Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Today’s DIY women: Post-‘domestic’?





Excellent article about the "modern woman." I agree with all the points the author makes. I had my first year of gardening this year and hope to do more next year. I will be reading books to learn more about it this winter. I am also hoping to do some canning or freezing next year too. Cooking, cleaning and fixing the house should be a shared responsibility by all members that reside there. I can't stand the "roles" that society has put on certain jobs around the house. Just because it used to be that way doesn't mean it should stay that way. It is the 21st century and it is time to think outside the broken box. How about we use some common sense and do something different.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See

This is a video about a common sense solution to the global warming debate.



Greg Craven has made it very simple for everyone. If we don't act there could be severe consequences. Even if we do act and it never happens it could cause economic problems. I would rather have only economic problems than economic problems plus famine, drought, lost cities, etc. FYI, if the ice caps melt, New York, London, and Tokyo will all be under water. There is a lot of scientific evidence out there that supports global warming, you just have to go read it. As Americans, maybe even as just humans we continue to only think of the current situation and not the future. We focus on instant gratification from our cars, electronics, food and others with no afterthought of the consequences of our actions. Why don't we think about the effects of using pesticides and fertilizers on plants? Why don't we think about the true cost of the oil we consume? Why don't we consider that if we keep up current consumption levels of Bluefin tuna, Chilean Sea bass, and others that they will go extinct? Are we ok with never having them on the planet again or never being able to eat them again? Does that make sense? Its easy to think that we will just come up with a new technology and that will fix all of our problems. Its easy to think "well I am only one person, I am not causing global warming nor could anything I do have an effect on it." Its really easy to just not think about the consequences of our decisions and play happy ignorant human. "It will all work out, it always has" is a bad attitude to have. It is not coincidence that obesity, cancer, diabetes, infertility, autism, etc are all on the rise. Ultimately we are killing ourselves. When global warming does start to have more serious effects it is only going to hurt us even more than it is now. We will suffer when the food is gone, storms are more frequent and there is no fuel for our gas guzzling cars.

We must take action now to reverse the damages and restore this planet to its former glory. Not only for the sake of the environment and the animals, but for our sake. If not, we may lose not just our way of life but the future generations may pay the price of our high dollar lifestyle.

Greg Craven also has a book on the same subject




Test Test!


Testing a picture

Friday, June 18, 2010

Have we got it right?

A couple of days ago I was walking along the flight line with my civilian instructor on our way to the airplane simulator. He is a former pilot with thousands of hours, a product of the cold war and a die hard conservative as most military members are. We were talking about the world cup games that are going on and I mentioned something about the size of the various countries that are represented and how small they are. His next comment really got me thinking. He said "and they still can't get it right." I knew he was referring to the common American view of most European countries and their "lack of freedom" and "socialist" ideals. Immediately I wanted to respond "do you think we've got it right?" but I already knew what he would say so I just kept walking and halfheartedly nodded in agreement. I didn't feel like provoking him at that moment.

I couldn't get his statement out of my head though. Do people in this country really think we are the only country in the world that has the right system? Do we all think that because we are the United States we are untouchable and we are simply too large to fail? That is a very arrogant state of mind, one that will certainly lead us down the wrong path if we aren't there already. If that is what a lot of Americans think it's no wonder the people of the world are upset with us. Arrogance lends us to lack of attentiveness and letting down our guard.

I believe we should appreciate other countries for what they can offer the world. We shouldn't write them off simply because we may not agree with them. Is it too much to ask to take a step back, appreciate the good and throw out the bad. We are all residents of this planet and if we don't work together somehow, war will never be very far from our thoughts.

After thinking about what my instructor said I have had a lot of thoughts about the subject. I run the arguments back and forth in my head. The pros and cons, the ups and downs, trying to see all angles of the story. Because of all of this I have decided that it is finally time to start a blog. Every day I see events, read articles, and listen to conversations that make my mind start running. I think I am mostly doing this for myself, to get this out of my head and written down. I know, a bit selfish of me but I am also hoping that a few people will read it and enjoy it. I am even hopeful that I might awaken a few to maybe think about their actions and try to improve the world. Its all about common sense conservation, using simple thinking to improve the world.