Noö Journey

Time to Help

2007-06-26T23:12:00.000-07:00

2007-06-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

Still Big Brother? Yep.

2007-06-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

"In his address last week, to a conference of historians, [Gen. Micheal] Hayden acknowledged that the papers 'provide a glimpse of a very different time and a very different agency.'"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062607R.shtml

Honestly, what's so different about the CIA now and the CIA then? Still arresting, interrogating, and imprisoning people overseas? Yep. Still tapping people's phones and investigating civil rights protestors? Yep. Still plotting against foreign leaders at the behest of Presidents? Yep. Yep. Still conducting all these operations during an ideologically unsound war? Yep. Still Big Brother? Definitely. Anyone duped by this publicity stunt to believe the CIA has cleaned up its act deserves to be. That's my take anyway.

Vigilence

2007-06-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

After 9/11 the President's men all said,
"we must go to War."
But few thought hard about what we
were really fighting for.
Caught up in the fervor after such
a horrific travesty
The War on Terror became linked
with our Nation's destiny.
To root out evil wherever it reared
its humanless head
To route out all possible terrorists
and kill them dead.
And so many Americans gave of themselves
and some more than they knew
For Afghanistan was just the beginning of
the trouble that was to brew.
But of the citizens and soldiers who volunteered
to risk their lives and go
How much of the murky and sordid history
did they really know?
Were they ever taught in their high school
that back in '68
During the hell that was Vietnam
and before Watergate,
That the CIA covertly backed
an Iraqi coup
Putting Sadam's Baathists in power
and him in as #2?
And did they know in the '80s the U.S.
gave guns and F-16s
To Sadam so he could fight the Shah in Iran
as a go-between?
So, how many do you suppose knew
just that little bit?
Would you still have stepped forward
knowing that shit?
Or would you have dropped your gun
and walked away,
Determined to come to the solution
another way?
Coups never work out the way they are
planned to be.
Why is that so hard for all the people
in America to see?
Because we never look for the truth
until after the fact
And even then we're too busy stabbing
others in the back,
Pointing fingers and saying to each other,
"It's all HIS fault!"
"He promised us loads of the sweetest sugar;
instead we got salt."

So many of us bought into the miriad of lies,
myself included.
But we can't shed all the blame on to others
for ourselves being deluded.
It's our job as the PEOPLE to be vigilent and keep
the government in check.
No one else is going to protect our rights for us;
we have to stand and demand respect.

Thoughts on God and Life

2007-06-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

As time stealthily keeps slipping on by,
People the world over continue to die
From disease, hunger, andlack of shelter
War making the political climate swelter
People keep telling me that it's all part
of God's plan
The tell me all the suffering is just the
condition of Man.
That all the toil, the sweat, the blood
and the tears,
From which he has suffered all of these
long years,
Is his just burden after an untimely fall
from Grace.
And in his mortal shame, he cannot but
hide his face.
And they tell me God is right here, walking
among us;
He could be the man on the street or maybe
one on a bus
Waiting for people to do for Him
a good deed
To recognize of the least of His people
their many needs.
But if a God indeed exists who is so merciful
and true,
Then why does He let all the shit happen to me
and you?
If you were Him, omniscient, and You knew
beforehand
All the pain, suffering, and pestilance that would
plague the land,
Would You still do it the same way? Would You still
create man?
If You knew everything about man, all the hairs
on his head
And You knew for eternity who would be where
when they were dead
And you knew that compared to the billions of people
only a few would chose You
The rest sentenced to eternal damnation in a lake of fire,
what would You do?
Does that sound just to you? Does it sound like we really
have free will
When we are forced to worship the Son of God or be accused of
being evil?
My question then to those of you who would like
to disagree
Is why do I need a God to tell me about the truth
that I see?
Can I not see when my fellow man is troubled
and in need?
For me the joy of helping others has always followed
the deed.
True enough I am not God and in my life
I will surely fail
But a man who died for MY sins and then resurected
is too tall a tale.
But isn't it prideful to believe that of my sins
I can forgive myself?
I can tell you this: the remorse of poor decisions made
is my own personal hell.
And that's the way I believe it always
should be:
Thus the burden to do what is right will
be on me.
Because in the end, it always comes down
to a choice
And in this life we are responsible to find
our own voice.
No matter where you go and whatever
you do,
The decisions are always yours; it is always
up to you.
There may be things in life that are out of
your control
But that doesn't mean some divine being is
watching life unfold.
It's what we each choose to do, all the choices
we make
That rock our boat and leave love or hate
in its wake.
So, whether or not you believe God does
indeed exist,
And live and die hoping to find your name
on His list,
We still have to live out each and
every day;
We still have to struggle and strive to
find our way.
We have to find out what it is that helps us
get along
That makes us whole inside and keeps us
strong,
Find something that teaches each of us
to love
Be it family, mankind, or a good and holy
God above.
But remember that you can find beauty here on Earth
to make your heart sing
And know that you have the strength inside of you to know
and do the right thing.
And when the time comes for us
each to die,
We'll know how well we lived by the way
we feel inside.
So live the best you can for from yourself
you cannot hide.

Global Warming?

2007-04-04T01:07:00.000-07:00

In the past few months, numerous scientific reports have been released documenting the phenomena of global warming. Despite their reputable authors, these reports have recieved criticism from opponents skeptical about human contributions to climate change. Regardless of whether or not global warming is taking place, there are plenty of reasons to curb the use of fossil fuels, namely petroleum, and increase the use of alternative energies like ethanol. So, forget about the validity of global warming for a minute and consider some of the other consequences of our oil "addiction."
Currently, with only 5% of the world's population, the United States uses more than 20 million barrels of oil each day, approximately one-fourth of the world's production. Over half of that amount is imported and roughly 25% comes from the Persian Gulf. According to Milton Copulus, president of the National Resource Defense Council, the true price of these imports when factoring in direct and indirect economic costs, disruptions in oil supply, and military expenditures, currently cost our nation $825.1 billion annually, which if paid at the pump would raise gas prices by $5.04!
The situation will worsen by 2025, when our level of consumption will have risen to nearly 30 million barrels of oil per day, with imports making up as much as 70% of that amount. Over this same period, developing nations around the globe, most notably China and India, will also be increasing their own oil use and world demand will rise from its 2004 level of 84 million barrels a day to 111 million barrels (EIA AEO 4). Supplies are predicted to remain tight, which will increase competition, and considering political situations in oil producing nations like Iran and Venezuela, our dependence on oil makes us extremely vulnerable.
Then there's the pollution. Again, forget about global warming for a minute. According to the EIA, in 2004 the transportation sector produced 33% of the annual U.S. carbon dioxide pollution, which is around a quarter of the entire world's CO2 emissions. 60% of that amount came from burning motor gasoline. Vehicle emissions also produced carbon monoxide pollution, nitrogen oxides, hydrofluorocarbons, as well as other particulate matter that helps to form smog and according to the American Lung Association, 150 million Americans live in urban ares with unhealthy levels of air pollution. This condition is responsible for an estimated 4,000 premature deaths each year and a rise in asthma among children and the elderly.
Finally, to combat the decline of domestic oil production, protected lands and waters are being threatened with oil drilling and the inevitable pollution that follows. For example, in Alaska, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a critical breeding ground for millions of animals and the final 5% of the state's coastline not open to drilling operations, is in jeopardy. Current surveying techniques like 3-D seismic imaging will require an intensive grid-work of roads. Oil spills will contaminate ground water. Trash will increase the populations of predators like foxes and gulls, which in turn will threaten other species' populations. And oil reserves, which are spread over a large region, dramatically increasing the area of impact, will have only a minor effect on reducing dependence on foreign oil, cut the trade deficit by just 15 billion dollars and produce less than 90,000 jobs.

On the other hand, investing in alternative and renewable energies, such as ethanol, will reduce dependence on oil, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and clean up not only the environment, but the image of the U.S. around the world. The authors of "Winning the Oil Endgame," which is a detailed plan of how to eliminate oil dependence by 2050, estimate that by 2025, approximately 9.5 quadrillion BTU per year of ethanol could be provided without a major impact on the current agricultural system. That is the equivalent of 4.6 million barrels of oil a day and would require only an investment cost of $36 dollars per barrel, much cheaper than the current $55 to $60 price of a barrel of oil.
For starters, by 2012, an annual production of 5 billion gallons of ethanol—only 1.8 times larger than production in 2003—would displace 1.6 billion barrels of oil, cut $34 billion from the trade deficit, create 214,000 new jobs, generate $5 billion of new investment, boost farm income by $39 billion, and save the budget $11 billion in farm subsidies.
Another part of the authors' plan includes increasing the efficiency of oil use in the transportation sector by making cars from carbon composite fiber and new steel alloys, all of which are already in existence and much lighter and stronger than materials currently used. Such a move could revitalize the U.S. auto manufacturing industry, giving it back the market edge of previous years.
By any account, it is hard to deny the often negative effects of global industrialization on the Earth's environments. And given the evidence presented, dependence on fossil fuels ought to be a thing of the past. But, rather than hinge the entire argument on the merits of global warming, I challenge anyone who reads this to think of in terms of finding a more sustainable way of life that will preserve the resources of the natural world for our posterity.
Thomas Jefferson wrote that the world belongs to the living, and the dead have neither rights nor power over it. Therefore, a man can only use what can be replenished during his lifetime or he creates a debt to be paid by future generations. If this principle can be thought of as "generational tyranny," then we commit a grave injustice by not doing all that is possible to make the world a healthier place for everyone.

(For a complete Works Cited list, please visit www.noojournal.com and check out my essays in issues 1, 4, and 5.)

Alone

2007-02-14T00:51:00.000-08:00

This night, while we are all safely tucked in our beds
Others sleep on the pavement, a rock for their heads.
Tomorrow no one is likely to give them a hand
All alone on the street corner they'll stand.
They'll watch all the Benzes and Hummers go by
A cup in their hand, perhaps a tear in their eye.
Just clothes and cardboard to chronicle their plight.
No doubt, they'll still be alone come tomorrow night.

War with Iran

2007-02-11T23:58:00.000-08:00

Did I call it or what, not that I like to be right,
But a war with Iran is now in plain sight.
All the makings are there, just like with Iraq:
A dictator with weapons? It's time to attack.
I can hear bush now, my word is that man loud
"the smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud"
So, America, it's crunch time again.
If we go into Iran, you think we will win?
What would happen if an army invaded the U.S. of A?
You think anyone would hesitate to stand in its way?
Now put yourself in the shoes of the people over there.
You think they'll just fall over, you think they won't care?
Oh, we'll bomb them and put our troops on the ground,
We'll get in the humvees and chase them around.
But we'll never beat them by beating them, you see.
You cut off one head, and now you have three.
Three more "fanatics," all willing to die
And then in a flash, it's all gone awry.
Then we'll step up the ante and bring in more men,
And the vicious cycle will start all over again.
There will always be an enemy when you won't sue for peace.
If you can't trust the other guy to stop, when will it cease?

The Human Index

2007-02-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

So now we'll be indexed, the War on Terror's latest.
Mouths swabbed or fingers pricked, entered in as data.
No longer a person, just a long unrounded number.
"Don't worry," they'll say, "it'll be without blunder.
This is the latest sure thing; it'll go off without a hitch.
Anyway, if you haven't been arrested, why do you bitch?
It's just for those who have something to hide.
That's not you, right? So, just let us inside.
After all, you've nothing to fear but fear itself.
Except, perhaps, that your DNA will be on a shelf.
Ready, for when we need to find someone, you see.
Now, be quiet, you hear, and repeat after me:
Criminals are wicked, the scourge of the earth,
We need someway to stop them, so why not at birth?
Just weed out the ones that'd fall on their own.
We can't give them a chance, wait till their grown.
Cut them down now, before they reach their prime,
Trade one life for another; it's all to prevent crime."
So, dear friend, when the time comes, will you get in line?
Or will you stand up for yourself, maybe grow a spine?
The Man is coming for us all, why can't you see?
He's moving right along with the REAL ID.
One card for us all, it's easier to track down
No matter where you live, no matter what town.
One day everything will have gone too far,
No one will be safe, no matter who you are.
Call me crazy, no doubt you already have.
Just another loony; oh, it's too bad.
My only response is to look back at our history.
Always a progression toward central authority.
People will say, "oh it can never happen here.
Not in America; we value our liberty too dear.
We won't give it up, that is not without a fight,"
But your neighbor disappeared only last night.
Drug out of his house for no reason at all,
No chance for a lawyer, not even a phone call.
Flown over to Europe, part of a RENDITION.
His story will never be told on Late Night Edition.
So, just sit and wait, and act like nothing's wrong.
Go plug in your headset to hear the latest pop song.

Fifty Dead in Iraq

2007-01-31T08:52:00.000-08:00

Fifty people died in Iraq yesterday,
No ambulances to haul them all away.
Bodies torn apart by the falling mortar shells,
The survivors now trapped inside living hells.
A holiday, like our Christmas, turned red,
Now a memorial for the living to the dead.
Spilled blood of the victims becomes a battle cry,
Spurring on new violence; more will surely die.
What's to become of the memories of lives lost?
Will monuments be enough, regardless of cost?
What can replace the life held in a beating heart,
Stopped cold before it really had a chance to start?
How can a line be drawn when it is painted in blood?
Peace is the only answer; anything else is just a dud.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

To anyone who reads this blog:

Happy New Year to you! I hope that 2007 will be a good year, one for the books! I mean, now that Sadam Hussein is dead and the Democrats have control of Congress, everything should be peachy keen again, right? Don't listen to that nagging voice in your head that's telling you to move to an uninhabited island and sink your life savings into gold bullion. But if you must, be sure to make a good treasure map so you can find where you buried it. Let me tell you, there's nothing more frustrating than an unlegible or confusing treasure map. I'd also recommend laminating your map to protect it from the elements; but not before you make it look authentic by burning the edges and crumpling it up a bit. Paper from a brown paper bag seems to work the best for that (at least, that's what I used in the third grade). Well, as I said before, I hope 2007 turns out better than the last one. And why shouldn't it be? Fifty bucks says Castro doesn't make it past the fourth of July and we celebrate the sixth anniversary of 9/11 by invading Iran. Happy New Year!

An Evening with Magritte

2006-12-13T23:33:00.000-08:00

The I-5 Parking Lot

2006-12-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

Every morning, noon, day and night,
I-5 and and L.A. traffic is a fright.
Millions of cars stuck on the road,
Drivers in a bubble, waiting to go.
One guy drives a truck, another an SUV,
But everyone's stuck, just like me.
Hit the gas then slam on the brake,
Sooner or later even metal can ache.
Listening to talk shows about nothing at all,
Putting on faces, or taking a call,
Reading the paper or finishing a shave,
Spilling the coffee; it's all in a day.
Taking in fumes not meant to breathe,
But everyone's stuck, no one can leave.
It's not just here, it's not just L.A.
This shit goes on every damn day.
All over the country and maybe the world,
People are trapped, caught up in the swirl.
It's more than sick, if you want to ask me,
That people like to be told just who to be.
Scurrying like ants, first here then there,
Shown what to like, told how to care.
Given orders by those talking heads on T.V.
Who deny that we're slaves, "Oh no, not me."
"Oh no, not me and surely not you either,
Don't pay attention to him; turn us up higher.
Drown out the sounds of a world gone wrong;
Pop in that single of the latest new song.
You know the one, of how we're better than you?
Oh, don't worry; money like ours, you can have too.
Just step on your friends and kiss the right ass,
Jump through the hoops and be the head of the class.
And now that it's Christmas, be in good cheer.
Wear a damn smile; no scrooges in here.
That's better. Are we coming in clear?
Now, invite over friends and drink lots of beer.
Don't think about man who's right outside,
Waiting for heaven, or just a place to hide.
Put on the turkey or ham or even a roast duck,
Forget about the shopping and how you got plucked.
Warm yourself by the stove powered by gas,
Never mind someone Iraq just lost his ass.
Or that his buddies might be goners soon too.
Oh, don't worry, my son, it'll never be you.
Just keep your mouth shut and put your head down.
Keep plugging away, and don't look around.
Anyway, why worry about something you simply can't fix?
We've been trying for years and we know all the tricks,
Of the trade that is, but never you mind.
Just spit out that gum and get back in line."

But that's just my take, you don't have to believe,
That the Man has anything hidden up his sleeve.
Just stay tuned in for the season finale,
And keep away from any dark smelly allies.
That's where trouble starts and it's already brewing.
Read the signs yourself, check the pot for what's stewing.
The richest 1% of America owns a third of its wealth
And people make millions playing with your health.
Sure there are those with good in their heart
Who like to share and see others get a good start
But for every one of those there is a thousand more
Who don't give a damn and treat people like whores.
Oh, there will come a day when it's all turned around,
When the people at the bottom do their own looking down.
But for now we must wait and sit in our cars
Stuck in the dark with no sign of stars.

2006-12-12T07:44:00.000-08:00

I went to a Magritte exhibit in L.A. on Sunday...needless to say from looking at this picture, I had a knee-slapping good time. It got better when my fiance asked me if this is what guys see when they look at women!

2006-12-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

Like Sheep

2006-12-01T13:03:00.000-08:00

While we stand here waiting like sheep
For the Man to open the doors, we sleep.
Unable or unwilling to think for ourselves,
To imagine a better way,
We do as we're told because that is all we know
And anyone who speaks out above the crowd
Is immediately rushed upon, immediately cowed;
Herded into a cell, never to be heard from again;
For the man who comes out is not the one that went in.
So we wait, wait for the day when we'll wait no more
And that day we'll find out what's really in store,
For it is to be expected that we'll be opposed,
Told to be quiet, or we'll be killed, I suppose.
They do not want us to use our own mind,
Just the one they give us to keep us in line.
And like good shepherds, they go after a stray;
They are quick to recover one that loses its way.
For they worry about saftey, but not of the one lost
But of what they protect and defend at any cost.
That is why we wait, with our name tags, ID's, and tickets.
That is why we shut up when we art told to zip it.
Because like the sheep that we are, we love our peace;
We don't want to be shorn, because we'd rather be fleeced.
But there is still hope for all those that care,
For those that want to drink clean water, to breathe pure air.
For we are the people, and are numbers are many
Thus we have the power and they don't have any.
We can decide for ouselves what we think best,
We just have to decide to give up the rest.
Give up the things that we are told by others to want
Things like patriotism, that ghoul which continues to haunt,
Whispering hateful little nothings into our ear,
Making us forget the past by teaching us to fear.
It's not wrong to love a country, but pride comes before a fall,
Respect for all life is more important, the big and the small.
Give up frivolous things like all the Hummers and SUVs,
Give up the Walmarts, McDonalds, and kill your fucking TV.
Stop listening to pop music and play some Bob Marley,
Read a good book for once, take some travels with Charlie.
Above all, think for yourself and free your mind;
Open the door for stangers, learn to be kind.
But don't just stop there, be sure to keep going,
Let's stop being sheep and get this ball rolling.

War is the Enemy

2006-11-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

Last night, I had the fortune of listening to Howard Zinn speak about the role American history, the real American history with all the acts of imperialsim and brutality, should play in the analysis of current government policies. Zinn concluded that in the end, wars and the occupation of foreign lands, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, only lead to greater hostility.
"War is the enemy," Zinn said.
Think about it, if a foreign power tried to occupy the United States, would there be any second thoughts about creating an insurgency to attack said forces? Why should we expect any different from Iraqis or Afghans? And what about "spreading democracy?" I'm curious what will happen in the near future as President Maliki edges away from U.S. influence in his government because as long as he goes along with U.S. directives he loses credibility in the Arab world.

Sadam Was Convicted

2006-11-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

The papers read: Hussein Convicted Today
And all the White House shouts "Hooray!"
"A victory for democracy," they all declare,
While another soldier dies, blown up in a snare.

No one remembers that back in '68,
Before President Nixon's Watergate,
The CIA backed an Iraqi coup
That put Sadam in charge as #2.
Nor do many people seem to recall,
The planes, the bombs, the guns and all,
We gave him to fight against the Shah,
In a war fought badly, bloody and raw.

So, now a man we helped to gain power,
Gets a final meal, clean clothes, and a shower.
What will this prove? Has justice been done?
Will our soldiers come home? Has Iraq been won?
Is it "Mission Accomplished" time yet, Mr. President?
Will you give us speeches again about why we went?
There's been no smoking gun, no mushroom cloud,
Just flag-draped coffins and trumpets playing loud.

Lost Guns?!

2006-10-30T13:43:00.000-08:00

I thought we were in Iraq to stop terrorists, not give them guns! A story in today's NY Times reported that the serial numbers of hundreds of thousands of guns paid for by American tax dollars and shipped to Iraq were not recorded. Of 505,093 individual weapons given to the Iraqi government, serial numbers for only 12,128 of them were recorded. These weapons included rocket propelled grenade launchers, assault rifles, machine guns, shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, and sniper rifles. Granted, only 370,000 of them were paid for by U.S. tax payers and only about 15,000 of them are missing, but try telling that to the parents, siblings, spouses, children, and/or friends of the U.S. soldiers gunned down by their own country's weapons. I'd usually make a wry, sardonic comment at this point, but I'll let the facts do the talking for me.
As someone who supported the war at its outset for the explicit reasons of capturing weapons of mass destruction and deposing Sadam Hussein, this blogger has seen the error of his ways in allowing an equivocating, self-righteous, imperialist government take our country anywhere, let alone to war. This election is a prime example; many Democrats are shifting right, trying to appeal to moderate voters and Republicans are running away from the President. How can we expect an honest, concerted effort to reform not only our own government, but the one being propped up in Iraq, if our officials are running to check the latest polls before every speech? I believe that in all things, we reap what we sow, including politics. If our nation's capitol is besieged by money-grubbing, pork-barrelling politicians and lobbyists, what type of government should we expect in Iraq? So before we go picking at the speck of sawdust in Sadam's eye, we should have pulled the plank out of our own. Instead of bombing Baghdad, we should have figured out what we needed to do here at home first. Now, we're caught like Wylie Coyote in trap of our own design and the shadow of the boulder about to smack us is getting bigger...

Wake Up America!

2006-10-30T09:01:00.000-08:00

I just read an article in the NY Times about the impending energy crisis and need for greater R&D in alternative energy technologies. According to the article, federally funded research for alterniative energy has declined to $3 billion, down from $7.7 billion in 1979. Why in the hell are we going backward? To put our nation's priorities in perspective, spending on military research is now $75 billion and total defense spending in 2006 reached $439 billion. So, instead of exporting solar panels or windmills, we export guns. I guess the proverb about feeding a man once or teaching a man to fish so he can feed himself left out an option: have others do it and kill them with a U.S.-made submachine gun if they refuse. How can we expect to improve our world if we are still playing the same old game? Time to wake up, America. We need to build railroads, solar panels, ethanol stills, and windmills, not bombs!

Conservation of Biomass

2006-10-29T02:23:00.000-08:00

A well known conservationist and entrepenuer, William McDonough, came up with three principles that I think everyone in America and the world should know about.
#1. Waste equals food. If we can eliminate the concept of waste, everything becomes a product that can be consumed, another product to use. By adopting this principle, resources are maximized because the end product can be incorporated back into the system without being refined. Most importantly, this will eliminate pollution and reduce the need for primary resources, allowing nature time to replenish.

#2. Use the current natural income. Nature does not mine capital reserves. Most businesses would suffer by relying only on capital reserves. The same is true for nature. Since the natural world is our ultimate source of income, it does not make sense to abuse resources necessary for the future.

#3. Respect diversity. There are no two places on this earth exactly alike in geography, resources, population, or otherwise. This means that not everyone can reach sustainability in the same way. By allowing people to be innovative in their approach our diversity is maximized to its full potential, which equals respect. For example, the Midwest produces ethanol from corn; in the South, ethanol can be made from leftover cotton residues (stalks, leaves, etc).

Ethanol

2006-10-29T02:21:00.000-08:00

As a student of history, I appreciate irony. For instance, our nation's addiction to oil began in the early 1900s when scientests found blending lead with gasoline was less expensive than ethanol, now touted by many (this blogger included) as part of the answer to our current problem. Another irony is that ethanol production is facing the same critical obstacle now that it did back then.
See, most ethanol in the U.S. is made by corn, though some is also made by waste from the beverage and cheese industries as well as sugar beets and sugar cane. These sources, or feedstocks, are starches that are easily broken down into sugars to be fermented but there is a lot of biomass (stalks, leaves, etc) that is not able to be used because it contains cellulosic carbohydrates.
Right now, I don't know much of the science behind this, but from what I've read in numerous scientific reports (works cited below) cellulose is a more complex carbohydrate and requires a different enzyme to catalyze fermentation. This enzyme, from what I understand, can be manufactured, which is where the irony lay: it is the same enzyme that was put on the shelf in the 1920's! Scientists then were trying to find a way to mass produce this enzyme just as scientists are trying to do the same thing today!
The beauty of unlocking cellulosic ethanol is the regenerating supply of feedstocks. Things like paper, paper pulp, paper sludge, municipal waste, forest residue, corn stalks, cotton gin residues, the cane in sugar cane, and dedicated crops like fast growing poplar trees, switch grass, prarie grass, even hemp; the list goes on. There's one company, Arkenol Fuels in Orange County, CA, that estimates as much as 70% of what ends up in landfills is useful to making ethanol! Imagine what would happen if we could harness such a large source of material!
Ethanol and other biofuels are practical, efficient, and clean sources of energy. Our nation’s future health and safety demand that we find alternatives to fossil fuels and the time has come for citizens everywhere to examine what can be done to develop them.

Sustainability

2006-10-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

We live in a country that has so much potential; it's like how we only use 10% of our brains. If we could use more of that remaining 90% we could really make some changes. And we have to, change, that is. We have to develop a sustainable society.
Thomas Jefferson wrote that the world belongs to the living; the dead have neither rights nor power over it, so a man can only use what can be replenished during his lifetime or he essentially oppresses future generation. I have heard this described as "generational tyranny," and I believe that's exactly what it is.
If we do not think forward seven generations, as Jefferson did, then we are not going to realize the impact that our decisions will have on future posterity. This falls in with what John Stuart Mill says about the limitations of personal rights: my rights stop at the end of my fist and yours starts at the tip of your nose. As long as I am not infringing on someone else's right to exist peacefully, then I am within my own right. But as soon as I start impinging on someone else's liberties, including future generations, I no longer am in the right.
Of course this is subjective, especially in the sue-happy society we live in. This must be dealt with in good faith on both sides; we must have enough respect and tolerance to allow each individual to tread water and keep his/her head above water. We must also consider that future generations have the right to exist or we might as well end all of this now.
That is why we must each take responsibility for how our actions affect the world. To a man, we must conciously dedicate ourselves to the preservation of both human kind and the world in which we exist.
Regardless of whether or not you believe that global warming is happening, no one can honestly deny that man influences his environment. This should become our basline of thought. Coupled with the idea of generational tyranny, this line of thinking will allow us to examine current standards, use of resources, and individual responsibility. If enough of us can coordinate and put into practice ideas like these (I have no illusions of being omniscient) then we have a real opportunity to make things better.
I truly believe that we are in the midst of another industrial revolution, one that will propel us forward in ways never imagined. But we must be open to that change. There will always be a lingering luddite mentality, that somehow the past was better than the future. But isn't memory just as maleable as a belief in the future? There is truly no time to sit and be consumed by academic debates on this subject. Each of us must begin now, learning, finding ways to improve their community, or we will not be able to capitalize on the incredible system and resources we have that facilitate rapid change and response to demand. The time has come for action; people of America, unite!

Grossed out

2006-10-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

There was a woman on the train today that was picking her nose. "Picking" is the wrong word. She ought to have called PG&E to find out if there were any buried cables or gas lines in there. She was facing me with her head against the glass and her eyes closed, with her finger in her nostril, rotating it around like a radar, searching for something to pull out. I thought about saying to her something my dad would say; something like, "pick me a winner," or, "that's about as funny as a terd in a punch bowl," but I didn't. Instead, I pulled out "The Sound and the Fury" and held it up higher than normal so I couldn't see her. But I couldn't read. I kept moving the book over just enough to see if she was still doing it. She'd stop for a minute but then her finger would get sucked right back like it was pulled by a magnet or as if her nose was a giant Hoover or a wet/dry shop vac like the one my dad has in his garage that always falls over if you pull it by the hose. Still holding my book, I remembered a Shel Silverstein poem about a creature inside noses that bites off fingers. I was six when my mom read that to me and I was 10 when I stopped believing it was true. I wished her mom had read that poem to her when she was a kid. The squealing brakes on the train woke her up and I looked back at my book as she left her seat and got off the train. Even after she was gone I still couldn't read, and suddenly I felt my nose begin to itch....

2006-10-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

Family, friends, traveling, reading, photography, writing, fishing... in that order.