Mudshot Eyes

The global average temperature is about 1° Fahrenheit higher than it was a century ago. This one degree has caused a lot of fuss, including one of my least favorite vice presidents, Al Gore, winning a share of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The fuss isn’t all bad. I may disagree with the way that Al Gore wants to turn around our pollution problems, but I am glad for the new awareness that has been born from all the hoopla he has created. Unfortunately, many Christians are unable to get past the politics to see the need to take responsibility in caring for creation.

I have lost count of the number of conversations where I thought the topic was our responsibility to care for creation, but within a couple of minutes, we are talking about politics and global warming. Is it possible to have good dialogue with a Christian about the environment without changing the subject to how bad Al Gore and the Democrats are? I don’t want to talk about how to clean up Al Gore, I want to talk about how to clean up our environment. I want to talk about the small steps that I can take to contribute to a larger community of effort. That discussion has nothing to do with politics.

When it comes to the politics of this discussion, I recognize that there are a lot of dollars at stake in the federal government. There is a lot to debate when it comes to the government’s role in keeping clean the air, water, and land of the brave. However, I think it would benefit us to separate the two issues, so that personal responsibility doesn’t get lost in a debate over where to draw political lines.

*This post is a part of Blog Action Day.

Interesting link below regarding electric car technology. The common arguments against widespread use of electronic cars are not founded in the facts. The technology exists that would make this kind of transportation feasible and affordable. Unfortunately, big money and politics prevent it from happening.

Did you know that Americans drive an average of 29 miles a day? That would mean that a person could use an electric car for 3-4 days without recharging it. Why are we not using this technology? This link provides some arguments to consider…

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/electric.html

If you want the basics, just click on the Questions and Answers section, or here’s an excerpt…

GM, Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Nissan, and Toyota all developed electric vehicle programs in response to California’s zero emission mandate [in the 90s]—and most ended up crushing at least part of their EV fleets. Even as the automakers launched their EV programs, they undermined their success every step of the way. Why?

Electric cars are a threat to the profitability of the conventional gas-powered auto industry. GM said that it spent more than $1 billion to market and develop the EV1. Not only would a successful electric car program cannibalize sales of conventional cars, but the electric car costs the auto industry in other ways: lacking an engine, it saves the driver the cost of replacement parts, motor oil, filters, and spark plugs. The EV1’s regenerative braking system, in which the car’s electronic controls handled much of the work of slowing down the car, spared the car’s mechanical brake system from wear. Brake parts and repair is a billion-plus dollar industry alone. The EV1’s efficiency was a winner for consumers but a loser for the auto industry.

When GM introduced the EV1, it was years ahead of American and Japanese competition in electric car technology. In the coming years it could have capitalized on its lead by developing these cars and advanced hybrids. Instead GM and other US carmakers would focus on battling with the State of California to kill electric vehicles. The consequences of these decisions reverberate today.

Krista took me on a weekend trip to Fall Creek Falls for my birthday. For me, that is like going to Disney World. Here are a few pictures, which I will soon have posted on my pictures page (Mouse over each picture for a brief description).

Some thoughts while sitting out on the balcony on Friday night:

There are a million bugs of various sort hovering, flying, crawling, and creeping all around us. It is dusk, and the night crawlers and flyers are doing their thing. This is their domain, along with the birds, snakes, deer, and squirrels (who seem to survive anywhere).

They don’t stop buzzing, crawling, and biting just because it is an annoyance to me.

I’m watching a spider weave his web on the railing outside on the deck of our room. He’s one of at least twenty spiders lined up along the railing, each having their own section to build a web. Krista has noticed three of them. I don’t think she realizes how many are right in front of us, preparing for a night of capturing unsuspecting insects.

Radar-equipped bats are flying over the lake now that the sun has mostly set. They are feeding on the millions of insects that buzz over the lake.

Observing these things reminds me of my smallness. I am part of God’s world, not the other way around.