Cosmos - A Field Guide
It's a book called 'Cosmos - A Field Guide' by Giles Sparrow, and it is just beyond cool. The Hubble Space Telescope has been quietly working on imaging the galaxy for years. This book has compiled the imagery, its a big one. So well done, there are moments you can imagine yourself there, at a point distant to a galaxy. You can sense the hugeness of it. Each point of light an entire system, a huge star. Wow. Scope it out..
Now, don't get me wrong. Earth is cozy. Its nice and blue and has lots of water; we have all kinds of neat lands. About 3 percent of our planet is now covered in mega-city. They have micro climates sometimes. San Fran has a bigtime micro climate. In Atlanta, because of the drought, the water levels have dropped all around our town, drying up two lakes south of town. I walked out into one, this past weekend, just south near exit 44 off I 20 called sweetwater. The lake will be gone, soon. The left side of this picture is all desert. The right is a small lake. all thats left.
We can all do something to save the situation in Atlanta. Lets conserve water. Or just do something. Not because you have to, but because you can. Have you ever been in a drought this bad, before? We here in Atlanta don't really know what to do. We had a week's worth of rain last week, and its so humbling that it has not made much of a difference... My mom said we should shut down the flow from lake lanier - and divert it to human use, from here it is now, keeping these endangered species alive in Florida (mussles and a rare sturgeon)- I disagreed with her. I told her that she's wrong - because the environment is interconnected in its base elements and we can take one species out of the food chain, and it will have radical effect on others that we can't predict. What do you think? ..I just realized I talk to my mom but almost never - to my dad, and that I really barely know him at all.
Comments
Living overseas gives you a profound perspective & respect for natural resources you never feel in the States.
In New South Wales, where I live, we have just gone through about 5-6 years of drought with accompanying bush fires that simply make you understand the word "reverence".
I remember well when I was in college at UCB up in the clairmont the wealthy had planted eucalyptus, imported from Australia. We were under severe drought for years, everything had dried out. I was sitting in my room with my gf, and a friend and suddenly the light from the window went blood red. We looked up at the sky and the whole sky was red.
Walked outside and the entire hill behind the clairmont was burning.
The eucalyptus had dried out, and they were full of eucalyptus oil. So they were exploding like sticks of fiery dynamite when the fire hit them.
That same friend and I went running after it was over and the cars had melted into the street. Thats how hot it was in the fire.
We used to do things like just take showers instead of baths, and use the wastewater from our washing machines to water our lawns. Water was even rationed at some point. The vineyards wanted to get their fair share.
Did I ever tell you that my mothers side of the family descendes from william wallace - forgot to tell you one small detail about that too..
My uncle found all the water in the napa valley. He drilled it. Had a talent. Could just walk up to a place and know where the water was located. He became a millionaire, spent much of the last half of his life safari hunting.
I was at the stables this morning and I thought of a really good way to solve the problem of global warming. I am not kidding, I have a solution.
And yes, its real so I will seek a provisional patent on it. But because you're so colorless and green I thought I will give you three hints. I will make a riddle.. it will be the next post.
If you guess, you will win a prize. >:)