When my mom was in high school up in Canada a school shooting occurred. It was whispered about as an 'isolated incident'. Now mom says she thinks it was early symptoms of a deeper sickness in humanity, most especially the youth.

I have a theory about this sort of thing: the "system", if you will, the ones with power-over in our hierarchal lifestyle, keeps pushing and pushing the already disturbed kids in school. I admit that I was one of those potential school-shooter kids in school. Except I would have focused entirely on administration, not any students. Revise that: not many students. Just a few.

By being cut off from that which spawned us, as we have been since the industrial revolution, and being cut off from each other and the presence in ourselves, as patriarchy teaches us to be (please not that I am not singling out men here--I am singling out patriarchy and hierarchy, which can just as easily be matriarchy and hierarchy--the problem lies in the latter word), we fall into endless despair. We reach out to anything to find what we've lost, but end up finding more nothingness. Some are able to fit in and play along at happiness by never analyzing the gaping void within their souls, but the others, the non-conformists, the freaks, get pushed by their peers, families, and the system for not being 'normal' enough.

I had about 6 nervous breakdowns during high school, all major ones, and the last one had me sobbingly replying "I don't know!" whenever someone asked me my name. I just thank the Goddess that I had Her incarnate in my Mom, otherwise I really would have snapped.

College was much better.

But there is still that underlying authority thing, that thinking of "Teacher knows best, because you are a stupid child, and that is why you are here--to be taught what you do not know".

I think a better solution to this problem (actually, to most problems) would not be to just throw the perpetrators into max-security prison (that is, if they haven't already killed themselves) and consider the problem over, but to actually address the root of this severely antisocial activity.

The root is our culture. We live in a culture of estrangement, of cutting off from what's right or natural. We're taught we have to ask for permission to go to the bathroom, to pee or poop, which are natural bodily functions. We're taught (if we're women) that farting, burping, and sex are done/wanted only by "bad people", and (if we're men) that those same things can be the subject of contests to see who's better in each arena. Tree-huggers and animal rights-activists are the "freaks" in school, and the "normal" kids are the ones who succumb to what's expected of them no matter how far it is off their own course, who develop eating disorders to maintain that 'perfect look', or who take steroids for the same purpose.

We are taught to deny our natural impulses, our natural beings, and our emotions, because they're not "appropriate" to "adult living". "Good" people don't feel anger. "Good" people don't want to kill others. "Good" women are obedient and submissive, and never show their "bitchy" side, and "good" men are aggressive go-getters, who are never allowed to be vulnerable or sensitive, lest they be considered gay. (Oh, what a tragedy that would be.)

 

As well, “good” people don’t care about the environment, but only about furthering their own agendas—getting the most toys and riches, and being the most influential on the block. Only then may you rest, because you’ve risen to the top. But beware! One slip-up, one tiny thing that reveals you’re actually a “bad” person who’s been faking it all these years and BAM! You Fall, back to the gutter, back into Hell. Only Angels get good lives.

The truth is, Christendom never went away. It just became secular. Sure, we live in a secular society. Then why does everything close early on Sundays, why is gay marriage an issue when it’s not a religious one, why is religious tolerance not the norm, why are abortion workers murdered by Christian fanatics who do then not get prosecuted, why does all our currency say In God We Trust, why are Wiccan or Pagan Veterans not allowed to get a pentacle on their gravestones, why are Easter and Christmas and all those other Christian holidays also civic holidays but not Halloween, why are there still some places where being a non-Christian can get you beaten to death, why is there a stigma to being an unmarried mom, why is prostitution illegal, why are naked bodies “shameful”, why must we ask for permission to do what is natural for our mammalian bodies to do, why does the GBLT community have to even ask for rights that should be theirs on account of their being human, why has every single president been a white man, why is there no problem with See You At The Pole on school grounds but any other religious observation during lunchtime would bring about a stake-burning, why must we deny our natural lives—children, birth, death, love, marriage, grief, bodily functions, sweat—in order to “survive” in the “adult world” if this is truly a secular society?

 

I do not hate Christians. I repeat: I do NOT hate Christians. Some of my best friends are Christians. And they are the best Christians I have ever met. They are the ones who don’t parade it about, who don’t tell others what to believe, who don’t “fight wars for Jesus” and who realize that there are different paths for different people. This is what we should ALL strive to achieve, an attitude to replace the current one.

This attitude of good/bad people and fitting the mold has been carried into Neo-Paganism, which is hardly hierarchical, with the notions of "good witch/bad witch" or "white/black magick". Like there could be a difference between white or black magick--saying there is only promotes racist thought. Magick is magick. A witch is a witch. Good and bad are matters of perspective--if you ask the villian in any story if he or she is evil, he or she will probably say "No. I'm just misunderstood."

School shootings, acts of "terrorism", etc, are just examples of people who are lost and confused in this culture lashing out with all the anger they've been taught to deny their whole lives, lashing out in very unhealthy ways because all they know is that it is unhealthy to feel differently, period, and that there is no healthy way to let it out.

Instead of just punishing people and leaving it at that, of teaching people that the punishment/reward system is all there is and they better be good, for goodness sake, or Santa will beat them with a stick, we need to re-teach people. We need to re-teach ourselves. And we need to foster a different culture, a culture of immanence instead of estrangement, a culture where we see each other and ourselves as part of a huge web, and all emotions as valid, so we can learn how to be healthy, body mind and soul.

Now, if these people were psychopathic personalities, which I personally believe are born without souls, then that's an entirely different issue.

 

Psychopathic personalities are completely sane and logical, lack any empathy for other beings, and are “never in the wrong”.  A psychopath can waltz into a school, shoot up a hundred plus people, and waltz back out never feeling that he or she has done anything wrong. He or she may even strike up a perfectly normal conversation with the cops if he or she is taken alive.

 

By the way: we have several PPs running this country right now.

 

School shooters kill themselves at the end because they’re overcome with grief. Because they know they’ve done something wrong. Even if they couldn’t articulate it, that’s the emotion. That emotion thing again—what we’re supposed to deny.

 

If the people running this country felt anything for other human beings, or other beings in general, they would have committed suicide long ago. The United States has now been involved in Iraq for longer than we were in World War II – perhaps the only just war.

 

What we fail to see is that we’ve become the new Nazis of the world—big bullies everyone’s afraid of.

 

And they have a right to be: the US spends more money on “defence” (read: nuclear weapons) each year than the rest of the major defence-spenders on the list combined. Canada isn’t even on that list. 

 

You may say what you want about “influences” in youth’s lives today, about how it’s all that Marilyn Manson crap that they listen to, or how you can’t understand how anyone could be so violent and cruel. It’s easy to understand: look around you. Look at this country that you’re living in, in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, turned into Land of Fear and Home of Death, and look at how it throws its weight around in the rest of the world. Look at its use of power-over to force others to do its bidding, the true definition of violence.

 

This is a country where I’m not even allowed to say something like this, because I may be “promoting terrorism.” That is, if I fear them. That is, if I let them control me.

 

You can let them make an “example” of the few who stray, and stay safely locked in your pen, never hurt, but never living either.

 

Or you can fight back, and fuck the lot of them, because we’re human, damn it, and we’ve been fighting for millennia, and you won’t take us without a struggle. We will not go down peacefully.

 

Because if we do, no anthropologist will even care to document our history. We will be a speck in the history of the galaxy. Because we didn’t care enough to fight for our good name—so why should anyone care enough to talk about us?

 

Kurt Vonnegut died recently. His words: “It’s too bad. This country could have been something great.”

 

"At the time the Constitution was written, the right to travel freely was unquestioned and was unheard of before the Cold War began after WW 11. After that time limitations were imposed, but challenges to them were made all the way to the Supreme Court which ruled in 1967 that restricting freedom of movement was an infringement of a citizen's constitutional rights. Justice William Douglas said at the time that "Freedom of movement is the very essence of our free society, setting us apart.....it often makes other rights meaningful." On two other occasions in 1962 and 1984, the High Court ruled otherwise by narrow margins but only under "the weightiest conditions of national security" necessitated by the Cold War. It's quite likely a Bush-friendly majority on the present Court would uphold the harsher restrictions favored by the Bush administration and permit one more way for them to destroy our civil liberties.

And they no doubt would do it despite the fact that the right of free movement anywhere encroaches on the right to liberty which the Fifth Amendment specifically states citizens cannot be deprived of without the due process of law. This restriction also likely violates the First Amendment right of free expression and to be able to hear the speech of others, gather information and associate with others as we choose - activities that should be inviolate in a free and democratic society. In addition, the fact that freedom of travel was an unquestioned right when the Constitution was drafted is the reason for the Ninth Amendment which grants the states all other rights not specifically written into the Constitution. Any restrictions thus imposed and enforced in violation of constitutional law are a direct infringement of our sacred freedoms, fundamental rights and civil liberties and unless challenged and successfully reversed in the courts are dangerous steps toward a national security police state under which citizens and residents have no rights.

US restrictive laws also violate international law under Article 12 of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that guarantees everyone the right to leave any country, including one's own, and return to it. Article 13 of the non-binding Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the same thing as does the 1975 US - Soviet Union Helsinki Agreement committing both nations to protecting the right of its citizens to move freely across borders. The US, especially since the advent of the current Bush administration, has shown its contempt for international and US constitutional law ruling instead by Executive Order to pursue whatever policies it wishes in a manner characteristic of a dictatorship and with no restraint put on it by the Congress or the courts.

The result is a gross infringement of our civil liberties that will likely become far worse in the wake of the Orwellian Real ID Act of 2005 passed by the US Congress to become effective in May, 2008. This law mandates that every US citizen and legal resident have a national ID card (in most cases a person's driver's license) that will contain on it the holder's vital personal information. It also requires the states to meet federal ID standards. A likely future requirement will be what now is mandated by mid-2007 for all newly issued and renewed passports - that they be embedded with a radio frequency identification (RFID) technology computer chip that will be able to track all the movements, activities and transactions of everyone having them. This is an Orwellian dream for any government wanting police state powers and will let US authorities know the names of all persons in the US travelling to Cuba or anywhere else in cases where they did it from third countries so as to remain anonymous. No longer, and with national ID cards mandatory by mid-2008, the tracking of all US citizens and legal residents will become even easier."

 

My mom sent this to me in an email. I don't know who wrote it. I did some checking around and came up with this article. I also found what looks like the actual act on the House of Representatives website but I wasn't able to download and read it on the computer I'm using.

This frightens the hell out of me. If you don't have your passport yet, get it now--before they can put those chips in. And if you're the skeptical type, which I respect, and think that technology isn't that advanced yet, think again. It is far more advanced than we've been led to believe. Nanotech is become a very scary reality.

Don't know about you guys, but I'm out of here by Spring 2008.

Taking personal responsibility.

Easy words, no? There's not a one of us who says, "I've never heard these words before - what do they mean?" We have all heard the phrase, in one form or another, our whole lives.

"Own up."

"Credit where credit's due."

"Take it like a man."

These prosaic little saws all mean basically the same thing - that it's time to step up, and have your community - your own little world - look at you, and see your actions as well as your body standing there, hiding behiond no one and nothing. But how often do we do this?

As infrequently as possible, and you know it.

It is a horrible and naked feeling, having your actions hung like banners - or chains - all about you, while people watch and see not just you, but your intangible deeds...be they good or bad.

But if there is only one person, one individual strong enough to stand and accept his or her actions, and can bear up under them, no matter how mighty they were; saboteur, traitor, murderer. If one individual had the courage to stand or fall by their actions, and could do what the public cannot nerve itself to do, what a world this could be. There might be failure, as Winston stood and was reaped by Big Brother's Thought Police in Orwell's 1984. This is a part of the danger of accepting personal responsibility, and the part we fear. This is how governemnts - successful ones, at any rate - keep their public in line.

And yet...Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest shows us the power of a man that does not hide, does not flinch from the overoppressive authority...and what that can do. Could we take a stand, not neccessarily in violent opposition of the Powers That Be, but in living how we want to live, without apology or furtive tact? As McMurphy lived his life, his way, the tactics and sly plans of Nurse Ratched were battered back by the sheer force of his vitality; for it was not a cause or a design that he followed to campain against her tyrrany...he simply lived unapologetically and boldly. It was the cause celebé of a revolution in the Ward; and so it could be for us inmates of the larger loony bin, this continental, nay, planetary ward.

One man with good aim could rid America of her greatest shame, and in pulling back crooked finger a mere half-inch, could rid the world of an inept bigot who brings every one of us down into his shame. To stand and hold the incriminating weapon boldly, though they take you, and try you, and even kill you - to save the country of your birth and rid the world you lived in of a plague of stupidity and arrogance. Could any who read this take that stand? Look past your wishes, and the boldness of your fantasies; could you take the shot...could you take the responsibility? I know I could not.

But there is someone out there who might...and they may not even yet be born. To pave the way to an individual unafraid to accept their own actions and still do what they think is right, begin today, in taking personal responsibility for your immediate world; whether that be involves picking up trash on the roadside, or writing a letter to a goverment representative and getting them to finally explain all the political proccesses you don't understand, reach out and claim your rights. If you disagree with your coworkers on something you feel is important, stand apart from their chorus of self-agreement, in silence or opposition. It is hard, it is difficult...it is frightening. But you may be the parent, uncle, or grandma of a little child that will see your pride and strength, and change the world by basing their actions off yours. We do not know how the future will manifest; there is no winning formula to Utopia. All we can do is our absolute best, and hope that that goodness will prevail after we are gone.

You could not kill a man in cold blood; but perhaps you could help in a charity carwash on the weekend. With your words, and your deeds, make the changes you feel able to stand up and accept. Teach this humble pride to the young, so that the future might be forged of it.

It's recently come to my attention that there has been a bill proposed that will give the president the power to assign all non-military US citizens to perform military or civil service for a period of two years.  It will also require women to give the military their information upon reaching the age of 18 (in case you don't know, men already have to do this).

Just so you're all aware of what the American government is up to.  Whether or not the bill passes, it's still pretty scary.


The Official Military Website.

_____________
Universal National Service Act of 2006 (Introduced in House)

HR 4752 IH


109th CONGRESS


2d Session


H. R. 4752

To provide for the common defense by requiring all persons in the United States, including women, between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.


IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



February 14, 2006

Mr. RANGEL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services



A BILL

To provide for the common defense by requiring all persons in the United States, including women, between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.


Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,



SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.


(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the `Universal National Service Act of 2006'.



(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:




Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.




Sec. 2. National service obligation.




Sec. 3. Two-year period of national service .




Sec. 4. Implementation by the President.




Sec. 5. Induction.




Sec. 6. Deferments and postponements.




Sec. 7. Induction exemptions.




Sec. 8. Conscientious objection.




Sec. 9. Discharge following national service .




Sec. 10. Registration of females under the Military Selective Service Act .




Sec. 11. Relation of Act to registration and induction authority of military selective service Act .




Sec. 12. Definitions.



SEC. 2. NATIONAL SERVICE OBLIGATION.


(a) Obligation for Service - It is the obligation of every citizen of the United States, and every other person residing in the United States, who is between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform a period of national service as prescribed in this Act unless exempted under the provisions of this Act .



(b) Form of National Service - National service under this Act shall be performed either--




(1) as a member of an active or reserve component of the uniformed services; or




(2) in a civilian capacity that, as determined by the President, promotes the national defense, including national or community service and homeland security.



(c) Induction Requirements- The President shall provide for the induction of persons covered by subsection (a) to perform national service under this Act .



(d) Selection for Military Service - Based upon the needs of the uniformed services, the President shall--




(1) determine the number of persons covered by subsection (a) whose service is to be performed as a member of an active or reserve component of the uniformed services; and




(2) select the individuals among those persons who are to be inducted for military service under this Act .



(e) Civilian Service - Persons covered by subsection (a) who are not selected for military service under subsection (d) shall perform their national service obligation under this Act in a civilian capacity pursuant to subsection (b)(2).



SEC. 3. TWO-YEAR PERIOD OF NATIONAL SERVICE .


(a) General Rule- Except as otherwise provided in this section, the period of national service performed by a person under this Act shall be two years.



(b) Grounds for Extension- At the discretion of the President, the period of military service for a member of the uniformed services under this Act may be extended--




(1) with the consent of the member, for the purpose of furnishing hospitalization, medical, or surgical care for injury or illness incurred in line of duty; or




(2) for the purpose of requiring the member to compensate for any time lost to training for any cause.



(c) Early Termination- The period of national service for a person under this Act shall be terminated before the end of such period under the following circumstances:




(1) The voluntary enlistment and active service of the person in an active or reserve component of the uniformed services for a period of at least two years, in which case the period of basic military training and education actually served by the person shall be counted toward the term of enlistment.




(2) The admission and service of the person as a cadet or midshipman at the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, the Coast Guard Academy, or the United States Merchant Marine Academy.




(3) The enrollment and service of the person in an officer candidate program, if the person has signed an agreement to accept a Reserve commission in the appropriate service with an obligation to serve on active duty if such a commission is offered upon completion of the program.




(4) Such other grounds as the President may establish.



SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION BY THE PRESIDENT.


(a) In General- The President shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out this Act .



(b) Matter to Be Covered by Regulations- Such regulations shall include specification of the following:




(1) The types of civilian service that may be performed for a person's national service obligation under this Act .




(2) Standards for satisfactory performance of civilian service and of penalties for failure to perform civilian service satisfactorily.




(3) The manner in which persons shall be selected for induction under this Act , including the manner in which those selected will be notified of such selection.




(4) All other administrative matters in connection with the induction of persons under this Act and the registration, examination, and classification of such persons.




(5) A means to determine questions or claims with respect to inclusion for, or exemption or deferment from induction under this Act , including questions of conscientious objection.




(6) Standards for compensation and benefits for persons performing their national service obligation under this Act through civilian service .




(7) Such other matters as the President determines necessary to carry out this Act .



(c) Use of Prior Act - To the extent determined appropriate by the President, the President may use for purposes of this Act the procedures provided in the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. 451 et seq.), including procedures for registration, selection, and induction.



SEC. 5. INDUCTION.


(a) In General- Every person subject to induction for national service under this Act , except those whose training is deferred or postponed in accordance with this Act , shall be called and inducted by the President for such service at the time and place specified by the President.



(b) Age Limits- A person may be inducted under this Act only if the person has attained the age of 18 and has not attained the age of 42.



(c) Voluntary Induction- A person subject to induction under this Act may volunteer for induction at a time other than the time at which the person is otherwise called for induction.



(d) Examination; Classification- Every person subject to induction under this Act shall, before induction, be physically and mentally examined and shall be classified as to fitness to perform national service . The President may apply different classification standards for fitness for military service and fitness for civilian service .



SEC. 6. DEFERMENTS AND POSTPONEMENTS.


(a) High School Students- A person who is pursuing a standard course of study, on a full-time basis, in a secondary school or similar institution of learning shall be entitled to have induction under this Act postponed until the person--




(1) obtains a high school diploma;




(2) ceases to pursue satisfactorily such course of study; or




(3) attains the age of 20.



(b) Hardship and Disability- Deferments from national service under this Act may be made for--




(1) extreme hardship; or




(2) physical or mental disability.



(c) Training Capacity- The President may postpone or suspend the induction of persons for military service under this Act as necessary to limit the number of persons receiving basic military training and education to the maximum number that can be adequately trained.



(d) Termination- No deferment or postponement of induction under this Act shall continue after the cause of such deferment or postponement ceases.



SEC. 7. INDUCTION EXEMPTIONS.


(a) Qualifications- No person may be inducted for military service under this Act unless the person is acceptable to the Secretary concerned for training and meets the same health and physical qualifications applicable under section 505 of title 10, United States Code, to persons seeking original enlistment in a regular component of the Armed Forces.



(b) Other Military Service - No person shall be liable for induction under this Act who--




(1) is serving, or has served honorably for at least six months, in any component of the uniformed services on active duty; or




(2) is or becomes a cadet or midshipman at the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, the Coast Guard Academy, the United States Merchant Marine Academy, a midshipman of a Navy accredited State maritime academy, a member of the Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, or the naval aviation college program, so long as that person satisfactorily continues in and completes at least two years training therein.



SEC. 8. CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION.


(a) Claims as Conscientious Objector- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require a person to be subject to combatant training and service in the uniformed services, if that person, by reason of sincerely held moral, ethical, or religious beliefs, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form.



(b) Alternative Noncombatant or Civilian Service - A person who claims exemption from combatant training and service under subsection (a) and whose claim is sustained by the local board shall--




(1) be assigned to noncombatant service (as defined by the President), if the person is inducted into the uniformed services; or




(2) be ordered by the local board, if found to be conscientiously opposed to participation in such noncombatant service , to perform national civilian service for the period specified in section 3(a) and subject to such regulations as the President may prescribe.



SEC. 9. DISCHARGE FOLLOWING NATIONAL SERVICE .


(a) Discharge- Upon completion or termination of the obligation to perform national service under this Act , a person shall be discharged from the uniformed services or from civilian service , as the case may be, and shall not be subject to any further service under this Act .



(b) Coordination With Other Authorities- Nothing in this section shall limit or prohibit the call to active service in the uniformed services of any person who is a member of a regular or reserve component of the uniformed services.



SEC. 10. REGISTRATION OF FEMALES UNDER THE MILITARY SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT .


(a) Registration Required- Section 3(a) of the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 453(a)) is amended--




(1) by striking `male' both places it appears;




(2) by inserting `or herself' after `himself'; and




(3) by striking `he' and inserting `the person'.



(b) Conforming Amendment- Section 16(a) of the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. 466(a)) is amended by striking `men' and inserting `persons'.



SEC. 11. RELATION OF ACT TO REGISTRATION AND INDUCTION AUTHORITY OF MILITARY SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT .


(a) Registration- Section 4 of the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. 454) is amended by inserting after subsection (g) the following new subsection:



`(h) This section does not apply with respect to the induction of persons into the Armed Forces pursuant to the Universal National Service Act of 2006.'.



(b) Induction- Section 17(c) of the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. 467(c)) is amended by striking `now or hereafter' and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting `inducted pursuant to the Universal National Service Act of 2006.'.



SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS.


In this Act :




(1) The term `military service' means service performed as a member of an active or reserve component of the uniformed services.




(2) The term `Secretary concerned' means the Secretary of Defense with respect to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard, the Secretary of Commerce, with respect to matters concerning the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with respect to matters concerning the Public Health Service .




(3) The term `United States', when used in a geographical sense, means the several States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam.




(4) The term `uniformed services' means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and commissioned corps of the Public Health Service .

Unless we change our ways now, we're screwed.

Time Magazine ran a special report on Global Warming—a two word name for the destruction of the Earth and its natural resources—in their April 3^rd, 2006 issue. It is postulated that the start of Global Warming goes as far back as when humans discovered fire. Since then it's gotten steadily worse, to the point where ignoring it means certain death.

For starters, let's go over some facts.

·        Ice reflects 90% of the sun's rays, land reflects 20%, and water reflects 10%.

·        Plants absorb CO₂ and produce O₂.

·        The ozone layer protects us from harmful UV rays.

·        Melting ice causes water to rise (because warm water expands).

 
All this stuff we know, right? Right.

Here's the problem: our ignorance could kill us.

The less ice there is, the less sun is reflected, the hotter it gets, the more ice melts. The more ice melts, the more waters rise, and the more land sinks. Less land means more sun, which means more heat. A hole in the ozone caused by our pollution allows more UV rays to enter the atmosphere and heat it up even more. Heat and humans cause fires which burn plants and release carbon, the soil is depleted and there are fewer plants, which contributes to the CO₂ in the air, which eats away at the ozone. Mowing the lawn not only reduces the amount of grass there is to absorb carbon, it also reduces the ability of said grass to do so, and releases carbon thru the pollution caused by the lawn-mower.

Because of Earth's rapidly changing temperatures, people use more energy trying to cool down or warm up, and contribute more to the pollution in the atmosphere, making the problem worse. This is a vicious cycle that's spiraled out of control.

But wait! There's more.

Permafrost (defined as land frozen for two years or longer) is also melting. It's rich in organic material just waiting to decay. This decaying material releases CO₂ and methane into the air. An estimated 200 to 800 gigatons of carbon lies locked in Arctic soil—compare that to human carbon output of 7 gigatons a year.

The Gulf Stream is an Atlantic Ocean current that carries warm water from the equator to the poles. It is what makes Europe inhabitable (the UK is on the same latitude as Alaska). If ice melts off continents like Antarctica and Greenland (which is happening at 53 cubic miles a year), the ocean becomes diluted, making the water lighter because of loss of salt. Lighter water idles on top and stops the currents. Melting ice sheets could cause temperatures in Europe to drop, making it very hard to live there. The rising temperature of Earth means warmer oceans and colder continents.

Things could get pretty bad.

Plants and animals are suffering too. Trees have been observed "walking" up mountainsides to escape the heat, food sources for animals have been diminished because of climate change, and polar bears are turning up drowned because the ice caps are disappearing. They're good swimmers, but not invincible ones.

It is apropos that humans are suffering the most from our own actions, but we must think of our furrier siblings on this Earth. Some people think that we could just forsake nature and live completely off technology. I don't hesitate to point out that all of our technology is based off natural resources, and that without those we are nothing.

It's time to change things around. Sustainable living is possible, but we have to work at it. As humans have become increasingly lazy since the industrial revolution, it will be a huge job to accomplish—but I continue to have faith in our abilities to make this a better world than we found it.

---

The above was an article I wrote for the school newspaper that they didn't publish, even though I got it in under deadline. As for things we can do...

• Stop mowing our lawns. As noted above, it's a triple-whammy to the Earth, and one we can do without.
  
• Wash our laundry with cold water. It saves energy.
  
• Use biodegradable soaps and detergents.
  
• Use biodegradable trash liners and throw our food waste in the trash, unless one has a garden and needs compost for it. Food waste that ends up in the dump helps the trash there to decompose faster. Composting is useless unless one has a place to put it.
  
• Quit smoking. (Hey--I did.)
  
• Buy organic when possible.
  
• Switch to biodiesel or some other alternative fuel source--solar, compressed air, methane toliet.
  
• Switch to vegetarianism, or if one needs meat in one's diet, buy free range meat. Or better yet, keep one's own animals. Or hunt for one's food.
  
• Use eco-friendly insecticides/pesticides for one's garden. Beer is great for slugs.
  
• RECYCLE.
  
• Don't water lawns on rainy days. (Seems like a no-brainer, but they had to make it illegal in Montreal for people to stop.)
  
• Download music. Each CD produced releases a lot of carbon into the air.
  
• Plant trees. Or shrubberies. Or someting green that produces oxygen.

I'm running out of ideas, but the point is we need to make environmentalism our way of life if we want it to change. We have to make a (r)evolution towards the way we treat the earth.

Do you have any ideas, readers?

This blog is dedicated to making a change in this world.  For a while now, I've been contemplating what I can do to make a difference.  I've devised a plan which may lead...nowhere.  However, it may help lead to the change this country--no, this world--so badly needs.  Everyone with eyes can see the danger we are in.  Vital resources are rapidly being depleted.  Americans are trading in their freedom for safety out of fear created by our government.  This society has become so comfortable and complacent that they don't care what the politicians are doing anymore.  No, this world is not as horrible as those dystopias displayed in materials such as 1984, We, V for Vendetta, Brave New World, etc.  But do we really want to wait until it is too late to take action?

This is a blog where people can share their ideas about government, environment, society--anything they think should be changed.  Ideas and information, ways to take action and stay informed and inform others on issues the media isn't talking about.  It seems small, and it's probably been done.  But if handled properly, I think it could grow into something big.  The more people get involved, the more power we have.  The more people start to care and start to do, the more of a difference we can make, together.

I would like to have several different authors, so as to get a variety of perspectives, ideas, input, etc.  I know I do not have all the answers, and this is hopefully only the beginning in our revolution.  If you wish to become an author on this site, please send me an article you wish to be published here via the contact option.  The article can be informative (something you think we should know about the government, ecology, the economy, etc.), a call to action (an idea you have for something we could do as a group or individually that might improve the world's situation), descriptive (an action you or someone you know has taken or is taking to improve the world), or anything else that seems related to the intentions of this site.  I will make you an author, so you can publish your article (and anything else you deem appropriate to this site) at your will.

I am trying to make the world a better place, but I cannot do it alone.  Who's with me?