My take on global warming

It's the topic of the decade. Everyone over the age of seven knows about it; everyone has an opinion about it. Most people have very strong feelings about it, one way or the other. I am one of the rare people who has a fairly wishy-washy stance on the issue. What is it? Global warming.

I am Everyman. I see what happens and react like everyone else does. I've seen self-righteous jerks proclaim the terrifying effects of human beings on our mother Earth. I believed it, without protest, for years. Then, as I got older, I began to become interested in hot-button issues and researched further.

As it turns out, this topic isn't nearly as clear-cut as I had originally thought. While it is true that a fair majority of scientists believes in global warming (or global climate change, if you prefer), there are quite a few scientists respected in their fields who do not agree that the topic is as open and shut as the media is presenting it.

My belief in the global warming epidemic began to waver. Still, for every well-researched argument against, there are several complete morons who make it difficult to identify as a skeptic.

So, after years of mild research and piqued interest, what conclusion have I come to? Well, first off, I think we should put away all of these extremes. Rather than accepting global warming blindly or throwing it out as pure bull-honkery, we should continue to do solid scientific research, not only on the possible changes in the climate, but also on the different methods of helping the environment that actually work.

When I went to Germany this past spring, I noticed that dotted across the country were these gigantic wind turbines. I also saw many solar farms, places where solar panels are lined up for acres. All of this is done in the idea that these forms of alternative energy will save the world. What has been coming to light recently, however, is that the turbines actually use more energy to run than they are producing. The solar fields are even less useful, as they are not only taking up land that could be used for farming or for ecologic solutions that truly work, but they have also been placed in a country that is well known for its constant cloudy, rainy weather pattern. Germany simply doesn't get enough sunlight to make solar farms worth the costs.

We need to research this. If global warming is true, then it is our responsibility to help the environment, not only for our planet, but for our future. If it isn't, then we should still seek out ways in which to better the environment and avoid future possibilities of climate change. However, we need to ensure that what we're calling a "solution" truly is thus. Many of our current "solutions" are, in fact, hurting the world more. Rather than arguing the falsity or truth of a topic that may not be resolved for decades more, we should be spending the time between now and then finding out what we can do to help.

I know that you want to help. I know that you want to be good people. I know this because I feel the same way. Still, don't just jump on the various bandwagons of environmental goodness without doing the research. Ask for proof, not that it works, but that it doesn't do more harm. Demand that people think before leaping. Save the world, but do it the right way. You don't want to help the old woman across the street and into a burning building.

Let's Start a Controversy at FFH

My mother-in-law decided today would be a good day to make jam and jelly-filled cupcakes. This prompted me to get a survey of my dedicated followers: What's the best kind of berry?

I'd have to say that my favorites are blueberries and strawberries.

Living Forever

Today, I read an article from the BBC about genetic testing being done on people who live over the age of 100 to find genetic correlations between them. It's a pretty interesting article that, of course, got me thinking about death.

I'm an atheist, but I'm not one of those self-righteous ones that goes around telling every religious person they meet that they're idiotic. I believe that, for some people, the belief in a higher being is a positive one. However, I have a very scientific mind that won't believe in things for which there is no evidence. I was raised Christian by my mother and Wiccan by my babysitter (who I saw more than my mother). I identified as Christian until eighth grade, at which point I realized that the Wiccan faith held more tenants that I could get behind than Christianity did, such as hurting nothing (one could consider me a tree-hugger) and that we're all interconnected. I was a very devout Wiccan, even getting a tattoo of a pentagram with a sun and moon interwoven throughout, until about a year and a half ago. I began to realize that I'd really been kidding myself. I didn't truly believe any of the parts of Wicca that made it a religion; I only liked the wishy-washy parts. I didn't believe in the idea of deities at all and the God/Goddess worship involved always left me feeling guilty. I decided that it was finally time to be true to myself and admit that I was, in fact, an atheist. I discovered a Youtube video that made me feel better about this admission, as it fully summed up my personal spiritual feelings. I could be a good person and not believe in gods. The two were no longer separate from each other.

All of this leads me to one feeling about death: Though I know it's absolutely necessary, it still scares the shit out of me. I know that I'm not going to some fluffy white cloud kingdom when I die. I'm going to be put in the ground or, perhaps, be sprinkled onto a really pretty body of water. Something like that. I don't live my life crazily avoiding anything that could kill me, though. I don't take stupid risks, but if you don't enjoy the little time you have on Earth, you didn't really live.

Becoming an atheist was the best thing that ever happened to me. It made me realize that we do have a limited amount of time with which to make our legacies. It pushed me to start making major decisions about my life. It also helped me create my life's credo, which, as stated in a previous blog, is that I want to make a huge positive change in the life of someone who never expected it.

I don't want to live forever. Doing so would take away the quality of life for future generations. If it weren't for the new generations coming and changing the way people think, we'd still be hiding in caves dying of mud poisoning (or something). Still, I'd like to live a long, happy, meaningful life.

I guess this blog didn't really say anything too interesting, but I guess what I'm trying to get across that life is what you make it. Take the steps needed to make it long, but don't take it to the point that you never lived at all.