Sunday, September 28, 2008
61
John McCain had an affair with a woman much younger than him while his wife had cancer. Why aren't the family values groups raising a stink about that?
Labels: family values, John McCain, McCain
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
60
Polar bears resort to cannibalism as Arctic ice shrinks
This is so sad. We're destroying the planet and taking perhaps millions of species down with us. What a shameful legacy.
One of the best and easiest steps that individuals can take to reduce their contribution to global warming is to eat lower on the food chain. In nearly all cases, at present, in the developed world, a vegan diet—even a mostly vegan diet—destroys far less habitat and burns far less oil than a typical meat- and dairy-centered diet. Changing your diet will likely cut your greenhouse gas contribution by a greater amount than if you switch from a gas-guzzler to a hybrid. Plus you can go vegan today and it costs approximately nothing. ChooseVeg.com, GoVeg.com, and TryVeg.com can get you on your way.
To those who disbelieve the majority of the world's scientists and don't think that human activity has anything to do with global warming, let me make these two pleas:
- Transitioning to a vegan diet saves energy, conserves resources, and reduces animal cruelty that is often severe and sometimes shocking.
- On the chance that cutting down rainforests and spewing CO2 and methane into the air do have an effect on climate, doesn't it make sense to be prudent when the fate of untold numbers of species is potentially at stake?
I hope we'll take this issue into consideration when we vote, too.
This is so sad. We're destroying the planet and taking perhaps millions of species down with us. What a shameful legacy.
One of the best and easiest steps that individuals can take to reduce their contribution to global warming is to eat lower on the food chain. In nearly all cases, at present, in the developed world, a vegan diet—even a mostly vegan diet—destroys far less habitat and burns far less oil than a typical meat- and dairy-centered diet. Changing your diet will likely cut your greenhouse gas contribution by a greater amount than if you switch from a gas-guzzler to a hybrid. Plus you can go vegan today and it costs approximately nothing. ChooseVeg.com, GoVeg.com, and TryVeg.com can get you on your way.
To those who disbelieve the majority of the world's scientists and don't think that human activity has anything to do with global warming, let me make these two pleas:
- Transitioning to a vegan diet saves energy, conserves resources, and reduces animal cruelty that is often severe and sometimes shocking.
- On the chance that cutting down rainforests and spewing CO2 and methane into the air do have an effect on climate, doesn't it make sense to be prudent when the fate of untold numbers of species is potentially at stake?
I hope we'll take this issue into consideration when we vote, too.
Labels: diet, global warming, polar bears, vegan
Saturday, September 20, 2008
58
A spider has been living in a cardboard box in the shed for a month. I found out when I was going to take the box out and rip it up to put in the recycling. But I'll wait—it's the spider's home and I'm not going to evict him.
Labels: spiders
57
Thursday, September 18, 2008
56
When mimes email each other, do they just use emoticons?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
55
Melancholy yet calming: Driving through a midwestern town in late fall/early winter at 5:00 PM. No one's out on the street. The sun and shadows are long and angular. You pass a bar. You wonder about the town.
On your way out, there are a few houses. One has a white dog out in the yard. You think for a minute...you could stop in, have a chat, have a cup of coffee...maybe watch a little bit of the game on TV. It's the end of the third quarter and close...you've been listening to it off and on for the past hour. You wouldn't agree on politics and other things with the middle-aged husband and wife who live there, whose kids have moved away (although all but one stayed in the state...and there's the one in college), but you'd get on fine. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with talking about the weather, and complaining about the ref's call, making small talk. Just a way for two or three humans to bond...the words are helpful but really it's just the fact that you're there together, in a warm house, one late day, on the earth, on the road, in no particular time...it's unsaid, but each knows the others has some pains and fears, some sad and happy memories, but also looks forward to better times.
On your way out, the dog runs out, into the front yard...you pick up a stick and he fetches it and brings it back to you. Okay, one more time, this time you give it a good, hard throw...he chases it enthusiastically...you feel like you could do this forever. But you say, after a pause, with a half-smile, "Well, I better be going now."
On your way out, there are a few houses. One has a white dog out in the yard. You think for a minute...you could stop in, have a chat, have a cup of coffee...maybe watch a little bit of the game on TV. It's the end of the third quarter and close...you've been listening to it off and on for the past hour. You wouldn't agree on politics and other things with the middle-aged husband and wife who live there, whose kids have moved away (although all but one stayed in the state...and there's the one in college), but you'd get on fine. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with talking about the weather, and complaining about the ref's call, making small talk. Just a way for two or three humans to bond...the words are helpful but really it's just the fact that you're there together, in a warm house, one late day, on the earth, on the road, in no particular time...it's unsaid, but each knows the others has some pains and fears, some sad and happy memories, but also looks forward to better times.
On your way out, the dog runs out, into the front yard...you pick up a stick and he fetches it and brings it back to you. Okay, one more time, this time you give it a good, hard throw...he chases it enthusiastically...you feel like you could do this forever. But you say, after a pause, with a half-smile, "Well, I better be going now."
Labels: dogs, driving, friendship, houses
