It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

I'm just going to come out and say this: as depressing as global warming is, I'm not that worried about it. Sure, corals are screwed, though some hardier species will probably survive and replace those we loose; significant, heavily populated portions of the world will probably be made unliveable through flooding or intensification of droughts, including low-lying areas of Bangladesh and other Southeast Asian countries through flooding and the Southwestern US through drought; and it's likely that some amount of upheaval will accompany the changes in climate that are coming. We're going to see a couple of degrees of warming even if we stop emitting CO2 right now--completely--which may be enough to trigger some of the smaller, less-severe problems global warming poses (particularly the spread of disease). If we choose to try and mitigate global warming by throwing tons of sulfur dioxide aerosols into the stratosphere (where acid rain fallout is less of a concern) we'll have to shoot the equivalent of hundreds of buses worth of sulfur dioxide at least 10 km into the atmosphere and all along the equator, or we'll risk all the warming we would have seen happening even faster than it's happening now. CO2 capture is thermodynamically possible, but will require huge amounts of energy to implement, decreasing the efficiency of all power plants that employ it.

And yet, I'm not worried. The cynical side of me says that's because if I really cared, it would be debilitating.

This article by Jared Diamond points out that the level of consumption of resources is a huge problem, and one that we could at least mitigate if we were to cooperate more effectively in using resources in a sustainable manner and in conservation efforts. This sort of thinking gives me hope that we can find solutions to looming environmental problems, if we can be reasonable and think critically and hard about what we really value as a society. I suspect the same thing is true when it comes go CO2 emissions and global warming. We really are at some point going to have to confront the environmental problems our American lifestyle generates; the question is whether we will do it willingly and clean up our act before we are forced to, or whether we will wait until we have no choice and suffer the hardships that will certainly result. I hope as a society we're smart enough to choose the former option rather than the latter.

Global Cooling

'Cause I'm sick of typing this every time someone brings up global cooling, here's the standard response:

Global cooling–Byproduct of sulfur emissions and incomplete understanding of Milankovitch cycles. Sulfur dioxide creates aerosols that reflect solar radiation back out to space, thus cooling the atmosphere. Starting in the 40’s, global temperatures dropped because of the presence of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere, mostly from burning high-sulfur coal in power plants without scrubbers. Scientists were also coming to accept and find evidence of Milankovitch cycles in climate about the same time, and it was noted that the Holocene (which we are in now) is a few thousand years longer than previous interglacial periods. Understanding the the climate is largely controlled by solar insolation, thinking that at least based on the previous length of interglacials we must be heading into a glacial period soon, and noticing the downtick in global temperatures, some people came to the conclusion we would soon find ourselves in a glacial period. Better simulations of orbital dynamics have subsequently shown the Holocene has lasted longer because of a fortunate confluence of orbital parameters, and has shown that the Holocene, even without Anthropogenic greenhouse gases, would last a few thousand years more. Concerns over acid rain led to controls on sulfur emissions, which then decreased the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere, which is why we now see the impact of CO2 in the instrumental record.

Incidentally, if you don’t think we puny humans can really influence the atmosphere, here’s a good exampe of us actually doing so.

I'm turning into a hobbit

At least, I'm adopting their feeding habits. I'm already the right size for one! This morning I had breakfast after my shower (like normal). Then I got ready to leave for school, and decided I was still hungry enough for a second breakfast of French toast. Last night before I went to bed I had a 'late night snack' of cheese manicotti (though eating something that substantial just before bed did leave me feeling less nauseated this morning).

Last night I went up to Melissa Tate's apartment to ask her how to cope with morning sickness. Since she's already had one child, I figured she'd be a good source. So, she showed me what she was eating. Currently? I thought? Yes, it turns out--she is also pregnant, and is apparently due just about a week before me (though I haven't seen a doctor to confirm my estimated due date yet).

Just on a whim, I decided to call Maja (Nash) Onda. Turns out, she too is pregnant, and due in the middle of July. I'm so excited that three of us are all due at about the same time--and glad to know there are other people going through the same sickness and restlessness, and other obnoxious symptoms I'm dealing with. Somehow makes it more manageable to know you're not alone. For a little while there I was feeling like I couldn't really do this--and I'm only in about my 6th week!

The influences in my life

My Grandpa is cool. Yesterday he asked me if putting more water in the ocean would eventually result in a drop in sea level. That is actually true--if you were to melt all the glaciers in the world the increased weight of the water would cause the ocean basins to subside and become larger, eventually sea level would be lower than it is right now--it will just take hundreds of thousands to millions of years to happen. My Grandpa introduced me to science--I remember many hours watching Nature and Nova, and other fascinating TV shows about nature curled up next to him on his bed. When I was about 8 my family took a trip to Canada, and one of the things I remember about that trip (besides heating up a nail in the fire until it glowed red-hot) was stopping at Mt. St. Helens. I'd watched a number of shows on the volcano with my Grandpa, and really seeing it with him was one of the coolest things we did on the trip. My Grandpa always wanted to see an erupting volcano, and he would watch anything on volcanoes. There's a volcano watching website he frequents (I think he still does anyway) so he can watch volcanoes erupting live. I wish he'd been able to go to Hawaii or Iceland, or someplace with an erupting volcano just so he could see one, but I suspect he never will.

My Grandma, Mimi, is also cool--she's still a substitute teacher and she makes blankest, quilts, hats, and stuffed animals in her spare time. She should really get onto etsy and sell some of her wonderful, home-made wares. Until she starts charging, I'm going to enjoy all the expertise and talent she shares with the rest of us! From her I learned to make bread, which is a skill I really value (as does Derrick :) ). She's been a great friend and as much a mother to me as my Mom (though don't ever tell my Mom I said that!)

I am so glad I have very curious and creative grandparents. I hope when I'm the same age as my grandparents I'm as active and interested in the world around me as they are.

The order of things

Three random people at Borders know I'm pregnant and Derrick doesn't. How fun is that?

I finally worked up the gumption to take a pregnancy test yesterday morning (though that was a bit of an adventure too--the first time I tried I couldn't hold back my pee long enough to open the stupid test package, as if my body really, REALLY didn't want to know). I sent pictures to Derrick, who may have seen them by now if he's checked his email, but definitely hadn't last night, since he was still driving through a lovely snowstorm in the Wasatch mountains. Since I had a 40% off coupon at Border's, I went out to buy The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. Borders didn't have that book in stock, so I bought The Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy and the Baby's First Year instead. I'm pleased with the book. It's a bit like a high school text-book, which I find reassuring. Anyway, when I couldn't find the first book immediately, I tried looking it up on the computers scattered around the store so I wouldn't have to ask anyone. A very helpful employee came over to help me and saw what I was looking at, and wished me congratulations. Then at the check out counter I complained about not being able to find the book I wanted and the two people there were very helpful, but also now know I'm pregnant before my husband does. Now I really want Derrick to check his email so I can tell him! :)

Give a Little Bit

I'm a terrible daughter-in-law. Derrick and I spent thanksgiving with his family this year since we're spending Christmas in Utah. Since we'll be in Utah, we also exchanged our Christmas gifts. My in-laws really splurged on us this year--Derrick got a very nice (and very expensive) tripod and tripod head for his camera, and I got a set of the dishes I wanted from Bed Bath and Beyond, and an ironing board (it's amazing how domestic I'm becoming, but you really do need one for sewing, and it's really irritating ironing on carpet). Very thoughtful and very useful gifts to us, especially given that the two of us are still maintaining two households and thus don't have a lot of spare cash for fun things like new dishes and camera equipment.

ANYWAY. Then my in-laws opened their gifts from us. They weren't quite so extravagant, shall we say. We bought most of our gifts for family in Greece this year, so there were some space and financial considerations. Even so. Derrick's dad wanted wine from Greece, which we purchased and managed to get back to the states even in Derrick's soft-sided bag, and got all the way to Indiana, where I dropped it carrying it into the house. So, Derrick's dad got Argentine wine instead.

We gave my Mother-in-law an olive-wood spatula. Yes, that's right, a spatula. It's a very nice spatula, made of really quite beautiful, curly, spalted olive wood. But it's a spatula. To make it even worse, in Greece we got me a small square tablecloth with a Greek key border and olives embroidered on it, and a set of four matching napkins. Derrick showed it to his mom, who thought it was for her, and quite obviously thought it was an absolutely gorgeous piece. I wish we'd given it to her now. Oh well--at least this means we really, REALLY have to go back, if for no other reason than to get my Mother-in-law the tablecloth she deserves.

Melt into the Walls

So, I finished curtains this weekend, which is truly an accomplishment for me. I remember as a kid trying so hard to use my grandma's sewing machine to sew doll clothes, only to have the sewing machine eat the fabric and get clogged. My grandma, who spent every evening listening to the TV as she sewed stacks of clothing and quilts, would have to come in after me and clean out the mangled pieces of fabric wound tightly with yards of thread. Under her expert hands the machine would function beautifully, but no matter what tricks she'd show me, I just couldn't get the thing to work for me.

While I was at Penn State Melissa talked me into making her a dress for Halloween (I guess the bad memories slipped my mind long enough for her to convince me it would be fun), and that was probably my first successful sewing venture. The dress was huge--not only did we get the wrong size pattern, but I was so nervous about my ability to sew small seams that I cut something like an extra half-inch on every side of the pattern. Even as huge as it was, the dress turned out sufficiently nicely that I was willing to take up sewing again.

Anyway, my bedroom window faces the apartments next door, which have annoyingly bright lights on all night long. I haven't been around enough for it to really bother me, but lately I've had trouble getting to sleep, and thought actual darkness might help. To my happiness, they do, and they look really snazzy! The curtains are made from some lovely faux-suede fabric that was a joy to work with. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 yards of the stuff in other colors that I plan to make into a quilt (in my copious free time, of course).