Planet ToL

Recently, I was made aware of a playlist on YouTube of Captain Planet episodes. Captain Planet is one of the great old science-themed cartoon. (not the greatest, Magic School Bus holds that title, hands-down. And I am categorizing environmentalism as science). Unfortunately, the creation of Captain Planet preceeded me by a year. And since I didn't start watching TV when I was born (something this generation could probably claim), I missed it entirely. However, my interest in it came around 8, when playing a computer game which was themed on Captain Planet. I can't find that game, or remember where it was, but it was pretty good! It was one of those move-by-grid games where you control the planeteers and strategically place them to fight pollutant enemies.

Anyway, after watching a couple of episodes, I find the series AWESOME! Yet, it inspires mixed feelings. On one hand, it makes me proud of see how far back we've realized that we can make a significant impact on the environment. On the other hand, it shows that we've known about these issues for 18 years, but still haven't worked hard enough to solving them. Even though our cities are (thankfully) not like 19th century England or even present-day (well, right before the Olympics) Beijing, we still have problems with pollution. Though, these days, we have much LARGER problems to deal with, such as global warming which I don't think even Captain Planet saw coming (I haven't watched far enough into the series to tell, but I wouldn't have thought that it was that publicized back then) and the barrage of problems that come with it (like ocean acidification, glacial melting, etc.) There's also deforestation and habitat destruction, which hasn't slowed down at all in the last several years. I'm pretty sure I could start naming more as I keep watching.

Yet, things have still changed. Now, more than ever I believe, people are more aware of the environment and their impact on it. Especially with global warming and dying polar bears taking the head of the campaign. And now, with the internet, people are more able to communicate about these environmental impacts. Which brings up a point I'd like to address to Ted Turner or any of his affiliates who own the rights to this show. Keep the videos up on YouTube. While it would be good to have these episodes air on TV, TV is a very geographically limited medium. If some major network wants to air it, it might only be in a single region of the United States, and most certainly will not be broadcast outside of it. Only on Youtube could anyone from any place in the world (maybe except countries where Youtube is blocked, but that's still a significant increase) see this television series. And isn't that the point of Captain Planet? To spread the word on how to protect the environment? And additionally, saving the environment IS, in fact, a world-wide effort. The bulk of the degredation cannot be pinned to the United States as a superpower (a majority, yes. But nowhere near the entire problem) And with the spread of responsibility for harming the environment, shouldn't we also spread the information on why it occurs and how to protect it? So, there is more reason to leaving these up to be shared than me just wanting to freeload off of Youtube. Now, time to watch more episodes!

Crazy Times

Going into Glossop and meeting up with a group of friends to watch bands and stuff is fun!

If you are out this weekend, See you then!

Then and Now

A few months ago there was glorious sunshine which let me sit outside in the garden doing work. These days, in August, which is meant to be the hottest month, we have had some immense downpours and very little "good weather" to write home about. :(

oh well...

Plenty of great, great cities are to be found all over the surface of the sphere of rock we call earth. In every region of this planet man has constructed large settlements, and each and every one of these is unique. Every land, every city, has its very own, very unique character. Every city is different.

Continue reading "Stand clear of the closing doors, please !"

Yeah, I know this news is kinda old. However, I just read Wired Science reporting that Obama has retracted his statement of cutting NASA funding to fund an early education program. Previous to this, that policy played a huge part in making me hugely less enthusiastic about Obama, however, I always thought in the back of my mind that he would end up supporting science and space exploration in the end. Turns out, I had a lucky guess! However, I'm not going to go into All Hail Obama mode and lose all measure of skepticism. It's still important to question, "So who will end up paying for this?" As far as Wired Science has been able to discern, "Obama said he has told his staff to find another offset to fund his early education program". I'm still interested in from which department that will come from.

And, of course, this is an unequivocal statement to support NASA. Any backtracking on this now can be brought up against him. So, I hope this is one promise that Obama will end up keeping. And it'll be tough not to, because Congress has been absolutely crazy about NASA. Not even the Bush administration, which has been against funding increases for NASA, could stop them. So, this issue is most likely one that Obama will encounter very little resistance from Congress. But... let's hope and see of what comes in November!