New leaked documents reveal just how complex of an issue President Obama’s use of drones
in Pakistan has become. For years, America has been launching drone strikes in Pakistan
with the consent and help of the Pakistani government, but this teamwork took place behind
closed doors. Meanwhile, the same officials who worked with the CIA to target Pakistani
militants would turn around and publicly denounce the strikes to appease the people of Pakistan
- people who want their government to keep them secure, but are extremely skeptical of
the United States’ role in the region, especially after the Osama Bin Laden raid. But that operation
- in which the US military flew multiple helicopters an hour into Pakistani territory, conducted
an hour-long raid right next to the country’s elite military academy, and then flew back
over the border into Afghanistan without setting off any of the country’s national security
alarm bells, confirmed that the Pakistani government is largely inept and unable to
maintain security over its own country. The assassination of Presidential candidate Benazir
Bhutto in 2008 also confirmed these doubts. All of this breeds distrust between the people
and their government and makes it understandable why the government would make it seem like
they have nothing to do with President Obama’s drone strikes.
A brand new study proves that the current warming trend in the Arctic Ocean is unprecedented
in more than 44,000 years. This is a huge story because climate change deniers love
to point to the earth going through a “natural warming” period as the cause for the extreme
rises in temperature we’re seeing. They are, of course, wrong, but their ignorance
is based on the fact that there was a natural warm period - called the Holocene Thermal
Maximum ... about 5-10,000 years ago. But now - thanks to this study - we have the first
direct evidence that Arctic temperatures in the last 100 years exceeded the peak warmth
of that earlier thermal maximum despite being exposed to 9% less solar energy. And here’s
the kicker: the earth was cooling before we started to really mess with it: arctic temperatures
cooled by about 5 degrees Fahrenheit from 5,000 years ago up to about 1900, but then,
the industrial revolution kicked in - the whole planet fell in love with electricity
and all the benefits that came with it - and the car and all the benefits that came with
that - and we started churning out ridiculous amounts of CO2 emissions (or greenhouse gasses
as their also known) into the atmosphere. We ended this cooling period, and temperatures
began to rise to the ever-increasing levels they’re at today--levels that are causing
the glaciers in the arctic ocean to melt, warming the sea and creating a much more volatile
climate. This is the truth. This argument is over. It’s time for a drastic, global
lifestyle change.
The good news is that we know we can make this change because we’re already starting
to. Data released this week by the US Government’s Energy Information Administration shows how
moving away from coal fired power plants is reducing our Carbon emissions. You see that
in 2009, carbon emissions fell off a cliff - because overall consumption was way down.
They jumped back up during the recovery, but then began to drastically fall again over
the last 2 years thanks to the emergence of natural gas. Now there are a lot of drawbacks
to natural gas - like how we get it - fracking - can cause groundwater contamination and
earthquakes, but if it is capable of precipitating this level of CO2 emissions drop off, it might
be for the greater good. I think President Obama is right when he says that natural gas
can be the bridge between the really dirty energy sources of yesterday and the super
clean energy sources of tomorrow.
We need to get to those energies of tomorrow as fast as possible or else more of the planet
could end up looking like Harbin, China. No, that’s not fog, that’s smog. Smog so thick
that the mega-city of 11 million people was ground to a halt when traffic was snarled,
schools had to close and so did the airport. The reading of the amount of particulate matter
in the air with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers reached 1,000. That’s nasty, and way higher
than the 300 level that the World Health Organization deems really hazardous. To try and solve this
problem, China’s State Council has announced that it is banning the construction of new
coal-fired power plants near Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong. This might help a little, but
with over 1,000 coal power plants planned for construction worldwide [use existing power
plant footage] - ¾ of them in India and China - the problem might get a lot worse before
it gets better.
Another challenge to China’s urban smog problem will be this: China has decided to
push ahead with a sweeping plan to move 250 million rural residents into newly constructed
towns and cities over the next 12 years. This will be - by far - the largest mass-migration
in human history and could set off booming growth, or saddle the massive country with
a whole new set of problems for generations. The NY Times has a very informative 2-part
investigative series on this with awesome multimedia, but in short, the Chinese government
is trying to create a consumer base to further drive its economy. It appears China’s leadership
has become obsessed with modernizing and trying to compete with the United States. But they
must be careful and patient in how they go about this or they risk creating brand new
problems out of thin air--like if people can’t find the jobs necessary to support the $19,000
apartments they are being forced to buy, the government may, in-effect, be creating massive
slums with staggeringly high unemployment and homelessness... And a lot of densely populated
cities and towns, with a lot of unhappy people - with a lot more access to each other and
the internet - could sow the seeds for a lot more unrest and insurrection against a government
that feels like it has the right to control everything from the top down. That’s our
comment question of the day: what will come of China’s mass migration?
In the US, we make decisions democratically, at the local and state level. On that note,
8 states have vowed to get 3.3 m zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025
California, New York, Mass, Maryland, Oregon, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont have
all pledged to increase charging infrastructure, roadway signs, and make other changes to buoy
the market for electric cars, hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrids. By
2015, 200,000 zero emission vehicles are expected to be on the road in the US. California’s
mandate of 15.4% zero emission cars on its roads accounts for nearly 1.5 million vehicles,
nearly half of the 2025 goal. As of now, there are 16 zero-emission car
models from eight manufacturers on the market. Nine run on electrically-charged batteries
alone two are hydrogen fuel cell cars, and five are plug-in hybrid models which run on
battery-power alone, or gasoline when the battery is used up. But officials say that
sheer competition will drive every automaker to offer a zero-emissions model by 2015.
The Pope’s getting mad street cred for suspending Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van
Elst - aka - the bishop of bling. The Pope is trying to maintain a humble image: he carries
his own bag when he travels - how many world leaders do you see ever doing that - and refuses
to live in the opulent Vatican papal apartment most Popes are accustomed to, instead choosing
to live in smaller, much more modest quarters. Bishop Tebartz-van Elst, a German Church leader,
on the other hand, became infamous for taking first class flights to India to visit the
poor and recently spending $7.6 million to renovate his home including a $20,000 bath,
$35,000 conference table, and a private chapel that cost $4 million.
Pope Francis has already surprised many by declaring that “I am a sinner” in an interview,
coming out in support of stimulus spending programs by world governments, passing up
on the more expensive popemobile--he’s even chosen to drive a 1984 Renault for short hops
around the Vatican. He offered a much more tolerant tone on homosexuality: saying, “If
someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” He
washed the feet of 12 criminal offenders - including, for the first time, 2 women, one of whom was
a Serbian Muslim. It’s moves like these that are earning the Pope respect from not
only Catholics around the world, but atheists like myself who understand the good that can
come from organized religion, especially when their leaders show an appreciation for their
roles as agents of positive social change. But what else should we expect from a man
who chose his name in honor of the saint known for his devotion to humility and the poor.
After every school shooting, gun enthusiasts clamor for more armed teachers and security
guards in schools across the country. After the Sparks, Nevada shooting this week it was
no different. But just yesterday when well trained sheriff’s deputies mistakenly shot
and killed 13 year old Andy Lopez whose pellet gun they confused with a real Ak-47 ,the notion
that we would give guns to insufficiently trained teachers and security guards, opening
the possibility that they could shoot and kill a kid in a “whoopsy” moment becomes
maddening. The idea of reducing gun violence with more guns does not make any sense. The
only way we’re going to reduce gun violence is if we follow the lead of Japan and Australia
and allow for only those who absolutely need a weapon to get one.