Not only has this class, especially keeping this blog, forced me to become more informed, but also brought about the realization that this is something I am genuinely interested in, and will most likely be something I pursue after graduation, hopefully in the field of law.

The environment is a complicated issue, and will only continue to become more so. Copenhagen itself is evidence of this;The New York Times states, “After years of preparation for climate talks taking place in Copenhagen through Dec. 18, 2009, President Obama and other leaders announced on Nov. 15 what had already become evident — that no formal treaty could be produced anytime soon.”

Clearly, if world leaders cannot manage to come to some sort of agreement with years of preparation, something needs to be changed. There is more to take into account than merely desire to reduce carbon emissions and conserve energy. If it was that simple, the environment would not be one of the hottest current issues; a few bills passed into law would simplify everything. What we must take into account, unfortunately, is that politics play a huge role. Large companies don’t want to worry about reducing their pollution output because that would involve cutting back on profits. Oil companies clearly depend on the harvesting of fossil fuel to make their profit, which in turn is used to create gasoline; billions of people buy their product every day, which in turn only releases more pollution. But all these companies see are dollar signs, and politicians, who depend on those same dollars to get re-elected, cannot rock the boat too much for fear of losing that support.

Speaking of oil companies, it is inevitable that I would mention the massive amount of oil currently leaking into our oceans via the Gulf of Mexico. According to The Most Important News, “researchers are warning that miles-long underwater plumes of oil from the oil spill could poison and suffocate sea life across the food chain, with damage that could endure for a decade or more”, which I would say makes this one of, if not the most, prominent environmental issues in years. Connecting back to my earlier point (politicians depending on money from large companies) the controversy surrounding this spill can be used as a prime example. Many experts, including Bob Cavnar, a Houston engineer, disagree with the estimates released by BP, the company responsible for the spill. BP claims that 5,000 barrels per day are leaking into the Gulf; Cavnar, along with other scientists and engineers, disputes this claim.

On mcclatchydc.com, Cavnar states, “I’m sitting here looking at it right now, and it ain’t 5,000 barrels a day, I’ll guarantee it…in Houston, there’s about 125,000, 150,000 engineers,” he said. “And all the engineers can calculate what the flow is.” The problem is that the government would rather accept BP’s estimate than put in the time, effort, and expense that would be required to get an accurate assessment; especially when that accurate assessment would only add to public backlash against both oil companies and the Obama Administration. Failure to obtain these accurate figures will help only BP, since the worse the leak, the more severe the consequences. But the financial consequences decided by a court will not be nearly as severe if testimony is given by experts only, instead of a true reading being determined while the oil is actually flowing.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill may be the primary environmental concern at the moment, but it is only a matter of time until the next major occurrence/disaster comes about. Only by staying aware and informed, actions the general public don’t normally take, can we begin to prevent such major problems in the future; not to mention, hold our government more accountable for its actions, or lack thereof.

Stay posted…above I will post a link to view a map of the most affected areas of the Gulf.

Dr. Jane Marcellus discusses this rapidly evolving issue in an article posted at Hot Topics in Journalism and Mass Communication. She cites examples where news coverage pulled quotes and pictures from both Myspace and Facebook, both involving the death of young students. While this use of information may be offensive to family and friends, it is not the same as using social networking to dig up a new story.

Marshall Kirkpatrick, writing for ReadWriteWeb, talks about another side to the story, one involving the use of Twitter as, if not a valid source, one from which it is increasingly common to draw leads and gain reader feedback. One point that cannot be argued is the speed of sites like Twitter in comparison to the usual means of news coverage…even newspaper websites cannot possibly keep up with 140 word bites written by people with instant access to breaking news. Twitter also has a celebrity factor…the average citizen certainly doesn’t mind a little insight into the mind of their local politician, or as the case may be, the newest celebrity.

Personally, I think Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites are fast becoming recognized as more legitimate sources, and will continue to grow stronger. For example, just as research for this post, I typed the word “environment” into the Twitter search engine, and was presented with more than 24 new posts a minute, which may actually be a problem in itself. Twitter may be almost too much information, too fast, for people who have not grown up along with this extreme evolution of technology. Even those who are already adept may be hard-pressed to keep up.

It remains to be seen to what extent social media will change the landscape of reporting and research, but one thing is certain…blogs and other networking sites are only continuing to grow, and won’t be slowing down anytime in the near future.

Most of the more current Supreme Court cases, from last year or the year before, handle more individual cases than landmark cases that will significantly change legislation. A new move by Obama, however, has the potential to pull environmentalists out of the woodwork, and encourage revised policies. Go to NYTimes.com for the full story about plans to open up to drilling areas off the coast of northeastern America. The plan is an attempted compromise that is still certain to anger environmentalists and even oil companies, who may feel it is too restricting.

It remains to be seen just how much of an impact Obama’s decision will have, but good or bad, at least change is in motion, not stuck in the 70′s.

In addition to being the best holiday of the year, Saint Patrick’s also happens to share its date with the day of my birth. Which this year, will have been precisely 21 years ago. There is a small chance that I may partake in a bit of celebration. Since I’m certainly not going to be the only one celebrating, I’ve found a few tips for the average party-goer. Everyone has heard of green beer- the kind that is really just regular beer with food coloring. But what about local, organic beer? When you go out to celebrate, be sure to give your business to bars that support their local economy. And save some gas….take public transportation, carpool, or use a taxi. This doesn’t only help the environment, it keeps you and your friends safe. Planet Green, where I found these tips, expands on these ideas and provides a few extra.

So when you don your green gear this St. Patrick’s Day, don’t forget your green attitude. May the Luck o’ the Irish be with ya!

Considering Daylight Savings Time happened yesterday, and is probably still making some of us feel pretty sluggish, it seems worth a mention that this twice-yearly occurrence may actually be causing us to waste money and resources, rather than save as intended. A study by professor Matthew Kotchen and Ph.D student Laura Grant, in which they analyzed Indiana, where only 15 of 92 counties utilize the time change, produced some very thought-provoking results:

“Having the entire state switch to daylight-saving time each year, rather than stay on standard time, costs Indiana households an additional $8.6 million in electricity bills.They conclude that the reduced cost of lighting in afternoons during daylight-saving time is more than offset by the higher air-conditioning costs on hot afternoons and increased heating costs on cool mornings.”

Turns out that subjecting us to waking up in the dark and losing an hour of sleep may not be the only downside of DST.

To read the entire article, go to Climate Progress

If you happen to be curious about the origin of the saying “in like a lion….” used as the title of this post, click here to see an illustrative cartoon from USA Today.

Roommate- “There’s three feet of snow outside! It’s the snowiest winter on record, we can’t leave the house for fear of getting buried alive, and you’re trying to tell me the planet is getting warmer? I’m not buying it.”

My response- “It’s only snowing more because the oceans are heating up, meaning more water is evaporating into the atmosphere, which means there is more precipitation, even in the places there shouldn’t be, like Texas. I have to read about this stuff for class. Trust me.”

Roommate- “Come talk to me in thirty years. Soooo…are we having a party tonight, or what?”

This scenario doesn’t seem too out of the ordinary for my generation. People are concerned with the right-now, not what may or may not possibly be affecting them farther down the line. We would rather not be bothered to find a recycling can 50 yards away, or buy the more expensive organic food or material. Our justification? My insignificant little actions can’t possibly be affecting anyone. Well…tell that to families living on Kutubdia, a 37 km island in Bangladesh. This doesn’t sound strange…until you find out that just a century ago, the island was 250 km. Tell them that the planet isn’t changing.

Visit Technorati to read the full story about Kutubdia.
Go to Texas.org to read to the full story about snow in Texas.

As far as “green” and environmental issues go, there is so much to learn. It’s not just about recycling your can and bottles and carpooling whenever possible, or the other small daily contributions that are encouraged. It’s Copenhagen, global warming, new “green” jobs or those yet to be created, the development of “smart” cars and hybrids…so much goes on that the average citizen doesn’t know about or understand. I’m learning what I can, but to have even a relatively simple understanding of the subject as a whole will require hours upon hours of research.

One incentive for the general public to become more environmentally aware: the availability of new incentives for green homes, i.e more energy efficient heating and cooling systems or appliance systems.

One interesting article on future jobs in the green industry can be found Here. Makes one reconsider a career in English or writing…the future is in environmental engineering or even being an “expert pruner”. This particular article is far from the most interesting or informative on the site, and The Daily Green is worth a look for anyone with more than a passing interest in green issues.

Another interesting article, intended more to inform than delve too deeply into the specifics, can be found here. This article talks about the lack of concern shown by the three biggest contributors to global warming, including the United States, as well as the reason human minds haven’t always been all that concerned about the little issue of us slowly ruining the planet.

So in two posts, I’ve managed to post a picture, do some research, and figure out how to imbed links. Not too shabby for someone who had zero experience with blogs, much less ever intended to keep one.