The Dirty Weather Report

Over the last few years, a dizzying amount of weather-related disasters have appeared all over the globe. It is becoming "the new normal." But why? What has changed to make our planet so much more disaster prone than before?

Climate change. Yes, climate change is a natural part of Earth's cycle; the rate and severity at which it is changing is not. The changing climate, due to the increasing amount of heat trapped in our atmosphere, causes more severe weather.

It should be known that I am no expert on this topic. I am not scientific genius. I don't even have a have a high school diploma (yet). What I do know is that there's no reason to not try being kinder to our environment.

Imagine you have a baby. The baby's perfectly healthy at first. You decide to start smoking around him or her and feeding him or her all sorts of junk food. The baby still seems fine. One day, the baby starts to sneeze. Not a big deal. No reason to stop all the unhealthy habits for a small sneeze. Years later, the habits continue and this baby, though not really a baby anymore, suddenly gets horrifically sick. It's too late to help. There's nothing more you can do.

That baby? Our planet. Or it could be our planet. We don't know. Just as we don't know if the baby would really get horribly sick, though disease from second-hand smoke and obesity would not be uncommon, we can't know if our planet will get sick from our actions. Though evidence points toward yes, we can never be 100% sure. 99.99% maybe, but never 100% until it happens.

The question now is what could we have done to save the baby before this horrible illness? Stop polluting it. Don't deny that there may be a problem. Do things that will keep it healthy. Try to fix the problem early. There's a reason preventative care and early detection are emphasized in health care. It's easier and far less expensive. Many diseases, such as various cancers, are easier to treat if action is taken early on.

Have you noticed that I haven't really answered my first question? That's because I'll be finding out tomorrow.
Tomorrow at 8:00pm EST, a 24-hour online broadcast about climate change will begin at http://climaterealityproject.org/. This year's presentation, 24 Hours of Reality; The Dirty Weather Report, will hopefully teach us more about why these things are happening and encourage us to make change.

And just in case the planet's wellbeing, the jobs that could be created by green energy, or the fact that you could be hit by a horrible storm at any time don't interest you:
Dirty energy really stinks. (Have you ever had to stand in a parking lot where all the cars are trying to get out at once? Those fumes will kill ya'.)

This post has not been proof read. I apologize for any mistakes or inaccuracies.

Wha? I Don't Even Know

Warning: The following post has little organization. I apologize for any confusion caused by it.

It seems that I really must learn to listen to myself more. Time and time again, I tell myself not to indulge in comments on news or video sites such as Youtube. Obviously, I have no impulse control because I always do it anyway.

Sometimes There are times Many times Often times Quite frequently, I watch videos on Youtube and read the comments and end up hating myself for it. 

Moments ago, I watched a video of President Obama being told by his daughter to wave to the people behind him. When he did so, the people seemed quite overjoyed by the attention. 'What an observant and bright young lady,' I thought. So, I look to the comments and instantly see people badmouthing the president or asking for "Obama phones." And I am left speechless. I am rendered a blubbering fool, hence the title, and cannot form a coherent response. 

This is silly, but the most pressing matter at this moment is my confusion over the "Obama phone" comment. What in the world is an "Obama phone?" If someone could explain that to me, it would be very appreciated.

Along with that, I would like to point out that this was a very short video to show off an adorable moment between a father and his daughter. President Obama may have been part of the video, but that does not mean you should bring up his policies that have little to no connection to the video whatsoever. If it had been a natural progression to the topic through conversation, I'd be less likely to complain. As it stands however, it was an unnecessary jump. It, much like every instance of this post (and I honestly wish I was better at this thing), was a very odd jump. It's like talking about Remember the Titans, a movie about American football, one moment and talking about the Taiji dolphin slaughter, a horrible massacre of dolphins that occurs every year, the next. There's a missing link. Here, the missing link is Hayden Panettiere who was in Remember the Titans and was featured in The Cove for her attempt to stop the slaughter in Taiji. Though the two topics can be connected, it's odd and, for many, would probably be fairly uncomfortable of a transition. Thus, my concern annoyance with the transition from family moment to Obama's policies.

Obama has been re-elected for a second term as president now. Not everyone is happy with that. In fact, there are many that are complaining. I think you should stand behind any leaders that get elected, unless they happen to be dictators like Hitler (Though it should be noted that Hitler did enjoy a large amount of support from the German people for helping the economy recover, helping the German people once again feel strong and proud, and doing away with that nasty Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I. [On another note, as it is nearly Veterans' Day, formerly Armistice Day, thank you to all the brave men and women that have served their countries over the years.]) or Mussolini or more recently Mubarak, in which case you should cautiously try to change your current state of affairs. But back to the current matter. The United States of America is not ruled by a dictator and this is not likely to change, so I believe that US citizens should stand behind the president. Yes, you can and should criticize various government measures, but do so constructively. Saying "0bama sux" is not helpful in anyway and in all honestly makes me think less of you. (It hurt me just to write with that zero. And that mangling of "ck"? Horrible. D:) You may be the most intelligent individual in the world, but to use shorthand like that when it is unneeded (0 is not any harder than O and "x" instead of "ck" when you are nowhere near your world limit is silly.) and not give any concrete reasons as to why you object or any thoughts as to how to change the situation makes you seem idiotic. Yes, it's very judgmental and very hypocritical of me, but that's how I see it. Though I do not like Romney, if he had been elected, I would stand behind him and my nation. I would definitely not try to "assassinate him," as many on Twitter swore they would do if he got into office. Not only would that be impossible and land you a giant heaping of trouble, it's amoral and screams of a horrible lack of understanding. One does not kill because of dislike, no matter how intense.

I suppose that is the end of my mess of a rant. Just wanted to express my considerable dislike for the trash that goes in in the comments section of many things and my dislike of the fact that I read through it anyway. After all, bottling up your emotions is not terribly good for you.

Chinese Practice via Election Results

我的名字是黎裕玲。今年，我是十七岁。我住在美国。

昨天，美国再一次说 Obama 是总统。Obama 真不错。我喜欢 Obama. 我真不喜欢 Romney.
Romney 让我害怕。Romney 的注意真错。他的注意是保守。

My name is Li YuLing. This year, I am 17 years old. I live in the USA.

Yesterday, America deemed Obama president once again. Obama's not bad. I like Obama. I really don't like Romney. Romney scares me. Romney's ideas are bad. His ideas are backwards.


And this my friends, is what years of Chinese looks like.

I have one word for this: Fail.

Election Day Pt 2

You know how earlier I was fairly composed and could actually speak? Not anymore.

I AM SO NERVOUS. MY FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE HAS KICKED INTO OVERDRIVE AND KSFJDFKSDF;
MY YOGA TEACHER COULD MAKE USE ME AS AN EXAMPLE INSTEAD OF THAT VIDEO BECAUSE MY CORTISOL LEVELS ARE PROBABLY THROUSHDJKFHHFDGH THE ROOF.
JHFAJSADHFADSHFDHLFDSF
DF
SDFDSF
DSAJFKHJSDHFLDHSFAHSDLFDHSAFLHKALHFHP;WFJ'S;FJ;SDJAFAJFHDS;KJFH'SDA'F09[WEUR;VN
EDHJFS'JFIE0;JKASDL]0BKS0RDQOI[OGRQFJ[IO'SD[JOFOISD
K.AJSDFKLDSLJFDJFKDJSFJSDKLFJDFSJLS.DFDLFJ;SDJF;'F
FLORIDAAAAAA ASFHSDKJHFKLDSHFKSD
WHYAREYOUSOSLOWCNNNNN ASDOFHKJSDHFKSJHFK; THAT'SITI'MGOINGTOHUFFPOST
KHKHDSFKJA;FDS F YES! THANKYOUHUFFPOST
KJHFDSAKHSDAHF AND AKINS INYOFACE!

NOOOOOOJKDSHFKADHFHASDFASDL ROMNEYJUSTGOT1AHEADOFOBAMA GOBACKGOBACKGOBACK
NEWMEXICOIKNEWICHOSETHERIGHTSTATETODOAREPORTONINFOURTHGRADE!YOUMAKEMESOROUD!YOURBLUEINASEAOFREDBUTTHAT'SOKAYBECAUSECOLORADOISLEANINGOBAMA

RGFJDKSKLAF RMONEY@189 BUT OBAMA ONLY @ 173 KJDSFAKHASDLHFDSHFJSAK BADHUFFPOSTJHDAFKHADSKJHFSADKJFL

JRGFDKGAHGHKA THE F HUFF POST WHY WOULD YOU POST CALI AND WASH AND GET MY HOPES UP AND THEN TEAR THEM DOWN A SECOND LATER?!
AND NOW THEY'RE BACK UP BUT IT MAKES NO SENSE BECAUSE 0% HAS BEEN COUNTED. ASHKLFKHDK

HDJSAKFDSAF FLORIDA WHY YOU ONLY UP BY 0.2% SFFAHKLDHLSADF

JUSTSAWROMNEYGOUPBYTENANDISWEARISAWMYLIFEFLASHBEFOREMYEYESWHYMISSOURIIIIIIIIIIIIYOUDIDN'TFALLFORAKINSWHYRMONEY!?

HJFDKSKFAHDSFA YOUSEETHATBIGBLOCKOFBLUEINTHENORTHEAST? THAT'SMYHOMIES!
YESYESYESYESYESOBAMAWONOHIO!

Also, I love all the non-US people on Tumblr that are offering up their homes with welcome arms if RMoney wins. I mean, not really offering up their homes, but the sentiment is nice.
Also, Alaska, why you open so late?
Florida's going to give me a heart attack.

...Huff Post. What in the world? I am all for RMoney not winning, but these numbers make no sense. Also, West Coast hasn't come in yet at all. A total of 0% reporting.

And Massachusetts just blinked out an update. But you know what? I'm not even worried about MA cause RMONEY CAN'T EVEN WIN HIS STATE. Just for reference, RMoney only has 38.5% while Obama has 59.9% and the other candidates have 1.6%.
Right now, Nevada and Alaska are the only states without color. Alaska still has 30 minutes of voting but why is Nevada still grey? Questions questions.
Now that I'm looking at it more calmly, no doubt thanks to Tumblr having disappeared from my tabs, I don't like the way Huff Post organized their map. The dark blue are the states Obama has supposedly won. Yes, the probability of a Romney getting more votes as the numbers are tallied are slim, but Huff Post's "wins" just aren't accurate. And vise versa.
Montana only has 2% reported in so far but is a state that Romney has "won."
Florida is 92% done and Obama has a lead of .2% still.

Hmmm. The lack of Tumblr really does make a difference. Without other people, the results don't really hit you. They're just numbers. I for one won't be returning to Tumblr though since it may result in a broken keyboard, as evidenced by my frantic wordlessness above.

Nevada, Colorado, and Florida are all light blue now. Just a little longer until Alaska closes up.

Virginia turned blue. *u*

Okay. Just realized that Romney literally cannot win. Election's been screwing with my brain.

RMoney is leading the popular vote by .2%. But you know what I have to say to that? Al Gore. He won the popular vote but unfortunately did not have the electoral votes.
It's 12:03 am, Alaska's closed, and Obama's still president for better or for worse. More on that later.
For now, goodnight.

All views in this post are mine. This post has not been proof-read.

Election Day in the U.S. of A.

Have you voted?

Everyone and everything has been urging American citizens to vote for weeks now. Well, registered voters that is. I, being underaged, have not voted. If I could, would I?

Yes.

It may seem like voting is useless. I for one believe very little will change will be done to the US's economic situation no matter who becomes president. After all, our capitalist economy puts the focus on consumers. Supply and demand and whatnot.

I'll be frank. If you dislike all of the candidates so much that you can't even bring yourself to vote for "the lesser of the evils," do something about it. Write someone in. Run yourself next time.

It's important for everyone that can vote to vote so that we can get a more accurate sense of what the nation wants. If you don't vote, it's a bit like the bystander effect. You think someone else will vote for your candidate and your vote doesn't really matter anyway. It's just one vote. But now imagine that there are thousands, millions even, of people like you, that think someone else will do it and you don't have to. Where does that leave your favorite candidate? Say that 90% of the citizens favored that candidate(A) but only 10% showed up to vote for him or her. The other 10% that favored the other candidate(b) all show up to vote for him or her. Who will win? Candidate B takes the win. Not a very accurate representation of the public's opinion, is it?

But enough of that. After all, I write this more for my own amusement than anything else really.

At this moment, I think that my vote would go to Jill Stein. I'm not completely aware of all of the candidates stances though. For instance, I have absolutely no idea who Ross C. Anderson or Virgil H Goode, Jr. are. Jill Stein, from what I know, would support green energy, green jobs, LGBT rights, etc. Me, being me, loves this and as much as I like the Obamas, I'd have to go with Stein.

In all honesty though, I just encouraged everyone I know to vote for anyone but Romney. Now, I will not try tell you to not support Romney if you really want to. I's your choice, your opinion, etc. If that's so, I won't like it and I may argue with you, but in the end, I really can't tell you what to do. That's for you to decide.

Romney, or RMoney as I've taken to calling him, scares me. In fact, many prominent Republicans do. With their super anti-Choice stances and their light handling of rape and whatnot, it's hard for me to not be scared. Though I personally will not have an abortion when or if I become pregnant due to my religion, I side with Vice President Biden on this matter. I will fight for your freedom to choose. Those that say God is against this should take note that I believe that God loves all and that if we sin, and we all do, he will forgive us. It is not in my power to judge if you have done right or wrong. Sometimes I do, but that doesn't mean it's right. Also take into consideration that in America, we have the freedom of religion, so not everyone believes what you do.

And honestly, this - "If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." - is complete and utter crap. The quote comes from the marvelous -as tone does not always translate well, I'll have you know that this was sarcastic and covered in venom in my head- Todd Akin. And, taking inspiration from this wonderful article, I want to thank him. Thank you for making me glad that I live where I do and not in Missouri.

Signing off for now since I'm pretty sure this much malice is not good for the heart. I wish you all a wonderful night and let's hope we have a good four years. :)

Please note that this post is merely my opinion. I am sorry if I have offended anyone. This post has also not been proof-read and is only part of how I feel about this election.