30+ Essential Things to Pack in Case of Evacuation

Did you know there are 23 active volcanoes in the U.S.? Do global warming-spawned hurricanes, floods, mudslides, blizzards, or tornadoes have you worried?  Is the foliage around you as crisp as tinder, just waiting for a stray spark to ignite it? Whatever the disaster, here's a quick list of things you should remember to throw into the car if you have to get out of town in a hurry. Note that this is not a "pack everything you could possibly need," but prioritizes items based on size, usefulness, and value.

1. Personal ID.  Be sure to pack every piece of ID you have: birth certificates, drivers licenses, passports, social security cards (or #s), work IDs, etc.  You won't be able to get anything done without ID.
2. Bank, financial, and legal records. Be sure to include all checking accounts, savings accounts, investment accounts, college savings accounts, wills, inheritance info, etc.
3. Deeds/registrations/licenses. Take the deed to your house, mortgage info, titles/registrations for all your cars, and any wedding or professional licenses.
4. Insurance Information. Grab the policies for your home, life, cars, and HEALTH.
5. Tax Records. Tax records incorporate tons of important family/financial info. Throw in at least last year's ... 2-3 trailing years if you have them.
6. Family address book. If you have one, take it. You may needs #s and addresses for physicians, family members, or others.  (Even folks who have transitioned to digital phone lists often don't transfer address/phone info for distant relatives, old acquaintances, etc. - so you may want to pack that "legacy" paper address book after all.)
7. Credit cards + courtesy checks.  All of them!  Even store cards.  You may not use them, but you need to be able to keep track of the accounts and account numbers
8. Wallets, purses and keys.  Don't take the time to go through contents - just make sure you take them & you can figure out what you'll need from them later.
9. Computer drives. This includes CPUs/hard drives, external storage drives, and stick drives. You can always buy a new monitor, keyboard, and printer, but unless you've invested in offsite backup, you don't want to lose what's on the contents of those drives.
10. All your cars/vehicles. It's natural to want the family all together in times of crisis,  but consider splitting up and taking as many cars as you can.  They provide potentially important mobility, allow you to pack more, and they are expensive to replace.  You can even live in them if worst comes to worst.  By the way, be sure to TOP OFF THE FUEL TANKS as soon as possible (ideally, as soon as you suspect evacuation may be necessary)!  Nothing more useless than a car without gas.
11. Medication. Be sure to bring prescription meds, but for good measure empty out your whole medicine cabinet + first aid kit and bring everything. You never know what you might need.
12. Optical needs.  Be sure to remember everything you need to keep your glasses/contacts in working order!  Shelters may not be able to easily meet demand for optical needs. 
13. Baby/toddler needs. Focus on packing food (shelters may not be able to provide baby-appropriate food), water, food delivery devices (bottles, special cups), diapers & wipes (TONS!), necessary medications, a portable chair/stroller/carrier (you'll need your hands as free as possible), and something that works as a car seat.  Take a blanket or two & some clothes, but don't load up - if you are evacuating to a shelter, they will be able to provide most of these.  Remember that babies/toddlers like to wander, and most shelters aren't exactly wander-friendly zones, so plan in advance how you're going to keep your child(ren) from wandering off - playpen? car seat? high chair? baby leash?  These may also have to double as portable beds for napping.
14. Elderly/disabled dependent needs. Pack medications, medical records, and medical devices/monitors (wheelchairs, walkers, canes, IV delivery devices, reading/corrective glasses, corrective footwear, hearing devices, diabetic monitoring supplies, etc.).  Make sure you have contact info for all the doctors they see, especially specialists.  Also, if your dependent has special dietary needs, you may want to pack a healthy supply of appropriate foods, as shelters may not be able to meet these needs.
15. Water and food.  Shelters will provide the basics, but if they're overcrowded there may not be enough, so take some extra food just in case (remember a non-electric can opener).  Also take as much water as you can store.  Depending on the emergency, access to water may not be secure.  (If you don't have a handy supply of gallon jugs, remember that thermoses/coolers, jumbo toy buckets, and baby swimming pools can store water in a pinch.)  
16. Stuff for pets.  If you will be taking along a pet, be sure to include food, water, essential equipment (leashes, boxes) and vaccination records.  (Vaccination records may be required for admission into a shelter).
17. Blankets/sleeping bags/towels.  If you are fleeing to a reputable shelter, they will probably have these for you.  Even so, consider taking extra sheets (double as privacy screens, knapsacks, etc.), blankets, towels, and sleeping bags.
18. Flashlights/camp lanterns.  Bring as many portable lighting devices as you can, and don't forget the batteries.  If you get stuck somewhere without electricity, you're going to be grateful for a source of light. 
19. Clothes.  Don't overpack!  Clothes are easily replaced.  2-3 sets should be enough, so you can wash one while wearing the other.  Do, however, consider throwing in a bottle of dishsoap (can be used for dishes or clothes) so that you can recycle.  Don't forget to consider the weather: you may be spending more time than you think out of doors, so include coats/hats/gloves/raingear, sleepwear, and adequate footwear.
20. Toilettries.  Don't overpack!  But do take essentials (soap, shampoo, deoderant, toothbrush/toothpaste, hairbrush), so you can freshen up when you need to.  Don't forget sanitary items, contact lens-related items, prescription glasses, and a couple of towels.
21. Family photos/videos/scrapbooks/heirloom albums/family bibles.  Don't worry about reprints of digital photos that you have backed up to a computer, but DO grab framed family photos from walls, wedding and baby albums, scrapbooks, home movies, boxes of old family photos, etc.
22. Your keepsakes.  Think treasured family records (geneologies, etc.), childhood momentoes, high school/college yearbooks, wedding stuff ... you probably have most of this in a box somewhere, so pack the whole box!
23. Your child's keepsakes.  If you are evacuating with children, don't leave them with nothing! Grab treasured toys, blankets ... anything that has emotional significance ... and bring it along.
24. Jewelry/fur coats/art work/heirlooms/other valuables.  Don't worry about the small stuff (unless it's all in one place and easy to grab) ... insurance will cover it.  But do grab anything with special signicance or with a value over $1000
25. Portable electronics - all of them!  Laptops, ipods, cellphones, PDAs, handheld game systems, book readers, portable DVD/VHS players, and portable radios. Be sure to also pack ALL car & home rechargers, power cords, extension cords, all the batteries you can find, and 1-2 power strips to keep them all plugged in in the event of limited outlet access. They may take up some room but are *well* worth their keep.  Access to the internet is a necessity, and entertainment is going to quickly become a priority if you have to stay away from home for any length of time.
26. Ziploc and trash bags - lots!  These can be used for hundreds of different things - from mixing powdered milk to acting as disposable toilets or waterproofing. 
27. Books/printed materials.  For passing the time, especially if there's no electricity!  (Skip magazines - too little entertainment value for the space they take up.)
28. Notebook + pens.  To help you keep track of important information.  Don't count on your phone/electronics for the purpose, as electricity may not be available to recharge them.  (Also indispensable for keeping children amused.)
29. Duct tape.  Because you always need duct tape.  (I'm not kidding - you may need to hang sheets for privacy, secure possessions, or jury-rig electronics, all of which require adhesives.)
30. Camping supplies.  If you have time and room in your car, go ahead and pack 'em - especially tools that will help you with cooking (camp stoves, fuel, cookwear, mess kits, utensils) and attending to basic needs (FIRESTARTERS AND MATCHES, multi-purpose tools, camp lanterns, tents, tarps, bungie cords/rope).  These items are made to be compact so they probably won't take up too much room.
31. Camera/Videocam. Worst-case scenario, you'll need this to document damage; best-case, you can use them to document your triumphant return home!

50+ Romance Novel Obstacles to True Love

This is yet another one of those blog entries that stems from a conversation with girlfriends.  Discussing the  particularly preposterous plot of a recent popular romance series (hint: time travel and kilts), it occurred to us that all romance plots are inherently a little preposterous, if only because of the necessity for manufacturing some obstacle to keep the lovers separated long enough to generate a plot.  After all, where’s the fun in lovers finding each other in the first chapter and living happily ever after?   Where’s the sexual tension, where’s the suspense, where’s the glorious frisson when love finally triumphs over all obstacles placed in its path?

In real life, obstacles to True Love tend to be, well, boring: personality conflicts, parental objections, money.  Fortunately, romance writers are much more creative – it’s hard to imagine a tragedy, complication, misunderstanding or act of villainy that they haven’t enlisted in the cause of thwarting the course of True Love.  Nor would we want it any other way.

Following is the list we whimsically initiated that day, with sample books/movies supplied when we could think of them.   If you’re a romance writer in search of inspiration for conflicts, help yourself.  Otherwise, enjoy the opportunity to celebrate the sheer scope, creativity, and venerable cheesiness of these familiar, beloved romance tropes:

 Separated by social forces/conventions

1. Separated by religion.  Is there an easier way to torment your lovers than by having one of them come from a Catholic family, the other from a Protestant family?  Or doom one to be raised in an Amish community while the other is an avowed Outsider?  Might de Boise-Guilbert and Rebecca (Ivanhoe) have lived happily ever after if it hadn’t been for whole the “I’m a Christian crusader, you’re a Jew” objection? 
2. Separated by economic status.  God help the rich man or woman who gives their heart to someone with a heart of gold but a purse of dust, for their relatives are sure to throw a hissy.  (Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion)
3. Separated by social status.  Because everyone knows ogres can’t be permitted to fall in love with princesses (Shrek), businessmen can’t be allowed to fall in love with prostitutes (Pretty Woman), and girls of good family can’t go around lusting after brooding stableboys (Wuthering Heights).
4. Separated by race/nationality.  Sadly, his may be the only one on the list that actually occurs more often in real life than in books, though it’s a reliable trope in Bollywood movies where dishy Indian protagonists are forever falling in love with unsuitable Westerners.
5. Separated by age.  Can either take the form of protagonists too young to marry or a doomed May/December romance (Big, Lost in Translation, Harold and Maude, Moonrise Kingdom).
6. Separated by business interests.  One’s a cop, one’s a famous jewel thief (To Catch a Thief); or, one’s the owner of the business, the other’s a secretary (Working Girl); or, one owns a conglomerate, the other owns an independent shop (You’ve Got Mail). Can True Love triumph over job conflicts?
7. Separated by feud.  Romeo and Juliet.  That’s all we need to say about that.
8. Separated by politics.  A standard conflict in historical romances, especially those that involve civil wars.

 Separated by intellectual/emotional differences

1. Separated by ideas. He’s a liberal (environmentalist, activist, social worker), she’s a conservative (business executive, lawyer) – can they do a better job than Congress of overcoming their ideological differences? (The Way We Were)
2.  Separated by emotions.  He’s brazen, she’s shy (Mansfield Park); he’s uptight, she’s quirky (basically anything starring Meg Ryan); she’s a brain, he’s a slacker (Say Anything).  Apparently opposites do attract – just not until the final chapter.
3. Separated by temperament. They can’t live with each other, but it turns out they can’t live without each other either (His Girl Friday).

 Separated by circumstances

1.  Separated by prior obligations.  “I cannot marry you as I have, alas, been promised to another!”  Especially common in historical romances, back when parents arranged their childrens’ marriages based on political, social, and business considerations (Sense & Sensibility, Shakespeare in Love).
2. Separated by an inconvenient marriage.  Because nothing crushes budding love like a mad woman in the attic (Jane Eyre), a coma wife, or that rash decision made when you were still young and impressionable (Casablanca, Bridges of MadisonCounty).
3. Separated by loyalty/duty.  How do you choose between friendship, loyalty, duty, and love? (My Best Friend’s Wedding; Lancelot & Guinevere in Le Morte de Arthur)
4. Separated by profession. One (or both) have jobs that constantly separate them (celebrities, athletes, musicians, interpreters, art restorers, foreign correspondents) and often involve romantic temptations.
5. Separated by DNA. Lovers discover they are tragically related to each other – cousins, or a brother/sister separated at birth.
6. Separated by artifice. One (or both) are entangled in a sham marriages (or engagements)  (While You Were Sleeping).
7. Separated by world events. The course of true love is interrupted by a crisis: war (Last of the Mohicans), plague, or the ever-popular captured by pirates (The Princess Bride).
8. Separated by tragedy. The course of true love is interrupted by a major life event or tragedy: a death in the family, a political setback, or a sudden change in economic circumstances (an inheritance or bankruptcy).

 Separated by deliberate interference

1. Separated by rivals. The course of true love is interrupted by a jealous rival or other interested party (Antony & Cleopatra, Snow White).
2. Separated by competing agendas. The course of true love is interrupted by friends/family members with their own agendas.  Because nothing’s as insidious as the manipulations of someone your characters erroneously trust but who is in fact motivated by greed, selfishness, and/or revenge (A Separate Peace, Othello).
3. Separated by trial. One lover must successfully complete a quest or deed to earn the attention and favor of their inamorata (Ivanhoe).

Separated by supernatural forces. 

1. Separated by time.  The lovers somehow contrived to meet across time but are doomed forever to be parted by the eras that separate them (The Time-Traveller’s Wife, Outlander).
2. Separated by mortality.  One lover’s a mortal, the other’s a ghost; a guaranteed tear-jerker of a conflict (Ghost, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir).
3. Separated by species.  Because nothing’s quite so fraught with complications as falling in love with a creature of an entirely incompatible species – say, a vampire, werewolf, mermaid or fairy (Twilight series, Edward Scissorhands).
4. Separated by destiny.   A superstition, omen, or prophecy keeps the lovers separated – you’ll find this one in medieval romances and some fantasy/sci fi.

Separated by noble sentiments

1. Separated by self-denial. One lover nobly eschews romance because they are secretly suffering from a wasting illness, a mental disorder, a drug addiction, or some other depressing malady.  Damn their scruples!
2. Separated by a Terrible Secret. One lover nobly eschews romance because they possess a Terrible Secret that will prevent them from having children (a genetic disorder; a previous trauma that prevents conception).
3. Separated by honor. One lover nobly eschews romance because they were Tragically Orphaned At Birth (or, alternatively, suffering amnesia) and don’t feel they can honorably enter into a marriage without knowing the full details of their own parentage/heritage.  An honorable old Dickensian trope.
4. Separated by nobility. One lover nobly eschews romance because the object of their amour is obviously vulnerable, damaged, or for some other reason unable to rationally evaluate their decision to enter into a relationship.
5. Separated by sacrifice. One lover adores the other so completely, they’re willing to sacrifice their happiness to help the other (City Lights).

Separated by insecurity

1. Separated by poor self-esteem. One lover deliberately eschews the other because they don’t believe they’re worthy of love, possibly because they feel themselves too plain (Jane Eyre)  or too damaged (Moonstruck).
2. Separated by professional jealousy. One lover becomes jealous of the professional successes of the other (A Star is Born).
3. Separated by isolation. Lovers fall in love in absentia – perhaps via mail, email, phone calls, letters in trees, or letters in bottles – then become afraid to meet lest their hopes be dashed.

Separated by vocation or calling

1. Separated by ambition. One lover deliberately eschews love/marriage in order to pursue a vocation or calling (The Natural, It’s a Wonderful Life).
2. Separated by vocation. One lover takes a vow of celibacy/chastity, either as part of a profession of faith or as a vow to god in exchange for some great favor (The Thorn Birds).
3. Separated by social convention. One (or both) are trapped in careers where lovers and/or spouses could make things inconvenient  (Elizabeth the Queen, The American President).

Separated by unsuitability

1. Separated by worthiness. One of the lovers (or both) must modify some character defect in order to deserve the other (Mr. Darcy & Elizabeth in Pride & Prejudice; Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind; Bill Murray in Groundhog Day; Han Solo in Star Wars).
2. Separated by entanglement. One of the lovers must free themselves from  an unsuitable entanglement (for example, that girlfriend/boyfriend who is only using them for their money/their influence/to make someone else jealous) in order to become available to the other.  (Jane Eyre)
3. Separated by prejudice. One of the lovers must overcome a preconceived prejudice against the other (Pride & Prejudice, Cyrano de Bergerac, Ms. Congeniality).

Separated by memories of love

1. Separated by mourning. One lover deliberately throws obstacles in the path of romance because they’re not yet over a previous romance – even better if their first love died under sudden and tragic circumstances (Always, Sleepless in Seattle).
2. Separated by psychological scars. One lover deliberately eschews romance because they still bear psychological scars from their last traumatic romantic entanglement (Rebecca).

Separated by blindness

1. Trapped in the "Friend Zone." Friends fall gradually in love (Harry Potter).
2. Separated by Temper. Enemies or rivals fall gradually in love (All’s Well That Ends Well, It Happened One Night, When Harry Met Sally).
3. Separated by Unrequited Love.  One minute he’s in your “friend zone,” the next moment you’re realizing he’s Mr. Right (Emma, Jerry Maguire, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Kermit the Frog & Ms. Piggy).

Separated by deception

1. Separated by Subterfuge. One of the lovers is living a secret life - spy, fugitive, superhero - that they are not at liberty to disclose (Batman, Spiderman, Zorro).
2. Separated by Impersonation. One lover is pretending to be someone they’re not.  This is one of Shakespeare’s favorite tropes; there’s almost always someone passing as someone else, and usually as someone of the opposite sex.

Separated by a BIG MISUNDERSTANDING. 

1. Separated by Misunderstanding. And finally, the granddaddy of them all, the “Big Misunderstanding” – where one lover mistakenly believes the other lover has somehow let them down (White Christmas), or there’s an outside force preventing them from pledging themselves to another, but by the time the last chapter rolls around, all the misapprehensions have been dispelled, clearing the way for True Love to triumph.

10 Crafting Ideas for When You've Run Out of Craft Ideas for Your Kids in Quarantine

This was the complaint of a friend of mine during the corona virus shutdown - "We've made every craft I can think of!" Macaroni necklaces, check. Construction paper chains, check. Paper mache, check.

In response to which I offer these helpful articles, sure to get any mom's creative juices flowing again!

1. "Decorating Your Home With Pasta"
2. "How to Bake Like the Maid's Coming Tomorrow!"
3. "How to Glitter Literally Everything!"
4. "Easy Radiation Experiments You Can Do at Home"
5. "Transform Those Old Tee-shirts Into a Trampoline"
6. "Crafts that Require 100 Pieces or Less"
7. "Create an Accent Wall With Crayola"
8. "Clothes Stores Closed? How to Make Play Clothes From Curtains the Von Trapp Way!"
9. "Make These REALLY LOUD Musical Instruments Out of Materials Lying Around Your House"
10. "How to Transform Sidewalk Chalk Into Antacid Tablets for Your Parents When They've Had a Little Too Much Wine Juice!"

10+ Ways to Maximize Your Scrapbook Storage - My Favoriate Cheap and Efficient Crafting Storage Solutions

I love collecting crafting supplies but have only a tiny space to store them: thus my enduring interest in storage solutions that are efficient. (The fact that I'm a teacher explains the need to keep things inexpensive.) 

... Anytime I can move something off my desk and onto a wall or rod? Win! 

... Anytime I can replace one of those heavy wood craft storage units with something light and equally efficient? Win! 

... Anytime I can storage supplies in a way that keeps them visible, so I don’t forget what I have? Win!  

Here are 10 solutions I haven’t just looked up at random on the internet; they’re solutions I actually use in my own crafting space. Hope they work for you as well as they work for me!

1.      RIBBON/WASHI TAPE STORAGE for rolls.  I laugh at those heavy wood storage boxes that beautifully display maybe 6-8 spools of ribbon – who has only 6-8 spools of ribbon? I store my ribbon, washi tape, tulle (basically anything wrapped around a tube) on cheap metal curtain rods that hang from the ceiling (or between hooks on the wall) using wire. I've learned not to extend the bar all the way or else it bows under the weight of the ribbon; instead, I buy the longest ones they have. I love that this puts my ribbon & washi tape up out of the way but also leaves my collection exposed so that I can quickly see what I have.

2.      RIBBON/WASHI TAPE STORAGE for rolls (see photo).  Smaller rolls, or rolls I use most heavily, I store on those specialty hangers they make to hang multiple pairs of slacks.  Each bar lifts out of its own cradle so the rolls slide easily on/off the bars, and no roll is ever buried too deeply behind others.  Storing craft supplies on hangers frees up surface/drawer space by maximizing the use of vertical space; also, of course, it makes your ribbon & washi tape supplies easy to peruse and access.

3.     RIBBON STORAGE for remnants.  Pick up one of those specialty hangers that are made  in the shape of a bar, so that you can hang a single pair of slacks without having to "thread them" through a standard hanger.  Unscrew the "cap" that keeps the slacks from sliding off and thread your paperclips onto the bar.  Simple untie the remnant you want & leave the paperclip there to to reuse later. I store my remnants in rainbow order to make it even easier to find what I need. 

4.      YARN STORAGE.  Yarn has this way of taking up as much or as little space as you allow it! I tame mine my stuffing the skeins into faux plastic ball jars with lids – they’re light, they stack easily, and you can see the color of the wool through the transparent plastic – especially if you stack them lid-down.

5.      FABRIC REMNANT STORAGE. Buy a cooling rack with horizontal bars spaced about 1/4” apart.  Fold and drape your fabric scraps over the horizontal bars so that they hang down. You can hang the cooling rack from a hanger or hooks on the wall. 

6.      STORAGE FOR SMALL EMBELLISHMENTS. Use transparent jewelry/hardware storage boxes to store embellishments. I’ve got about 10 of them: one for wood embellishments, 3 for eyelets/brads, 2 for buttons/charms, etc.

7.     STORAGE FOR MEDIUM-SIZED EMBELLISHMENTS & STAMP-PADS (see photo).  Store larger embellishments (tags, paper flowers, etc.) in hanging jewelry organizers. Perfect for seeing everything you have in one place! 

8.     STORAGE FOR LARGE EMBELLISHMENTS (see photo). Every scrapbooker is familiar with the clear plastic 12" x 12" hole-punched page protectors that serve as the final destination for our completed scrapbook layouts.  It doesn't take too much looking to find 12" x 12" page protectors that have been divided by the manufacturer into pockets - sometimes four pockets per page, sometimes five, sometimes nine or even 25.  These make amazing storage for flat cards, embellishments, and papers.  Just slide your flat embellishments into the pockets and insert the pages into 3-hold binder for easy browsing. I have mine divided up into several binders by theme. (The photo at the top of this entry is from my Christmas binder, obviously!)   

9.     STICKER/STENCIL STORAGE. Buy inexpensive transparent top-loading 8” x 11” sheet protectors. Insert sticker sheets (or stencils, or basically anything flat) into the pockets and organize them in an inexpensive 3-ring binder, perhaps even using dividers to separate your stickers into categories.

10. MOBILE STORAGE. Forego those expensive craft supply storage carts, boxes and bags!  An ordinary tool box or tackle box from Walmart will provide much more flexible storage at a *much* more affordable price.  If you need mobility, places like Office Depot sell inexpensive rolling carts (mostly to teachers) that are wide enough to store multiple tackle boxes. I've customized my rolling cart with a combination of storage devices designed to match my actual needs - so much more convenient than 

20 Things We Should Be Worried About But We Aren't (Yet) ...

One thing this decade seems to have plenty of: stuff to worry about. Political disruptions. Climate change. Pandemics. North Korean nukes. Trade wars. Terrorism.  Opioids.  Immigration.  Genocides. Refugee crises. Gun violence.  Russian hacking.  Sexual harassment. #BlackLivesMatter. Healthcare. The national deficit. Bitcoin bubbles. Privacy. Trash gyres. Rainforest destruction. GMOs. Beehive Colony Collapse Disorder. The approaching Singularity.

Just in case you were beginning to worry that you weren’t worrying enough, I’ve compiled a list of concerns that aren’t dramatic enough for the front page, but that will do perfectly well if you’ve been getting too much healthy sleep and need something to keep you up at night.  (And if 20 nightmare scenarios aren't enough, I recommend the above book, What Should We Be Worried About, a collection of essays in which really smart people talk about what keeps them up at night.  Guaranteed to make you lose sleep.)

1. AN UNFAIR AND UNEQUAL EDUCATION. Is it a coincidence that political corruption is most rampant in states that have the lowest test scores?  I worry that state funding of education creates a system that incentivizes corrupt politicians to deliberately undermine schools.  After all, who’s more likely to continue to elect corrupt politicians – a well-educated citizenry or a bunch of kids who never developed critical thinking skills and who, therefore, are stupid enough to believe the election commercials? Unlike many teachers, I was a big fan of No Child Left Behind because it required at least some accountability for educating students.  But ever since the Supreme Court began ruling that anything that isn't explicitly stated in the Constitution isn't protected, we're a decision away from states deciding to eliminate mandatory public schooling entirely. One of the few sacrifices of a well-functioning democracy is that it requires an educated citizenry capable of making considered decisions. We need to stop forgetting that.
2. REALITY DENIAL, aka “Just a moment while I interrupt your evidence-based reality with my unsubstantiated opinions.” I worry that in their rush to ensure “fair representation,” media outlets are creating the impression that opinions deserve as much weight as reality.  There’s a famous quote by Asimov: “There is a cult of ignorance […] measured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as [valid] as your knowledge.” Every time media organizations allow newsmakers to express "alternative facts" without calling them out (or, even worse, treat these alternative facts as legitimate) they reinforce the fallacy that opinion is somehow equivalent to truth.  In a world where technology makes it all too easy for people to bypass legitimate forms of news in favor of self-validating and self-reinforcing "alternative realities," I worry that we are at risk of forgetting what "truth" is, and why it matters. 
3. KIDS THAT CAN’T PASS THE MARSHMALLOW TEST.  You’ve heard of the marshmallow test, right? You put a child and a marshmallow in the same room, then promise the child that if they don’t touch the marshmallow until you return, you’ll let them have two.  In other words, twice the marshmallow.  100% more marshmallow. And yet an alarming number of the kids, lacking the tiny amount of self-control required to resist the urge, consume the marshmallow at once. I worry that in a world where video games now incorporate “mini-games” so you don’t have to wait until the end to win something, where mature adults whine when websites take more than an instant to upload, where drivers explode into road-rage when intersections are slow to clear, and where one-day delivery still isn’t quick enough – in other words, in a world where  instant gratification has become an expectation rather than the exception – what hope is there that future generations will possess the patience and willingness to embrace near-term sacrifice in order to ensure longer-term gain?
4. GENERATIONAL HOMOGENIZATION.  I worry that current and future generations are losing their unique identities.  It’s hard to witness my little nieces and nephews watch Disney movies (some of them over 70yrs old at this point), to listen to my sons stream Spotify’s “I Love the ‘80S!” radio station as they do homework, to watch my students cycling through every unfortunate fashion trend from the past 50 years – and not worry about generational homogenization. Back when I was a kid I remember attending ‘60s parties (everyone wore poodle skirts), ‘70s parties (everyone wore hippie finery), ‘80s parties (think big hair and disco).  Then came the millennia and suddenly – thanks to DVD players, internet, and streaming sites like Hulu – teens aren’t inventing their own culture so much as appropriating all the cultures that came before them. When I’m not worrying about what the hell I’m going to wear if – God help me - I ever get invited to a ‘00s party, I worry about the lasting social and cultural impact of generations with no unique, original identity to call their own
5. Speaking of which: CULTURAL HOMOGINIZATION.  I worry that the same forces that are hastening globalization – internet, multinational corporations – are hastening the homogenization of international cultural identities. Remember when American cities like San Francisco, Boston, and Nashville used to have their own unique personalities? Now, with the exception of a few districts, these cities are practically indistinguishable, overtaken by identical chain restaurants, big box stores, and cars.  How long before every country has its own Hollywood/Bollywood, its own food courts featuring a variety of faux-ethnic cuisine, roads overrun by identical cars, store windows filled with identical fashions, radios playing identical playlists?  I weep to imagine a world in which globalization robs us of cultural diversity and identity.
6. IS IT LIVE OR IS IT MEMOREX?  I worry that we aren’t ready for the onslaught of virtual reality about to descend upon us.  Keep in mind that our brains are so susceptible to intense emotion that grief has been known to trigger heart attacks, childhood trauma to trigger life-long mental illness, and intense fear/horror to trigger PTSD.  And then there’s the flipside: brains so giddy on opioids that their owners will literally self-destruct rather than do without.  In other words, we humans are pretty fragile vessels when it comes to handling intense emotion. So what happens when super-intense virtual reality experiences inadvertently trigger these responses; or, perhaps even worse, when our species begins developing a tolerance for them? What happens when natural beauty fails to enchant as completely as virtual beauty; when actual violence fails to appall when compared to the excesses of virtual violence; when the burdens of actual life pale in comparison with the non-stop entertainment of virtual life?
7. Speaking of which: AUTONOMOUS WARFARE.  I worry that anything that reduces the social or emotion costs of war, runs the risk of perpetuating war.  There’s a reason the minds of soldiers are so easily scarred by warfare: it’s a traumatic, grotesque, and wholly unnatural act to slay a fellow human. That makes the very best disincentive for waging war, war itself.  By gradually transitioning to a system of remote warfare, where soulless drones, submarines, and long-range missile systems deliver armaments to GPS coordinates rather than human settlements, however, we have created a more politically palatable system of killing.  People are still dying horrific deaths, it’s just that we don’t have to be there watching as they suffer and die.  Whoever developed PTSD from watching a blip on a screen? By placing violence at an arm’s distance, I worry that we’re making war socially, emotionally, and politically palatable, allowing us to cling to the pretense of “civilization” even as we continue to commit barbaric acts of violence.
8. VIRAL VIRUSES.  I worry that viruses (the microscopic type, not the digital type – though they can be lethal too) are going to take us out.  In case you’ve forgotten everything you learned about viruses in 7^th grade, let me remind you that these are scary dudes. From the standpoint of evolution, they were here before us and they've used that lead time to figure out how outlive pretty much everything else.  They laughed off the last five mass extinctions as if they were hiccups. Unlike bacteria, viruses hide inside your cells so your immune system has difficulty finding them. They mutate rapidly, making them a moving target, they can't be killed by antibiotics because they're not living organisms, and they're wicked contagious because the only way they can propagate is to constantly infect new hosts ... all of which enables them to sweep through populations like tsunamis - sudden, violent, unstoppable (see: flu, HIV, ebola). I worry that in our natural state of hubris, we humans aren't taking viruses seriously, at our peril. 
9. Speaking of which: LONGEVITY.  I worry that people are living too long.  Sure, immortality sounds great, and it would solve that nagging problem of how to explore space when the shortest trip to a habitable planet takes longer than the average human lifespan – but in practical terms, immortality would be a disaster in almost every conceivable way.  How can we possibly control Earth’s growing population if new babies continue to be born but no one dies? How do we find jobs, homes, food, water for all those extra people?  More abstractly, how do we grow socially, creatively or intellectually as a race unless we keep innovating – which process which requires a steady turnover of new brains entering a given field?  (See also: Cultural Homogenization.) How does natural selection continue to improve the survivability of our species if our birthrate slows to a crawl?  How do we find the money to research the diseases of youth if most of the Earth is ruled by elders who have the power/money to divert medical research to their own needs?  How do we meet the health and social needs of aging populations without burdening their children – essentially robbing them of their chance to live independently because, from the age of ~40 on, they’re tethered to the needs of elderly relatives? How do we fill all that extra time in a meaningful way, so that everyone doesn’t go bonkers from boredom?  Plus, in the immortal words of Queen, who wants to live forever when love must die?
10. SPACE JUNK. I worry that if we keep launching stuff into space, it’s going to become impossible to ensure the safety of the satellites and other objects up there that we rely on to do important stuff like facilitate satellite communications, track major weather events, and make GPS work.  I get that space is vast, and the chances of collision are small.  However, I’m also betting our satellite systems don’t have a lot of built in redundancy, especially since nearly all of them were built by the lowest bidder.
11. Speaking of which: GPS HACKING.  Has anyone been paying attention to just how much we’ve come to rely on GPS? It helps guide airplanes to airports, fishermen to where the fish are, and weapons to where the enemies are; it sets our clocks; it supports accurate mapping of weather phenomenon; and it keeps us from getting lost when our doctors relocate to new office buildings.  And yet, the system is so antiquated and vulnerable to hacking that even the U.S. military is urging its branches to develop their own backup systems. Think about all the money we’re spending on “smart weapons” that require GPS guidance; now consider that all those weapons could be rendered unusable by $20 worth of electrical components available from Amazon
12. THE IMPENDING MAGNETIC SHIFT.  I worry about what happens when Earth’s magnetic poles decide to swap – as in, the north pole becomes the south pole and visa versa.   This has happened periodically throughout Earth’s history and, geologically speaking, we’re overdue for next shift.  In fact, there’s ample evidence that a switch is coming: the magnetic north pole has been shifting up to 5miles per year, a traditional sign that polar shift is imminent.  This is a much (much) bigger deal than just having to recalibrate all the compasses in the world. Earth’s magnetic “shield” is all that’s preventing deadly subatomic particles from pelting all life on earth to extinction. And while the shield doesn’t actually disappear during polar shifts, it does becomes significantly weaker, meaning some stuff is going to slip through.  I’m not sure tinfoil hats are going to be enough.
13. Speaking of which: ANTICS IN ANTARCTICA.  I promised myself I wouldn’t mention climate change here, since everyone’s worried about climate change. What bothers me is that I don’t hear anyone talking about what happens when Antarctica melts.  Is anyone paying attention to what’s underneath all that ice? Copper, iron, oil, coal, silver, gold, platinum and … wait for it … stores of unexploited rare earth minerals, the ones that facilitate our advanced electronics. At various times countries as diverse as Argentina, France, Australia, Chile, Norway and the U.K. have claimed ownership of bits and pieces of the continent, before they all buried the hatchet and signed The Antarctic Treaty in 1959 agreeing that no one would make any more territorial claims. How long do you think everyone’s going to keep holding hands and humming It’s A Small World once those gold deposits defrost? A hint of things to come: Russia is already fortifying their "research stations" with troops. 
14. TOO MUCH CONNECTIVITY.  I worry about what happens when we connect all our important systems to a single grid and then the grid goes down. While the whole Y2K thing was much ado about nothing, I worry that we’ve too quickly forgotten the reason we were worried – that as our communications systems (satellites and internet), banking systems (encrypted trading systems running over wireless), navigation/weapons systems (GPS) and social systems (smart phones) become increasingly interconnected, the collapse of any one of these systems might bring them all down. Forget North Korean nukes – I fear we’re one well-aimed computer virus away from the collapse of civilization as we know it.
15. Speaking of which: WHO’S BACKING THIS ?#$ UP?  I worry about what happens to all that lovely digital data if the electricity goes out.  Recently I was at a presentation by one of Nook’s designers, who happened to mention, in passing, that individual servers in server farms have a three year life span. Think about that. Servers have to be replaced every THREE years.  Which means one year of inadequate electrical supply could wipe out one third of all our bits and bytes; two years might put paid to up to two thirds of our cumulative digital wisdom, and a third year could wipe it all out entirely.  If young adult authors are to be believed, three years sans electricity isn’t even reaching when it comes to potential dystopian futures.  Just in case, I’m hoarding books and printing out my photos.
16. Speaking of which: WHO CONTROLS OUR DIGITAL CONTENT?  Even supposing our data survives a digital apocalypse, we’re still not out of the woods. I’m not talking about digital hacking, which is on everyone’s radar and thus fails to qualify for this list. I’m talking about the more nefarious forms of digital alteration, perhaps introduced under the guise of profit (“I bet we’d sell more copies of literature classics if we omit the boring chapters!”), political correctness (“Rather than risk causing any emotional distress, let’s just remove ALL the scenes that might trigger people”), or patriotism (“If we release those statistics about civilian deaths, popular support for this war might wane).  The problem with digital information is that it’s so easily modified, that modifications are so incredibly difficult to detect, and that excuses for engaging in digital modification may present as innocent, possibly even logical.  I worry that as our society moves towards digitizing every form of communication – from journals to journalism, from interpersonal communications to entertainment, from commerce to conversations – “digital alteration” may gain the power not just to alter our perception of reality, but reality itself.
17. SCIENCE FICTION: NOT JUST FOR NERDS.  I worry that we’re not paying enough attention to science fiction writers. These guys think about the future for a living, and if past experience is any guide, they often do a scarily good job of projecting potential outcomes of current technology trends.  Take Isaac Asimov, who back in the 1940s invented the 3 Laws of Robotics that still guide robotic engineering today.  (Seriously: look them up.)  Take Ray Bradbury’s short story, The Sound of Thunder, from which the Butterfly Effect derives – a precept that has come to shape the way we think about time travel into the past.  Take 1984 and compare its use of surveillance and news jargon to what exists in the world today (“alternate facts!”).  More importantly, look at predictions that have been made by these guys that haven’t yet come true but that should serve as precautionary tales if we let them: Arthur C. Clarke’s Dial F for Frankenstein, in which a telephone network gains consciousness and gradually takes over the world’s financial, transportation, and communication systems; the implicit warning of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park against the hubris of assuming we can control nature (or, substitute the implicit warning in his Prey against the hubris of assuming we can control nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and AI); or what Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 has to say about the dangers of eliminating texts that make us feel “uncomfortable” (think trigger warnings). Science fiction isn’t just a genre, it’s a think tank of great minds devoted to predicting possible future.  That’s why smart people read it, and why more of us should probably heed it.
18. Speaking of which: ROBOT SHORTAGES. While everyone else seems to be worried about too many robots, I’m worried we won’t have nearly enough – at least not enough of the sort capable of doing the work that actually needs doing.  Every time I turn on NPR, someone’s talking about how U.S. jobs are being replaced by robotics. Don’t worry about closing the immigration tap: those unfilled jobs will replaced by robots. Don’t worry about the U.S.’s unsustainable productivity figures: robots will take over when humans can’t keep up. My question is: who’s making all these robots? Moreover, who’s making them cheaply enough that it’s going to be affordable to put them to work landscaping, doing construction, and working at McDonalds?  It’s far more likely that robots will be taking over skilled jobs, the ones that pay the good money, leaving it to us humans to perform all those manual labor jobs.
19. A MORE PERFECT UNION? I worry that in our patriotism-fueled enthusiasm to spread Democracy throughout the world, we give up looking for other forms of government that might be better.  Consider: in a democratic system, every time a majority party wins an election, there’s a whole minority party in the background feeling royally resentful. If recent politics have taught us nothing else, we’ve learned just how resentful (and destructive) those minorities can be. European countries have tried dealing with this by implementing coalition systems, but is a compromise where no one gets what they want any better than at least some people getting the government they wanted? There’s got to be a better way, and I’d like to believe someone’s still looking for it.
20. THE DEATH OF CONTEMPLATION. Finally, I worry about the death of contemplation.  The problem isn’t that we’re working longer hours; the problem is that we now have an enormous choice of entertainments with which to waste away our remaining spare hours. Remember back in the “olden days,” when people with time on their hands engaged in such past-times as strolling, gardening, reading, playing music, writing letters, doing needlework, sitting by the fire getting warm?   All these occupations had one thing in common: they left time for thinking.  For letting the mind wander where it will. For musing, examining, questioning, conjecturing, imagining, evaluating, reasoning, reflecting.  Time for allowing ideas not just to stash themselves away for later retrieval, but to wander around a bit before arriving at their ultimate destination, allowing for the creation of fanciful juxtapositions and the discovery of curious connections.  The kind of reflection that leads not just to life-long learning, but to the development of wisdom.  I worry that in our rash to gain and share knowledge, we are forgetting the importance of giving ourselves to reflect upon what we’ve learned and thereby gaining wisdom.

50+ Ethical Questions Associated with Recent Scientific Discoveries

Was recently discussing with science teacher colleagues the extent to which we have a responsibility to teach not just science, but the ethics of science.  

It's easy to agree that we all have a moral obligation not to let bias intrude upon our presentation of facts.  On the other hand, how do we talk about climate change while pretending not to editorialize about mankind's responsibility to preserve the earth for future generations? How do we talk about genetic engineering without awkwardly skirting the potential risks of interfering with the gene pool? How do we talk about stem cell research funding without stumbling into a discussion of which diseases/disorders are "highest priority"? See what I mean?

Naturally, the first thing I had to do was rush off and compile a list of ethical issues that my curriculum brushes by on its way from September to June. The following 50+ issues don't even scratch the surface, which gives you an idea of the vastness of the potential issue.  Time for us to consider mandating a course in ethics as part of the high school curriculum?

1.      Thanks to CRISPR, we can now grow "designer babies" with whatever traits we want. Should we?

2.      A scientist uses CRISPR to modify a gene that can be used to implant a desirable trait: for instance, a resistance to heart disease. They want to patent the gene and sell it like a medication. Should they be allowed to do this?

3.      Thanks to cloning, we may soon be able to clone human beings. Should we?

4.      Some parents are having babies in hopes of finding organ or marrow donors for siblings with cancer or other diseases. Should parents be able to “force” these babies to donate organs or marrow to their siblings?

5.      Using "biologicals" to cure cancer may soon become a possibility - but the technology is sure to be super-expensive. Health insurance companies would go bankrupt if they had to cover these procedures for everyone. So, who should have access?

6.      Genetic testing now makes it possible to know if a baby is going to be born with a high risk factor for a particular disease. Under what circumstances, if any, do we use this information to decide whether a baby should be “allowed” to be born?

7.      Should we allow organisms to go extinct? Under what circumstances?

8.     We have reached the point where we can use DNA to bring back to life organisms that have gone extinct. Should we?

9.      We have reached the point where we can genetically engineer new organisms - organisms that have not been tested by Darwinian forces.  Should we allow them lose upon the earth?

10.  Should health care be an essential human right?

11.   Given that there are limited research dollars to spend on research, should we spend the money on saving lives or improving quality of life?

12.  Drug companies spend millions of dollars on researching drugs that never prove marketable. Should they be allowed to “recoup” this money by charging more for drugs that do prove marketable?

13.  To what extent should we require drug companies to develop therapies for diseases that are so low-incidence (maybe only 100 cases per year), knowing that they will never be able to sell enough to make back the money they spent on research?

14.  While we've gotten better at stockpiling antidotes for major toxins, there's rarely enough for everyone. If the U.S. is hit by a plague or biological attack, who should get the antidotes? Who shouldn't?

15.   Some drugs for fatal conditions (like cancer) work so well in preliminary animal tests, patients dying of these diseases would like to be able to use them before they have a chance to be tested for safety in humans. Should we allow this?

16.  Thanks to fitbit and other medical devices, health insurance companies now have the ability to monitor your personal habits. To what extent should they be allowed to determine coverage based on decisions you make about maintaining (or not maintaining) your health?

17.   Should health companies be able to determine the rates people pay for health insurance based on their genetic probability of developing expensive health issues?

18.  We are coming close to the day when we might be able to indefinitely postpone death. Should we?

19.  Thanks to genetic engineering, it may soon become possible to "enhance" the athletic ability of athletes - for example, equip them with blood cells that hold more oxygen. Should this be allowed? Should these athletes then be allowed to compete professionally?

20. In the interests of learning more about how viruses work, scientists have the technology to create "superviruses" - strains that are immune to all known antibiotics or antidotes. Should scientists be allowed to develop these strains of superviruses and, if so, under what conditions?

21.  What responsibility (if any) do we have to preserve the earth for future generations?

22. Technologies to mitigate the impacts of climate change - such as seawalls and desalination plants - are sure to be expensive. What do we take funding away from to fund these projects?

23. Science has proven that nuclear energy is a relatively "clean" power source, in that it emits no CO2. However, it does create spent nuclear rods, which are a huge environmental danger. Also, there's always the risk that an unforeseen event will trigger a massive radiation leak. Do you switch your country from gas to nuclear?

24. Thanks to the impacts of climate change, crop and water shortages may soon drive up the cost of essential resources - food, water. How do we decide who gets what?

25.  Some island countries will disappear when sea level rise due to climate change inundates low-lying landmasses.  What happens to the citizenship and rights of the citizens of these countries?

26. Cutting a major forest will provide enough jobs and money to make a community self sustaining; however, habitat destruction will result in the extinction of several species. How do you weigh the needs of the people against the potential risks of extinction?

27.  In the Potomac River, an invasive fish (Snakehead) population is destroying the community of organisms native to the river. Scientists discover another species that feeds only on Snakeheads, and propose that we add this species to the Potomac River so they can fix the problem. Is this a good idea?

28. Large cities produce lots of light pollution. This light pollution interrupts natural sleep cycles and makes it difficult to see the stars. Should we fix light pollution? 

29. If climate change-related disasters lead to the disappearance or destruction of entire countries, then what will happen to citizens of those countries? What rights should they be granted (or not granted)?   

30. Models show that eventually Earth will reach its carrying capacity with respect to the number of humans the planet can sustain. Do we try to prevent this from happening? If so, how do we go about it?

31.  One day soon we may be able to land humans on planets where life already exists. Do we have the right to take over other worlds? Under what circumstances, if any, might we not have that right?

32. 3D virtual reality games "feel" just like the real thing. Knowing this, should we allow people to create and market super-violent video games? What about super-intoxicating pleasant experiences?

33. Scientists discover a "violence gene" - a gene that, when dominant, can trigger violent rages.  Do we put such people in jail before they commit a crime? Do we allow them to use this as a mitigating circumstance (like mental illness) in a court trial?

34. We are close to the point where we can incorporate "truth-sensing" technologies into everyday devices such as Google glasses. Should we do so?

35.  Research is continuing to reveal that animals possess more intelligence and emotional depth than we ever imagined. Should we continue to use animals in drug testing? Should we continue using them as food?

36. We're very close to "synchronicity" - the moment at which robots become sentient. When they do, should they be granted the same rights as humans enjoy?

37.  Three countries still have samples of "smallpox." Should smallpox ever be weaponized?

38. We've created nuclear weapons with the capacity to kill millions of people at once. Should we use them?

39. The day when everyone has access to self-driving cars is approaching. If someone dies in a collision, whose fault is it? How many "accidental deaths" are we willing to accept in exchange for the convenience of this technology? 

40. Hackers have figured out how to hack into medical equipment. To what extent is it justifiable, during a war, to disable the medical equipment (pacemakers, etc.) of the enemy? 

41.  Science has played a role in creating a number of non-lethal weapons systems, to include laser missiles, blinding weapons, pain rays, heat rays, disabling malodorants, etc.  Some of these may cause lasting health consequences. To what extent should we deploy these weapons in war?  

42. Sending robots (drones) into battle means sparing humans the ordeal of having to kill others with their own hands. Is this a good idea?

43. We now have medications that may be able to "soften" the horrible memories that trigger conditions like PTSD. Should we use them?

44. You're working on an amazing new technology that might cure cancer. Unfortunately, the results of your first trials have not been unambiguously positive. For this reason, your sponsors want to withdraw your funding. You're SURE your solution will work given more research. Do you "fudge" your results to keep your funding?

45.   A person of average intelligence is asked if they want to participate in a highly complicated clinical trial. The explanation of what's going to be done to them is far too scientific for them to completely understand either the benefits or risks. Do you allow them to give consent?

46. An island nation is slowly dying of starvation. You develop a technology that will allow them to survive on algae from the surrounding ocean; however, you also know that in a few years, when the algae runs out, not only will the people die, but all the organisms that relied on algae for food or dissolved oxygen will die as well. Do you implement the technology?

47.  NASA has proposed a manned mission to Mars.  Should we allow any citizens who colonize the planet to have children? If so, what nationality would they be, and what rights would they have?  

48. Soon we may be able to travel back in time. Should we try to fix mistakes that we've made in the past (like allowing the Nazis to come to power), or should we leave things the way they are/were?

49. We have recently invented particle colliders capable of creating anti-matter. Should we do this?

50. Thanks to the undoing of net neutrality, service providers can now "throttle" the bandwidth of specific websites - to include websites that compete with them, or even websites that endorse political opinions with which they disagree. To what extent should this be allowed (or controlled)?

51.  Bandwidth and spectrum are not unlimited. How do we decide who does (and doesn't) get to access these resources?

52.  Improvements in surveillance systems like Google Earth may soon make it possible to track people's movements. Should this be allowed? If so, under what circumstances?