Drishtikone.com - All Perspectives

a back breaking experience

D Kapoor — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:49:36 -0500

Hi, I am Back.
Desh, Purba and I are old school mates.And what a blog by her.Well done Purba,great work.

I have been slogging non stop for the last 5 months.When you are appreciated even a wee bit for your work or the effort that you put in, you tend to stretch a little more,and then a little more, believing it's OK and you can manage it. You equate the appreciation with that extra "effort" and believe it is worth it.But trust me , It is not worth it.

Your body and your well being are more important than that momentary appreciation which pops up and disappears like that soap bubble. In a jiffy,would be putting it in the right perspective.

Then it happened,the inevitable.My back just snapped.The pain was quite sharp,and was advised rest. But again, the self belief, that, i can handle it, perked me up.I was too meet many ol' batch mates of mine that evening. And the adrenaline, the excitement on meeting old friends,some after 23 years, and a healthy dose of painkillers saw the day through.

Two days of rest,and i felt relaxed. The self belief returned and the sense of responsibility of helping my dear wife with the household chores while i was home engulfed me.

Lo and behold, the Superman surfaced from no where and i was cleaning windows and table tops and whatnot. Like always,I thought it was OK and that a little work around the house while i was on rest would do no harm. But my already overburdened back had other ideas and it kept sending in distress signals. And on the fifth morning of the 10 days advised bed rest,it wouldn't move at all. All my bravado was gone, and the spirit of Superman left me for a healthier body. While I lay unable to move much,it dawned on me that, this body helps you to the best of it's belief but we have no right to abuse it either for our false ego or for anybody appreciation,however genuine it may be. Preserve this body, for it shall stand by you as long as you appreciate it and take good care of it.

Remember,you are born only once,and to make it worthwhile, listen to your mind,heart and body.

Whatsay?!

Driving myself, crazy?

D Kapoor — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:16:22 -0500

Live each day as if it’s your last. That’s how I felt when I took a six month sabbatical from a job that had started getting on my nerves.

I had a blank canvas before me that I could fill with as many colors I wanted. I wanted my life to take unexpected detours, I wanted to feel rejuvenated with myriad experiences.

The first few days I simply luxuriated in the sheer joy of having nothing to do, no schedule to follow. Finally “I could do whatever, whenever I wanted!!” But when you have been a working woman most of your adult life it is tough to come out of the quagmire of targets to be met and lists of things to do. So, along expected lines, I was soon craving for challenge. My head was brimming with the longest list of must do’s and can do’s. I definitely did not want to look back and rue about the months I wasted.

I could take on my long neglected role of “domestic goddess”, I mused. I definitely needed to brush up on my near extinct driving skills. I could pick up some basic dancing skills and stop making a fool of myself on the dance floor. After years of writing stiff reports about school events, I could now channel “my writing skills” towards more creative stuff. I wanted to reconnect with old friends, make new friends, join a book club…. Phew!!! Simply thinking of all the juicy possibilities gave me an adrenaline rush.

My domestic diva phase began on a promising enough note. Like a brave warrior I climbed atop ladders, cleaned fans with grim determination, brought down curtains, vanquished imaginary cobwebs, re-arranged closets. I nearly killed myself trying to perfect my act.

Mission: accomplished

Conclusion: Household chores are hardly a self elevating experience. The nagging backache lasts longer than the euphoria of a gleaming house. Besides the fact that nobody else seems to notice or care.

It was time now to move on my next plan of action. Gurgaon, the Millennium City where I live, hardly lives up to its sobriquet. On the one hand it boasts of glitzy malls, swish housing complexes, snazzy restaurants but on the other, it is still saddled with prehistoric infrastructure and a public transport system which exists largely in the imagination of our politicians.

So, one has to rely on one’s own driving skills to move around, which I have not honed due to my so-called lack of time. Actually, truth be told, I have always been a jittery driver. Whenever I see traffic approaching, I simply let go of the steering wheel and expect the car to maneuver itself out of the mess. Ratan Tata, are you reading this??? And to top it all my husband insists my driving borders on the homicidal. I have the proclivity to run over hapless pedestrians and if they are still alive, living their uneventful lives, it is thanks to his timely intervention. So it was time to relive my nightmare again. I had to hit the road and upgrade my driving skills.

My first driving lesson was a nightmare. My smart alec of an instructor threw me to the lions on the first day itself. I was expected to drive on the mean main roads and maneuver around tricky roundabouts and traffic junctions. Heart beating fast and mouth getting drier by the minute, I blindly followed his instructions and somehow managed to stay collision-free.

I have been driving for ten days now. I still hold my steering wheel too tight, my gear changing skills are far from perfect, and to make it worse, my instructor jabbers non -stop. Yet I got an inadvertent compliment from a fellow learner. He wanted to know why his driving was so full of mistakes while mine was so effortless. I nearly choked with emotion and ended up giving an “Oscar” speech. The fellow is still recovering from shock.

The last few weeks have been more challenging than rewarding. I have been thrown out of my comfort zone. Each day reveals my good, bad and ugly sides. My self-esteem ‘rocks’ like the stock markets, very erratic, touching more troughs than crests. But, hey! I am glad that there is nothing typical about my life now. I am like a child again, taking faltering baby steps, stumbling often but constantly discovering new things and relishing every moment.

Disturbing traits of Nidal and its larger implications

D Kapoor — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:48:19 -0500

Some new and disturbing news has come out about Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who killed his comradesin Fort Hood last week. What one sees is very disturbing and wonders how come authorities did not get it before the shooting.

But, what is even MORE disturbing to me is that almost all of the Muslims I have met have had the same views and paranoia. Just that some were passionate and others weren't that much (or hid it all well). But just utter the words "Jews", "Bush", "Terrorism" and off goes the same narrative! The STUNNING similarity of the narrative in almost every Muslim that I have met - whether from Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, or India - is what makes one wonder ... what is needed for such a large population to become an actual Time Bomb? For, as Nidal's friend termed him he was a "ticking Time bomb"! What I am saying is not out of bias or hatred toward the Muslims.. but what is ACTUALLY the status on the ground. If you want to be an observer.. just tune on into 1180 AM, and 1460 AM on the radio in Houston and listen to one Pakistan program after another the entire weekend.. and you will know what exactly I mean. And that is PUBLIC forum. In private conversations, the attacks are even more acerbic!

Like I said in an earlier post, there is a FUNDAMENTAL review and intervention required. Time for politically correct and nice look "Sky is Blue" kind of generic discourse is long gone. Now it is time to be specific and challenge the ideologies that peril the peace while differentiating between "Followers" and the "Ideology". In the end, no ideology is greater than the life of a human being.

See below a list of all the things that were disturbing and pointed to a violent eventuality.

- Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born Yemeni Islamic scholar was preaching at the same mosque that Nidal frequented. Awlaki was said to be the "Spiritual Advisor" (I am not sure if I will use the word Spiritual, for such a guy, there is nothing spiritual about Jihad). His eyes would lit up, according to a Muslim friend of Nidal on discussion of his deep respect for Awlaki. It is important to remember that Nawaf al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour , the two 9-11 hijackers also attended Awlaki's services. In fact, it is intriguing that NIdal attended the same mosque - Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Great Falls, Virginia - at the time when the two 9-11 hijackers attended it.

- He gave away Koran to the neighbors in the run up to his shootings. And before he started shooting, he shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) and proceeded with killing young boys, women and men around him.

- It seems he had a sleepless night before he did the shooting in the morning.

- Dr Val Finnell, a fellow student on a public health course in 2007-08 has said that he had heard Hasan equate the War on Terror to War on Islam.

- After he gave a presentation on defending Suicide Bombers, a fellow students warned the military authorities that Hasan was a "ticking time bomb".

- Hasan had earlier defended Suicide Bombings and expressed harsh Anti-Jewish sentiments.

- His characteristics - withdrawn, unassuming, brooding, socially awkward and never known to have had a girlfriend - seemed to be classic tell tale mass murderer attributes. Now add his Islamic fantaticism and you have a walking talking powder keg waiting to go off!

Reference Links:

Fort Hood shooting: Texas army killer linked to September 11 terrorists

Rupees 500

D Kapoor — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:41:03 -0500

This is an excellent video of what money - just Rs 500 means to different people in India. Look at the diverse wants and needs and how decadent the Urban youth has become!

God as the "Creator"

D Kapoor — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:36:37 -0500

An Old Testament scholar now seems to suggest that it is a wrong interpretation to believe that God created Earth when "He" created the animals etc. on it. She, Prof Ellen van Wolde, believes that Earth was already there when the Animals and Humans were created. The Judeo-Christian belief suggests that Earth was created out of nothing by God.

She said she eventually concluded the Hebrew verb "bara", which is used in the first sentence of the book of Genesis, does not mean "to create" but to "spatially separate". The first sentence should now read "in the beginning God separated the Heaven and the Earth"

She also suggests that the idea of creating "Something out of Nothing" does not seem plausible.

The usual idea of creating-out-of-nothing, creatio ex nihilo, is a big misunderstanding."

Now, this interpretation has gotten some strong resistance from the believers. The entire premise of the faith of at least three religions seems shaken! But what was especially interesting was a comment by a reader which I find more reasonable than the original explanation and the one that Wolde is professing:

The first letter of the Torah is a Bet. A bet is a container which refers to our universe, a container, bounded by time and space, that G-d created for us to be able to exist within his infinity that has no time or space. The entire "Creation story" takes place AFTER our universe bounded by time and space is already created out of nothing by the trancendent (which the torah names with the tetragrammaton - Yud Hey Vav Hey.)

But I find it intriguing that none of the people use the word "manifestation" for the existence. In Hindu scriptures, Existence and Universe has been called "Srishti", which means manifestation. And if the physics theories are any indication, then the finite existence is no more than a manifestation of the Infinite.

Reference Links:

God is not the Creator, claims academic

Hope: One pain was enough...

D Kapoor — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:22:24 -0500

This year, when I thought of starting this series on the 25th anniversary of the 1984 Sikh massacres, I was thinking of redemption... of ways we could find humanity within us. How could we, as ordinary people, make a difference. I read the comments of Ajender on a post at this blog - experience of another Sikh friend - and asked him for his thoughts now on the situation and how he found the strength to be what he has become WITHOUT the urge for revenge. This is what he sent me. I am thoroughly indebted to him as this one post from Ajender has made my effort at starting Drishtikone.com worthwhile.

========= ============

Inspite of having undergone, the 84 Riots, Last year I initiated an organisation called Umeed, the tag line of which is 'Citizens Empowered for a future of Choice"

I was confused, but hate was not something I was comfortable with. Having seen the pain in my mothers eyes after the incident for many years to come. One person's pain was too much for me, I could not imagine seeing it in any others eyes in my life.

I had seen my mother being a strong lady, having lost her husband when i was two months old, she always wanted me to be a strong man. But this incident broke her. I could see fear in her eyes always.

I pity people, who caused pain to so many people, just because a political leader was murdered in 1984. Are these ordinary people not respectable citizens of a democratic country? Are we still living in an anarchy? All this had to come to an end.

I could not have ended it alone, but I could atleast make a choice, for myself. I chose Umeed, Hope. I chose to empower people, who were facing this exploitation in various forms every day. And no body was even acknowleding their pain.

On a spiritual front, I refused to find answers in religions, as religions were governed by priests, who are not fair and just. Individualism is what i believe in, for which i am criticised many times. Being part of a group or ISM, whether that is Hinduism, or Sikhism, has no meaning for me.

I have dedicated my life, to the marginalised rural people, because I feel they are the people who are constantly exploited. Its the hatred of the worst form. Hatred of any form has to be hated, and love in any form has to be loved. Thats my choice, which arose, because I was hated, for being a Sikh (and nothing else).

The world needs love, if we want to survive. We need hope if we need to live longer, and our future generations to prosper. Love towards nature. Love towards people around us. And every night when I sleep, I want to do something so full of love, so that I can say to myself "I love you Ajender"

Whenever I see pain, undergo pain, I know, I have to counter it, rather than follow it. I am trying, I may loose, I may be lost.. but will die loving and will die creating umeed. May god be with me and with all of us.

Thanks

US Army Carnage and troubling questions

D Kapoor — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:15:39 -0500

In one of the worst shooting in Army history today in the US, a US soldier - psychiatrist - shot 12 of his colleagues and injured over 30, some seriously at Fort Hood in Texas.

His name was Nidal Malik Hasan and he was, according to his local Masjid's imam "a lifelong Muslim". He had recently started frequently arguing against the wars that America was fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and tried hard to prevent his deployment there.

Recently, the FBI and law enforcement had grown suspicious about him as some internet postings were attributed to him about suicide bombings and how the suicide bombers are similar to those soldiers who throw themselves on bombs to save their comrades.

His cousin gave a statement that the family is shocked and the family loves and is proud of their country.

By all accounts, Hasan was a professional soldier who never spoke ill of military or his country. But it is also undeniable that his motivation to kill his own comrades for what he believed to be a "larger purpose" was higher.

Two questions trouble me:

1. How does one separate a normal Muslim citizen who will NEVER commit a terror attack from another normal Muslim citizen who WILL?
2. What makes a normal Muslim citizen go over the line to kill the innocents?

To make sure Muslims are not hurt in future, there has to be a way to differentiate between the two types of people I mentioned in (1). The risk to the society of not being able to do so is HUGE!

I know many crib in Mumbai about the "discrimination" against the Muslims in allowing them to buy apartments in certain colonies. But can you really blame them? Unless someone CONCLUSIVELY settles question #1, how does a colony really feel safe? If such a guy could go out and kill - one who ostensibly fought for his country and, by all accounts, loved his country, then how do we know for sure of the others? Its not a rhetorical question! Sweeping it under the carpet as many have been doing in the name of Political correctness is a devastating practice!

There are a few issues that I think need to be noted in this context and addressed seriously:

Pan-Islamism: This is a screwed concept. For some reason without any affiliation, a person sitting in a small village in Pakistan gets enough passion to kill for someone in Palestine! Now, how or why a guy in Palestine is getting killed is a complicated explanation. Reasons for that occur at many levels and many parties are involved in that.. but for the guy in the village in Pakistan, the narrative is "One Dimensional" and so is the decision.

Flawed Victim Narrative: There is no such thing as victimization of Muslims by other people specifically. If someone slaps you, it is because you let him! If the countries in Middle East are being ruled by impotent bastards then it is because the Middle Eastern citizens deserve NO BETTER! If Pakistan's leaders are to be considered flunkies of US, then that is because it is part and parcel of the Pakistani psyche!

It is time that Muslim world starts taking responsibility for its own state. Enough... honestly.. is Enough!

And, btw, no matter how victimized they feel, they STILL HAVE NO INHERENT RIGHT to go and kill innocents! Narrative needs an overhaul.. and at the most fundamental level!

Reference Links:

1. Troubling portrait emerges of Fort Hood suspect
2. Cousin of shooting suspect says family is shocked

What's in a name? Everything we choose!!

D Kapoor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:59:52 -0500

I am Desh who lived in Delhi. Now, the professors from some top business schools tell us that this was ordained. That people like the places and things that have their name's letters in their names. From example, Dennis' become dentists, Louises somehow move to Louisiana.

So, maybe cosmos knew my impending name.. so it kind of chose the correct city for me?

People like to even eat and drink and choose brands of everything based on their names. Craigs like Coke, while Peters go for Pepsi.

This phenomenon is due to two things: Implicit Egotism and Valence Transfer

So, in the first stage people select things with their name identification. In the second stage they transfer "value" from just the name to its attributes - like taste. This Valence Transfer is somehow really strong.

The question is how can we use this in business? Maybe one can look in one's target customer segment and look for the highest represented names in that population and use the words from those names in the brand name itself. Chances are, according to this research, that Egotism and Valence Transfer will do the trick.

Reference Links:

Name-Letter Branding

1984 Delhi massacres: The week that was (Part III)

D Kapoor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:13:39 -0500

Today we bring the third part of the series on the 1984 massacres. The experience is from a friend named Sanjay.

======== =========

I have a story of loot and violence, but no loss of life. I was in BHU doing engineering that time. Some organised groups of goondas used force to enter shops, houses, and other Sikh establishments, looted and put on fire. I was an eye witness to one of those.

The force was so blatant that it could be controlled only by shoot-out. I guess the police was told to keep quite, as there was no sign of them all over.

What I saw was mere display of hatred and greed, where people simply took it as an opportunity to settle the scores.

Some of the violence was foolishly invited by Sikhs by displaying jubilation and boasting after the news of Indira's death came in. People were obviously enraged with Sikh militancy, but that was no reason to victimize a lot of innocent civilians of the same community. But then, everything is not logical that happens.

Here is one of my personal account: Just outside BHU campus gate, there were two shops owned by Sikhs - Punjab Stationery Mart, and Shankar Provision Store. I used to buy engineering drawing material from the first one, and never visited the latter, as obviously I ate at the hostel mess.

At 4 pm, when I went down to the market, I could feel a lot sensation all over, as if something is due. The Sikh brothers of Punjab Stationery Mart were standing outside their shop, and touching their crouches to adjust their belts on their bellies, and literally intoxicated at the news of Gandhi's assassination.

They were talking to their friends - see what happens if someone takes a panga with us. I didn't care much as I thought it is their day to vent out. I came back from the market after half hour.

Then we learnt about massive violence in market about 6 pm, and we reached back to see what is going on. (Guess we were silly in those days (20 years old) as it never occur to us that we shouldn't be going where violence is going on, instead we were like too sure of ourselves and wanted to take a look).

The Punjab Stationery Mart was completely burned down, all material thrown and smoke coming out. One rickshaw-wala told me that just one hour back a bunch of enraged people beat up the Sikh brothers when they lit up some fire crackers. Then the crowd burned the same crackers in their shop and ran away.

On the other hand, the other store fellow was an extremely courteous person, but his shop was fuming too with oil and grains burning. We saw a bunch of kurta dhoti guys looting the shop and burning it with wood mashaals. The poor chap got crushed for just being a Sikh. At least in Varanasi, the word of mouth was that some Sikhs were celebrating the assassination, which led to violence against a lot of people without discrimination.

I am sure the experience in other places would be different.

Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis

D Kapoor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:13:21 -0500

The energy issue is very confusing, and frankly, most of us will never catch up with the experts on all the details. Still, there are some basic facts that are good to know. Do you know them?

True or false? When it comes to global warming and air pollution, nuclear power is one of the most dangerous forms of energy.

Not true. The accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island left lots of people worried about nuclear plant safety, but if you're worried about climate change, nuclear power is one of the least dangerous forms of energy we have. Generating electricity from nuclear power releases virtually no carbon dioxide (the major green house gas) into the atmosphere, and it doesn't cause air pollution either.28 Small amounts are emitted during mining and processing the uranium (you need uranium for nuclear power) and in other related activities, but it's nearly impossible to do anything from start to finish without releasing some green house gases. Experts say the carbon dioxide released in these associated activities puts nuclear power roughly on a par with wind or hydroelectric power.29 Like every form of energy we've discovered so far, nuclear power does have drawbacks, but global warming isn't one of them. The big drawback to nuclear power is that the leftover waste, the spent fuel, has to be stored very, very carefully, and it lasts a really, really long time. Even so, nuclear power is widely used in Europe and Japan, and despite the controversies about it, it supplies 19 percent of electricity in the United States -- enough electricity to keep air conditioners, TiVos, and iPods going in California, New York, and Texas.30 Scientists are working on other ways to dispose of nuclear waste, including recycling it into the nuclear power plant itself, but the problem hasn't been solved yet.31 See Chapter 9 for a more complete discussion of the pros and cons of relying more on nuclear power, including the safety issues.

True or false? ExxonMobil, BP, and Chevron control nearly half of the world's known oil reserves.

Not even close. In fact, none of the big multinational oil companies we complain about so often even makes the top ten list. So who's controlling the lion's share of the world's oil reserves?

The national oil company of Saudi Arabia (Saudi Aramco) has the most oil reserves, followed by the national companies of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Venezuela, Libya, Nigeria, China, and Lukoil, the largest oil company in Russia. ExxonMobil comes in at number 13, BP at 15, and Chevron/Texaco at number 20.32 Congress likes to have the corporate heads of the major oil companies appear in hearings so our elected representatives can have their fifteen minutes of fame asking tough questions about gas prices, but in many ways, the big multinationals such as ExxonMobil have much less control over the country's oil situation than they once did.

Which country is guiltiest when it comes to releasing green house gases into the atmosphere, the United States or China?

It's a trick question because, frankly, the United States and China are running neck and neck for worst greenhouse gas polluter in the world.33 There are several ways to look at this, and none of them exactly puts the United States in the clear. Global warming is caused by the accumulated green house gases in the atmosphere (carbon dioxide and its brethren). Since the United States got a head start (we started using large quantities of coal about the time of the Civil War), our country alone is responsible for about 29 percent of the total accumulated gases, compared to just 8 percent for China.34 Then there's the per person measure. In 2005, each American gushed out about 20 metric tons of carbon dioxide, compared to about 5 metric tons for each person in China.35 But China has a billion more people than we do, and they are building and manufacturing and transporting like crazy there now. If the average Chinese person begins emitting greenhouses gases at the same rate as the average American, it will just wallop the environment. As of now, China is producing about 21 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions.36 Bottom line? The United States and China need to stop pointing fingers at each other. Both our countries really need to get with the plan.

Who sets the price for a barrel of crude oil?
A. OPEC
B. Oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco
C. The U.S. Department of Energy
D. The New York Stock Exchange
E. None of the above

The answer is none of the above. The price is actually set by bidding, buying, and selling on major commodities trading exchanges in New York, London, and Singapore.37 These are different from the stock market, but they operate in a similar way. Basically, traders buy and sell all day at the best price they can get, which is why the price for a barrel of oil goes up and down so much and generally changes daily.38 That doesn't mean that OPEC and other oil producers have no impact on prices. As OPEC itself puts it, member countries "do voluntary restrain their crude oil production in order to stabilize the oil market and avoid harmful and unnecessary price fluctuations."39 In other words, they calculate how much they're willing to pump based on the price they want to get. One of the disputes about oil that erupts from time to time is the degree to which the OPEC countries are producing as much as they can or whether they are holding back. (You can read more about what affects the price of oil in Chapter 6.) On the other hand, since the oil is theirs to extract and sell, it's also fair to ask whether, from their point of view, they should produce as much as they can as quickly as they can, or whether they want to preserve some of their countries' natural resources for the future.

What percent of the world's known oil and natural gas reserves are in the United States? A. About 20 percent B. 10 to 20 percent C. 5 to 10 percent D. Less than 5 percent

In area, the United States is the world's third-largest country; only Russia and Canada have more territory than we do.40 Unfortunately that doesn't mean we control a substantial share of the world's oil and natural gas reserves. According to 2008 estimates, the United States has about 2.4 percent of known world oil reserves and about 3.6 percent of natural gas reserves.41 These are figures for the "known" or "proved" reserves -- that is, geologists actually know the stuff is there -- so more exploration could definitely up those numbers a tad. However, as we mentioned earlier, many experts believe that the remaining U.S. supplies of both oil and natural gas are in less convenient places and less convenient forms (such as tar pits). That means they'll be costlier to extract. Just to make your day, would you like to know that Iran, which is tiny in comparison with the United States, has more than four times as much oil42 and natural gas as we have?43

True or false? As long as global warming doesn't increase world temperatures more than 5 or 10 degrees, the effects will be easily manageable.

Not according to the climatologists who worry about global warming. In 2007, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change summed up the judgment of scientists worldwide predicting that average global temperatures will rise 3.5 to 8 degrees by the year 2100.44 It sounds minor. After all, most of us would be hard pressed to say whether the temperature was 70, 75, or 80 on a nice spring day. But sustained changes like this over time cause glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise. People living near water, especially poor ones in poor countries, can be displaced, and miserable, disease-carrying microbes can flourish. It changes what crops you can grow where, which can cause serious economic and social upheaval. In 2008, the U.S. government released a report summing up the scientific consensus on what climate change could mean here in the United States.45 Among the conclusions: it is "very likely" that "abnormally hot days and nights and heat waves" will be more frequent, increasing the number of people who die from heat-related causes, especially the elderly, frail, and poor. The report warned that "climate change can also make it possible for animal-, water-, and food-borne diseases to spread or emerge in areas where they had been limited or had not existed." Lyme disease and West Nile virus are two examples mentioned.46 As we said before, there are a lot of good reasons to revamp the country's energy policies, and global warming is only one of them. But if you'd like to see exactly what the scientists are worried about, you might want to check out NASA's "Eyes on the Earth" interactive global time line showing the changes in sea levels and the polar ice cap that scientists are already observing. It's at www.nasa.gov/multimedia/mmgallery/index.html.

NOTES

28 EIA Kids Page, "Nuclear Energy (Uranium), Energy from Atoms," www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/non-renewable/nuclear.html.

29 International Atomic Energy Agency, "Nuclear Power Worldiwde: Status and Outlook," State News Service, September11, 2008, www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/PressReleases/2008/prn200811.html.

30 EIA Kids Page. "Nuclear Energy (Uranium), Energy from Atoms."

31 See, for example, Global Nuclear Energy partnership, www.energy.gov/media/GNEP/06-GA50035b.pdf.

32 Based on an analysis by Pricewaterhouse Coopers presented at the 2005 Global Energy, Utilities and Mining Conference, November 16-17, 2005, http://www.pwc.com/extweb/industry.nsf/docid/49f2db1ed1eb0236852571c6005adc63/$file/tom-collins-noc-presentation-for-web-site.pdf. This Analysis and others are available at the Energy information Administration's Web page" Energy-in-Brief: Who Are the major Players Supplying the World Oil Market?" accessed April 2, 2009, http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energy_in_brief/world_oil_market.cfm.

33 EIA, www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/tableh1co2.xls.

34 World Resources Institute, Navigating the Number: Greenhouse Gas Data and International Climate Policy, http://pdf.wri.org/navigating_numbers_chapter6.pdf.

35 EIA, "Frequently Asked Questions -- Environment: How Much co2 Does the United States Emit? Is It More Than Other Countries?" updated August 14, 2008, http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/ask/environment_faqs.asp#greenhouse_gases_defin....

36 EIA, Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Report: U.S. Emissions in a Global Perspective, Report #DOE/EIA-0573, December 3, 2008, www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/index.html.

37 OPEC, "Frequently Asked Questions: Does OPEC Set Crude Oil Prices?" www.opec.org/library/FAQs/aboutOPEC/q20.htm.

38 www.nymex.com/CL_spec.aspx.

39 OPEC, "Frequently Asked Questions: Does OPEC Set Crude Oil Prices?"

40 CIA, The World Factbook 2008www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html.

41 BP, Statistical Review of World Energy, 2009. http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/re....

42. Ibid.

43 Ibid.

44 See, for example, www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/science/earth/02cnd-climate.html.

45 National Science and Technology Council. Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States, Report of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resource, May 29, 2008. www.climatescience.gov/Library/scientific-assessment.

46 Andrew C. Revkin, "Under Pressure, White House Issues climate Change Report," New York Times, May 30, 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/washington/30climate.html?_r=us&oref=slogin.

The above is an excerpt from the book Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis by Scott Bittle & Jean Johnson. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Scott Bittle, co-author of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis, is executive editor of PublicAgenda.org, where he has prepared citizen guides on more than twenty major issues including the federal budget deficit, Social Security, and the economy. He is also the website director for Planet Forward, an innovative PBS program designed to bring citizen voices to the energy debate.

Jean Johnson, co-author of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis, is co-founder of PublicAgenda.org, and has written articles and op-eds for USA Today, Education Week, School Board News, Educational Leadership, and the Huffington Post Website.

For additional energy resources and supplemental material, please visit www.whoturnedoutthelights.org

Links for 2009-08-19 [Digg]

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Miss Universe 2009
Watch the slideshow of the contestants in Swimwear.