2008 Woodie Awards
A warming response
Kelsey Husky
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Popcorn Forum
One may or may not have heard the ancient Chinese proverb "May you live in interesting times." One probably doesn't know that it was actually coined by author Duncan Murrows in the 1950s, was made famous when used during a speech by John F. Kennedy and has nothing to do with China.
Dale Marcy, environmental science and chemistry instructor, began his talk with this anecdote during the response panel to "The Challenges of Global Warming" Monday. We hear and see stuff, he said, and become like Chicken Little.
"It's a good thing we have CO2 or we'd be a cold rock in space," he said to combat those that say CO2 is harmful to the environment.
However, he said he knows the source of the trouble with the environment.
"Here's the bad part: Humans came in large numbers just recently. In our lifetime, human population doubled," he said. "Demand on the planet doubled…We're tilling everything as hard as we can stir it."
The audience chuckled as Marcy mentioned that humans are the only species that uses the Earth for warmth-most animals just crawl from under their rock and into the sun.
Marcy was one of the few speakers to mention one of the strongest voices of global warming.
"You can't trust somebody that doesn't live what they say," Marcy said of Al Gore, global warming advocate. "He's a rich man and can't talk about economic hardship."
"I'm concerned about the stewardship of resources," said Steve Ruppel, director of Information Technology and panel speaker. "I do believe global warming is caused by human activities."
He explained that he first became interested in the subject after seeing "An Inconvenient Truth" and sold his gas-guzzling truck for a 35-mile per gallon car. He replaced his old wood stove for an updated, clean-burning one, and changed to fluorescent light bulbs.
Asking himself what's important, Ruppel said he changed his views on travel and transportation and has reevaluated how far he is willing to travel. He said he has become more aware of where products are from that he buys.
Dale Marcy, environmental science and chemistry instructor, began his talk with this anecdote during the response panel to "The Challenges of Global Warming" Monday. We hear and see stuff, he said, and become like Chicken Little.
"It's a good thing we have CO2 or we'd be a cold rock in space," he said to combat those that say CO2 is harmful to the environment.
However, he said he knows the source of the trouble with the environment.
"Here's the bad part: Humans came in large numbers just recently. In our lifetime, human population doubled," he said. "Demand on the planet doubled…We're tilling everything as hard as we can stir it."
The audience chuckled as Marcy mentioned that humans are the only species that uses the Earth for warmth-most animals just crawl from under their rock and into the sun.
Marcy was one of the few speakers to mention one of the strongest voices of global warming.
"You can't trust somebody that doesn't live what they say," Marcy said of Al Gore, global warming advocate. "He's a rich man and can't talk about economic hardship."
"I'm concerned about the stewardship of resources," said Steve Ruppel, director of Information Technology and panel speaker. "I do believe global warming is caused by human activities."
He explained that he first became interested in the subject after seeing "An Inconvenient Truth" and sold his gas-guzzling truck for a 35-mile per gallon car. He replaced his old wood stove for an updated, clean-burning one, and changed to fluorescent light bulbs.
Asking himself what's important, Ruppel said he changed his views on travel and transportation and has reevaluated how far he is willing to travel. He said he has become more aware of where products are from that he buys.
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