Blog Action Day

Blog Action Day is a really cool idea. One day, thousands of bloggers all writing on one topic that affects us all in a huge way-climate change. I don't profess to be any kind of expert on this topic, and my science skills are slim to nil, but I do know the issue concerns me in a big way. Aka, it scares the crap out of me. I really don't understand why it isn't a bigger deal for politicians. I mean, do something and do something quickly!

I have deep love for Al Gore and even deeper love for David Suzuki. Can I just tell you a little story about David Suzuki? For those of you who don't know who he is, he is the man who should be running Canada. Older Asian men don't normally do it for me, but David Suzuki is a god, and I would pretty much marry him. His mother used to live down the street from us (or so the rumour went), and I would see her all the time. I would watch her walk her grandkids to school every day, and just think, "today is the day I am going to go talk to her", but I never did, because I suppose that would be slightly creepy and what if she wasn't actually David Suzuki's mother? Anyways. I met David Suzuki one time in university, when I somehow managed to volunteer to be backstage at a presentation he was doing. My duty was to guide David Suzuki through the hallway onto the stage and make sure he didn't trip. He didn't trip, but I'm pretty sure I did. I trip so you don't have to Mr. Suzuki. Holy lord was I nervous. David Suzuki ya'll! I met him, he was nice, and ever since my love has only grown stronger. Thus I give you, David Suzuki tips for how to help slow climate change through things you can do in your own home:. At work.. David's nature challenge!. Food issues!. Have I mentioned that I love this man? He is pretty much the King of Canada. Give him the Nobel Peace Prize!!

I read an article recently on the top 100 effects of global warming. This shit is grim people! Here are some alarming effects:

-No Christmas Trees-The Pine Bark Beetle, which feeds on and kills pine trees, used to be held in control by cold winter temperatures. Now the species is thriving and killing off entire forests in British Columbia, unchecked.

-Cultural Landmarks Disappearing: The World Monuments Fund recently added “global warming” as a threat in their list of the top 100 threatened cultural landmarks. “On Herschel Island, Canada, melting permafrost threatens ancient Inuit sites and a historic whaling town. In Chinguetti, Mauritania, the desert is encroaching on an ancient mosque. In Antarctica, a hut once used by British explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott has survived almost a century of freezing conditions but is now in danger of being engulfed by increasingly heavy snows.”

-No more really cool creatures: Scientists recently revealed a “lost world” of marine life off the coast of Indonesia, including 20 new species of corals, 8 species of shrimp, a technicolor fish that “flashes” bright pink, yellow, blue, and green hues, and sharks that “walk” on their fins.However, marine biologists warn the threats posed by global warming means millions of other crazycool sea creatures may become extinct before we ever discover them. Sharks that walk? That is afreakinmazing!

-More mosquitoes: Get ready for more mosquitoes. Mosquitoes like to live in drains and sewer puddles. During long dry spells (brought on by higher temperatures) these nasty, stagnant pools become a vital source of water for thirsty birds ... which provide a tasty feast for the resident mosquitoes. At the same time, these dry spells “reduce the populations of dragonflies, lacewings, and frogs that eat the mosquitoes.” I hate mosquitoes.

-Species Extinction: The latest report from the World Conservation Union says that a minimum of 40 percent of the world’s species are being threatened ... and global warming’s one of the main culprits. That is devastating to me!

-Grey Whales: Save the whales! Global warming is thwarting majestic gray whales’ struggle to recover from their endangered status. In recent years, more gray whales have been washing up on beaches after starving to death. Culprit: Rising ocean temps, which are killing off their food supply.

-The World is Shrinking: In 2005, a giant chunk of ice the size of Manhattan broke off of a Canadian ice shelf and began free floating westward, putting oil drilling operations in peril.

-Great Barrier Reef: According to the U.N., the Great Barrier Reef will disappear within decades as “warmer, more acidic seas could severely bleach coral in the world-famous reef as early as 2030.”

Okay, and these are just some!! I've neglected to mention all the we are all going to die bits.

I've written about this before.

It's weird, I think the average person is aware of just how big of a problem this is, and would do whatever it takes to help solve it. The problem is that the people who actually have the ability to make large changes happen need to get off their asses. Some people may say it isn't that easy, but I think when the entire fate of our planet hangs in the balance, it should be that easy.

I find the entire situation frustrating.

On Why I Love the Stars

I've always had a thing for the sky; the stars. One of my favourite things about going up North is lying on the dock on my back and just staring at all the stars for hours. The number of stars you can see in the country versus the city is astounding. It's gorgeous. When you stop to think about how big the universe actually is, and then think how small the Earth is in comparison, despite the fact that the Earth sometimes seems like the largest place ever...it actually boggles your mind. At least it boggles mine. I just can't fathom how big the universe must actually be. I do know however that it makes the actual Earth, our world, seem a lot smaller and maybe more manageable. Like maybe something or somebody you thought was far away, is really not that far away, at least in comparison to other things. Anyway.

I took astronomy in university as I always had a real urge to be able to name the various constellations in the sky, and I tell ya, during that one year, I was able to name a whole lot of them. Now though? I'm back to square one: Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Cassiopeia, Orion's belt...that's all I got. That class was exciting (kinda) and we learned all about the stars, black holes, phases of the moon and other sciencey stuff from the exact kind of man you would picture teaching an astronomy course. I can't really describe him, but if you saw him on the street, I'm pretty sure you'd be like, yah, that dude totally teaches astronomy class somewhere.

At my university we had this huge telescope. Like, the most giant telescope ever...you had to climb up into a building and then up a ladder to be able to look into it. And boy was it powerful. You could see the surface of the moon, and I mean, really see it, with all its craters and valleys and mountains, and it was amazing!

So last night there was a meteor shower...the Perseid Meteor Shower to be exact. It didn't reach it's peak until 2am, and I was fast asleep by then, but what I did see? Was pretty great.

We had to find the darkest place to watch it, so we went down to the beach and out onto the pier. We walked all the way out to the end of the pier, which is not lit at all, and sprawled out. I've never seen such cool shooting stars, not even up at the cottage. Some of them were huge, with giant, long tails. Every time one would shoot through the sky, we would get all excited, I saw one...did you see that one?? It was awesome!!

If anybody ever has the chance to watch a meteor shower, I would definitely say get your ass over to a dark corner of the world and watch the light show. It's amazing the things you can see when you're not stuck in front of a glass window of some sort.

The universe definitely gets a slow clap for the show last night.