Monday, August 3, 2009

Changing

Attitude;
How It Looks To Me

Playing with color in Preview tools. 8/3/09

Why do some people deny the scientific evidence of global warming?

In the 2008 book, Global Warming: A Very Short Introduction, Mark Maslin, director of the Environment Institute at the University College London and his colleague John Adams suggest that it's about personalities.

Here are 4 beliefs they examine;

1) Nature is benign: earth is predictable and robust, able to withstand or bounce back from any damage. This view corresponds with what they call individualists, entrepreneurial types who don’t necessarily believe in control or intervention from others.

2) Nature is ephemeral: earth is fragile and it is in danger of collapse. And this view is held by egalitarians, people who have strong democratic group loyalties but do not respect externally imposed rules.

3) Nature is tolerant: earth can handle some changes, but major excesses will send it reeling. This is a view held by hierarchists, people who know their place, and adhere to strong social structures.

4) Nature is capricious: earth’s reactions are so unpredictable that we cannot predict nor accurately plan our future. This is the view of fatalists, those who feel they have little control over their lives.

So it appears that it's not just stubborn ignorance or misinformation that causes some people to dispute the facts, it's a point of view, caused by an attitude, bolstered by a belief.

Doing My Part

Bill Paying Phil 8/3/09

Some people, who's circumstances have put them in a higher financial bracket than others, have a tendency to selfishly complain about financial assistance to the less fortunate. I am not surprised. They don't understand the dynamic of economics, and they don't know that their, "achievements", are simply the luck of the draw.

Today I did my part
to stimulate and maintain our economy. Every employee, shareholder, and customer of my bank is benefiting financially because I payed my bills with checks drawn on my bank account. I have economically assisted the people who work for the companies that produced the checks. Lumber companies, paper mills, ink manufacturers, the printing company and its employees, can stay afloat because I wrote checks to pay my bills.

That's only the beginning. The bills that I paid will help keep electricity flowing, phones ringing, and computers computing all over the world. Peoples jobs and rich peoples riches all are dependent on people like you and me, paying our bills. I am happy to be doing my part. Thank you, Social Security. I couldn't help keep the money flowing without you.

Yummy


Tomato and yogurt delight. 8/3/09

A nice neighbor offered me some tomatoes the other day. She had a large bowl full that she had just harvested to save them from the relentless, Redding, summertime, "tomato blistering", temperatures. I said thanks and put a couple on the counter to consider for awhile. I didn't wish to waste them in a sandwich or salad, because I wanted their flavor to stand out on it's own.

Today, one of those tomatoes couldn't wait any longer, so I moved it to the cutting board where it would remind me it was ready. I have some Trader Joe's, Greek style, plain yogurt in the fridge, that I have tried by itself and with blueberries. It was still good, so I figured I would cut up the tomato and put it together with the yogurt. It was great! I will do that again.

Rock On,...Mars.

Meteorite on Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech

A close-up view of "Block Island," an odd-shaped, dark meteorite. The rock was imaged with the navigation camera on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.

Today's Relatively Appropriate Song;
Pastures Of Plenty - Woody Guthrie

Do Good Things

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