The Art of Manliness Blog just posted a fantastic list of ten reasons why manliness should not stand in the way of “going green.”  This article hits home for me because I know a number of males who tend to shy away from eco-friendly activities because they do not believe the activities are ”manly.”  My favorite quote from the article:

Teddy Roosevelt fought with the Rough Riders and went on to lead the fight to conserve American lands. You can roll up your sleeves, talk tough and even clear some brush, but a real man does not react to important information by burying his head in the sand or excuse himself from rational inquiry and action with simplistic beliefs and cliche one-liners. Forget the faux cowboy schtick. Being a man isn’t about driving a truck and tearing into a bloody pork chop. If you really want to cowboy up, take the issues of your day seriously and do something about them.

Amen, brother.

Happy end of Earth Day, everybody.  Speaking of exciting Earth Day news, I just read that in 2009, an all-electric vehicle will be sold in the United States:

A Norwegian automaker backed by Silicon Valley investors plans to sell in the United States an electric car that goes 110 miles without a charge and costs less than $25,000.

Downsides?  It only goes 65 miles per hour and only has two seats.  But hey, if you’re commuting to and from a city all the time, this is a sweet ride.  I’ll have to do some more research when I get a chance to find out more… looks neat!

My car is currently on its deathbed.  My 1990 Toyota Camry has been so good to me for so long.  However, I took it in to a repair shop a few weeks ago because I thought the rear cylinders were leaking.  I wasn’t too worried because rear cylinder repairs are only a couple hundred bucks.

Turns out I was right… sort of.   Not only were the rear cylinders leaking (slightly), but both front CV joints on my car are cracked, I have a bunch of “valve issues” and I’ve got oil leaking on my timing belt.  Total projected repair cost: $1800.  My car’s blue book value: sub $500.  So I’ve come to the conclusion, that sometime in the near future, I need to find another car.

Full Disclosure: This is not an advertisement, although the link to the Amazon Kindle is an affiliate link to Amazon.  I am actually going somewhere with this article beyond the Amazon Kindle. 

The Amazon Kindle is not getting the kind of hype it deserves.  Why?  Because although the Kindle is far from a perfect product – it’s not close yet – it is going to shine some much-needed light on E-Book readers.  This could potentially lead to the end – or at least the near death – of the majority of print media.

The Kindle is an E-Book reader.  It’s about the size of a book, it has a small keyboard, a cellular internet connection, and most importantly an “E-Ink” screen that displays books.  The battery can last for more than a week without recharging.  The Kindle’s main purpose is to read books.  If you want to buy a book, you can use the Kindle’s built-in online store to purchase books wirelessly, using its free cellular internet connection.  Additionally, you can subscribe to NEWSPAPERS/blogs/other publications on the Kindle, so that every morning when you wake up, today’s paper is ready for you to read.

I believe that if you do not have the learning/ability/training to understand how climate change works, it is illogical for you to believe climate change is not a serious issue.

Let’s say you hurt your arm.  You go to nine doctors, and they all say you have a broken arm.  You go to the tenth, and he says your arm is fine.  Assuming all of the doctors are equally qualified, and you have no medical training, it is illogical to believe the one doctor who tells you your arm is fine.

This is analogous to what’s happening with climate change.  A large number of scientists believe that climate change is a serious issue, and a small number of dissenters believe it is not a big deal.  If I am going to make a choice about which side is right, and I do not possess the scientific training to grasp the climate change issue, I don’t know how I could justify logically agreeing with the dissenters.

Additionally, the scientists who are worried about climate change have published numerous studies in peer reviewed journals, and have come together as an international panel to address the issue.  As far as I am aware, there are few, if any, studies published in peer reviewed journals that dissent from the hypothesis that climate change is a serious issue that needs to be addressed soon.