Greenhouse gases are no laughing matter

I know that global warming is a serious problem. I know that the struggle to lessen greenhouse gas emissions creates a lot of tension among environmentalists, scientists, politicians and businessmen. But, pardon me, I still cracked up when I read this piece from the newsletter of the Center for Biological Diversity.

Saving the Climate, One Cow Belch at a Time

Anyone who's been on a farm knows livestock can be gassy. But did you know they're greenhouse-gassy? Cows, sheep, and other cud-chewers produce about 20 percent of the world's methane—a leading greenhouse gas—when they burp… and, uh… fart.

This is especially distressing for farmers in New Zealand, which aspires to be the first carbon-neutral nation (but also has a lot of livestock). Luckily, researchers in the country are figuring out the genetics behind cattle's methane problem, and they've almost come up with a vaccine against it. And just this week Japanese scientists announced that oil found in cashew shells, when mixed in livestock feed, could cut the animals' methane emissions by 90 percent.

The Center for Biological Diversity applauds these efforts. And we're so glad polar bears don't burp methane.

Hear more about the cashew-nut cure from Reuters UK and learn about New Zealand's pickle in the Los Angeles Times.

Moo!

Email from Santa

Fun! I was surfing Blogger's Blogs of Note earlier this week and one of them was the Santa Claus Blog: Periodic Updates From North Pole, Inc. Chairman & CEO Santa Claus. The entry I read said that he and Mrs. Claus were off to a vacation in Maui and that when he comes back, he'll be negotiating with the CEOs of toy companies (for supplies) and with various governments (air space issues). So I left Santa a note, wishing him an enjoyable vacation, good luck with the negotiations, and reminding him to visit the Philippines more often this year. And dear, dear Santa emailed me back!

Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2008 23:36:56 -0800
From: "Santa Claus"
Subject: Thank you

Thanks for the kind words and nice wishes. I will definitely be visiting the Philippines often.

Have a great 2008!


Love, Santa

Santa Claus
Chief Executive Officer
North Pole, Inc.

You've got mail.

You know how a lot of people have quotations, from the Bible or from a favorite book, as part of their email signature? In the office, I have quite a few (aside from my official signature, which I use only for people who don't know me yet), and almost each one is instructional. I set my email program to send them out randomly, but sometimes, I choose a specific one for a particular person if there's some attitude or behavior that I think needs a little influencing in the right direction.

I got them from all sorts of places. Some are quotations, some from those email messages that get passed all over the world, some I made up myself.

So without further ado, here they are:

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

'Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Samuel Johnson

...when you are tense or anxious or hurrying,
you lose half your strength.
It takes calm to conquer a mountain.
Isabel Allende, "City of the Beasts"

In any situation, there is always one thing you can change: yourself.

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Michael Pollan, "Unhappy Meals"
The New York Times, 28 January 2007

It is sometimes a mistake to climb;
it is always a mistake never even to make the attempt.
If you do not climb, you will not fall. This is true.
But is it that bad to fail, that hard to fall?
Morpheus in "Fear of Falling," The Sandman: Fables & Reflections

Seek first to understand then be understood.
When both parties are trying to be understood, neither is really listening.
Habit 5
Stephen Covey, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
Elie Wiesel in U.S. News and World Report, 27 October 1986

Leading others well begins with leading yourself well.

Authentic knowledge of self. Acceptance. Awareness. Presence. Courtesy.

A person who is nice to you but is rude to the waiter is not a nice person.

It's not about you.

The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You don't blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.
Psychologist Albert Ellis

Talk slowly but think quickly.

It's not who you are underneath, it's what you do
that defines you.
Rachel in "Batman Begins"

If something's worth doing, then it's worth doing well.

Be where you are.