Yes, you read that title right...expensive oil can be a benefit, in the long run. This is the one issue right now that seems to affect everybody, even if they don't drive. Increased oil prices are increasing prices of any product or service that requires transportation, which is just about everything. Now, I do admit that the expense at the moment is painful, and it forces us to consciously make decisions and cutbacks that we would not have considered in the past. In short, we no longer have the luxury to disregard fuel costs as we have in the past. High prices challenge us to seriously reconsider how we use our energy, and what kind of energy we utilize. With an increase in the cost of a need comes a desire for efficiency to reduce that cost. Fuel-efficient, alternative energy cars are now in high demand, whereas demand for gas guzzlers like Hummers are falling by the wayside. There was an article in the news about how GM is considering discontinuing the Hummer line. There were other articles explaining how so many people have put in orders for new hybrid cars that they are now on back-order. Some clever people have even put their hybrid car up for auction on eBay, scalping this precious commodity to the highest bidder.
Fuel efficiency and alternative energy are no longer buzz-words or ideals to be pursued at leisure, but are now necessary goals to combat a disturbance in the market. This is one time where I am praising the market for beginning to solve a problem that the government did not care to tackle (it was recently revealed that the White House refused to open an email from the EPA detailing a policy to reduce CO2 emissions after they were ordered to by the Supreme Court). If there are any people who should be encouraged by the recent demand for alternative energy, it should be Republicans. In this case, the market is off to a great start in weening ourselves from our addiction to oil. I just hope this demand is sustained long enough for the alternative energy market to grow and thrive. Although I really do believe in a market-led solution to the energy problems facing our nation, I hold no illusions that our government will need to be involved in some respect to promote and maintain this growth, or at the very least, not to harm it. This means not pursuing backwards strategies like promoting off-shore oil drilling when it's currently banned; that would be a way for our government to harm our efforts to eventually defeat our addiction to oil.
Overall, I'm pretty optimistic. I recently read an article in the Economist that speaks to this very issue, which was very encouraging and edifying. Their basic point is to rebut the view that alternative energy is not a sustainable industry, and as such these technologies should not be trusted, pursued, or invested in. Instead, the author cites that because the increase in oil price is due to a general increase of worldwide demand (unlike a politically manipulated oil-shortage fear tactic employed by the government of the '70s), this creates an opening for the alternative energy technology industry to grow to become a mainstay. Thus, it is imperative for both the market and the environment that we invest in alternative energy technology. This is the way to a brighter future! On this point at least, both market-loving Republicans and tree-hugging Democrats should be able to agree.
Edit: Here's an article I found in Time entitled "Ten Things You Can Like About $4 Gas." Although it is a bit idealistic, at least there is potential and a higher chance this will happen when gas is expensive rather than when gas was cheap.
Amidst all the rancor that characterizes the current political race, I found Barack Obama's monumental speech addressing and confronting racism groundbreaking. This is more than just about Barack Obama. I have always believed and
continue to believe that this is about starting a movement to bring hope to a broken nation. The pain, anger, frustration, and despair that are real
consequences of sin reveal just how dangerous it is, and how the sins
of a father can haunt his children for generations. What Reverend Jim
Wallis of Sojourners and Pastor/Prof. Soong-Chan Rah said are so true:
the original sins of this nation are the enslavement of the African and
the genocide of the Native American. Until all of us as a nation admit the reality of these sins (that we are all guilty of because we have benefited from a system that was built from the stolen labor and land of these oppressed people) and the tragic consequences of these sins which are
still felt to this day, we will forever be stuck in a stalemate, with no hope of solving this issue. But hope comes from the fact
that we are not defined and bound by our sins, that together with the
faith of a mustard seed and an overflow of love, we can move mountains.
Victory will ultimately break through the storms, and ideals once
thought dead will rise from their graves. This message is especially
convicting as Easter Sunday approaches. But we must also remember that
this does not come without great effort...Jesus had to be abandoned,
ignored, mocked, whipped, tortured, and nailed to a cross before
claiming victory.
Anyway, here is a video of Barack Obama's speech. Please watch it in its entirety and share it with friends.
I think if people truly took a close look at Obama, the amazing and self-propelling movement he started, the issues he cares about, his character, judgement, integrity, and faith, then people would be hard pressed not to join this movement.
Here's another supporter created music video for the "Yes We Can!" movement (in other words, Barack Obama's Presidential campaign).
I might spend some of my spring break going to Columbus, Ohio from Saturday, March 1 to Tuesday, March 4 to volunteer with the Obama campaign for the critical primary there. I feel like I would be heading into enemy territory; I mean, what business does a Michigan Wolverine fan have in the Buckeye city? But the way I see it, if there's one movement that can unite Wolverines and Buckeyes, it's this one. Yes we can!
I suppose it's about time to post another entry, seeing that I haven't posted since last year! Well, this is going to be one meaty entry, and I'll be talking about some hard-hitting stuff that I've only told a few people in person, but I think it's about time that I let the general public know (as general as my Xanga readership is, which is probably not that general, but that's ok).
First off, I want to thank everybody for wishing me a happy birthday. I was very encouraged and touched, even though all it requires is a few clicks on Facebook, it really does mean alot. My spiritual life hasn't been the strongest recently, but the Facebook wall posts, emails, cards, and phone calls I've received have been a huge encouragement to me and it reminded me of how God can work through the most unexpected ways through the most unexpected people to emphasize how much he still loves us even when we haven't been showing God the love and devotion that He really deserves. So thank you guys again, for letting God work through you to touch my life. Needless to say, 25 sounds like such a surreal number. It is going to be one huge year for me.
Now comes the meaty part. This is supposed to be my last semester in the post-bacc program, as such I feel like time is slowly ticking down for me. I'm going to have to come to some sort of decision about my life very soon. What decision do I speak of? Well, the decision about whether medicine is truly the profession I want to pursue. Yes, I am having doubts about this whole doctor thing, ever since around October actually, and the more I think about it, the more I am coming to grips that it's not really my dream to become a doctor. Yeah, it's a practical thing to pursue, but I can't get myself over the fact that I don't think my heart is really into it. I recently read this book called Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance. This book basically talks about the life of a doctor and the problems they deal with both inside and outside the hospital and how they can become better at their job. It doesn't really talk that much about hard medicine and more about issues surrounding doctors such as how much doctors should get paid, how to prevent spread of infection within hospitals, and how commonplace malpractice lawsuits are for doctors. It was recommended to me by a friend from the post-bacc program, and I blew through that book, finishing it in four days. It was very interesting, but it also shone some light upon some of the challenges doctors face not just from diagnosing and treating patients, but from life in general, things about being a doctor that are very true but that people don't really talk about. However, one quote in that book really hit me where he wrote, "When I was going through medical training, a discouraging refrain from older physicians was that they would never have gone into medicine had they known what they know now." The author is generally positive throughout the book because he likes his job, but he does inject a healthy dose of reality. I don't want to be one of those people who spend their lives training to be a doctor and find out, well, this is not what I wanted to do. I don't doubt my ability at all, but the time is quickly approaching to research med schools, study for the MCATs, and prepare my primary application and essay if I hope to get accepted to med school. The biggest hindrance I have to that is the essay portion, where right now I would feel like I'd be lying to myself when trying to answer the question, "Why do you want to pursue medicine?"
So what next? To be honost, I've been thinking alot about teaching in high school (I've been thinking about this since November actually). I'm drawn by my memories from my high school days and how much of an impact my teachers there had in my educational life and just my life in general. I really looked up to them (at least the good ones) with so much respect. I think part of that comes from the fact that I went to a private, boarding school where students have an unprecedented accessibility to the faculty (much more than in public high school and definitely more than in college). In fact, an environment like that would be ideal. The amount of interaction I had with my teachers was crazy, and I always loved it. Not only would I see them in the classroom, but they were also our coaches and dorm advisors. I loved how I was able to contact my teachers in the evening, after dinner, if I had questions about the subject material and most of them were happy to help. I remember nights when I was studying for Latin with a friend the night before an exam and we would note places where we would get stuck, and at the end, around 9 PM, we would call up our Latin teacher to answer the questions we had. He was a very difficult teacher, his tests were crazy hard, but that interaction usually helped us get those A's. Our sophomore year history teacher was a house advisor (faculty that lived in the dorm and helped keep things running there) and we would go up to his apartment during the study hall period (8 - 10 PM weeknights) to ask him questions before exam days. There is also a faculty member on dorm duty every night in each dorm from 7 - 11 PM, and during my senior year our physics teachers would be there once a week and while I was struggling with that subject, I'd get much needed help, along with just shooting the breeze discussing theoritical physics, black holes, worm-holes, and string theory (don't ask me about it because everything he said was waaay over my head), but nonetheless it was all very interesting. I was never very good at English literature and writing, but my junior year English teacher helped me believe in myself and much through his involvement in my writing life outside of the classroom he helped me get one of my essays published in Prize Papers, our school's annual collection of excellent essays and poetry as deemed by a faculty committee. Now that I look back on my four years there, I think that I would enjoy being in the position once occupied by my teachers. Now, I know most of the students would not be as enthusiastic about learning as I was, but for the few that are (and there are always a few that are very enthusiastic), I feel like it would be a joy to work with them and to help them understand difficult concepts. I wouldn't mind students coming to me after hours and asking me for help; in fact, I would probably encourage it because that's how people learn.
I still have not come to a clear conclusion as of yet though. I am still deep in thought and deliberation. I also have not told my parents. However, after being with them during my winter break, I don't think it would be that bad because my parents say that most of all they want me and my brother to be happy, and to make a life out of something we love to do. They said they would support us, whatever we decide to do. They emphasized that if we are to become doctors, we should love it, or else we won't be the best doctors we can be, and they don't want us to become bad doctors. So, their openness is at the very least encouraging.
So there it is, so much to think about this year. Many things will happen in 2008, perhaps some things will change, but in the end, I'm hopeful and looking forward to what this new year will bring.
