I found this article earlier today. At first I thought would write a post about it. However, I don't think I could be any clearer than Mr. Walsh himself. So here is his full article. Enjoy!
The Natural Debt Crisis: Learning to Live Within Our Planet's Means By Bryan Walsh Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011
Ask any Republican — from the Speaker of the House to a local sheriff — what the biggest problem facing the country is today and you're sure to get the same answer: Debt. Conservatives believe a public debt of $14 trillion and growing is crippling the economy and condemning future generations to penury. In Wisconsin, new Republican governor Scott Walker says that a $137 million deficit leaves him no choice but to force public unions in the state to accept drastic benefits reductions and curtailed bargaining rights — a stance that has brought tens of thousands of protesters to the streets of Madison. In Congress, the Republican-controlled House has passed a budget that would slash $60 billion in government spending, most of it from discretionary programs. "We're broke," Speaker John Boehner told Meet the Press last week. "It's time to get serious about how we're spending the nation's money."
It's not that President Barack Obama and the Democrats don't talk about the danger of spiraling public debt. Obama's own fiscal 2012 budget included a five-year freeze on nonsecurity discretionary spending. But when it comes to serious slash-and-burn deficit reductions — and alarming rhetoric about what unchecked public debt will do to the country — Obama just can't compete with his friends across the aisle. "We face a crushing burden of debt," Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan said in his response to last month's State of the Union speech. "The debt will soon eclipse our entire economy, and grow to catastrophic levels in the years ahead."
Now, I'm not a political reporter — thankfully — but I've heard that sort of rhetoric before, this warning that we're living beyond our means, running up a tremendous debt that will one day cause catastrophe. It's the call of the environmentalist, and it was on display just a few blocks away from the Capitol in Washington this weekend at the annual summit of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Speaker after speaker took the podium in stuffy halls around the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to warn that we had exceeded the planet's carrying capacity — with too many people, too much pollution and too much carbon dioxide — and that unless we cut back drastically on consumption, our world would collapse, and us with it. "Right now we're living at about 1.5 planets' worth of consumption," says Jason Clay, senior vice president for market transformation at the World Wildlife Fund. "We are living beyond what is sustainable. That can't go on forever."
Even the terms we use to describe our two debts are similar, as the language used in finance bleeds over into ecology. Conservationists like to talk about "natural capital" — the stuff provided by the planet that underpins prosperity. Clean air, clean water, soil, forests, fish, biodiversity — this is the natural capital in our balance sheet, and without it there would be no life, let alone business. One study done in the mid-1990s estimated that the total value of such ecosystem services was approximately $33 trillion — considerably more than the global GDP at the time. The business of the planet is the environment.
If we act sustainably — if we live within our means, as conservatives might put it — our natural capital will regenerate and sustain us, like a bank account delivering interest. But we're not living within our means — not even close. Just to take one example from the conference, Villy Christensen of the University of British Columbia (UBC) Fisheries Centre looked at global fish stocks and found that big predatory fish like tuna and cod have declined by more than two-thirds over the past century. Fifty-four percent of that decline has taken place over the past 40 years, when factory-fishing boats began sweeping the oceans. Christensen explained the dramatic disappearance of our favorite fish in terms that might be familiar to any budget hawk. "You can think of the fish biomass as our capital in the bank," he said. "We can draw an interest from that capital every year. But we have been eroding the capital year after year, and we are now left with so small fish stocks that the world catches are smaller now than they were in the 1980s."
Admittedly, there are economists who argue that these fears are overblown, that humanity has been able to keep growing through technological innovation that has multiplied the carrying capacity of the planet. There were doomsayers in the 1970s who predicted imminent global starvation; instead, we've thrived economically, pulling hundreds of millions of human beings out of poverty. That's exactly how most conservatives talk about the natural debt, if they talk about it all. We'll keep growing, keep innovating our way out of anything nature throws in our path. And if that doesn't work, there's always divine intervention. "God is not capricious," Minnesota Republican Mike Beard said recently. "He's given us a creation that is dynamically stable. We are not going to run out of anything."
But the truly scary possibility is that the collapse could come quite suddenly, after what may seem to be a long period of global prosperity. It would only be in retrospect, after the fall, that we would see that what we thought was success was built on eating into our capital, like a consumer maxing out his credit cards to buy a second house. The global rise in food prices, which have hit their highest level globally in several decades, might be an early sign that the agricultural system that sustains (some more than others) nearly 7 billion people with the help of fertilizers and irrigation may be hitting its limits. "When the crisis hits, we'll act rapidly, but by then it might be too late for hundreds of millions or even billions of people," says William Rees, an ecologist at UBC.
What's amazing to me, though, is that the very politicians who are so worried about the public debt — and who want deep spending cuts now to save our future, whatever the cost — utterly dismiss the idea that we could face an equal crisis of natural debt. Politicians like Boehner and Ryan order us to tighten our belts immediately, but they utterly deny the climate and resource crisis the world faces. In fact, the Republicans in Congress are going well beyond simple denial — they're now using their budget to erode America's ability to prepare for that very scary future. (Comment on this story.)
The Republican budget would cut the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budget by one-third — $3 billion — and would prevent the agency from setting any limits on CO2 and a number of other pollutants. It would eliminate U.S. funding for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — which would save all of $12.5 million. It would cut Department of Energy budgets that promoted renewable energy by $1.7 billion — a 23% reduction at a time when the U.S. is in a clean-energy race with China. The National Science Foundation budget would be cut by $395.5 million. "This is probably the single most irresponsible bill I have seen either Chamber of Congress pass in the more than 20 years I have been in Washington," wrote Dan Lashof, the director of the Natural Resource Defense Council's climate center.
To which the Republicans would respond, We face an unprecedented fiscal crisis, and tough choices have to be made. All right — but if you believe public debt is such a potential catastrophe that it must be defused now, no matter the short-term pain, it only seems right to take our natural debt just as seriously. Either way, we're broke — and it's time we acted like it.
Christmas has just passed and the New Year is only days away. Looking back is natural at this time of year, and like most people I’ve been reviewing 2010. So what’s been happening at my place this past year? Well, slide your chair over and I’ll fill you in!
I’d say one of the biggest changes in my life has been Al. We moved in together back in September of 2009 and haven’t looked back. Our relationship has progressed fabulously, despite several setbacks. Al had another back surgery and a nasty bout of iritis since the beginning of the year. Then I was laid off in June, although I was able to go back to school bus driving a few months later. Still, there’s been a significant drop in income and we’ve had to adjust accordingly. I guess this year’s been pretty bumpy, in retrospect. What’s kind of ironic is, I can’t remember when I’ve been happier.
First off, my kids are thrilled Al’s in the picture. He never had any children and treats my boys as his own. My sons feel safe and secure knowing Al loves them. Alec is on the honor roll for the first time since starting school (he’s a sophomore now!) and Sean’s grades are climbing too. Both boys are happy and content.
Being disabled, Al does not hold a typical job, so instead he runs our household. You could say we’ve developed a non-traditional relationship! By running Casa de Al & Kelly, Al takes a lot of pressure off me. This allows me the freedom to go to work as well as attend school part time. Al takes good care of us, and it’s wonderful. How humbling to have someone who supports me and my children! I am very grateful.
I have been off midnights for six months now and I feel much better. All the old injuries I previously wrote off as “the wear and tear of life” have healed. My health had started to slide downhill during the first half of last year. Since returning to the day shift, the turnaround has been dramatic. I don’t see myself going back to the midnight shift ever again.
Despite the layoff we have managed to hang on financially. We still have the house, and have stayed ahead of the bills. Granted, the mortgage is upside down, but we aren’t planning a move for a long time to come. Hopefully the next few years will show an improvement in the housing market. Lately houses have been selling; even the vacant ones in my neighborhood. Could this mean the economy has turned a corner here? Only time will tell.
All in all life has been good, despite the turmoil around and within our lives. I look forward to 2011 with hope sprinkled with determination. The plan is to be as ready as I can for what is to come, while continuing to accept my life, however it rolls out. That’d be a pretty neat trick if I can pull it off!
Couldn't make my rounds on the 'stream this weekend, we had some terrible storms around here Saturday. The wind was awful, albeit brief. We saw power poles snapped in half and trees were blown over too. We lost power about 3:00 Saturday. We were going to ride it out but when we saw ANOTHER storm blowing in from the West, we decided to get out of Dodge and head to my boyfriend's place. He had a beautiful, breezy day going on, as he lives two counties south of me. So the boys and I packed up and hit the road!
As far as I know there were no deaths, thank goodness. There was a sad story of a tiny chihuahua that was picked up by the wind and blown away!! Eight month old Tinkerbell was at a flea market with her owner. She was on a leash tied to a cooler, but when the wind came up it pulled her free and carried her across Dixie Highway. The woman was heartbroken, and even after an extensive search Tinkerbell has yet to be found. All that turned up was her tattered leash. So sad!
Well, I'll be back later this week, catch up time is at hand. I'm going to try to get my weekend activities done during the week!
In the meantime we are pulling for Tink. Let's hope she turns up safe and sound!
Tinker Bell, an 8-month-old black and brown Chihuahua, is missing after the storms. (Family photo)
This is an article I found on Yahoo, thought I'd post it for all the science buffs out there. I really wonder if there will be life found on another planet within my lifetime. I truly hope so! Enjoy the read!
By JENNIFER QUINN, Associated Press Writer Jennifer Quinn, Associated Press Writer – Tue Apr 21, 6:17 pm ET
HATFIELD, England – In the search for Earth-like planets, astronomers zeroed in Tuesday on two places that look awfully familiar to home. One is close to the right size. The other is in the right place. European researchers said they not only found the smallest exoplanet ever, called Gliese 581 e, but realized that a neighboring planet discovered earlier, Gliese 581 d, was in the prime habitable zone for potential life.
"The Holy Grail of current exoplanet research is the detection of a rocky, Earth-like planet in the 'habitable zone,'" said Michel Mayor, an astrophysicist at Geneva University in Switzerland.
An American expert called the discovery of the tiny planet "extraordinary."
Gliese 581 e is only 1.9 times the size of Earth — while previous planets found outside our solar system are closer to the size of massive Jupiter, which NASA says could swallow more than 1,000 Earths.
Gliese 581 e sits close to the nearest star, making it too hot to support life. Still, Mayor said its discovery in a solar system 20 1/2 light years away from Earth is a "good example that we are progressing in the detection of Earth-like planets."
Scientists also discovered that the orbit of planet Gliese 581 d, which was found in 2007, was located within the "habitable zone" — a region around a sun-like star that would allow water to be liquid on the planet's surface, Mayor said.
He spoke at a news conference Tuesday at the University of Hertfordshire during the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science.
Gliese 581 d is probably too large to be made only of rocky material, fellow astronomer and team member Stephane Udry said, adding it was possible the planet had a "large and deep" ocean.
"It is the first serious 'water-world' candidate," Udry said.
Mayor's main planet-hunting competitor, Geoff Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley, praised the find of Gliese 581 e as "the most exciting discovery" so far of exoplanets — planets outside our solar system.
"This discovery is absolutely extraordinary," Marcy told The Associated Press by e-mail, calling the discoveries a significant step in the search for Earth-like planets.
While Gliese 581 e is too hot for life "it shows that nature makes such small planets, probably in large numbers," Marcy commented. "Surely the galaxy contains tens of billions of planets like the small, Earth-mass one announced here."
Nearly 350 planets have been found outside our solar system, but so far nearly every one of them was found to be extremely unlikely to harbor life.
Most were too close or too far from their sun, making them too hot or too cold for life. Others were too big and likely to be uninhabitable gas giants like Jupiter. Those that are too small are highly difficult to detect in the first place.
Both Gliese 581 d and Gliese 581 e are located in constellation Libra and orbit around Gliese 581.
Like other planets circling that star — scientists have discovered four so far — Gliese 581 e was found using the European Southern Observatory's telescope in La Silla, Chile.
The telescope has a special instrument which splits light to find wobbles in different wavelengths. Those wobbles can reveal the existence of other worlds.
"It is great work and shows the potential of this detection method," said Lisa Kaltenegger, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
___
Associated Press Science Writer Seth Borenstein contributed to this report from Washington.
Dreams are intriguing, aren’t they? They have fascinated me for many years, at least since I was a teenager. Over time I have become reasonably proficient at analyzing them, although I certainly wouldn’t call myself a pro. I usually stick with figuring out my own, or maybe the kid’s. Once in awhile I will try and figure out someone else’s dream and I usually do pretty well, but I still prefer just doing my own and some family.
Anyway, I’m straying from the point here, sorry! Dreams…by now I’ve figured out, through research and experience that dreams fall into several categories. Some dreams are a mish mashed jumble of “stuff,” often bits and pieces of your previous day or two. They don’t make much sense. These seem to be the “processing” type of dreams, ones that helps your brain settle out the recent uptake of info.
Then there’s the dreams that are rich in symbolism. They may seem pretty convoluted at first, but when they are analyzed there’s actually quite a bit of sense to them. They seem to be coming from the subconscious, and they can be useful in pinning down what’s really going on within you. Analyzing these dreams can be very helpful, especially if you are dealing with an unresolved issue. I think a nightmare can be a strong, dark version of one of these dreams, a dream where the emotions of the dreamer seem out of control, or run very deep.
Rarely, I have a dream that doesn’t fit with the others. I’m betting many, if not all of us, have had dreams like the ones I’m about to describe to you. Dreams that seem vivid, in the now, and have a clarity unlike the others. Sometimes you forget them, only to have a déjà vu moment and then...“oh my god I dreamt this!” You realize you dreamed this moment weeks, months, even years ago!
I remember a dream coming back to me like that. I was about 21 and I had forgotten the dream entirely, until I was sitting in my friend Joy’s pick up truck. I could see myself in the passenger side mirror. As I stared into the mirror I realized right then I had dreamed this. The dream flooded back-and I remembered that in my dream, my friend and I get into an accident while in the truck, shortly after I saw myself in the mirror!!
Horrified, I jumped out of the truck as Joy got in. She said, “Kelly, what are you doing? We have to go!” I asked her to hold on a sec, and then I turned in a circle three times. When I got back into the truck, Joy asked me (with a “have you lost your mind?” look on her face) what that was all about. I told her about the dream, and then I said, “I think it’ll be ok, though, because I just changed the dream.” Joy laughed and shook her head, then told me I was nuts. All I know is we didn’t have an accident. Yes, maybe that was nuts, I admit. But that was one dream I didn’t want coming true!
Wednesday I woke up in tears. I sat up, stayed in bed for about ten seconds, and then bolted for my phone. I called my sister, and left her a message. I know it seemed crazy, but I was compelled by my dream. This one was about my brother, Michael, and in my dream…my brother was dead. I wrote this one down so as to analyze it this weekend, when I have more time, and to keep it accurate. I won’t tell you the entire dream, but I will tell you the part that compelled me to call my sister!
We were in my brother’s room, a room I didn’t recognize. We were talking about my brother, going through the “why” and “how could this have happened?” type conversations. She was lying down on his bed, and I was facing her. I told her that I always had this feeling that one of our brothers was going to die before us, but I always figured it would be David, my other brother. Not Michael. She looked at me with this look of utter astonishment, and rolled up on one elbow. “You mean you have had this feeling all this time and never told ME about it?” she asked. I began to blubber. “But I wasn’t sure who it was going to be, I didn’t know...” I turned away then and found myself looking in a mirror (hmmm a mirror again) and I could see my sister behind me. She was still sitting up on one elbow. I began to cry, and she did too. That’s when I woke up.
See why I called her???
We have decided to analyze the dream this weekend before calling anyone else. After all, Michael, the brother that died in my dream, did actually have some major life changing events in the last month or so, one of which I witnessed-he got married! That’s huge for my bro, as we all were wondering if he ever would. He just turned forty and this is his first marriage! So yeah, this could just turn out being an extremely clear processing dream, right? Still, I will probably be calling both of my brothers before this weekend is over.
