I read the news today, oh boy...

This post is for Kim, Morgana, and anyone else in Paul Faul's seminar last year.

Today was an elementary school day. I was scheduled to teach 4 classes, eat lunch and play with the students outside. Recess ends at 1:50, and after that, there is not a whole lot for me to do except take up space in the teachers room (usually blocking someone's desk) so most schools let me go early. The last time I was at this particular school however, the Board of Education sent a fax for me around 2:15, by which point I had already vacated the premises. Sadly, the school got a lecture and told me that I would have to stay until 4pm, even though I would be done teaching after the usual four classes. Usually I carry around a book with me, but this being Monday, I was really slow to get moving and didn't pack one. Crap. Two long hours to sit in the office and stare at the cracks in the wall (there were quite a lot, one part of the wall actually looked like a map). The desk I was sitting at did have a computer, and without asking I decided to take advantage of the internet. Once again, I am so glad the NY Times has a website.

I tried to start with world news, but found it less than captivating, so I moved on to U.S. news, which was a bit more interesting (i.e. the escapades otherwise known as the 2008 presidential election,) then went to the science section. So many interesting articles there, which I feel the need to share with you since I can't talk about them in class like I used to.

If It’s Fresh and Local, Is It Always Greener? Raises so many interesting questions. Just when you thought you had it all figured out and were doing something good, there is something else to consider. Being pretty much illiterate when it comes to reading Japanese food labels, I have no idea where my food is coming from or what it is made out of. Is the tofu in Japan made with soybeans harvested in Brazil on what used to be Amazon rainforest? Probably. At least one thing I don't have to worry too much about is the transportation of my food on my end. It's either by bike or foot, 99.9% of the time.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/business/yourmoney/09feed.html?ex=1354856400&en=a939fa58956e6e41&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Canadian Retailer Bans Some Plastic Bottles Oh Nalgene. I would have been so lost without you at college. You were there to make sure I was hydrated, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Now your bulkiness sits in my cupboard. I'll blame the bisphenol-a. Please don't be jealous of the other recycled, plastic water bottles of a smaller sizes I use these days. They fit so much better in my bag with all the other crap I seem to need to tote around with me these days (teaching supplies, wallet, dictionary, hand towel, keys, phone, scarf, gloves, chapstick.....) and it would be a shame to use them just once anyway.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/08/business/worldbusiness/08water.html?ex=1354856400&en=e781c97ce702fce3&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Hydrogen Car Is Here, a Bit Ahead of Its Time Hydrogen cars! It's like the future is now! Mostly I thought about two things while I read this article: 1) There was no mention about the volitile nature of hydrogen (remember the Hindenburg? Although I am sure technology has improved since then) and 2) is how does Toyota feel looking at this car, which looks very similar to its Prius and even has the in-dash gear shift?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/automobiles/autoreviews/09HONDA.html?ex=1354856400&en=cf11cdface8d7793&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink


Oil-Rich Nations Use More Energy, Cutting Exports I found this article very interesting. I don't understand much about oil; the supply, the demand (in part because the numbers are way too big for me to comprehend) and especially the politics and social components are rather mysterious to me. But this article made sense. What a crazy, out of control world we live in.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/business/worldbusiness/09oil.html?ex=1354942800&en=eac03669b348352f&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Radars Taken Out by Arctic Warming Whoops. This would be amusing if it wasn't so serious.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/07/cold-war-radar-taken-out-by-arctic-warming/


Western States Agree to Water-Sharing Pact Another scary article. Should the lack of water in my home state factor into my decision about where to live when I return stateside?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/us/10water.html?ex=1355029200&en=2471f2594380d01a&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

And finally, this last headline is hardly a surprise, U.S Rejects Stiff 2020 Greenhouse Goals In Bali. I guess it takes more than a few million people without water in the fastest growing states and some lost Arctic radars to convince the government that something needs to be done about global climate change. C'mon people.