be the change you want to see in the world

An image taken from a weather satellite shows swirling masses of a single-cell phytoplankton called coccolithophore off the west coast of Vancouver Island and Washington state. Scientists have been tracking the massive algae bloom, which is not considered harmful, since it first appeared in Barkley Sound on June 21. Photograph by : NASA

Scientists are worried that global warming might have contributed to creating an algae bloom off the west coast of Vancouver Island that is so big it can be seen from space.

At the Institute of Ocean Sciences in North Saanich, researchers are tracking the swirling mass that runs the length of the Island’s west coast. They believe it consists mainly of coccolithophore, a naturally occurring, single-cell phytoplankton.

It’s the biggest algae bloom institute physicist Jim Gowen has seen.

“The bloom is good in that it means there are lots of nutrients out there for things to grow,” he said. “But what we’re worried about is that if global warming is going to really kick in and start warming everything up, then the prediction has to be that we’ll see more of these things more often. It’s certainly worrying when you see the biggest one, because you think that it’s a sign things are getting worse.”

But that doesn’t mean we should continue burning it constantly! The Alberta oil sands have a reserve of possibly 2 trillion barrels. That’s six times the reserve in Saudi Arabia, even of the Saudis are telling the truth. I take this as bad news since the average person will become more complacent about alternative technologies if there is no oil supply crisis.

Which leads me to the funniest quote I’ve heard all day. Jim Locke of Ft. McMurray (a lovely town of dust and pick-ups) drives the worlds largest dump truck at one of the big tarsands strip mines. What’s that like, Jim?

“You have 14 steps going up, and at my house you have 14 steps to the bedroom. So it’s like going upstairs in my house, sitting on my bed and driving the house downtown,” says Locke.

Time to wake up and smell the coffee, people.

Individual efforts to stop environmental damage and catstrophic systemic changes are not going to have the desired effect. It is too late for that. The small fraction of our society that actively engages in environmentally conscious behaviours is too small, and there isn’t enough time left.

Certainly, if all you can do is take a bus to work, please do. But if you are a healthy person with an ounce of comprehension of the problems facing us, don’t stand in the acid rain, waiting for the bus to come, thinking you are contributing to a solution. You are not.

Please, drive your car to work and put the time you save in an activism/time bank account. Draw from that account to get involved with an organisation that puts pressure on lawmakers or corporations to change the larger engine of our economy. Get involved with a group that seeks to force governments to enact laws to stop the destruction in its tracks, for everyone, not just the small number of people engaged in mildly ameliorative, conscience-massaging acts of microenvironmentalism.

Think of it this way. We are in dire straits, not unlike a child drowning in a pool. The child is drowning right now. You need to save the child, not rearrange the deck chairs by the pool so the child doesn’t trip and fall into the pool. Get it? We are engaged in half-measures. Not even half-measures. The efforts we are making today are a pittance. Teardrops on a raging bonfire.

The time you burn in quarter-measures trying to avert a disaster that has already happened is just allowing the disaster to more fully unfold. Please read this and get involved.

And yes, take that ‘79 Chrysler out of storage. One day it will be illegal and you won’t have to worry about making the right choice for the environment.

Truly one of the great ironies of our time. Here’s the abstract of a new study on tinfoil as a cranial shield:

Among a fringe community of paranoids, aluminum helmets serve as the protective measure of choice against invasive radio signals. We investigate the efficacy of three aluminum helmet designs on a sample group of four individuals. Using a $250,000 network analyser, we find that although on average all helmets attenuate invasive radio frequencies in either directions (either emanating from an outside source, or emanating from the cranium of the subject), certain frequencies are in fact greatly amplified. These amplified frequencies coincide with radio bands reserved for government use according to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Statistical evidence suggests the use of helmets may in fact enhance the government’s invasive abilities. We speculate that the government may in fact have started the helmet craze for this reason.

Not sure I’ll go all the way to the conspiracy with these guys. Sounds kind of, well, aluminium chapeau…