Saturday, April 26, 2008

Your Morning Astronomy and Geology Lesson

   At 5:30 AM I went outside in my wheel chair to check on the moon.  Yes, I keep tabs on the moon, just to see if it is still there.  It usually is.

   I searched the sky to the east where I expected to see it  My view was blocked by big trees so I wheeled eastward,  I had to  travel half way around the old folks home to get a clear look east.  No moon. Curious.

   Then I looked due south. There, of course, was the last-quarter moon in clear view. i am glad to report it was in its correct position and shining brightly.

   But here is more to contemplate.  Take a student sized world map on a globe, about the size of a soccer ball, and measure twenty miles.  Twenty miles on that scale is little more than a wide pencil mark;  Now tip that narrow strip up from the surface of the globe.  That is the depth of the Earth's atmosphere.  That thin layer around the globe is all the air we have.  

   Now what do you think of global warming? Our big Earth is covered by a thin layer of air. Yes, we can change the world temperature. I used to view the world's air supply from down here where I live, beneath it. It seemed endless and far too big to be affected by anything we do. But considered from space, it is just a very thin layer around the globe. 

   And that's not all.  Take a two ounce jigger shot glass and place it on top of the globe,. If our Earth were the size of that common student's globe, all the water in all the lakes, rivers, and oceans would not fill that glass.  Makes you realize why we no longer dump our waste into rivers or the ocean. Wouldn't take much waste to pollute that jigger glass of water. 

   Mother Earth feeds and shelters us, but she is not indestructible

(End of today's sermon.)                    

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the lesson today.
Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

You oughta send this article to Al Gore!

Anonymous said...

jigger  (verb)
Etymology: frequentative of jig
Date:  1867
intransitive verb: to jerk up and down
transitive verb: to alter or rearrange especially by manipulating <jigger an election district>

Is that Jigger full of earthjuice the two ounces of prevention now needed to avoid a pound of cure later?

Strange things happen when Lunatics like you head out in the dark of night -- at least it wasn't a full moon...

Remember how i found you there
Alone in your electric chair
I told you dirty jokes untill you smiled
You were lonely for a man
I said take me as i am
Cause you might enjoy some madness for a while

Now think of all the years you tried to
Find someone to satisfy you
I might be as crazy as you say
If i'm crazy then it's true
That it's all because of you
And you wouldn"t want me any other way

You may be right
I may be crazy
But it just may be a lunatic your looking for
It's too late to fight
It's too late to change me
You may be wrong for all i know
But you may be right

      --- Billy Joel, 1980

Anonymous said...

That is very interesting Chuck. Global warming is downright scary. Helen

Anonymous said...

global warming is so scary. but at least more are trying to help mother earth and not destory her

Deb

Anonymous said...

Well said :)