The World We Live In

This is world that we live in. I feel myself get tired. This is the world that we live in. Well maybe I was mistaken. I heard a rumor that you quit this day and age. Well maybe I was mistaken. Bless your body, bless your soul. Pray for peace and self control.

This is a photo of Science on a Sphere. It's at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Don't worry, Science on a Sphere is at NASA but it has nothing to do with astronauts. It's really just about Earth--what it looks like and how it's changing. I visited the GSFC a few weeks ago with a group of visitors for work. I saw severals presentations that day and Science on a Sphere was one of them. Out of everything presented that day, two points stood out to me:

1. Over the past 150 years, the temperature of Earth has increased an overall average of 2 degrees. They can't say exactly why, but they're pretty sure that it's caused by humans.
2. Out of all the food acreage in the U.S. (with most square mileage in the Midwest) the San Joaquin Valley produces 1/5 of the nation's food. Too bad my family isn't in the farming business.

So maybe the presenations didn't invigorate much in me. However, I did leave with awe over the toys/tools used on the Hubble Space Telescope and a better understanding of why we should even have NASA. It's not just about astronauts going on a ride and getting moondust; scientists are able to prove that for some reason...the Earth is warming. I won't get in to my ideas on why it's happening. I shouldn't even tell my parents that I believe it's happening. If it isn't true, I'll blame NASA and hate the administration forever. Oh, and I bought a NASA sticker to put...in a place where people can see how cool I am for having a NASA sticker.

On another environmental note, our IIE Green Team (of which I am a proud member) hosted a kick-off event last week for all interested staff to have a free organic lunch and watch the short film "The Story of Stuff." The film is by the environmental activist Annie Leonard. I think you can find the film at http://storyofstuff.com/. I'm not really sure though because I didn't really check because I don't really care to watch it again. Can you tell how I feel about it? Annie Leonard is very opinionated--as she should be. I don't think you deserve the title of activist unless you have really strong opinions. I certainly do not agree with everything she said--maybe not any of it.

I noticed that the film had an opposite effect than I think Annie would have liked. After watching the film all I could think to do was shop. I actually went to Macy's after work and bought a few items. Take that Annie Leonard! See, I don't think that's right for me to feel that way. It's similar to the time when a Brady Center representative gave a presentation on gun control: all I wanted to do afterwards was go buy a gun and shoot something. If you feel like shopping or if you feel like getting riled up about the environment, then perhaps the film is for you.


beck

P.S. T-5 days until the new and improved Dodge Dakota Sport arrives. I think I'm gonna name her Kota. It has a musical reference and I think she'd appreciate that.