Thursday, December 6, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
LA County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., et. al.
The Supreme Court is hearing an interesting case today involving the Los Angeles County Flood Control District and the Natural Resources Defense Council. The case was originally brought to the Supreme Court "to decide whether the Clean Water Act’s permitting requirements apply when someone channels water from one part of a river to another through a concrete channel or similar flood control mechanism" (Analysis by Kevin Russell). However, both parties have since agreed the answer to be no. It seems as if the Supreme Court was not expecting the turn of events that have occurred since granting certiorari. Interestingly enough, in the analysis by Kevin Russell, he states that the Court "likely would not have granted [cert.] to decide standing alone," which is currently what both parties seem to be asking for. Should be interesting to see what happens.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Taking a Stand Against Doping
After reading an interesting perspective on doping from the Poli Tick'n Pundit, I feel that another angle should be analyzed in reply:
Taking a Stand
At this moment, the Earth’s
permafrost is melting, yet most people don’t realize the danger this poses. The
melting of the permafrost will only lead to a further acceleration in climate
change.
Permafrost is known to have gas
methane trapped within it. We also know that methane is one of the worst
greenhouse gases. As permafrost melts, large quantities of methane will be
spewed into the atmosphere, further warming our climate. The continued warming
will in turn further melt the permafrost and a positive feedback cycle will
ensue.
This week, delegates from nearly
200 countries are meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha to lay the framework
for a potential deal that could cut greenhouse gas emissions, with the goal of
ensuring that world temperatures do not rise more than two degrees above what
was recorded in preindustrial times. “Temperatures have already risen about 1.4
degrees Fahrenheit according to the latest report by the IPCC
[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change].”
Talks such as these have been going
on for decades. Typically, the talks and the chance for any deal breaks down
when rich and poor countries are pitted against each other. The rich countries
are trying to ensure that any deal doesn’t affect their economy or industries.
The poor countries are looking for help from the rich countries to offset the
costs of implementing such emissions controls. Everyone is looking out for
their own pocketbook rather than opening their eyes to what is occurring with
our planet.
The current talks are further
complicated by the fact that delegates are trying to determine whether
developed nations will agree to an extension of the Kyoto Protocol, which is a
legally binding emission reduction agreement that would be in effect until 2020.
While Kyoto once included all industrialized countries except the United
States, today there is a chanced that only the European Union, Australia, and
some smaller countries would be signatories. These countries combined account
for less than 15 percent of global emissions. While their commitment is not
insignificant, it is only a drop in the bucket. And the United States’ offer to
cut its emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 is still a far cry
from cuts needed to stem the tide of climate change. Furthermore, the US offer
isn’t even legally binding.
But the United States isn’t the
only country at fault here. Developing countries like India and China have
failed to make any significant efforts to cut their emissions. They argue that
the poverty plaguing their countries necessitates that they focus on building
their economies first to improve the standard of living of their citizens. Then
they can tackle the environmental threat. But in the meantime, increased
emissions will just be the cost of doing business as they try to eliminate
their countries’ poverty.
The
question is when will everyone be ready to fully commit. In 2020, when Kyoto
expires? Or will it be much later? Despite the evidence that climate change is
only worsening and the threat growing, the pressure to finally take this threat
seriously and do something is still lacking. Just this week, in conjunction
with the Doha meeting, the World Meteorological Organization, the United
Nations’ weather agency, released its annual report on the effects of climate change.
The report highlighted that not only did the world see record-breaking weather
events, including droughts affecting huge portions of the United States,
Russia, and Europe, and floods affecting west Africa, a chunk of Artic ice,
bigger than the United States, melted this year. The rate at which the ice in
the region is melting is alarming and clearly illustrates the immediate threat
of climate change.
Something
needs to be done. The proof is there. The delegates in Doha need to act
responsibly and commit to cutting emissions. The world needs to make a dent in
emissions or the prevalence of droughts, flooding, and ice melt are only going
to worsen. The delegates in Doha need to take a stand.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Old Fashion Manners
The world round there is a desire for the return of old fashion
manners to our everyday lives. Bad manners have crept into our daily behavior
as our lives have become increasingly digital, and as a result, impersonal. The
fast-paced, digital world, we currently live in has caused us to lose sight of
the formalities of personal interaction, much cherished in simpler times. Basic
etiquette has been eroded even in situations that call for us to make a good
first impression or to be on our best behavior. A recent study
conducted by an Irish dating website found that 59 percent of Irish daters
consider bad manners a turn off on a first date, meaning that men and women
aren’t even trying to make that good first impression when it counts. We’ve
forgotten how to try to put our best selves forward and how to show basic
respect to those we interact with. We must not forget our roots. The importance
is not so much in the action itself, but rather the respect the action
signifies.
Gone are
the days when you would see a man stand up when a woman comes to and leaves a
table. Last night while dinning with friends, a woman left the table. Not
thinking, I stood up as I was raised to do. My friends stared at me with
confusion wondering why I was leaving when the meal had just begun. It was then
that I realized these old fashion manners, which were so important in years
past, had been forgotten as our society has become less personal. And more
importantly, the respect behind these actions has been forgotten as well.
Whether it
be standing when a woman leaves a table or holding the door open, these actions
are about acknowledging another person’s presence as they come and go from our
lives. In this modern society, we are satisfied with a text message or e-mail.
We have slowly progressed—or rather regressed—in a world that has become
increasingly digital and impersonal.
Prior to the infestation of these
digital tools—from computers to cellphones—we had to make an effort to keep in
touch with friends. Get-togethers and letters—tasks that required physical
effort and a certain adherence to social constructs—were required to keep
personal relationships thriving. With the advent of the telephone, maintaining
relationships became easier, albeit less personal. Now even talking on the
phone is considered by some to be too much of a hassle. Text messaging, e-mail,
Facebook, and now even Twitter have become the new, everyday forms of
communication. With each new communication technology, the amount of human
contact we engage in, as well as the effort we put in to such contact, has
dwindled and with it the ability to acknowledge and respect another’s presence
in our lives.
We have
even come to the point when these old fashion manners are looked down upon,
despite the fact that, at their core, they are just a show of respect. When
asked why I had stood up, I answered because a lady had left the table. I was
greeted with a sea of bewildered and judgmental looks. My action was perceived
as outdated and out of place in this casual gathering.
Despite this judgment from my
peers, I believe it was the right and necessary thing to do and I will continue
to do it as a sign of respect. Yes, it was how I was raised. These behaviors
are ingrained, and ones of which I am proud. These old fashioned manners have
been around for centuries, but only recently have we started to judge them as
outdated. There is a reason they endured through time and across cultures.
Perhaps we should take a moment and ponder this fact, and ask ourselves if we
are right in letting technology rewrite the rules of engagement.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Heat waves
When one thinks of a heat wave one does not think of a
catastrophic super storm with the ability to kill tens of thousands. Yet,
recent heat waves have been just that—lethal forces of nature that have ended
tens of thousands of lives prematurely. The reason for this is a lack of
infrastructure in affected areas. One of the best examples of this destructive
force is the European heat wave in the summer of 2003.
“Officials struggled to keep an accurate count of the dead.
But a tally of government records estimate the death toll from between twenty
to thirty-five thousand people—the majority dying in the hottest period during
the first two weeks in August. “[i]
The hardest hit age group was the elderly. France lost “more than 14,000 of it
mostly elderly population in the unrelenting heat recorded as high as 104
degrees—temperatures that didn't cool down even at night.”[ii]
This was the hottest summer recorded in the northern hemisphere. Clearly heat
waves, such as the aforementioned, are incredibly dangerous for the elderly and
those in weak health.
What is most alarming is that scientists believe that events
like this heat wave will become more commonplace as we see our climate change. Science
has shown that as we continue to emit more greenhouse gases these summers will
double in likelihood. Climate models suggest that by 2050 summers like this
would occur every second year and by the end of the century they would be
regarded as a cool summer.[iii]
As these heat waves become more common they will have huge
effects on our environment. These effects include the soil losing moisture,
which will bring about droughts and dust bowls—killing crops and livestock. These
will have massive effects on the local and global economy and food availability.
Not only do these severe heat waves pose an issue for our
environment, but also we are clearly going to face issues with at risk groups
living in regions affected by these severe storms. As Europe continues to have
extremely warm summers, infrastructure needs to be put in place to protect the
elderly and those in failing health; or, those considered to be in these at
risk groups are going to have to leave Europe in search of a moderate climate.
Europe has a huge elderly population, where will these environmental refugees
go? How will this mass exodus affect the environment of the relevant area to
which they immigrate? These are the questions we should be asking ourselves
when we consider possible solutions to this issue.
Also consider, should these at risk groups not have the
infrastructure in place to protect themselves from these heat waves nor have
the ability to leave Europe; being ill or elderly would become a death sentence
during the summer months. Losing twenty to thirty-five thousand lives each
summer due to extreme heat is unacceptable. I submit that it is societies duty
to take care of these at risks groups. It is for this reason that emergency
plans need to be created and implemented at the national level in each European
nation. It must be, at least, three fold; first, plans must be put into effect
to ensure that residences have adequate infrastructure (I.E. air conditioning,
etc.) to ensure a moderate climate during these heat waves, second, should a
residence become uninhabitable a community center should be created which has
the ability to maintain a moderate climate; lastly, a specialized task force,
that is specially designed to assist with those who are ailing from these
extreme weather events, must be created.
It is true that issues like these will not be solved easily,
nor can we say with certainty that there even is a solution to these problems. By
no means is my plan a perfect; however, it is a good starting point. These
severe storms have already been put into motion through the continued emission
of greenhouse gases in our global past. We will see climate change manifest
itself. The question is to what extent and how can we mitigate the risks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Competing at an elite level for many years, I know that the temptations are there. I have seen the careers of some of my close friends end because they were caught doping in some way. I can attest that there is nothing pretty about it. Yes, Lance Armstrong was able to get away with it during his time of competition, but now he is a disgrace. In being striped of all his titles he has essentially accomplished nothing in his entire athletic career. He will be remembered throughout the ages, this is true, but he will be remembered in infamy rather than with admiration and respect.
As an athlete, I could not even begin to think how disgraced and ashamed I would feel if everything I had trained so long and hard for meant nothing.
When an athlete decides to use a performance enhancing drug, they are no longer competing as themselves, but rather as a fake, synthetically enhanced mutation of what they could have been. While they may reap the short-term benefits those achievements do not belong to them, but rather they belong to the drug they were on. When looking back at their career they will see that everything they spent their lives training for has amounted to nothing, and as such, they have amounted to nothing.
As far as I am concerned, anyone using an illegal substance should be banned permanently. At the core of sportsmanship are the morals of honesty, integrity, hard work, and fair play. This is what makes the Olympics the pinnacle and highest honor of an athletes career. This is why athletic events, like the Olympics, have the ability to mend war torn nations and to bring together peoples, under the name of fair play, who have been fighting for years. If we allow for these core principles to be done away with, no matter what level of competition, then we are shooting ourselves in the foot. We are saying that it is okay to cheat and lie in life and I for one will not allow for these morals to be taught to my children.