20+ Archetypal Americans

A passing reference in a book I'm reading got me thinking about American archetypes - not brands or companies, but characters.  If you had to pick people (real or fictional) who symbolize what America represents, who would they be? Who symbolize what we think we represent? Who symbolize what others in the world think we represent? 

I started asking friends for their inputs and got some fascinating answers.  Here's the list we've come up with so far.  Apparently - if you judge by this list - we're clever but folksy, greedy but generous, dutiful but not averse to breaking rules, glamorous/powerful but down-to-earth, reckless but reliable, powerful but humble, and definitely larger than life!

1. George Washington.  Nobly gave up the opportunity to be king because he believed in democratic ideals.  Plus he was a farmer, which is as down to earth as you can get. (No pun intended)
2. Ben Franklin.  Intelligent, funny, folksy, an autodidact, and just a little bit naughty.
3. Davy Crocket.  An explorer who - according to the myth - combined courage, fortitude, and woodsmanship with a lust for adventure
4. Paul Bunyan.  Bigger than life ... literally!
5. Abraham Lincoln/Martin Luther King Jr.  God knows our country has made a lot of spiritual missteps, but we like to believe that - when push comes to shove - we'll spawn leaders able to guide us towards the right and honorable path 
6. General Robert E. Lee.  Yes, he ended up on the losing side of the Civil War, but hard not to respect that he placed duty and honor over his own desires.
7. Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn.  Practically our national icons, combining self-confidence with folksy charm and an endearing (or alarming, depending on your system of government) penchant for rule-breaking.
8. Mark Twain.  Of all the folks on the list, probably best personifies what foreigners think of us - we're clever and possess a certain folksy charm, but we're also annoyingly prolific, pervasive, commercial, and self-satisfied 
9. Thomas Edison/Steve Jobs. Ingenious, clever, and determined; plus, we like to think of ourselves as the technology leaders of the free world
10. Franklin D. Roosevelt.  A man who made Americans proud of their ability to work hard and sacrifice for the common good.
11. Eleanor Roosevelt.  She symbolizes intelligence, diplomacy, modesty and wit.
12. The Hardy Boys.  They symbolize the boy-children we like to think we raise here in the U.S.: clever, multi-talented, self-sufficient and always up for adventure
13. Jay Gatsby.  We'll throw everything away in search of our dreams.
14. John Wayne (the characters he played in movies)/Boy Scouts.  They epitomize honor, chivalry, duty, determination, self-sacrifice, plus you can't imagine them passing an old lady without helping her cross the street
15. Marilyn Monroe.  Could have chosen from a list of celebrities (Elizabeth Taylor and Elvis come to mind), but Marilyn represents the type: glamorous, sexy, largely invented by the media but we liked them even better when we embrace their flaws
16. Amelia Earhart/Charles Lindbergh/Neil Armstrong.  Together, they symbolize our sense of reckless courage and our willingness to throw ourselves into danger in search of everlasting glory 
17. General George Patton.  Highly educated, eccentric, irrascable, brilliant, courageous, and victorious in war.
18. Aunt Bea.  She's nurturing, capable, loyal and yet quietly strong - a classic female American archetype if there ever was one.
19. Oprah.  The epitome of the self-made man ... except, of course, that she's a woman.  She dominates entertainment the way we like to think we dominate the world: defining tastes, creating/manipulating markets, and amassing a huge personal fortune 

Who do you think needs to be added to the list?  Let me know!

Book Look: People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks

The plot is easily told: a book restorer, Hanna Heath, is asked to restore a copy of a precious ancient text, a gorgeously illuminated but mysterious Jewish Haggadah salvaged from the ashes of civil war in Sarajevo. But Hanna isn’t just a book restorer: she’s really more of a book whisperer, a literary paleontology who specializes in reconstructing the lives of ancient text by interpreting the clues left embedded in paper and ink, thread and binding, stains and marks.

Each clue that Hanna extracts from the Haggadah - a fragment of butterfly wing, missing silver clasps, a wine stain containing traces of blood, grains of sea salt, the inexplicable presence of dark-skinned woman in one of the book’s dazzling illuminations – provides Brooks an opportunity to transport us back through time to explore, through a series of "stories within the story", the timeless conflict between hatred and tolerance, between humanity and inhumanity, between despair and hope.

Each of Brooks’ deftly rendered historical vignettes reminds us of just how timeless and implacable are the forces of hate. Making a Jewish holy book the epicenter of the text is an obvious starting point for any tale of the ravages of intolerance. But as Brooks transports us back through the book’s timeline (stopping along the way in Sarajevo 1940, Vienna 1894, Venice 1609, Tarragona 1492, and Seville 1480), we see the toll that intolerance has always exacted on our humanity, a price paid not just by Jews but by Muslims and Christians as well. After every vignette, Brooks circles back to Hanna’s story which, though modern, echoes the same theme: that only through understanding and tolerance can we achieve peace – both literally and figuratively.

It’s been a while since I read a novel so wholly satisfying. Brook’s plotting is brisk and intense, her prose intelligent, her historical research impeccable. If I had to venture any criticism, it might be that Brook’s female characters tend to be cut from the same simplistic mold: strong, smart, and with a broad streak of rebellion. About all that changes is their names (Hanna, Lola, Reyna, Ruti, Isabella/Nura, al-Mura) and the nature of the peril they are facing. But I think most readers will be as willing as I was to overlook this anachronism given the novel’s sweeping historical scope, engrossing mystery, deft prose, and overarching message of compassion.

Book Look: The Pyrates, by George MacDonald Fraser

Anyone who has read Fraser’s Flashman series can’t help but relish the prospect of his taking on the pirate genre. Nor does Fraser disappoint. Armed with a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of all things piratical* – and I do mean all things: real pirate lore, Hollywood pirates, literary pirates, Disney pirates, etc. – Fraser concocts a frothy, hilarious parody of the whole pirate genre. (* By the way, “encyclopedic knowledge” isn’t a hyperbole in this case: Fraser helpfully includes an extensive bibliography at the end of the tale.)

In this version, our impossibly perfect hero, Captain Avery*, finds himself pitted against not one but seven pirates, each a burlesque of one or more familiar/beloved pirate archetypes (Captain Blood = dashing but entirely untrustworthy rogue; Firebeard = William “Blackbeard” Teach; Calico Jack= Captain Blood, Happy Dan Pew=Captain Hook, etc.) . As the action plunges from England to Tortuga, from Octopus Island to Madagascar, Fraser stitches together a tale that includes all the prerequisites of the genre – sea battles, swordfights, beautiful damsels in distress, dastardly Spanish dons, deserted islands, rum, treasure, dungeons, torture, wenches, rum, mutinies, swashing, buckling, a plentitude of pirate patois … and did I mention rum? - the satire unashamedly broad and self-aware without ever lapsing into disrespect.

(*”In short, Captain Avery was the young Errol Flynn, only more so, with a dash of Power and Redford thrown in; the answer to a maiden’s prayer, and between ourselves, rather a pain in the neck. For besides being gorgeous, he had a starred First from Oxford, could do the hundred in evens, played the guitar to admiration, helped old women across the street, kept his finger-nails clean, said his prayers, read Virgil and Aristophanes for fun, and generally made the Admirable Crichton look like an illiterate slob. However, he is vital if you are to get the customers in …” – a description that should give you an idea both of Captain Avery and Fraser’s narrative style.)

Perhaps this ground has been trodden before (Pirates of the Caribbean comes to mind), but never – to my mind - so thoroughly or with so much wit. This is one of those lampoons that, rather than making you embarrassed for enjoying the somewhat dubious source material, invites you to celebrate every beloved caricature, hyperbole and extreme. A great read anytime but perfect for the beach: arm yourself with a tankard of ale, deploy your beach chair in a shady spot, and prepare to be thoroughly entertained!

10+ Ways for Parents to Reduce Stress

Looking back on my life, no time was more stressful than the child raising years.  Childrearing is inherently stressful - now add to that children with significant physical, cognitive, and social disabilities, and watch your stress increase not just proportionately, but logarithmically!

Friends/teachers/counsellors often ask us how we coped, especially during those early years; a question I used to laugh off until, for some reason, I recently decided to give the matter serious consideration. 

The outcome of those deliberations is this list, which endeavors to summarize the methods that were most effective in allowing our family not only to survive those chaotic years, but to emerge on the other side stronger, happier, and more functional than ever before.  Perhaps there's something here that will help others who find themselves in our situation?  I hope so!

1. Keep it Real.  What's the #1 most effective way to prevent stress? Anticipate and avoid stressful situations!  Seems easy, yet I can't count the number of times my husband and I took cranky kids to the grocery store, tired kids to the restaurant, wired-up kids to the movie theater, etc.  Needless to say, we got what we deserved.  Let's get real: besides work, most of the things we do in life are optional.  With a little planning, it's often possible to avoid potentially stressful situations.  Do your grocery shopping on the way home from work or after the kids are in bed.  Skip the restaurant dinner and order carry-in.  Watch Netflix at home.  To use a sports metaphor, sometimes the best offense is a good defense.
1. Vacation Wisely. Ironically, vacations can be one of the most stressful parts of child-rearing. Inevitably, important items are left behind, nap times are disrupted, reality doesn't live up to (unrealistic) expectation, and everyone ends up grumpy. This would seem to contradict the ostensible purpose of vacations, which are meant to provide a mental and emotional respite. With that in mind, dare to consider giving up on stereotypical vacations and create the vacation that works for your family. For us, that meant all long car trips were done at night (so kids would sleep through them), meals were often taken in the hotel room rather than at restaurants (yes, they will deliver pizza to hotel rooms!), and events were scheduled around the attention spans and naptimes of everyone in the family.
2. Staycation. Don't wait for vacations to recharge your batteries! With a little out-of-the-box thinking, you can turn any ordinary weekend into something extraordinary. Take advantage of parks, events, and programming in your community to get everyone out of the house. Load everyone in the car and take "mystery trips" to local destinations. Or stay in the house and do something silly/extravagant: create an entire zoo out of playdough, create the world's tallest freestanding lego tower, build an obstacle course and time each other. Create a list of ideas in advance to avoid those fruitless (and aggravating) "What do you think we should do?" conversations ... because, naturally, the times when you will most need the rest and relaxation inevitably will be the times when you feel least capable of coming up with ingenious ideas.
2. Parents Night Out.  Parenting is hard work, but shouldn't be 24/7/365.  Even the stingiest employers recognize the need for employees to have some vacation time.  Take advantage of offers from family/friends to watch your kids and catch some quality time with your spouse.  However, for this to work, you have to agree beforehand not to talk about anything stressful while you're out and about.  No discussions about money, no complaining about annoying in-laws, and - above all - no grumbling about each other.  Save those conversations for another time.  It's critical that these "nights out" be a time for the two of you to recharge your batteries, not just find new ways to drain them.
3. Take a Break.  Nights out with your spouse are great, but it's also critical that the two of you maintain separate identities.  Yes, you're married and parents, but you are still individuals, with individual hobbies, interests, families, friends, and lives ... all of which play a huge role in reducing stress.  So figure out how you are going to incorporate "personal time" into your lives.  Usually this means taking turns watching the children so that the other spouse gets time to engage in other pursuits.  The trick, however, is to arrange this time so that it *reduces* stress rather than adds to it, so establish some reasonable rules: each spouse gets equivalent amount of "alone" time, spouse on "break" can spend personal time any way they want, unless it adds to the stress to other partner (ex: hanging out with exes, getting drunk, spending excessive money), etc. 
4. Stay Connected with the World.  There's a tendency for young parents to turn inwards and become hyper-focused on family.  Yes, this is in some ways unavoidable and appropriate - children put a big dent in your carousing time.  But this constant inward focus can overexaggerate familial stressors.  To avoid this, make sure you broaden your daily conversation with your spouse to include topics other than family, work and children.  Watch the news with your spouse and discuss current affairs.  Read books and share them with each other.  Make bucket lists and compare them.  Whatever it takes to remind yourselves that long before children came along, you had plenty of other things to talk about. 
5. Divide and Conquer. Family time together is great ... except when it's not!  Just because you all love each other doesn't mean it's a good idea to spend all your time together.  My husband used to call this "divide and conquer" - we'd divide up the kids between us and then head our separate ways.  Not only was it a welcome break from sibling bickering, but it gave each of us special bonding time with just 1-2 children at a time.  
6. Share the Load.   Actual or perceived inequalities in housework and errands can be a major stressor at a time when a family's housework load not only doubles (all that laundry! all those school-related obligations!), but you and your spouse are already weakened by lack of sleep and disruption of your marital routines. But this needs to be a conversation, not a fight!  Find a time when you are both feeling reasonably pleasant, establish base rules (no whining, no accusing, no hyperbole*), and really talk about how housework and family obligations can be most fairly handled.  (*Because nothing kills a reasonable conversation like "You never do anything!")  By the way, remember that "fair" doesn't necessarily mean 50/50 - it just means that both spouses are expending approximately the same amount of personal resources over the course of a day/week.
7. Be  Consistent.  Remember tip #1, in which we said that the best offense is a good defense?  The time you spend now establishing consistent patterns and expectations for your children will pay off for years to come.  Why?  Because the world is a big, confusing place, and children feel safest when they know that there are walls and where to find them.   It may seem like no big deal to enforce a consistent bedtime, to establish and enforce rules about sharing toys with siblings (whatever rules you feel appropriate), or to threaten a punishment and then not carry through.  But too many "exceptions" leave children confused and frustrated, leading to unnecessary battles and, inevitably, unnecessary stress.  Above all, you and your spouse need to present a united front!  Differences in child-rearing approaches are to be expected between two adults who were probably raised in very different ways, but those conversations needs to be conducted off-stage.  Because nothing's more unsettling to a child than when mom and dad have different rules - and when they're stressed, the whole family suffers.
8. Pick your Battles.  Speaking of expectations, be realistic with your own expectations.  Don't try to do everything at once.  When faced with competing demands - little Johnny is pushing kids on the playground! and he's still sucking his thumb! and his spelling is atrocious! - prioritize the concerns, and then tackle them one or two at a time.  
9. Keep it Simple.  As long as you're picking the battles you're going to fight with your child, pick the battles you want to fight with other aspects of your life.  Because once children start to come, you simply don't have the time or energy to sustain the lifestyle you lived BC (before children).  Let's face facts: every dinner doesn't have to be nutritionally balanced, beds don't have to be made every day,  your child does not need to participate in activities every hour of the week, and it may no longer be feasible to maintain a beauty/exercise ritual that requires 45 minutes in the morning and another 45 minutes every evening.  As before, the trick is to prioritize.  Figure out what's genuinely important to you (fixing vegan meals, keeping the sink clean, watching the news, 30mins of jogging every day) vs. what's nice to do if there's time, then let some (or most) of the latter items go. 
10. Take Care of Yourself.   This is so obvious you wouldn't think it needs saying, except that trying to keep up with the needs of a child (or children) has a way of warping your priorities.  So here's your reminder: make sure to get enough sleep (even if that means napping), maintain some sane nutritional standards (even if that means supplementing with vitamins), and take time out of your week to exercise.  Deficits in these "big three" are guaranteed to exacerbate feelings of stress.
11. Use Your Manners and Maintain Respect.  It's amazing how far good manners and mutual respect can take you!  My favorite example is my youngest son who, at the age of 2, discovered the word "no" and availed himself of it ... freely.  His negative attitude impacted all of us.  Until, one day, my husband and I came up with the brilliant idea of teaching him to say "no thank you."  It's remarkable what a change this made in the mood of our whole household!  Not to mention the life lesson it taught our son. 17 years later, he's still a stubborn fellow, but meticulously polite and respectful at all times, which makes all the difference.  Everyone - you, your spouse, your children - need to "use your manners" and obey the golden rule, treating others as you'd like to be treated yourself.  Because the best way to teach your child to behave respectfully towards you is to behave respectfully towards them.
12. Laugh!  I saved this one for last, because it may the most important stress-reducing tip of all.  Being able to see the humor in your day-to-day frustrations will help you maintain your perspective.  Sometimes, however, life can be hard and laughter hard to find: when this happens, you'll need to proactively find the funny.  Rent goofy movies.  Watch comedians.  Make time to do things that make you happy.  Spend times with friends that make you laugh.  Psychologists have proven that even "forced laughter" reduces anxiety and stress.  Laughter is the ultimate coping skill.  Make it work for you now and it will be the gift that keeps on giving, as your children learn from your example how to maintain perspective towards the stressors they'll face in their own lives.

A Thousand Words: Scientist Valentines

How to convince my kindergartener that these are so much cooler than the Sponge Bob Squarepants valentines he picked out at the drug store?

SOURCE: http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.208750493.jpg

50+ Consequences of Global Warming

As a middle school science teacher, one of my imperatives is to ensure that students understand the causes and consequences of global warming.

There are about a million articles on Global Warming, but few that discuss the huge range of observed and potential consequences. Perhaps because the consequences are so vast, articles tend to tackle only a few "parts of the elephant" at a time: one article focuses on sea level change, another on heat waves, yet another on vanishing polar bear habitat, etc.

As a result, I have now created my own list, which has come in so handy as a resource for the science class I teach that I am posting it here.

Some of these are consequences are obvious, but some of them are decidedly more surprising, subtle, or less well understood.  (For example: did you know that global warming is linked to earthquakes? navigation? civil war?) I do think it's critical that students understand the range and significance of consequences that we are already beginning to observe as a result of this phenomenon.

Loss of Icepack

1. Habitat Loss. Loss of habitat for polar-ice edge populations such as indiginous humans (Inuit villages), penguins, seals, and polar bears is perhaps the most obvious consequence of icepack destruction. 
2. Earthquakes/tsunamis. How will global warming lead to more earthquakes, you ask? Being extremely heavy, massive glaciers apply a considerable amount of pressure to the Earth’s surface underneath them. This anchorage decreases as the glaciers diminish, resulting in a ‘loosening’ of tectonic masses that can lead to massive earthquakes which are capable of creating deadly tsunamis.  Don't believe me?  Michigan is still experiencing earthquakes triggered by the melting of glaciers that buried that area during the last ice age.
3. Increased Volcanic Activity. The shifting pressures brought about by the lightening of the vast ice sheets allows the Earth’s crust to ‘bounce back’ and can cause eruptions in unexpected places – like the one experienced during Iceland's Gjálp eruption, where magma reached the surface at an unusual intermediary point between two volcanoes. Potent or sustained volcanic activity can have an immense impact on human life even if the activity is centred away from dense population centres. It also has the potential to affect the planet’s climate by injecting tons of gases and solids into the atmosphere that can remain there for weeks
4. Increase in rate of global warming. Ice caps are white and therefore reflect sunlight, much of which is reflected back into space, further cooling Earth. If the ice caps melt, the only reflector is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, further warming the Earth.  So, basically, what we're saying is that one of the impacts of global warming is faster global warming.  Ironic, isn't it?
5. Decrease in fresh water supplies on land. Many of the world's most important rivers are fed by glaciers, and - after a few years of perilous flooding - will begin inevitably to shrink as the source of their water vanishes.  The Himalayan glaciers that feed the Ganges River, which supplies drinking and irrigation water to 500 million people, are reportedly shrinking by 40 yards (37 meters) each year, and if the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by 2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water and electricity without a source of either.
6. Exploitation of New Resources. As icepacks melt, new sources of oil and gas may be rendered exploitable, potentially igniting political/military instability and altering the global commodity markets. You have to wonder how long the Antarctica Treaty of 1961 - which states that no country may stake a claim to the territory -  is going to last if significant deposits of oil or minerals are discovered beneath the ice.
7. Changes to navigation.  Global warming will have both positive and negative impacts on shipping.  While melting of surface ice will open new navigation routes (Russian ships are already exploiting newly opened navigation channels), other shipping will be placed at risk by the increased number of icebergs spawned by "calving" glaciers that drift into areas where they have are not customarily found.
   

Increase in Ocean Temperatures/Decreases in Ocean Salinity. Our ice caps are huge fresh water reservoirs; as they melt, the influx of fresh water into marine biomes will significantly reduce levels of salinity (and, in turn, density).  Meanwhile, ocean temperatures will increase, with greatest warming over land and high northern latitudes, and least over the Southern Ocean and parts of the North Atlantic Ocean.

1.  Impacts on weather. Fresh water is less dense than salty water; this density differential will trigger potentially massive shifts in ocean currents, including currents that regulate temperature - like El Nino and la Nina.  Irregularities in these currents will, in turn, result in huge global shifts in climate.
2. Impacts on ecosystems.  Shifts in temperature and salinity will irrevocably alter ocean ecosystems.  Animals will either have to adapt or perish.  Perhaps the most frightening prospect is ongoing reduction of phytoplankton. These tiny plants are an integral food source for ocean life and are responsible for around half of the world’s photosynthetic activity. Essentially, they are the foundations of the oceanic food chain, so a reduction in their numbers creates a knock-on effect that ripples up the entire food chain, particularly affecting the predators at the top.  A strong connection between oceanic warming, declines in reproduction and increases in mortality rates among seabirds, seals and sea lions has already been observed.
3. Eutrophication.  Increases in amounts of sun, increased nutrients in the water due to runoff/erosion of agricultural lands, and warming temperatures may trigger extreme overgrowths of algae, also known as "algae blooms".  These algae blooms trigger eutrophication, the process whereby excessive algae blooms block sunlight and deoxygenate aquatic environments, leading to large-scale marine extinction events.
4. Economic impacts. As salinity changes cause currents to shift and habitats to be disrupted, this will have a huge impact on any number of industries, to include:
1. Fishing.  Many countries and regions rely on fishing both for food and for economic sustainance.  As populations of aquatic animals become unstable - species moving to new locations or dying off - these communities will face grave economic hardships.
2. Navigation.  Shipping relies on established wind and current patterns.  Alterations in these currents will impact shipping, recreational cruising, and naval defense. 

Melting Ice/Rising Sea Levels. As the Earth heats up, sea levels rise because warmer water takes up more room than colder water, a process known as thermal expansion. Melting glaciers compound the problem by dumping even more fresh water into the oceans.  Rising seas threaten to inundate low-lying areas and islands, threaten dense coastal populations, erode shorelines, damage property and destroy ecosystems such as mangroves and wetlands that protect coasts against storms.  According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, if all glaciers melted today the seas would rise about 230 feet.

1. Destruction of coastal cities and towns. An increase of just a single meter (3 ft) would submerge considerable sections of the U.S. eastern seaboard, while one sixth of Bangladesh could be lost permanently by a rise of 1.5 m (5 ft), to name just two examples.
1. Destruction of important coastal cities.  In the developed world, 35 of the 40 largest cities are either coastal or situated along a river bank. In Europe, rivers have played a more important role in determining the growth and importance of a city than the sea; more than half of the 20 largest cities in the region developed along river banks.  Here's a partial list of coastal cities likely to be swamped by rising sea temperatures: Mumbai, Shanghai, Miami, New York City, Alexandria, and New Orleans.  Think of the havoc this will wreak on worldwide economic markets, on geopolitical stability, on universities, museums, culture, and society.
2. Destruction of important economic assets.  Besides cities, rising sea levels would also devastate ports, harbors, fishing villages, beach towns, and industries strategically located along rivers/oceans in order to facilitate energy (hydroelectric plants), water (nuclear power plants), or transportation needs.
3. Destruction of cultural assets.  Since ancient civilizations were almost always located adjacent to water sources, many of our most significant archeological sites are likely to be submerged.  Floods attributed to global warming have already damaged a 600-year-old site, Sukhothai, which was once the capital of a Thai kingdom.  And although the ruins of Pompeii survived a massive volcanic eruption, they may not survive global warming. 
2. Destruction of Coastal Habitats.  Apart from the destruction of human habitations, rising sea levels will decimate habitats that exist at sea level - notably wetlands and estuaries.  These habitats serve countless crucial functions: filtering water, providing habitat for crustaceons and other animals, providing critical "rest stops" for migrating birds, protecting coastlines from the dangers of storm surges (ironic, isn't that?).  In time natural processes will presumably replace these assets, but it won't happen in time to prevent potentially devastating consequences to water quality and coastal life. 
3. Mass Human Migration.  Worldwide, approximately 100 million people live within three feet of sea level. Sea level rise associated with climate change could displace tens of millions of people in low-lying areas – especially in developing countries. Inhabitants of some small island countries that rest barely above the existing sea level are already abandoning their islands, some of the world’s first climate change refugees.
4. More Intense Hurricanes & Flooding.  Higher sea levels will exacerbate storm surges, flooding, and erosion.

Extreme weather.  Climate change is intensifying the circulation of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth, impacting global weather patterns and related phenomenon.

1. Precipitation.  Scientists predict increased precipitation in higher latitudes but significantly descreased precipitation in lower (subtropical) latitudes. 
2. Floods.  Warmer temperatures increase the energy of the climatic system and can lead to heavier rainfall in some areas. Scientists project that climate change will increase the frequency of heavy rainstorms, putting many communities at risk for devastation from floods.
3. Drought. As the climate warms, experts estimate drought conditions may increase by at least 66 percent. Water is already a dangerously rare commodity in Africa. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests that by 2020, 75 to 250 million Africans may experience water shortages, and the continent's agricultural output will decrease by 50 percent.
4. Fires. Hot, dry weather and increased evaporation led to a record-setting 2006 wildland fire season in the U.S., with close to 100,000 fires reported and nearly 10 million acres burned, 125 percent above the decade's average.
5. Extreme storms (hurricanes/cyclones/tornadoes). Scientific research indicates that climate change will cause hurricanes and tropical storms to become more intense — lasting longer, unleashing stronger winds, and causing more damage to coastal ecosystems and communities.  The culprit is warmer ocean waters, which pump more energy into tropical storms, making them stronger and potentially more destructive.
6. Heat Waves. Extreme heat waves are happening two to four times more often now, steadily rising over the last 50 to 100 years, and are projected to be 100 times more likely over the next 40 years.   In fact, the five hottest years on record have all occurred since 1997 and the 10 hottest since 1990, including the warmest years on record – 2005 and 2010.
7. Cold Waves. Seems ironic that global warming causes more extreme cold, but changes in atmospheric patterns brought about by receding glacial ice can lead to the redirection of polar air currents and the sun's rays being absorbed by the larger areas of dark blue sea.
8. Acid Rain. More greenhouse gases in the atmosphere create more acidic rain.  Not acidic enough to burn the skin off bones, perhaps, but enough to impact vulnerable species.  One example of this is the death of large amounts of snails in areas prone to acidic precipitation. Birds dependent upon the snails as a calcium-rich food source and, without a suitable replacement for this loss to their diet, lay eggs with a much higher amount of defective shells.  Over time, acidic rains will also damage man-made structures.
9. Economic consequences of extreme weather.  Storms cause huge economic damages. Government, industry, individuals, and the insurance industry bear the cost of replacing damaged infrastructure, damaged industry, and devastated agricultural areas.  One way or another, those costs end up being passed on to individuals, either through taxes, job loss, or higher insurance premiums.
10. Population consequences of extreme weather. As cities are destroyed by catastrophic events, ans as insurers like State Farm begin to refuse coverage to folks living in areas vulnerable to extreme weather events, cities will be abandoned and those citizens will relocate elsewhere.
11. Social consequences of extreme weather.  Extreme weather events - hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, etc. - destroy entire communities and cultures.  Imagine the cultural consequences of floods destroying Venice, tornadoes devastating London*, or a hurricane wiping out New York City once and for all.  (*The U.S. may experience more tornadoes per year, but the U.K. actually averages more tornadoes per km2 per year.)

Health.  A study by the World Health Organization (2009) estimated the effect of climate change on human health. Not all of the effects of climate change were included in their estimates; for example, the effects of more frequent and extreme storms were excluded. Climate change was estimated to have been responsible for 3% of diarrhoea, 3% of malaria, and 3.8% of dengue fever deaths worldwide in 2004. Total attributable mortality was about 0.2% of deaths in 2004; of these, 85% were child deaths.  Expect these numbers to increase exponentially as the effects of global warming become more severe and widespread.

1. Death from heat.  More frequent and severe heat waves will result in a greater number of heat-related deaths.  We're not talking a few senior citizens in un-airconditioned apartments, either: in 2010, a Russian heatwave resulted in over 56,000 deaths, and in 2003 a European heat wave was blamed for over 70,000 deaths.
2. Famine. Prolonged drought in East Africa caused tens of thousands of deaths in 2011, with 13 million humans currently at risk of starvation due to famine. 
3. Death from Extreme Weather (storms, floods). A warmer atmosphere can hold -- and dump -- more moisture, contributing to more intense extreme weather events, which in turn put people's lives at risk.  Maybe you're thinking about Hurricane Katrina, which killed over 1800 people?  Forget that and wrap your head around this one; in 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed over 138,000 people in Burma ... which, by the way, was the same year that almost 1000 people died as the result of a freakish blizzard in Afghanistan. 
4. Disease.  The Deadly Dozen are a group of 12 diseases that have been identified as those most likely to spread due to global warming. They include avian influenza, cholera, plague, ebola and tuberculosis. 
1. More water-borne diseases. Cholera and mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever and malaria are all thriving as the Earth warms. In Bangladesh, for example, a rise in water temperature has been observed to increase the risk of cholera outbreak by two to five times. 
2. More pest-borne diseases. Reports of Lyme disease have risen seven-fold in Maine and four-fold in Wisconsin over the last decade as warmer temperatures expand the range and persistence of the disease.
3. More corpse-borne diseases.  Research has shown that a handful of deadly plagues are capable of surviving for hundreds of years in the corpses of deceased carriers.  Recent discoveries reveal the possibility that long-dormant diseases like smallpox could re-emerge as the ancient dead, their corpses thawing along with the tundra, get discovered by modern man.
5. Asthma. Global warming could increase smog pollution in some areas and intensify pollen allergies and asthma. Hotter conditions could also aggravate local air quality problems, already afflicting more than 100 million Americans. What's more, the carbon dioxide and ‘black carbon’ (a very fine soot) released by these large-scale fires together with the deforestation they cause further compounds the problem of air pollution – as the gases that help to create the greenhouse effect are supplemented and less mature trees survive to draw CO2 from the atmosphere.
6. Animal attacks.  As competition for resources and habitats increases, expect more human vs. animal encounters - many of which will not turn out happily for the humans.  Need examples? When drought recently struck, Kenya’s Amboseli National Park, lions began to venture out of the park in search of prey.  In India, tigers driven out of mngrove forests have begun menacing humans.  Meanwhile, all over the world, sharks are moving into new areas to find stable food sources.  Think about that the next time you're at the beach.
7. Economic impacts.  Governments, charities, insurance companies and private individuals bear the economic cost of treating health issues exacerbated by global warming ... and I'm pretty sure more shark attacks aren't going to help the beachfront tourism industry either!

Seasonal Creep. In Europe, season creep has been associated with the arrival of spring moving up by approximately one week in a recent 30 year period. Other studies have put the rate of season creep measured by plant phenology in the range of 2–3 days per decade advancement in spring, and 0.3–1.6 days per decade delay in autumn, over the past 30–80 years.

1. Premature snowmelt.  Modeling of snowmelt predicted that warming of 3° to 5°C in the Western United States could cause snowmelt-driven runoff to occur as much as two months earlier, with profound effects on hydroelectricity, land use, agriculture, and water management.
2. Disrupted Patterns of Interdependence. Due to seasonal creep, species that depend on one another may become out of sync. For example, plants could bloom earlier than their pollinating insects become active, and migrating animals may discover traditional food sources unavailable.

Flora.  In the tundra, thawing permafrost will allow shrubs and trees to take root. In the Great Plains of the United States, grasslands will likely become forests. And New England’s fiery fall foliage will eventually fade as maple and beech forests shift north toward cooler temperatures.  But that's just the beginning ...

1. Desertification. How global warming affects desertification is not entirely understood, yet it is clear that an elevation in atmospheric and ground-level temperatures is likely to aggravate soil and vegetation loss in already hot climates. An increase in evapotranspiration and the accompanying decrease in rainfall means that already semi-arid and sub-humid areas found across the world will face a future barrenness that is almost irreversible.
2. Higher Productivity.  As temperatures warm, precipitation increases, and more CO2 becomes available in the atmosphere, some agricultural areas may benefit.  Moreover, The agricultural growing season has also expanded by 10–20 days over the last few decades, and will probably continue to expand, enabling farmers to grow more crops.
3. Lower Productivity.   Alternatively, high temperatures cause plants like rice, corn and wheat to grow faster but reduce plant fertility and grain production. With average growing-season temperatures expected to rise more than 6 degrees F in many places, crop yields will fall 20 to 40 percent, the recent report estimates. The effects will be aggravated by increased evaporation and loss of soil moisture.
4. Maladaptation.  Shorter and warmer winters may affect environmental adaptations including cold hardening of trees, which could result in frost damage during more severe winters.
5. Pests. As temperatures grow warmer, pest populations that have traditionally been limited by cold temperatures will increase unchecked.  Need an example? Since 1996, bark beetles have laid waste to 65,000 square miles of U.S. forest – an area roughly the size of Washington State. Scientists believe a main reason is that winters have not been cold enough to control their numbers.

Fauna.

1. Loss of biodiversity. Species loss and endangerment is rising along with global temperatures. As many as 30 percent of plant and animal species alive today - over 1 million species in all - risk extinction by 2050 if average temperatures rise more than 2 to 11.5 degrees.  (And since everyone wants to know about polar bears, here it it - if current climate patterns remain unaltered, polar bears may become extinct in less than 100 years.)
1. Wine. Not for nothing, it may soon be time to bid adieu to Bordeaux.  Researchers predict a two-thirds fall in production in the world's premier wine regions because of climate change. The study forecasts sharp declines in wine production from Bordeaux and Rhone regions in France, Tuscany in Italy, and Napa Valley in California and Chile by 2050, as a warming climate makes it harder to grow grapes in traditional wine country.
2. Destruction of coral reefs. The ocean will continue to become more acidic due to carbon dioxide emissions. Because of this acidification, species with hard calcium carbonate shells are vulnerable, as are coral reefs, which are vital to ocean ecosystems. Scientists predict that a 3.6 degree Fahrenheit increase in temperature would wipe out 97 percent of the world's coral reefs.
3. Shifting Habitats & Migration Patterns.  As habitats alter, animals may need to relocate to new ecosystems.  Wildlife researchers have noted some more resilient species migrating to the poles to maintain their needed habitat; the red fox, for example, normally an inhabitant of North America, is now seen living in the Arctic. And roughly 60% of more than 300 species of North American birds already are wintering farther north, some hundreds of miles from their former range. Several U.S. states may even lose their official birds as they head for cooler climates — including the Baltimore oriole of Maryland, black-capped chickadee of Massachusetts, and the American goldfinch of Iowa.
4. Disease. Humans aren't the only ones susceptible to parasites.  Warmer temperatures will also allow the spread of parasites that target animals.  For instance, in southern New England lobster catches have plummeted because of heat stresses and growing parasite threats due to rising sea temperatures. 

Global Political/Economic consequences. The consquences listed below are in addition to those already mentioned.

1. Higher prices for food, water, land and energy/infrastructure.  Higher prices for critical human necessities will inordinately impact our poorest populations and may, in some cases, lead to mass human migrations, unrest, and/or war.  National security experts analyzing the current conflict in Sudan's Darfur region suggest that while global warming is not the sole cause of the crisis, its roots may be traced to the impact of climate change, specifically the reduction of available natural resources. The violence in Darfur broke out during a time of drought, after two decades of little-to-no rain along with rising temperatures in the nearby Indian Ocean
2. Competition for Scarce Resources.  Even countries without a recent history of conflict may find themselves casting a covetous eye at their neighbor's resources - usable ports, drinking water, transportation routes - should their own be devastated due to consequences of global warming.
3. Competition for Emerging Resources.  As the Arctic ice opens up, the world turns its attention to the resources below. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 30 percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas and 13 percent of its undiscovered oil are under this region. As a result, military action in the Arctic is heating up, with the United States, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Canada holding talks about regional security and border issues. Several nations, including the U.S., are also drilling troops in the far north, preparing for increased border patrol and disaster response efforts in a busier Arctic.
4. Stiffling of Sustainable Development.  Climate change is expected to impinge on sustainable development of many emeging economies as rapid urbanization, industrialization and urban development compound pressures on natural resources and the environment.
5. Reduced Tourism.  Both summer and winter tourism will be impacted: summer tourism by the disappearance of beachside resorts, winter tourism by the disappearance of snowpacks.
6. Mass Human Migration.  As regions of the Earth become uninhabitable, populations that inhabit those regions will flood into neighboring regions, triggering political/religious/ethnic instability and taxing potentially overtaxed resources in the host nations.
7. Less Money Available for Foreign Aid.  A recent study conducted by the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University suggests that inaction in the face of global warming crises could result in a $20 trillion price tag by 2100.  Money spent fixing national problems is, necessarily, money unavailable to invest in foreign aid. 
8. Increased Risk of Singularities.  A "singularity" is an abrupt, discontinuous, typically unforeseen event - think aliens landing on the lawn of the White House, or an asteroid slamming into London.  As the effects of global warming are felt, the odds increase that Earth will experience one or more large-scale "singularities" - for instance, massively accelerated climate change, pandemics, catastrophic environmental/ecological damage, or nuclear events. 

SOURCES

• Natural Resources Defense Council, http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/fcons.asp
• Environmental Graffiti, http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/5-deadliest-effects-of-global-warming/276?image=0
• Discovery Channel, http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/worst-effects-global-warming.htm
• Nature.org, http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/index.htm
• National Geographic, http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-effects/
• Wikipedia - Global Warming, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_global_warming
• Wikipedia - Season Creep, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season_creep
• Environmental Defense Fund, http://www.edf.org/slideshow/8-global-warming-effects-may-surprise-you
• http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/24/content_10241897.htm
• http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2008606940_warming09m.html

Book Look: Reading Herodotus: A Guided Tour Through the Wild Boars, Dancing Suitors, and Crazy Tyrants of The History, by Debra Hamel

How can you *not* enthusiastically endorse a history book that cites S. Morgenstern’s classic “The Princess Bride” as its inspiration? Here’s the author, Debra Hamel, explaining her intent in this book’s introduction: 

“What’s needed with Herodotus, it occurred to me, is a ‘good parts’ version of [Herodotus’] ”The History”, a book for the everyday reader who’s unlikely to slog through all the ‘begats’ to get to the juicy bits. Hence this volume, a loose retelling of Herodotus’ account, with obscure references explained and the boring bits left out.”

I believe that William Goldman would wholly approve of Hamel’s final product. Here, in brief, are four reasons why you should really, really, really consider reading this book:

Context. Herodotus is considered to be the “Father of History.” What’s hilarious is discovering what passed for “history” back in 500 BC … a glorious mish-mash of actual factual accounts, hearsay, superstition, “spin”, and scurrilous gossip. While never wavering from her mission statement – to provide a thorough albeit heavily edited version of Herodotus’ original text – Hamel leverages her insights into ongoing Herodotus-related scholarship to provide intriguing insights into the truths (and untruths) underlying even the most outlandish tales.

The History. Herodotus’ histories focus on events related to the Peloponnesian Wars (that’s Greece vs. Persia for the most part, for those who aren’t up on their classical warfare). Sure, you can see “The 300” in theaters, but reading about the Battle of Thermopolae by a guy who had it from veterans who were *actually there* is waaaaaay cooler. Hamel does a great job of wading through all of Herodotus’ less-than-riveting prose devoted to numbers of troops, supply routes, engineering projects, etc. in order to present brisk, entertaining, highly-accessible accounts of each significant battle.

The Chapter Titles. The book is broken into short, highly readable chapters with titles that can’t fail to intrigue: “Sex and the City of Babylon,” “Horny Goats and Medicinal Urine,” “Madness and Mummies,” “Earless Imposters and Randy Mounts: The Early Reign of Darius the Great,” “Cannibals, Flying Snakes, and Gold Digging Ants,” “Severed Breasts and Wormy Deaths: The Persian Expedition to Libya.” Honestly, how could you NOT want to read on? Hamel’s sense of humor and ever-vigilant eye for irony brings out all the innate entertainment value in Herodotus’ accounts.

Bragging Rights. Sure, after finishing this you still won’t be able to say that you’ve actually read Herodotus, but what’s to stop you from making erudite comments in company and letting people *assume* you’ve read his whole, massive work in the original? (You to person you want to impress: “You know, if General Petraeus had only read his Herodotus, he might have been a little more cognizant of how easy it is to lose the favor of adoring masses.”)

Sure, reading “Reading Herodotus” isn’t all roses and lollipops and stirring battle speeches and triremes zipping over the azure blue waters of the Mediterranean in search of glory. The vast scope of Herodotus’ original text means that even Hamel can’t entirely spare us the cacophony of dozens of similar-sounding anecdotes, hundreds of place names that require no less than three maps to keep sorted, and what feels like thousands of character names, few of which clock in at less than 10 characters (Alcybiades, Intaphernes, etc.). Yes, you’ll have to work a little to keep from getting lost. But Hamel’s done so much of the heavy lifting, I doubt many readers will mind.

13 Strategies for Encouraging Your Child to Read

The #1 thing parents can do to help their child be successful in life?  Without a doubt, the answer is: inspiring in them a love of reading.  A love of reading will not only help them be successful in school, but will also turn them into live-long learners with a deep and abiding understanding of the richness of the world in which they live.

I wish I could claim the following list as my own, but I can't.  I've lifted the whole thing from Book by Book, by Michael Dirda.  (An excellent book of essays about literature and life, by the way.)  But the list is such a good one, I've taken the liberty of transcribing it here. 

1. Read aloud to your children.  Joan Aiken once said, "If you're not prepared to read to your children an hour a day, you shouldn't have any."
2. Read yourself.  Grown-ups often pay lip service to the joys of reading, but do the kids see you watching TV or do they see you with a book in your hands":   Here is the litmus test: How often have you said to your child, "Just a minute, I want to finish this chapter"?
3. Fill your house with print.  There should be paperbacks, comics, magazines, and newspapers everywhere the children look.  Books should be a part of a family's daily life, not something special.  Ideally, each member of the household should have his or her own bookcase.
4. Visit the library and bookstore regularly.  Allow the kids to check out whatever they want, even if you find it sophomoric and immature.  After all, children are immature. A trip to a bookstore can be a family adventure, and even hesitant readers usually enjoy purchasing a shiny new book of their very own
5. Ask older kids to read to younger siblings.  This will yield numerous benefits: It will improve the older child's reading skills and diction, show the younger that reading is fun for people other than adults, and encourage the two siblings to, as they say, bond
6. Limit TV, video, and computer time.  Don't be too draconian here: a house rule of no television after 8-9pm during the school week might be sensible, with some leeway for special programs.  Your goal is not to deprive the child of television so much as to make him or her indifferent to it.  Ideally, evenings should be a time for reading, homework, quiet games, conversation.  I know, I know: I'm a dreamer
7. Encourage any reading interest - no matter how frivolous or unacademic you find it.  If your daughter enjoys one Nancy Drew mystery, buy or check out a couple more.  If she likes learning about constellations or witches or the Civil War, make sure you pick up books and pamphlets about them.  As with anything, you start where you are.  The child who hunches over the Hardy Boys today will read Agatha Christie tomorrow and Crime and Punishment a few years after - if he or she is encouraged.  The worst thing you can do is to ignore or denigrate a child's taste
8. Don't harp on "good books."  Remember how boring you thought required school reading was?  Nothing kills what pleasure a novel might offer like ordering a kid to read it just because it's won a Newbery or Coretta Scott King award.  Roald Dahl pointed out that what really matters in children's books is that they be so entertaining that they "convince the child that reading is great fun"
9. Ask librarians and booksellers for advice.  These professionals nearly always know what works and what doesn't
10. Talk about books with your kids.  Mention your own reading.  Draw their attention to items in the Sunday paper.  Ask them which is their favorite Lemony Snicket or Judy Blume title - and why
11. Encourage kids to write.  By writing stories, journals, letters, what have you, young people learn about the structure of prose, the flow of sentences, the importance of charm, and the nature of argument
12. Take kids to meet writers at libraries and bookstores.  A book becomes even more special when it's inscribed by a favorite author.  On such occasions, a YA novelist can suddenly possess the glamor of a rock star or celebrity athlete
13. Give the kids time with books.  Allow them to stay up late reading, or to spend Saturday morning in bed with a novel.  Boys and girls don't always need to be out and about; quiet time with a book ought to be fostered, encouraged - and not just a paltry 15 minutes or so.  Offer a plate of cookies and the kids may settle down for a couple of hours.

2012 in Review

Here it is - my annual review of the year that was.  Like most years that have come before, it was a year of highs (the Olympics) and lows (renewed fighting between Israel and Palestine), of celebrations (Obama's re-election) and disasters (Hurricane Sandy), of hope (elections in Egypt) and despair (the Sandy Hook shooting).

I prepare this review every year as a record for my family, but have started sharing it here.  The info is pulled from all over the internet but edited by me, so yes, there's a certain amount of bias.  But you can't beat the convenience of having all this information gathered in one place!

News Stories of the Year

1. 2012 presidential election. After months of relentless campaigning, Obama bested Romney in the November election. The victory appeared to come as a surprise to the Republicans who, despite polling to the contrary, seemed to expect a Romney victory. The Obama victory appeared to be a mandate for sensible tax reform (more taxes on the wealthy) and continued slow but steady economic recovery. Meanwhile, Congress remains divided, with Democrats controlling the Senate and Republicans the House. Anyone else find it ironic that after the most expensive election in history – and the first in which 25% of all funds were contributed by anonymous sources and SuperPACs – almost nothing changed? Like all presidential elections, this one featured plenty of silliness. Here are some of the lowlights of the campaign: 
1. 47% - Romney’s estimate of the number of voters who automatically wouldn’t vote for him because they rely on the government to give them “stuff.” The things candidates will say to a room full of supporters, when they don’t realize they’re being surreptitiously filmed by cameraphone!
2. You Didn’t Build That – Taken out of context, the quote seemed to suggest Obama was dissing entrepreneurs.
3. Romney’s Binder Full of Women – In context, the remark was understandable; taken out of context, the possibilities proved too much for late-show comics to resist
4. The Empty Chair. Clint Eastwood seemed the perfect speaker for the Republican National Convention – until he spent all 20 minutes railing at an empty chair that was apparently meant to represent President Obama. Republicans dubbed the performance “eccentric"; Democrats resorted to generally less flattering adverbs
5. However, there was at least one moment of grace: I think the whole nation was in awe of the citizens of New York and New Jersey who – despite being surrounded by death, devastation, and massive power outages – somehow managed to open and run enough polling places (often powered by generators and lit by candle-light) to ensure that all citizens were able to participate in the electoral process
2. Economic Recovery. The economy continued on a path of slow but steady recovery, with unemployment falling below 8% for first time in 3+ years.
3. State Amendments. 3 states approved gay marriage, and 2 approved legalization of marijuana. It’s a new world.
4. The Looming “Fiscal Cliff.” Unable to reach a debt ceiling compromise in spring, Congress punted, creating a device whereby huge economic penalties would kick in by the end of the year if a compromise was not reached. Sometimes you have to wonder what we’re paying these guys for.
5. Dismantling of the "Occupy" movement. In this case, “dismantling” is meant literally as well as figurative as various local governments, fed up with tent cities in their municipal parks, required “Occupiers” to move on. Deprived of their physical loci, they never did manage to establish a virtual loci, and their influence on politics has been dwindling ever since. Looks like the 99% are going to need to start looking for a new champion.
6. Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare. Though the decision was based on a narrow consideration, the Supreme Court ruled that the tax clause of the Constitution does allow the federal government to force citizens to purchase health care.
7. Hurricane Sandy decimates the East Coast. Dubbed “Frankenstorm” by the media, the storm – part nor-easter, part hurricane - lived up to its moniker, causing billions in damage and over 85 deaths. New York and New Jersey were particularly brutalized, bearing the brunt of 100mph winds, 26’+ waves and a 15'+ storm surge.
8. 2012 Olympic Games in London. Headlines included the U.S. girls gymnastics team earning a gold medal, Michael Phelps winning more medals than any other athlete in Olympic history, and a uniquely eccentric Opening Ceremony featuring pretty much every British icon imaginable, from Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter to Mr. Bean.
9. The Mayan Apocalypse that wasn't. The world did not end on 12/21/12, in spite of dire predictions to the contrary.  However, we did get some funny commercials out of it.
10. Oil Prices Decline. Gas prices declined through the second half of the year as U.S. production increased. Indeed, some consultants are now predicting that the U.S. will soon surpass the Middle East in domestic oil production.
11. No Troops in Iran. Early on the morning of Dec. 18, 2011, after nine years, 4,487 troops killed, more than 32,000 wounded and some $800 billion spent, the last 400 American troops in Iraq rolled into Kuwait, and literally shut the gate behind them. 2012 was the first year since 2003 without any American troops in Iraq, and the country, which for most of the decade dominated the headlines, was largely forgotten.
12. Mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado theater. 12 people died and 58 were wounded in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history
13. Mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. A horrified nation stood by as a disturbed gunman slaughtered over 25 staff members and students. Though the aftermath is still unfolding, looks like the incident may give rise to the first serious U.S. debate about gun control in decades.

International News Stories of the Year

1. Kim Jong Eun succeeded his father, Kim Jong Il, as leader of North Korea
2. Over 40,000 people perished in Syrian as the result of a brutal civil war
3. The celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee (the 60thAnniversary of her coronation) took place throughout the year in various Commonwealth countries, ensuring plenty of Royal news for months. But the crowning event was the Diamond Jubilee Pageant in London, during which the Queen and the Royal family led a flotilla of more than 1,000 boats down the Thames.
4. Egyptians elected their first president, who then promptly attempted to wrest power away from people, leading to yet more revolts in the streets.  The promise of Arab Spring faded fast in 2012, but is not entirely extinguished.
5. New hostilities erupted between Israel and Gaza, culminating in days of shelling.
6. In Libya, four Americans were killed in an attack on the Benghazi consulate.  The resulting furor centered on the extent to which Washington DC tried to conceal from the media lapses in security at the embassy
7. China unveiled its first aircraft carrier, as the country officially surpassed the U.S. as world's largest trading partner
8. EU continues to struggle. Greeks rioted against austerity, and anti-immigrant groups harking back to the continent’s fascist past drew energy from the despair. Spain, Portugal and Italy struggled to right themselves and offer a way forward to an emerging generation that has never tasted opportunity.
9. Kony 2012, a video created for you-tube that went almost instantly viral, brought attention to the plight of Ugandans under the hands of guerrilla leader Joseph Kony, who has abducted more than 60,000 children and converted them into foot soldiers in his Lord’s Resistance Army.
10. In October, U.S. homeowners banded together to file a class action against Bank of America, Citigroup, UBC, and other large banking institutes, accusing the banks of falsely inflating LIBOR rates in order to increase homeowners’ mortgage rates over the course of 10 years. Forbes estimates that the banks earned hundreds of millions, if not billions, off the rate manipulation; the banks deny the allegations

People Who Had a Good 2012

1. Adele. The 21 year old torch singer swept pretty much every music award imaginable.
2. Abraham Lincoln. First there was "Team of Rivals," Doris Kearn Goodwin's new Lincoln bio. Then came the movies: "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer" and "Lincoln." Theaters were definitely more friendly to our 32nd pres in 2012 than in past years!
3. Nate Silver, the New York Times polling guru who drew the ire of conservatives during the campaign for his prediction that President Barack Obama would win the 2012 Electoral College, only to be vindicated when the election results almost exactly tallied with his predictions.
4. Skydiver Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from more than 39,000 meters above New Mexico, breaking the speed of sound and a height record held since 1960.
5. Boy Bands. They’re back, with One Direction leading the charge.
6. Jeremy Lin, the unlikely semi-savior of yet another hapless New York Knicks season. Lin, an undrafted point guard out of Harvard, was almost released by the Knicks until coach Mike D’Antoni rolled the dice and let the 23-year-old play: Lin erupted for 25 points, five rebounds and seven assists. America does love an underdog.

People Who Had a Bad 2012

1. General George Petraeus, master of the Iraq/Afghan “surge” strategy and potential 2016 presidential candidate, who was forced to resign in wake of sex scandal.
2. Penn State Asst Coach Jerry Sandusky, who was indicted on multiple counts of child abuse. Meanwhile, Coach Joe Paterno (blamed for not taking appropriate action) was fired and his wins vacated; he died within months of the humiliation.
3. Lance Armstrong, who was found guilty of steroid use and his 7 Tour de France victories vacated
4. Karl Rove, whose evident shock at Romney's loss on election night became the stuff of viral legend
5. Todd Akin, the Missouri senate candidate whose comments on “legitimate rape” became the target of criticism and mockery.
6. Donald Trump, whose antics during the presidential campaign – questioning Obama’s citizenship, “considering” a presidential run, offering a $5M bounty to Obama if he would publish his college transcripts - proved once and for all that he really is a crackpot.
7. Secret Service agents, for getting caught partying with prostitutes on a junket in Columbia. Bet it’s hard running alongside those cars when you’re hung over.
8. George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed African-American teen, igniting a racial firestorm that dominated news coverage for weeks.
9. Rush Limbaugh, who revealed the limits of his intellectual repertoire by resorting to invectives (“slut,” and “bitch” among them) to berate a female college student who had the temerity to testify before Congress in support of mandatory insurance coverage of contraception.
10. Chick fil-a, whose owner dared to air his support of “traditional marriage.” His comments set off a series of protests and counterprotests — Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day was helmed by former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, while Same-Sex Kiss Day was supported by LGBT activists — that had everyone from citizens to mayors and even the Muppets picking sides.
11. Twinkies. After a prolonged strike by the company’s bakers, Hostess announced that it would shut down its snack business entirely. Farewell, fruit pies; so long, ho hos; arrivaderci, weird pink snowball things covered with coconut!

Notable Deaths

1. Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, Andy Williams (singers)
2. Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride (astronauts)
3. Dave Brubek (jazz pianist)
4. Art Ginsberg (“Mr. Food”)
5. Phyllis Diller (comedian)
6. Thomas Kincade, LeRoy Neiman (artist/painter)
7. Marvin Hamlish (composer & conductor)
8. Ray Bradbury, Gore Vidal, Maurice Sendak (author)
9. Dick Clark (television personality)
10. Charles Durning, Jack Klugman, Ernest Borgnine, Andy Griffith (actor)
11. Senator George McGovern, Senator Arlan Specter, Senator Daniel Inouye (politicians)
12. Rev. Sun Myung Moon (head of Unification Church)
13. Norman Schwartkopf (US Army)

Sports News

1. 2012 Olympics (see above)
2. Giants vs. Patriots in Superbowl. Super Bowl XLVI pitted the New York Giants against the New England Patriots; by the time the commercials were over, the Giants had bested the Patriots 21-17.  In addition to winning their fourth Super Bowl in team history, the Giants set a new record for the lowest regular season record (9–7, win percentage of 56.3%) by a Super Bowl champion. The Patriots entered the game with an AFC-best 13–3 regular season record, and were also seeking their fourth Super Bowl win. The game was a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, in which New York won, 17–14, spoiling New England's perfect 2007 season.
3. Giants vs. Detroit in World Series. Everyone loves a comeback, and the Giants delivered. Down 1-3 against 2011 champion St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs, they wound up taking the series all the way, finally defeating the Cardinals with a decisive 9-0 victory in Game 7. From there, the Giants headed to the World Series, where they shut out Detroit in four quick games to claim the team’s second championship title in three years.
4. NFL replacement referees. After failing to reach an agreement with the union representing NFL referees, the league decided to field replacements for the first three weeks of the season.  The results would have been laughable if they weren't so infuriating, as the results of more than one game were impacted by bad calls and an uneven understanding of the official rule book.
5. "Bountygate."  A group of New Orleans Saints players pooled their money to reward anyone who successfully inflicted injuries on opposing players.  The NFL - "shocked, shocked! to find that gambling is going on in here!" (to paraphrase Capt Renault in Casablanca) - promptly fined the organization and suspended the worst offenders. 
6. Ordinarily I’d add a token mention of hockey at this point, but since over half the season was sacrificed to a player lockout, I don’t feel like they really earned a mention this year.
7. I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but had to be withdrawn from the Belmont, ending all hope that he would be the first triple crown winner since Affirmed managed the feat in 1978.

Television News

1. Top Television Shows: Breaking Bad, The Good Wife, Mad Men, Parks & Recreation, Parenthood, Game of Thrones, Girls, Homeland, Louie
2. Still Popular: Big Bang Theory, Downton Abbey, Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Justified, Raising Hope
3. Shows that jumped the shark in 2012: Glee, 2 ½ Men, The Office, How I Met Your Mother
4. Worst Television Shows: Smash, Alcatraz, Anger Management, Mob Doctor, The Newsroom, Kim & Kourtney Take New York (good lord … someone please put an end to the Kardashian family’s 15 minutes of fame!)
5. In some ways it was hard to notice the regularly scheduled programming this year because of the outrageous glut of political ads. In some markets, networks scrambled to carve out even more commercial time to sell to superPACs panting for slots. 
6. Though temporarily buoyed by election coverage, analysts continue to record precipitous drop-offs in the number of viewers tuning in to evening news programs, as 20-somethings increasingly relied on online/digital sources for the latest news 
7. Best Superbowl commercial: a tie between Clint Eastwood’s homage to Detroit and the car industry (“Halftime in America”) and that dog that ate the cat and then tried to bribe the witnesses with Doritos.

Movie News

1. Most popular movies of the year (based on ticket sales): The Dark Knight Rises, Marvel’s The Avengers, Hunger Games, Twilight Saga-Breaking Dawn II, Skyfall, Spiderman, Brave, Ted
2. Best movies of the year: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Skyfall, Frankenweenie, Zero Dark Thirty, Anna Karinina, Life of Pi, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amour, Argo, Lincoln, The Dark Knight Rises, Silver Lining Playbook, Deep Blue Sea, Django, Looper, Holy Motors, The Masters
3. Movies based on books: Anna Karenina, Life of Pi, The Hobbit, Hunger Games, Twilight Breaking Dawn II, The Lorax, The Bourne Legacy, Diary of a Wimpy Kid-Dog Days, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer
4. Best documentary: Ken Burns' Dust Bowl (of course)
5. Worst movies of the year: The Lorax; Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer; John Carter of Mars, Snow White and the Huntsman, Magic Mike, Red Dawn

Entertainment News (Music, Books, etc.)

1. The Hunger Games continued to dominate both book sales and movie theaters
2. Anyone not reading one of the Hunger Games books was probably reading 50 Shades of Grey, the first in a trilogy of erotic bondage tales … though few of them would willingly admit to it.
3. Most listened to songs (according to Facebook): Fun’s “We Are Young,” Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” and One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.”
4. On Broadway, top shows were Clybourne Park, Other Desert Cities, Peter and the Starcatcher, Venus in Fur, Leap of Faith, Newsies, Nice Work if you Can Get It, Once, Bonnie & Clyde, One Man Two Guvnors, and lots of revivals (Porgy & Bess, Evita, Death of a Salesman, etc.)
5. Top video games of the year: Halo 4, Assassins Creed III, Guild Wars II
6. Honey Boo Boo, the adorable tot with the grotesque mother, dominated reality TV
7. Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes announced that they are divorcing. What a shock.
8. Oh … and Kate Middleton, Prince William’s wife, is preggers.

Memes of the Year

1. Texts from Hilary. A photo of Hilary Clinton texting proved the perfect opportunity for wonks/wonkets to get their snarky on.
2. Impossibly photogenic guy. Photo of a good-looking young guy running a marathon.
3. McKayla is Not Impressed. A picture of McKayla Maroney’s scowl at the Olympics as she accepted the silver (not gold) medal for women’s vault
4. “Gangnam Style," a music video featuring the infectious, meme-ready dance moves of a little-known South Korean rapper named Psy, became the most-watched video in YouTube history in 2012
5. First world problems. Photo of a comfortable white woman complaining about rich white people problems
6. The Most Interesting Man in the World (“I Don’t Always … But When I Do ….”) This meme began on TV as an advertising gimmick for Dos Ecces before going viral on the web.
7. Condescending Willy Wonka. Willy Wonka condescends to listen to your complaints.
8. Boromir. “One does not simply …."
9. Eastwooding/Invisible Obama. Inspired by Clint Eastwood’s eccentric performance at the Republican National Convention, empty chairs began popping up all over the internet.
10. Grumpy Cat. No description needed.
11. YOLO. “You only live once.” Think Carpe Diem for the generation that never saw Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society.

Technology News

1. iPhone 5. Bigger screen + the ability to take panoramic pictures = more long lines at Apple stores
2. Galaxy Note. If the iPhone has a competitor, this is probably it.
3. After years of eschewing hardware, Microsoft finally entered the fray with the Surface Tablet, a sleek little tablet PC good enough to be taken seriously
4. Kindle/Nook. Upgrades have turned these into iPad stand-ins that just happen to also work as book readers
5. SOPA. In the beginning, movie/music executives backed the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). But supporters of internet “freedom” were appalled at SOPA’s potential to block access to offshore websites that might host illegal content, and Google even blacked out their logo in protest. Ultimately, Congress shelved the legislation as too hot to handle, thus depriving millions of middle-schoolers of their go-to topic for persuasive essay assignments.
6. Nintendo introduced the Wii U. It’s key innovation is its GamePad, a game controller with a built-in 6.2” touchscreen. 
7. Instagram. The wildly popular photo-sharing app expanded from the iPhone to Android this year, adding legions of new users and a seemingly non-stop flood of new photos.

Science/Environmental News

1. Scientists at Cern, the particle physics lab near Geneva, apparently proved the existence of the Higgs-Boson particle (aka “The God Particle”). It was an answer to one of the most basic but bedeviling questions imaginable: Where does mass come from?
2. After over a year of travel through space, NASA’s Curiosity rover finally landed on the surface of Mars and began transmitting spectacular images back to Earth.
3. Meanwhile, Earth-based scopes discovering an Earth-sized exoplanet in our neighbouring star system, α Centauri, a mere 1.34 parsecs (4.4 light years) away.
4. In October, SpaceX sent its capsule Dragon on the first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. The craft has been so successful that the company, based in Hawthorne, California, is even considering a trip to Mars.
5. After two decades of drilling, a Russian team broke through 3.8 kilometres of Antarctic ice in February to reach Lake Vostok, a huge subglacial lake isolated for millions of years. Alas, early sample analysis has not found any signs of the life many scientists hoped the lake might host.
6. In the wake of the disastrous 2011 earthquake and tsunami that almost resulted in the meltdown of a nuclear power plan, Japan is now considering going entirely nuclear-free
7. The United States proposed rules for the booming shale-gas fracking industry, which have enabled the US electric-power industry to shift 10% of its generating capacity from coal to gas. Still to be resolved: is fracking linked to mysterious earthquakes that tend to occur in close proximity to fracking operations?
8. Got Global Warming? The summer’s dramatic melt of sea ice in the Arctic set a record that exceeded the predictions of climate models, as the U.S. faced its most extensive drought in half a century. Even Richard Muller, professor of physics at the University of California, Berkely, a MacArthur fellow and co-founder of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project – but perhaps better known as one of the most prominent global warming skeptics over the past decade – changed his tune, concluding that global warming is real and greenhouse-gas emissions from human activity are the main cause.
9. In September, a consortium of some 440 scientists released 30 papers from the ENCODE project (the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements), estimating that at least 20% of the genome can influence gene expression. Other ambitious projects to crunch big biological data included the first results from an effort to map the circuit wiring of the entire mouse brain, and a project to track gene activity in some 900 anatomical parts of the human brain.
10. The US Food and Drug Administration approved two weight-loss drugs — Belviq (lorcaserin) and Qsymia (phentermine plus topiramate) — the first since 1999. The agency also gave a green light to Truvada, the first drug designed to prevent HIV infection.
11. After being ignored as useless genetic garbage, the vast 98% of the human genome that does not code for genes finally has a purpose. Scientists announced that these supposedly  insignificant portions of DNA are the true genetic masterminds - metabolic switches that regulate how and when genes function as well as how prolifically genes churn out their respective proteins. Scientists are already exploiting the newly discovered trove of biological information and pursuing new ways of controlling, and possibly even curing, diseases with the flick of a genetic switch.
12. From 30% to 90% of honeybee colonies have collapsed worldwide since 2006, with the figure standing at 50% in the U.S. After considering disease, infestations by competing insects and other variables, investigators at the Harvard School of Public Health announced that the pesticide imidacloprid appears to play a big role in the mass melissacide.
13. Remember that mysterious blue eyeball? The one in the picture that kept popping up on local news broadcasts and on the internet? Turns out it wasn't a relic of some unknown, ancient species; it came from an ordinary swordfish

Food News: 2012 was the year of seaweed, salted caramel, and healthy chips; meanwhile, organic foods remained popular despite studies that appeared to show no nutritional difference between organic and non-organic products.

Education News: Looks like No Child Left Behind will be left to die of neglect, replaced by waivers demanding that states adopt tough teacher accountability standards and "Common Core Standards."  This was too much for Chicago teachers, who went on strike demanding fair wages, fair treatment, and fair evaluation procedures. (Those who branded teachers as  "union thugs" earlier in the year might wish to consider that it was those same teachers who gave their lives protecting other people's children at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  Just saying.) 

Quote of the Year. "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world." – Fred Rogers (of “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood”)