Global Warming
The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles…hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages…And we think some plastic bags… and some aluminum cans… are going to make a difference? The planet…the planet…the planet isn’t going anywhere. WE ARE!
This is the link to see the whole routine.
June 25th, 2008
What happened to the great global warming everyone is talking about? I am still eagerly waiting for Boston to become San Diego. According to Canadian scientists – the real problem is global cooling:
Solar activity fluctuates in an 11-year cycle. But so far in this cycle, the sun has been disturbingly quiet. The lack of increased activity could signal the beginning of what is known as a Maunder Minimum, an event which occurs every couple of centuries and can last as long as a century.
Back in the 17th century, this solar cycle led to 65 years of cold weather. I am not ready for that.
Somebody needs to get in touch with this Gore fool and tell him to shut up; we need to warm this world up!
February 8th, 2008
I don’t know, but it seems to me that these people are taking this “save the planet” thing a little to far. In England eco-sterilization is all the rage.
“We do everything we can to reduce our carbon footprint. But all this would be undone if we had a child. That’s why I had a vasectomy. It would be morally wrong for me to add to climate change and the destruction of Earth.”
Maybe we should get rid of people all together.
November 24th, 2007
I hate to sound like a broken record – but what happened to all that great global warming they have been promising? Boston is freezing and it is August! (There was “smoke” coming out of my mouth when I was walking to shul this morning and everything).
Look what it is like in NYC – it was only 59° yesterday.
I am dreaming of the pleasant December day, when I can take my towel down to the banks of the Charles for a mid-afternoon dip. Drive your car and spray more deodorant – we need to warm this planet up!
August 22nd, 2007
I have never been particularly environmentally aware (pro or con) – I just like that global warming could turn Boston into San Diego. But according to this, it seems that the global warming activists are really just at war with “manliness,” and possibly meat eating, which could mean ultimately an outright attack on shwarma. If this is true then I may take up arms and join the polluting, SUV driving, Right Guard spraying masses. There is only so far you can push someone before he snaps.
March 18th, 2007
What happened to that great global warming everyone has been promising. Boston is wicked cold. I am waiting for it to turn into San Diego – how much longer? According to this, this year is actually colder then the average for the last 100 years! Someone please turn up the heat.
March 8th, 2007
I was always a big fan of global warming, especially since moving to Boston. If climate changes kept up as predicted, then eventually Boston would be mild and pleasant like San Diego. I don’t love San Diego, but I love their weather and for a period I was inspired to drive my gas-guzzler and use more aerosols in an attempt to do my part to “warm up Boston.” All these airy fantasies came to an end when my niece informed me that really global warming doesn’t mean better, warmer weather – rather it means more extreme weather – i.e. Boston will have a colder winter and a hotter summer – not a pleasant thought at all.
I can ramble all day about my love and loss over the fate of global warming, but now I don’t have to – Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma has done that for me. As a matter of fact – yesterday he went on and on in a speech to the Senate about global warming – and he said it was a scam. A scam! I still appreciate the aesthetic qualities of environmentally correct living (like clean air and clean water) and I like hippy stuff like nature and hiking, but give me a break – if the Senator is correct then I want my Styrofoam back and I want a one-year moratorium on roll-on – more sprays! More smoke!
Ultimately, I don’t think anyone really knows what they are talking about. Big business wants to sell more cars and the lefties want to sell more granola. I will stick to the Jewish way of doing things – realize that your actions in the spiritual world make a real impact on the physical – if you want to clean up the environment then first clean up yourself.
September 26th, 2006
On NPR today they featured an official apologist for agro-business. His main claim was that in spite of all the hype about organic, pesticide-free farming, the non-use of chemical fertilizers leads to an increase (by necessity) of more manure-based fertilization. The heavy reliance on manure actually is a main source of bacteria growth and all sorts of nasty orgo-illnesses. Although the hippy farmers argued, I found this line of thought compelling. Organic food is big business so it is not surprising that they probably have something to hide.
In related news, my ever-friendly barista at the ERC informed me that in spite of what you might think, lighter coffees are actually stronger. His theory is that in order to make a darker roast, you need to cook it more. As is true with everything – the more you cook something, the more you deplete its essential nutrients. Being that the main nutrient in coffee is caffeine, it only makes sense that the extra cooking to get it darker will diminish the caffeine content as well. (My mother claims that espresso is actually naturally decaffeinated due to the extreme cooking it is subjected to. Her logic is indeed in line with the revelation from my barista.) It seems like a reasonable proposition to me, except that after I drank my “lighter” Costa Rican blend, I didn’t shake with the same caffeine buzz I usually enjoy.
Speaking of farming and coffee, this Rosh Hashanah begins the fifth year of the seven year shmita cycle. Year seven is shmita – the year the land lies fallow. Years three and six are the years that we give ma’aser ani (a percentage of the crop to be given to the poor) in addition the regular tithes we are expected to give. On years one, two, four and five we give ma’aser sheni – the tithe we take for ourselves to eat in Jerusalem. Being that this year is a ma’aser sheni year, I am going to keep away from manure and weak coffee when I choose the produce I take with me to Jerusalem.
September 20th, 2006
I know I am a real dork, but I am really excited about this new small car. It fits two to a highway lane, four in a standard parallel parking spot, runs on electricity, and can park perpendicular to the curb. In theory, if I got one of these I could save a fortune (never have to get gas), zip between lanes of traffic, and park everywhere. It is all the advantages of a motorcycle, but it is a car. No leather, no wind in the face, a place to keep your stuff. I heard them talk about it on the radio and they say it is safe – cool. The only problem is that it is still only a prototype and they sell for about $108,000 – kills any gas savings but hey, if anyone wants to buy me one – I hear they make great gifts.
August 31st, 2006
