Truth, Justice, and the Environment

The news today seems vaguely familiar. A leader goes before a governing body and warns of a disaster facing the planet. Those who don't want to believe the warnings do everything from ignoring the warnings to deriding the messenger, calling him misguided and wrong.

Today it was former Senator Al Gore warning the United States Senate about the impending problem of global warming, imploring them to take action to protect the planet and its people. Why does this seem familiar? Two young men in the 1930s crafted a similar story. A leading scientist goes before the ruling Science Council to warn of an impending doom facing the world. The council fails to act, and ultimately, the entire population of the planet die, except for one.

The two young men who wrote this story were Joe Siegel and Gerome Shuster. The scientist in their story was named Jor-El. The sole survivor of the planet's destruction was Jor-El's son Kal-El, who was rocketed away from the doomed world by his father. As his home world of Krypton died, young Kal-El arrived on Earth, where he was adopted by a kindly farm couple who taught him right from wrong. He went on to stand for truth, justice, and the American way!

Superman is part of the American cultural mythos. Krypton was fictional, but Earth is not. I don't know if global warming is caused by the activities of humans, but until we do, we cannot go wrong by being cautious, taking care of our environment. Like Mr. Gore said, this is not a political issue, but a moral one.

Ultimately if we are responsible for climate change to the point of disaster, the earth will go on. However, there is no guarantee it will go on with us aboard. The planet could ultimately change to where other life, better adapted to the new environment, would supersede humanity.. Even in a milder change, melting polar ice caps could flood coastal cities, cause billions of economic loss, and drastically change life for our descendants.

Here's hoping the governments of earth are smarter than the Krypton Science Council. Our future, and that of future generations depend on it.

As an aside, click on Superman's "S" Shield to read an interesting web page about the evolution of this iconic symbol.

The Vernal Equinox & The Passing of Time

Well, it is just after midnight, a couple of minutes into a new day as we reckon time. Late yesterday was the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere, the beginning of spring and one of two days when the sun appears to be directly over the equator, giving us equal periods of daylight and darkness.

I am ready for spring, given the blizzards of December and January. Still, we will probably get some more snow during the months of March and April, as is typical in Colorado. Yet most days during these months are very pleasant. This week we have even exceeded the 70 degree Fahrenheit mark.

Despite the calendar, Spring starts further south and moves northward during this time of year. In Tulsa, this is the time of year the redbud trees are blooming along the banks of the wide and lazy stretch of the Arkansas River that passes through the city. In Charlotte, the dogwoods blooming add a beauty to the city, and in Washington, DC, the cherry blossoms will add their white and pink hues to the landscape of some of our most cherished national icons and monuments. Here in northern Colorado, the trees are still devoid of leaves, grass has not turned green, and in general Spring is slower to arrive. Even so, it won't be long until the new season brings a rebirth to the Front Range, as well as new photo opportunities of the Centennial State in bloom.

Personal challenges and financial disasters over the last few years have given me some days of gloom; even so, I cannot yet give up on enjoying the things life has to enjoy. Given even a life extending to old age, we are afforded all too few equinoxes, solstices, and times with those we love. Distance and time rob us of so many opportunities. It seems that life has been set on warp speed and there are no brakes to slow things down.

I have a theory about that. It seems to me that the years appear to be shorter and shorter as time goes on. My idea is that our perception of our lives is a set psychological block of time. No matter how many actual years our memories hold, the totality never perceptually changes. As we gain more years behind us, each year is a smaller percentage of this total life perception. Thus the years seem much shorter. Remember as a child how the passing of a single year seemingly took forever? Well, at 5 years old, one year is 20% of our life! At 50 it is only 2%. Hence, the perceived compression of time.

I have no facts to base my theory upon, yet it makes perfect sense to me.

Make a promise to yourself. Enjoy the Springtime, enjoy life, and don't give or sell your entire existence to any company or endeavor. Life is finite and limited; thus each day is very precious. We should do our best to make the most of every moment. None of us know how many ticks of the clock we have left.

I am reminded of the poem by John Donne, For Whom The Bell Tolls:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.