Don't get your knickers in a twist.

           “Global warming” is a common term in our vocabulary today. Awareness about our ecosystem has risen quickly after the publication of the first picture of Earth. Since then, we have learned that our planet is being exposed to numerous harmful processes, one of the most prominent being global warming. However, simply using the term does not guarantee full understanding of it. People are now divided in opinion - a vast majority believe that industrial emission of CO₂ is causing the problem; while a smaller portion of the population is certain that humans should not be held responsible for the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. A moving documentary has been made by Albert Gore Jr. to warn the public of the devastating future brought upon us by none other than ourselves. In response to “The Inconvenient Truth”, a mockumentary was soon released, titled “Great Global Warming Swindle”, which rebuts most of the major points made in the former film. But who do we trust? The former politician or the funding oil companies?

            The effects of global warming cannot be denied. They are seen every day of our lives - steadily increasing temperature, drought in some areas and floods in others, irregular weather patterns, extinction of species who cannot withstand the changing conditions, melting of the ancient icebergs and glaciers, shortage of fresh water. The 10 hottest years of recorded history have been in the last 14 years. Massive heat waves have killed over 35,000 people worldwide. Number of hurricanes and typhoons are on the rise, and tropical storms become stronger as they encounter warm waters. There is more precipitation in one drop down, causing flooding and extreme rainfall. Temperatures above 100F are not unheard of in large cities. Lake Chad in Africa, once holding the title to one of the largest lakes, can now hardly be called a puddle. Arctic Icecap thickness has decreased by 40% in the last 40 years. For the first time in history, polar bears have died of exhaustion, swimming for hours on end, trying to find an iceberg to rest on in the vast, constantly warming ocean.

            But is carbon dioxide gas really the one behind all of this?

            To understand the concerns of the public about global warming, one needs to have a grip on the effects seen on the Earth. Simply put, the globe is warming up due to the excess amount of Sun’s rays trapped within the atmosphere. As presented in “The Inconvenient Truth”, carbon dioxide gas is the root of all problems. Al Gore has clearly pointed out the close relationship between CO₂ and temperature - as measurements of carbon dioxide levels increase, so does the temperature of the Earth. He explained this phenomenon by reasoning that emission of carbon dioxide gas thickens the atmosphere, making it harder for the Sun’s rays to travel back to space, in turn warming the globe. Gore blamed excessive production of CO₂ by industry and scared his audience by informing them that levels of CO₂ have never exceeded 300ppm, as they do now. And, getting on an extendable ladder, he frightened them even further by showing a graph stating that carbon dioxide gas level are expected to triple in the next 50 years. Using tear-jerking clips in between his speeches, Al Gore has effectively presented the “emotional-environmentalist” side of the story.

            On the other hand, sponsored by major oil companies, “Great Global Warming Swindle” has covered the issue from a more rational point of view. Instead of jumping on the panic bandwagon, scientists around the world have pulled back and studied the cause-and-effect pattern of CO₂ levels and temperature. After extended research, they disagreed with the theory which stated that carbon dioxide gas was leading the catastrophic climate change.  They discovered that carbon dioxide is in fact not leading the temperature changes, but following them. Measurements show that as temperature increases, CO₂ lags 800 years behind. These scientists blamed Sun Spots, extremely powerful and hot magnetic reactions on the surface of the Sun, for causing the increase in heat. On top of this, they argued that Earth’s climate is constantly changing - just take a look at the multiple Ice Ages and the hot medieval periods, they reasoned. The Holocene Millennium had higher temperatures than today, for 3000 years. Taking a look at the past, they also found a curious trend. If excessive emission of CO₂ is the reason for dramatic increase of temperature, why did temperatures drop and continue to decrease for 35 years during the post war economic boom, when human technology production was on the rise? Instead of steadily heating up, the world cooled and it looks like most of the temperature rise occurred when production of CO₂ was relatively low. As for the drowned polar bears, the scientists shrugged and stated that ecological succession crowns the species that adapts best and survives - it is only the natural cycle of life.

            Global warming is definitely a rising issue in our society as any change to the regime causes disturbance and leads to problems. However, all evidence points to Sun Spots as the cause of the temperature rise, not carbon dioxide gas. Even so, the build-up of CO₂ in our atmosphere should not be ignored – if it doesn’t cause global warming as initially thought, a multitude of other problems such as pollution and extinction do not disappear. The Earth is warming, but it is not due to human production, it is only a naturally-occurring climate change.

on the same page

"Have you ever been in love, Akane?"
"No, nor do I intend to be!" She saw a look of disappointment flash briefly across his face. We are all the same, she thought. We want to be loved yet will not fall ourselves.

Lian Hearn, Heaven's Net Is Wide

In Response

Why me?

Try me.

Journey of a Japanoodle

As if learning the language wasn't hard enough, Japanese classes in America tend to attract the kind of student who makes you wish that a large comet would strike the earth. There are a few basic types of students that you'll always find yourself running into. These include The Anime Freak, The Know It All, and the Deer Caught In Headlights.

The Anime Freak is probably the most common, and one of the most annoying. You can usually spot a few warning signs to let you identify them before you talk to them and it's too late: they wear the same exact Evangelion shirt every day, they have more than one anime key chain on their person (even one is pushing it), they wear glasses, they say phrases in Japanese that they obviously don't understand (such as "Yes! I will never forgive you!"), they refer to you as "-chan", make obscure Japanese culture references during class, and are usually failing. You have to be extremely careful not to let them smell pity or fear on you, because if they do, they will immediately latch onto you and suck up both your time and patience, leaving only a lifeless husk incapable of human feeling. Desperate for companionship that doesn't give off a soft blue glow and have a Windows Logo, they will invite you to club meetings, anime showings, conventions, and all other sorts of gatherings you don't care about.

The Know It All typically has a Japanese girlfriend or boyfriend, and, due to this "inside source" on Japanese culture, has suddenly become an academic expert on all things Japanese without ever having read a single book on Japan in their entire lives. You can usually spot Know It All's by keeping an eye out for these warning signs: a cocky smile, answering more than their share of questions, getting most questions wrong, enquiring the teacher on various subjects and then arguing about the answers (a typical exchange: Student: What does "ohayoo" mean? Teacher: It means "good morning". Student: That's not what my girlfriend said.), being wrong, talking a lot about Japanese food and being wrong, giving long, unnecessarily detailed answers which are wrong, and failing class.

The Deer Caught In Headlights are those students who took Japanese because a.) they thought it sounded like fun, b.) they thought it would be easy, or c.) they just needed a couple more credits to graduate. These students wear a mask of terror and panic from the moment they walk into class until the moment they leave, the high pitched scream of their future being flushed down the toilet echoing inside their heads. They are usually failing.

Although many of Japanese-language students are smart, funny, hard working people, none of them will be in your class.


If you can get past the difficulty, society, and classmates, you will probably find Japanese to be a fun, rewarding language to learn. We wouldn't know, however, since no one has ever gotten that far. But hey, I'm sure you're different.
Author's Note: Yes, I was a Japanese major. Yes, I enjoyed it. Yes, I finished. No, I don't want to go to an anime convention with you.

I think everyone should give Japanese a try. You should just be ready for a whole lot of pain.

HAPPY LANGUAGE LEARNING!


(to be discontinued)