More Idle Thoughts on the World Ending Soon

I'm listening to an old school Jars of Clay album! I still love it!

Last night I heard the guys on the news say, soon gas will be 4.50. Then today, I drove past a gas station that had it at 4.49. I'm blaming the guy on the news. But I did see one station have it as high as 4.59. :(

Are you changing any of your habits as a result of the increased gas prices? Apparently we are now having a water shortage as well. For some reason, it always makes me really thirsty when I hear that.

I do have a solution, however, for Southern California. Fake grass. Seriously, if I see one more sprinkler system watering the road I think I'll scream. Also, I am not going to be a happy camper if I get any more snail mail about saving the environment. The medium is the message, people.

Man I love Jars of Clay.

1.5 Trees for Every Costa Rican

Costa Rica seeks to become the first carbon neutral country.

Go Costa Rica! I would like to say though, you can plant a tree but you cannot plant a forest.

Costa Rica has a beautiful rainforest full of insects I hope I never see again.

Books with a Social Justice, etc. Theme

So I've recently discovered that I like fiction books with a social justice, environmental, animal rights, etc. theme. Something about wrapping these important themes in a story works for me. I know that not everyone operates this way but boy do I.

Some that I've read, enjoyed, learned from or been changed by, are:

The Street Lawyer by John Grisham
Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson
My Hands Came Away Red by Lisa McKay
The Debt by Angela Hunt
Betrayed by J.M. Windle
Dark Justice by William Bernhardt
Unspoken by Angela Hunt

I need your help. I want to discover more. If you know of a book that sort of fits in with this style or theme I'd love to hear about it. I'm not looking for preachy books but rather books that are able to tell a great story, educate, and explore all the moral issues involved with whatever the subject matter is. So please recommend away! And tell your bookish friends to come by and leave their recommendations as well. Thank you so much!

Green Means Responsible

In light of my New Year's Resolution to be responsible with my environmental issues, I find this bit of news interesting.

The Discovery Channel is going to launch a green channel. Yes, really. An entire channel devoted to how to live responsibly and take care of the earth.

The president of the Discovery Channel states that in the past, people would have been wondering, "who are these lefties?" But now, "green means responsible."

I'm all for respecting the planet and making responsible choices. But is a 24 hours cable channel about protecting the planet really being responsible? I mean after all, one will have to use some precious energy to watch.

(Read more about it here)

The End of the World

I didn't even know such a thing as the doomsday clock existed, but apparently we're five minutes away from midnight at present.

Two major threats to life as we know it? Global Warming and Nuclear Weapons.

The end, my friends, is coming.

I wonder if they were inspired by seeing Valencia blown up on 24 Monday night.

Read more about it here.

So what do you think? Which poses the greater threat?

Climate Crisis

Ok, well, I thought of something else to talk about. Over break, I watched Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth. And while it was more autobiographical than I was expecting, and less practical, it has led me to one of my new year's resolutions.

Do everything reasonable that I can to take care of the earth. I mean really it's a bit ridiculous that Americans are contributing so much to the problem. And a little scary how quickly it became a problem. So I'll do what I can to be friendly to the earth. I already do things like recycle. But I can buy some expensive lightbulbs and unplug my appliances, right? A little extra effort never hurt. Did you know that even things like eating less meat, and making sure your tires are properly inflated can assist this current problem?

Do you do anything about global warming? Any more ideas on how we can practically contribute to remedying this current crisis? Yes, I have already checked out the movie website, but I'd love to hear more.