is burned it is about 30% efficient, meaning we get about a third of the energy that is stored in the coal, it also emits tons more CO2 than burning liquid fuel which yields 90% of its energy storage.
Coal is really bad. I am relieved that now the global warming effort has achieved a focus. No coal. Coal sucks. Also, research has been done to show that those employed by nonsustainable energy industries can be rapidly retrained and offered jobs in sustainable energy. This is something that is instrumental to David Merrill's vision.
Merrill is a local Missoulian who has worked tirelessly on the issue of global warming and he suggests in his "Rosie Revisited" presentation that if America mobilizes to solve Global warming like we mobilized to fight WWII, then "we can do it!" In those days, kids were bringing bacon grease to school so the army could make bombs, farmers were growing hemp to make parachutes, and people were scrapping their bumpers to make guns and ammo and airplanes.
And they were damn proud of it! If we had a leader that could mobilize the people like that We'd be in real good shape. It is NOT TOO LATE to solve global warming.
But we only have about Ten Years. SO it's crucial to communicate to leaders and let them know you want strong global warming legislation now.
But on Monday night, he was clear that he wasn't speaking as a government employee, but as a private citizen.
New things you'll learn from him that were NOT in the Inconvenient Truth
Hansen said the beginning of our current glacial cycle was fifty million years ago when India collided with Asia, causing the formation of the Himalayas. As the weathering of this newly exposed and uplifted rock occured at an alarming (geologic scale) rate, it quickly drained CO2 from the atmosphere and put it into solid forms that were deposited in stream channels and in the ocean.
At right around the same time, the swiss Alps were forming. The added weight of these mountains on the tectonic plate reduced the rate of subduction of the oceanic plate under the continental one. Imagine trying to slide one piece of paper under the other. It's pretty easy, until you push down on the top sheet with your hand. This pressure was the equivalent of the mountains (that's my interpretation, don't take my word for it.)
Prior to these tectonic events the CO2 concentrations were so high that the well known Milankovich cycles could not sway the earth far enough to cool its surface to below freezing temperatures, even at the poles. Which means there was no ice.
Thanks to the Himalayas and the Alps, that blanket of CO2 was reduced and the Milankovich cycles reached a new center point that was much colder. This allowed the formation of ice caps, as well as the periodic glacial advance/retreat.
So ice ages have only been going on for fifty million years.
So that was the scientific side of the post which I find obligatory and awesome, but notice that I saved the best for last which is to say, the social and political aspect of Hansen's talk.
The Global Warming movement has now focused in on the reduction of COAL fired power plants. Preceding the lecture by Hansen, there was a rally outside called No New Coal which was organized by David Merrill and friends to bring awareness to possible coal developments in Montana and the states in general and why they are a TERRIBLE idea that don't benefit the country.
According to my Tree Bio teacher, who is also a climate scientist who has been devoted to disseminating information on climate change science for the last five years, When COAL is burned it is about 30% efficient, meaning we get about a third of the energy that is stored in the coal, it also emits tons more CO2 than burning liquid fuel which yields 90% of its energy storage.
Coal is really bad. I am relieved that now the global warming effort has achieved a focus. No coal. Coal sucks. Also, research has been done to show that those employed by nonsustainable energy industries can be rapidly retrained and offered jobs in sustainable energy. This is something that is instrumental to David Merrill's vision.
Merrill is a local Missoulian who has worked tirelessly on the issue of global warming and he suggests in his "Rosie Revisited" presentation that if America mobilizes to solve Global warming like we mobilized to fight WWII, then "we can do it!" In those days, kids were bringing bacon grease to school so the army could make bombs, farmers were growing hemp to make parachutes, and people were scrapping their bumpers to make guns and ammo and airplanes.
And they were damn proud of it! If we had a leader that could mobilize the people like that We'd be in real good shape. It is NOT TOO LATE to solve global warming.
But we only have about Ten Years. SO it's crucial to communicate to leaders and let them know you want strong global warming legislation now.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Figures
The U.S. government spent 50,000 dollars to invent a pen that could write in zero gravity.
The Russians used pencils.
The Russians used pencils.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Check it out.
I'm down with this guys opinion. He challenges the whole notion of voting at the cash register. The theory there is that if enough people support sustainable products then industry will wise up and start producing sustainable products. Well, this is in fact a very indirect way to get your point accross to companies.
This guy suggests the following alternative:
Vote with your damn Vote!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/opinion/21friedman.html?ex=1350619200&en=bb2f71f77b00632f&ei=5090&partner=
Select leaders based on good environmental views. His point is good and its a good story about large scale changes occuring due to political will. That doesn't mean you should give up on those swirly light bulbs and all that good stuff. At least not in my opinion. REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE still applies, but electing leaders who aren't evil, blood-sucking, anti-earth, manipulative, lilly-livered, yellow-bellied, tie-your-damsel- to-the-train-tracks, kind of guys then we'll have a better chance of getting somewhere.
VOTE DEMOCRAT in '08!
Vote Democrat, act Progressive. That's my policy.
This guy suggests the following alternative:
Vote with your damn Vote!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/opinion/21friedman.html?ex=1350619200&en=bb2f71f77b00632f&ei=5090&partner=
Select leaders based on good environmental views. His point is good and its a good story about large scale changes occuring due to political will. That doesn't mean you should give up on those swirly light bulbs and all that good stuff. At least not in my opinion. REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE still applies, but electing leaders who aren't evil, blood-sucking, anti-earth, manipulative, lilly-livered, yellow-bellied, tie-your-damsel- to-the-train-tracks, kind of guys then we'll have a better chance of getting somewhere.
VOTE DEMOCRAT in '08!
Vote Democrat, act Progressive. That's my policy.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Missoula Climate Change talk
Well I wanted to spread the word in case anyone from Missoula reads this blog. There will be a talk by Jim Hansen on Monday night at 8:00pm in the UC ballroom.
He is the premiere climate change scientist for NASA. so it oughta be a good time.
He is the premiere climate change scientist for NASA. so it oughta be a good time.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Biodiversity and the Rare
Why are rare life forms important? Because they make up more of the biodiversity than common life forms. In fact most species are rare.
Shaking a tree in the amazon knocks hundreds of beetle species into a net. Some of them will be new, previously undiscovered species. Shake the next tree and you'll keep getting undiscovered species. There's more hidden in the next tree too.
Each beetle holds a secret and unique life cycle with subtle differences from the rest, perhaps one of them synthesizes a molecule that cures cancer. Or it could be interesting enough to inspire great art that addresses the human condition. Or it could be so shiny that they'll crush it to make lip gloss... but even if this beetle has no value to humans at all it still has a right to exist doesn't it?
Well let's think about human diversity. Humans don't have true races so I'm not talking about racial diversity. We also don't have very much genetic variation, so I'm not talking about a vast store of DNA that needs to be preserved. What we have is language and culture. But those can go extinct too.
Roughly 42% of people speak the top twelve major languages as their first language. This is equivalent to 42% of a lawn being covered in dandelions. According to Ethnologue there are 6,912 living languages in the world. Ethnologue is a christian linguistic organization that has the mission of providing bibles in the native tongue of indigenous people.
Even if each language was spoken equally by the remaining 58% of the population that means each one is spoken by just over 500 people. But the truth is that some are only spoken by one. Dead languages walking, just like dead species walking.
Like the unique beetle, each of these languages and cultures is a different way to see the world. Maybe a chance for Human culture to reinvent itself.
Shaking a tree in the amazon knocks hundreds of beetle species into a net. Some of them will be new, previously undiscovered species. Shake the next tree and you'll keep getting undiscovered species. There's more hidden in the next tree too.
Each beetle holds a secret and unique life cycle with subtle differences from the rest, perhaps one of them synthesizes a molecule that cures cancer. Or it could be interesting enough to inspire great art that addresses the human condition. Or it could be so shiny that they'll crush it to make lip gloss... but even if this beetle has no value to humans at all it still has a right to exist doesn't it?
Well let's think about human diversity. Humans don't have true races so I'm not talking about racial diversity. We also don't have very much genetic variation, so I'm not talking about a vast store of DNA that needs to be preserved. What we have is language and culture. But those can go extinct too.
Roughly 42% of people speak the top twelve major languages as their first language. This is equivalent to 42% of a lawn being covered in dandelions. According to Ethnologue there are 6,912 living languages in the world. Ethnologue is a christian linguistic organization that has the mission of providing bibles in the native tongue of indigenous people.
Even if each language was spoken equally by the remaining 58% of the population that means each one is spoken by just over 500 people. But the truth is that some are only spoken by one. Dead languages walking, just like dead species walking.
Like the unique beetle, each of these languages and cultures is a different way to see the world. Maybe a chance for Human culture to reinvent itself.
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