What are you compensating for?

Just came across this and had to share:

Ask someone who drives an unnecessarily large vehicle for their needs (pickup truck, SUV), and at least half the time that person will say the US government should raise CAFE standards. I think the explanation given above is accurate; I refer to it as the “no unilateral disarmament” mind set. People don’t want to buy a big vehicle, just one that’s bigger than average.

This tendency is a sad commentary on just how susceptible people are to advertising and infantile tendencies. I know a lot of men think small cars, like my Scion xA, are “chick cars”. That’s why I’ve been tempted more than once to tweak those people by putting a bumper sticker on it that says, “I drive this because I’m compensating. What are you compensating for?”

from: "The Psychology of Energy" at http://www.grinzo.com/energy/?p=244

Oh, oh, oh... I was going to stop there. But I can't resist sharing this little bit of brilliance with you, from an article about carbon capture on Green Car Congress (http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/07/university-of-n.html#more) :

Another option would be to use modest amounts of (PV-generated) electricity to grow giant artificial limestone islands on the open ocean, with embedded bouyancy elements and engines to move them about.

This would sequester CO2 already dissolved in the oceans, reducing outgassing due to rising ocean temperatures. This in turn would at least reduce the rate at which atmospheric CO2 concentrations are rising. The islands would pay for themselves as fish nurseries, vacation spots or permanent habitable landmass. You could also grow algae on their surface / inside an artificial limestone perimeter and produce biofuel from that.

I was recently thinking that I'd like to have my own ocean island... move there, take a few friends, create our own nation... that kind of thing. And it seems technically feasible. It's the underlying idea: humans have now conquered all land everywhere, so it's time to start making the ocean surface permanently habitable? Guess that shouldn't surprise me too much since we're already doing that with the "City at Sea": http://www.freedomship.com/

Back to business

After nearly six weeks of being out and about, I've returned to Karlskrona... I plan to be here for several years researching, teaching, and pursuing a Ph.D. I'm sure that I'll be talking about the research and studies plenty in the future, so today I'm going to spend a little time looking back over thoughts from this summer.

One of the things that I like about living in Sweden is that I'm not in the US -- but maybe not for the reason you think. The US is a great place to be -- one of, if not the, greatest on earth. But what makes it so great is having time to reflect on it... and that reflection time is not easily had while one is in the US because there is so much going on - work, family, friends, sports, and keeping up on the celebs. I find that I need more time to think about the US in order for me to really appreciate it... because my appreciation for the US doesn't come at face value: access to low-priced goods from around the world, opportunities for jobs, and those other kinds of things that Americans might casually name off the top of their heads.

Rather... I appreciate the thoughtfulness with which the country was founded... the guiding principles, the checks and balances of power, and the opportunity for people to pursue the kind of life each person desired through the many freedoms afforded in the constitution. That's what made the US different - special - 230 years ago.

I'm not so sure that remains the case today. Many other nations afford people the same freedoms available in the US. For sure, there are plenty of places around the world that do NOT yet afford people the same freedom... but the fact that there are plenty of nations that do makes one realize that the soapbox of being 'the free-est country on earth' is no longer an adequate podium from which to lead.

Our geographic isolation from the world has in many ways protected us over the last two centuries. Unfortunately, it is that isolation that also provides the greatest challenge to us today. When Americans are unable to get accurate pictures of what is going on around the world - but rather depend on short soundbytes and 'if it bleeds, it leads' style news briefs - we risk deluding ourselves into believing that we remain the envy of the world.


This summer I found myself frequently wondering about the great experiment in democracy... wondering about the religious and educational backgrounds of the founders and the lives they lead. But more I wonder of the level of involvement: were more people involved in the initiation of this nation than our involved in its governance today? Was there more trust in those who were leading the country then than there is today? Did people care more about what was going on then than do now?

I don't know. And I don't begin to know how one might go about answering those questions. I only despair when I think of the ignorance of comments I hear as it relates to electing leaders today... and I wonder if that would have been the case then, also. And I wonder if that is something that the founders tried to take into consideration by providing votes only to property owners -- so that owning property served as a qualifier that assumed some level of education. It's an interesting question. Today we take for granted the idea that everyone has the right to vote. But in a soundbyte world where people's opinions shift with each 30-second advertisement, how can we begin to think that the half of Americans who vote really have a clue as to what is best for the country, let alone for themselves? I don't know... and I don't know that there is anything better... but I merely suggest that we should question in a Socratic fashion, rather than answer quickly and haphazardly with a Platonic attitude.

As I think about it, I would dare to say that relatively (and clearly absolutely) more people are involved in the political goings-on in the US today than were in the 18th century. But the question that I really want to ask: do the Americans who go about celebrating and enjoying the freedom and opportunity afforded by our great nation -- and that would include nearly all of us -- do we appreciate the effort that it takes to maintain that freedom and those opportunities, and are we doing our part?

I think the answer over the last six years is a loud and resonant "NO."

When US voter turnout hovers between 35-40% in mid-term elections and ranges from 50-55.3% for Presidential elections, I don't think we are doing our part. Because voting is a BARE MINIMUM -- in fact, it's far LESS than the minimum -- that is required to maintain our land of freedom and opportunity. Democracy is dependent upon people being actively engaged in and aware of the governing people's actions (note that I have not said the government's actions, for doing so suggests that the government is separate from the people, whereas we know that the government is of the people and by the people); democracy requires that those being governed (the people) hold the governors accountable.

And we're not there... because we aren't seeing our governing people put into place policy that is in the best interest of most people. Rather, we are seeing policy that benefits the wealthy, the corporations, and those with the loudest voices and the most airtime. And I haven't figured out how to change this... I've contemplated running for office, but I don't know what I would do to be different.

I am encouraged, however, because I think there are more and more people who are remembering that our freedom isn't free... and are also realizing that the price has changed over the years. Whereas one day we had to physically fight to obtain our freedom, we are now seeing that the fight is changing, evolving... and becoming more of a fight for ideas in the battlefield of our mind.

Which, of course, leads to a discussion on education. Some other time... have to finish moving and cleaning my old apartment for now, then experiment with a chilled zucchini and avocado soup for dinner...