Omaha

 "Gentlemen, we are being killed on the beaches. Let us go inland and be killed."   General Norman Coda

This Monday is Memorial Day here in the United States. For many it means a long weekend and the start of the summer vacation season. But its real purpose is to remind us of the sacrifices made by the men and women in our military. While war is controversial, there is nothing controversial about the men and women who have given their lives in service to their country.

On this Memorial Day I wanted to pay my respects to them. There have been many battles in various wars, but the one that stands out as being unique in its scope is for me the battle of Omaha Beach in WWII. I ran across the following documentary about the battle and realized that, while I was familiar with some of the difficulties and horrors experienced by allied forces, I wasn't aware of all.   If you have a spare hour or so it is worth watching, if only to try to understand what people have went through to defend our freedom and way of life.  

Rest in peace.

Coal...Fool's Gold?

Since man walked upon this earth he has looked for ways to cook his food, warm his home and power his transportation. Oil has been called black gold, but it is coal that was the first life changing fossil fuel to supply the energy the world needed.

The History of Coal

It helped fuel The Industrial Revolution.

Why am I writing about coal now when there are so many serious issues in the world today? After all, it helped change the world and has provided a living for many families, as difficult as it may be.

But coal is also one of the dirtiest fuels with regard to CO2 emissions, a major greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. As I was reading a back issue of National Geographic, yes I'm way behind on those, I ran across an article regarding the world's consumption of coal and capturing CO2 emissions from power plants. What shocked me was the threshold the authors were giving for the worst effects of climate change to be unavoidable.

“To limit global warming since the 19^th century to 2°C (3.6°F) and thereby avoid its worst effects, scientists estimate we must limit our cumulative emissions of carbon as CO2 to a trillion metric tons. As of 2012, by burning fossil fuels, making cement, cutting trees, and so on, we had emitted 545 billion tons. We're on a course to pass a trillion by 2040.”

It was that 2040 that hit me. That is only 25 years away. This is a complicated situation involving not just a single country, but many. While the United States has lowered its consumption China's has increased. Even within the United States there are objections to switching to alternate, cleaner energy sources. This next clip is a good illustration of the coal conundrum in the United States.

This is why I'm writing about this now, as serious as are the many issues facing the world today; the fighting in the Middle East, the global economy, migrants being forced to leave their homes, the issue of climate change will affect our ability to survive on this planet. It is that simple. All else pales in comparison. 2040 is only 25 years away.

The Will to Live

I was thinking about a new post when I ran across something in my paper that just couldn't be forgotten, and I had to pause to listen. We are all too familiar with the darkness that mankind has in abundance. But every once in a while there is a flicker of light that reminds us that humanity has another side.