Originally posted on Friday, December 19, 2008

Asleep at the Switch

Exit Sleep:

Do we assume that less power is a substitute for more power? Manufacturing lighter, smaller fuel-efficient vehicles seems to be the remedy of choice for saving energy. Sounds good, but how much thought has really gone to this pie in the sky solution?

My situation may illustrate what I mean. When my son, their two children, and his wife come over for a visit, going anywhere together usually takes just the one SUV for a family outing. But a world without vans and SUVs would look a lot different. Instead of one vehicle, we now would have to take two. Plus, we would miss the family closeness of the outing. Using two vehicles would mean not only greater pollution, but also would degrade the way we interact with our family. Just a few of the nuisances of using two vehicles, and one of them is parking. More cars mean bigger parking lots (more concrete), and finding parking places close together would be a problem.

Safety is also a concern. Not long ago I bought a Chevy S-10 pick-up. The small four-cylinder engine did not have the power to accelerate fast enough for me to enter a busy street. But I saved a lot on gasoline. Mixed emotions; one part of me wanted to save on fuel, but after several close calls, I gave up on the small engine for one that allowed for a greater margin of safety. Putt putts have their place, but not on todays busy streets.

Then there is the effect on car-pooling. It will take several more vehicles to get the same number of people to work and back.

Electric cars anybody? Try heating and cooling a vehicle that will just barely get you to and from work without needing a recharge. Again, Liberal Elites force us to surrender some of our way of life for their empowerment. In a few short years, we will be wishing for some greenhouse gases as the Earth continues its cooling trend.

I am not opposed to saving energy, but carefully crafting our national energy policies will save us all a lot of grief. And in a lot of instances, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Our failure to drill for and develop domestic energy resources will come back to bite us should our economy ever recover. There will never be enough wind to fuel our economy, and other so-called "green" sources are woefully short of the energy needed to maintain our way of life. But there is hope! Nuclear, clean coal and developing our oil and gas reserves can lift us out of the looming calamity.

Should we ever throw petroleum under the bus; the resulting economical disaster will be of such proportions that we could not recover. Can't you picture our industries trying to compete with the third world and their cheap petroleum based economies while we bask in the desert of our expensive "clean" energy? Just look at the industrial base that we have already lost to China. Now imagine things getting a lot worse because our remaining industries cannot compete. Can't you just picture our poor having to chase cows and other animals for their dung? Dung may become the only affordable fuel around!

I ask, why the headlong rush to kill our way of life? The global warming hysterics are just that, hysterics. But the rush to trade in carbon credits is real. Some people will profit heavily from the trading of carbon credits, but the average American will just continue to have to pay through the nose so that these profiteers can line their pockets.

What is really funny is that while the Earth is cooling, the global alarmists are now saying that the Earth is cooling because of global warming! Go figure.

Cheers,

-Robert-

Helping Africa

Commentary for Monday 02/26/2007

Missionary Work

The Good of Missions: I write this from personal experience about the missionary work in Africa.

'Operation Handclasp': During my days in the U.S. Navy, one of our missions was to deliver grain, toys, and books to the Horn of Africa. You would recognize any of the bags of grain, or boxes of the other items; they all had the emblem of the two hands clasping, which designated these items as part of the 'People to People' effort by Americans to the less fortunate in the world. Our part in this project was to deliver these supplies to several missions scattered throughout what was then called French Somaliland. I considered myself fortunate to have been one of the ones to help deliver this bounty to those missions. The experience was an eye opener and changed my opinion about missionary programs.

Feel Good Enterprise: The Missionaries are all sincere about wanting to help the poor. They feel like they are doing the Lord's work, and in most cases they are. These people put up with a lot of pretty sorry and dangerous conditions in order to carry out what they perceive is their life's work. So up front, I want to convey my admiration for this dedication to principle. My problem with these enterprizes is the results. The following is a summary of what happens whenever a group or a church opens up a mission.

Opening a Mission: It doesn't take long for the word to get around in the area that there is a new mission. The poor will congregate around the mission because they know that there is going to be food and some medical assistance. Like I said, feeding the poor is honorable, but making them wards of the mission is wrong. These people become totally dependent on these missions. The missions fully realize that there are a lot of people who won't eat unless they provide it. In U.S. churches there is always a portion of the receipts that go to a fund that helps the missions. It is this help along with goverments help that keep the missions supplied. And, no doubt if the missions were to leave, those who are dependent on the missions would probably starve.

A Different Direction: It doesn't have to be this way. The world has been donating relief supplies for decades and the situation has not improved. Part of the reason for the lack of progress is that the world is basically satisfying the needs of these people to the point that they have become wards of the world. Continuing to go down this path will only continue the same results.

Some Suggestions:

(1) Get these African Governments to institute some form of birth control. The China model is a good example.
(2) Have the scientific community come up with ways to irrigate enough of the dry areas to enable good farming.
(3) Establish a 'Core' of locals from each country to receive special education on food production. (A comprehensive education, not shake and bake).
(4) Starting with the missions, begin paying the locals for any of their harvest that they can sell, and establish markets for their products.

Rewarding: Making these people self sufficient rather than dependents would be a tremendous benefit for the African Citizens. The cycle of being dependent has to be done away with. The missionary's role would still be important but they would eventually get out of the food business. There are local traditions and superstitions that will need to be dealt with. The missionary community has only scratched the surface when it comes to helping with such huge concerns as education and stimulating the personal effort that these people are going to need. It is for certain they need more than soul saving and food hand outs to break the poverty-famine cycle.