How I Feel about Global Warming

Here's the thing about global warming: I'm not sure if it exists or not. I know that we should take care of the earth, and I'm a strong believer in not overusing resources (creative representation here). However, I don't follow the climate change trend. I also don't know much about it. I will admit that up front. I heard a little piece of data about it, that the average temperature of the earth has gone up one degree Fahrenheit in the past one hundred years. The problem that the one stating that piece of data had with the piece of data was that there were not instruments sophisticated enough one hundred years ago to determine the exact temperature to whatever number of decimal points. I don't know if that's true. I know a little bit of science, but I know a minuscule amount about history that is actually accurate. But anyway, I think that the earth probably goes through cycles. I've also heard that in the 1970s there was this theory called global freezing. So I'm just not sure.

But I have a theory of my own (warning: I may be making up science here and you should not take what I say too seriously). You've heard of the law of conservation of energy right? It says that energy is neither created nor destroyed but only converted. You can see this law in practice when you throw a rock in the water. It doesn't just go in. The energy from the throwing of the rock goes into the water and creates ripples. They just keep going and going and going. But they keep getting smaller, so that energy goes away eventually, right? That's what I thought. I asked someone where that energy goes after you can't see it anymore. That someone said that the energy is released as heat. Hmm. Interesting concept. (Note: I don't know why I was having a physics discussion with someone. I don't know that much physics.)

So most of the energy from movement ends up getting converted to heat. Therefore... not only are you destroying ozone by driving your gasoline-powered car, but it's also letting off heat. Oh no! Cars must be the enemy! But it doesn't stop there. With every step you take, every breath, every keystroke... you're letting off heat. You're putting more heat into the atmosphere and turning the earth into even more of a greenhouse!

What's worse, those people who exercise for their health are being a detriment to the atmosphere even more because they move more. So there you have it. You cannot be an environmentalist and a health nut at the same time. Someone should tell my high school French teacher (who claimed to be an environmentalist but also cut down who knows how many trees to build her huge house).

Please consider the health of the earth. Just sit and do nothing.

Why I Get Mad at the School Establishment

I have a lot of problems with the ways people and organizations use their money. But I get particularly upset with Christian organizations who spend way too much money on things that don't matter and then don't do what they're supposed to be doing, which is loving people and, therefore, taking care of them.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. I go to a Christian university. It has its share of good and bad... stuff. Just about everything. Teachers, areas of study, building amenities, rules, etc. The other day, I was going downstairs in one of the buildings I have class in. I noticed that even though the building should only have two flights of stairs considering it only has three floors, it has almost four complete flights of stairs (or just two double-sized flights, each with a landing halfway up). How can the school justify this? Last time I checked, there wasn't a person in the world who was fifteen feet tall (or however high the ceilings are. They're about that high), so why do the ceilings need to be that high?

The doors are eight feet tall, which I suppose is acceptable considering that's standard size. But since the doors are only eight feet tall, there's no reason the ceilings need to be taller than nine and a half or ten feet tall. Now let's do some math. If the building was built with three 10-foot floors instead of 15-foot floors, that would have been fifteen feet of building material saved all the way around the large building and several thousands of dollars saved. In fact, it probably would have been at least enough to give one more person a half-tuition scholarship.

Not only would having shorter floors save on building material, but heating and cooling a smaller building would cost significantly less money than what the school is paying because of the building's size. The electricity could even have been cheaper because of smaller light fixtures that would have needed to be used. In a few years, enough money could have been saved to give someone else a scholarship.

Is it not worth it to make our ridiculously high ceilings five feet shorter if it means sending another person to school? How does this not make sense?

Now, don't get me wrong. I know some high ceilings are justified. I understand the size of the gym because of the formation of bleachers so they can seat a lot of people. I also understand the recital hall's high ceiling both because of seating and because of acoustics. But in both of these cases the larger rooms take up more than one floor, which makes financial and structural sense.