Hey, who turned up heat?

Despite what the president of the United States and others outside the scientific community say, the Earth is getting warmer and there's scientific proof to back it up. If you think it's not, you're probably one of those that still believes the world is flat.

Everyday around the world stored energy in the form of fossil fuels, gases, oils, and radioactive materials are being used to generate electricity, move our cars, heat and cool our buildings, and power everything else you can imagine. All of these forms of stored energy release heat. Some additionally release carbon dioxide gas and other greenhouse gases that trap heat. All of that heat has to go somewhere.

If you remember back to your school science class you might remember something about the laws of thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be changed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed. The second law of thermodynamics states that in all energy exchanges, if no energy enters or leaves the system, the potential energy of the state will always be less than that of the initial state. This loss of energy dissipates as heat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_law_of_thermodynamics

This second law of thermodynamics is the most relevant when we discuss global warming because it means that anytime you transfer energy from one form to another, such as conversion of gas to the motion of your car, some of that energy is lost in the form of heat. Over the years the amount of energy that we have been releasing through the use of more and more cars and more and more machines has led to the release of a vast amount of heat energy.

Lucky for us the earth has it's own air conditioning system. It's called the great ocean conveyor belt and I wrote about it in one of previous blogs. The problem is not that the air conditioner is broken. The problem is it's overwhelmed just like when you leave your shades up during a hot summer day.

So what's the point of all this? The point is global warming is real and getting much worse. We need to come up with solutions now to reduce the amount of our heat emissions and greenhouse gases before it's too late.

Seeing is believing... well, not always.

A lie can go halfway around the world before the truth even gets its boots on.

In the days of Mark Twain, a lie could only get halfway around the world. Today it can make it all the way around before truth "gets its boots on." Today we live in a world of near instant communications. When something "newsworthy" happens anywhere in the world, within seconds people are spreading the news through their cell phones, and within minutes news of the event is broadcast through television and radio, posted on web sites, and eventually makes it into the next days newspaper. This is one of the reasons why I prefer to get my news from the newspaper. Since the newspaper is rather slow compared to other forms of media, someone had some time to think (at least a little bit) about the event and maybe even do some research before spreading what could be truth or fiction.

Another quote that I like, this one from the television show, The Outer Limits,

The search for truth is a uniquely human process; a quest guided by our perception of an event. But what happens to the truth when what we see and what we think we see are two very different things... Some say that the truth is only what we persuade others to believe. If so, we should be wary; for truth is easily and often hidden by the arguments of those who are false...

So why all these quotes about truth? Someone sent me a link today to a video titled Pallywood. You can view it yourself at seconddraft.org. This video shows how Palestinians stage conflicts with Israeli military to persuade the world how poorly they are treated. I found the video to be quite compelling. Some may claim that this video itself is staged, personally, I don't think that's the case. I do think, however, you should watch this video and decide for yourself. Eleanor Roosevelt in a speech in 1938 to graduates of the Todhunter School in New York City said:

"Don't dry up by inaction but go out and do things... Don't believe what somebody else tells you, but know things by your own contacts with life. If you do that you will be of great value to the community and the world."

I feel very strongly about those words. With so much information available to us at such unprecedented speeds we must remember not to believe everything we see and hear, especially if it's something you saw on television. Truth is stranger than fiction. If you hear something that sounds plausible, it probably didn't happen. If you hear something that sounds strange and bizarre, (like Israeli soldiers NOT shooting at Palestinians) it's probably the truth.

Another quote from Eleanor Roosevelt that I think is appropriate when thinking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is:

"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?" February 16, 1946

If you'd like to learn more about Eleanor Roosevelt, check out http://www.nps.gov/elro/who-is-er/index.htm. She was a very interesting woman and one of those great individuals who strived to make the world a better place for all.

Why wait until after Thanksgiving to shop?

From the ads in today's paper it seems like most stores, like they should be, will be closed for Thanksgiving. However I saw an ad with a coupon for the Sports Authority good only on Thanksgiving day. I can understand gas stations and grocery stores being open on Thanksgiving, but the Sports Authority? What do they think? Someone's going to run in for an emergency football to toss around on Thanksgiving day? I feel sorry for the people working there who deserve a day away from work to spend with their families and be thankful for living in such a wonderful country.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving except the management of the Sports Authority, or any other store that should be closed for Thanksgiving. Instead the management of those stores should be the ones working, not their staff.