Musings on our Earth

Stumble It!

So what had happened was Chris and I drove to Minneapolis for an interview I had with a doctoral program. No, I'm not moving to Minneapolis. I don't know if I'll get in. I don't find out until next week. Signs that look good: if you are applying to a program in critical pedagogy, it's probably a good idea to know how to pronounce the word pedagogy. I knew this. Many did not. Nor did another woman know how to pronounce the word "wholly", choosing instead to say it as "wally". Ma'am, the "w" is silent. If you want to add "Dr" to the front of your name, basic reading skills are a prerequisite. I find out next Thursday.

Since we spent a substantial amount of time in the car, we also got to listen to a lot of the radio. Things I learned: Rush Limbaugh apparently believes that if the government forces you to use compact florescent light bulbs (which, why would you want to use a CFL, since they end up saving you three times the cost of the bulb? Why would you want to use something that saves money and produces less fossil fuel emissions? God, I HAVE MY RIGHTS, AND THAT INCLUDES DESPERATELY CLINGING ONTO OUTDATED, INEFFICIENT TECHNOLOGY. And owning semi-automatic rifles) then they will ultimately make you give up your air conditioners, and CFLs won't really help save the environment, because you only use them at night. Huh? What? Also, installing CFLs will probably bankrupt senior citizens and the impoverished, two groups that Limbaugh is ALWAYS looking out for. God, thanks, Rush. It seems like my whole life has been a lie... No really, this is really what he said.

Also, in related awesome ignorance, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas, of course) the leading Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in an interview that global warming will actually help people in Russia (his example, not mine) and cold climates because they'll have a longer growing season. Uh, yeah, the densely-populated Arctic regions (who, by the way, have built their entire way of subsistence on the fact that it is COLD where they live) will benefit, so we should probably let the few people who live in coastal areas just...drift away? Is he for real? After hearing this, I realized that there are several elected officials at the national level who are just "that dude". Just like K-Fed was just "some dude" before he married Britney, these guys are no more intelligent, no more logical, no more informed, and certainly no more ethical than someone like Chris, or anyone I teach with, or pretty much any normal person I know, for that matter. One thing is for certain, there are a number of people who are blatantly trying to pull an Orwellian fast one on the American public. Don't get me started on Bush...

(And yes, I offset my ridiculous amount of driving. I'll be planting some trees, too, on Earth Day, so don't try to play the hypocrite card on me)

One bright spot: we seem to be hitting a tipping point as far as legislative action towards climate change: this is a major victory for the planet.

Also, poison ivy is a bitch. For real. I look like a fucking leper.