So... Why not?

If the argument for switching to renewable energy sources ASAP was...

"to sever our dependence on oil from the Middle East and save Americans money, while simultaneously making urban air safer and easier to breathe"

...would it then be easier to agree with/to?

No one can truly prove positively that man is affecting the climate. The best evidence currently available seems to show that this is the case, but again, we've only really got computer models based on information gathered in the past few centuries. Beyond that it's based on inferences.

But here's my question... Since we CAN create enough energy to sustain our lives as we are living them today by wind and solar power alone... why not do it?

The development of a "green" industry based in the United States would create a niche industry, employ millions of Americans, and give us an advantage in relation to the rest of the world...

...just like the Industrial Revolution did in the late 1800's and early 1900's...

...just like our military industrial complex did after WWI and WWII...

...just like our pharmaceutical and medical industry did in the middle of the 20th century...

...just like our computer and technology industry did in the late 20th century.

If we don't find some niche industry to excel at every couple of decades, our economy WILL grow stagnate as the rest of the world catches up to us.

We've been a super power for most of the past 200+ years mainly because of our ability to stay ahead of the game... by spotting or starting the next big trend in the global economy...

The "green" revolution to shift to renewable energy and reduce the amount of waste we create (and subsequently have to live in) IS the next big revolution... it's already started on a global scale. If we don't lead the charge, we'll be buying our green goods and services from the next global super power to attain the status of the former Soviet Union.

And that's not change that we can believe in.

The new age of reading

About a year or two ago I realized that some of my projects at work were quite tedious and had me falling asleep at my desk... sadly this is a side effect of working with databases all day long.

To help keep me awake, and to occupy the right side of my brain, I started listening to radio programs from around the country, most of which I could download and play at my leisure. Having exhausted many of my chosen programming, I got an idea...

why not listen to an audiobook while working???

So I signed up for an account with Audible (since they were offering 3 free books to try the service for one month) and I've been hooked ever since. I'm not currently working on the projects that were putting me to sleep, so I'm not listening to the books at work anymore.

Now I use them to enhance my commute to work, flights to exciting destinations and sometimes long roadtrips if I'm by myself. My commute takes me about 20-30 minutes each way each day. I walk much of it, and Metro the rest. Most of the books I listen to are between 8 and 30 hours long... so I'm usually finishing a book every 2 weeks. I figure it's about the best use of my time... might as well learn while walking to work, right?

I read books on paper, too... don't get me wrong, but I'm able to plow through 2x or 3x more books if I listen to many of them and read a few of them. Plus, my mp3 player is a lot easier to 'lug' around than a book or two every day.

I was chatting with an old friend from high school recently and we were discussing her night terrors. It seems that although night terrors can't currently be cured, reducing stress in one's life tends to severely diminish the frequency of the beatings your husband or wife will take while you're both asleep.

From our discussion I determined that her commute to work (thanks to wonderful city traffic) seemed to be the most stressful part of her life. So I suggested an audiobook for the commute. Her minivan (a necessity for a suburban mother) had a radio had an mp3 input jack, so it was cake. Download the book from the internet service to the mp3 player, plug it into the car, relax and learn on the way to work. It was brilliant!!

Since she started, she's been reporting a MUCH lower number of night terrors... Maybe it's not scientific, but I'll take that as proof that audiobooks can improve people's lives on multiple levels.

Anyway, as I finish my audiobooks, I'll post a short review of both the contents of the book, and the quality of the audio version... sound like something you'd be interested in reading about?