The deforestation of the Amazon jungles in the name of the environment

I was reading the Internet version of the April 7 2008 issue of Time Magazine, the article titled “The Clean Energy Myth” about how the big rush to grow corn to use for biofuel is actually worsening the global warming problem and raising the cost of food. Apparently the demand for corn for producing biofuel is so high that the farmers are selling their corn to the companies that will be turning it into fuel instead of selling it to the companies that will be using it to make food. So much of the world depends on corn as a staple; this is causing hardships for them. And the profit for growing corn for fuel is so high that the Amazon jungle, which has already been in jeopardy from deforestation for years now, is being destroyed even faster than ever so that it can be used to grow corn.
I think that this is a shame on so many levels. There are other, better and cheaper plants that could be used for creating fuel than corn. So many farmers are paid subsidies to NOT grow crops, I think that those subsidies should be stopped so that the farmers will actually farm their land, or lease it to someone who will farm it. The Amazon forest needs to be protected, I don’t understand how the ownership of that works, who actually owns that property and why is he/she allowing it to be destroyed? Can’t the government of the country it is in buy it with some kind of eminent domain power and protect it from destruction?

The global food shortage crises

I was reading on the Internet the article from Time’s April 24th issue titled “How to end the Global Food Shortage.”  The article was explaining that the US Government subsidizes the US farmer fifty one cents per gallon to divert their corn to biofuels.  The article was also explaining that a lot of the third world countries could grow a lot more of their own food if they could get a little bit of help with getting good seed, fertilizer, and irrigation techniques.

I was very disappointed to read that the US Government was subsidizing the farmers to divert their corn from the food market.  Other plants can be used to make biofuel that are not part of the world’s food supply.  Is there no end to the stupidity of the Government?

Dilemma solved

Yesterday my cousin Chrissy dropped in, her kids Amanda and Heather in tow.  She stopped in to invite me to her place for Christmas dinner, and noticed that the tree was still sitting there, naked as a jay bird.  So she and her kids took off their coats, placed a request for some hot chocolate and Christmas music, and we rolled up our sleeves and decorated the tree together.  That was really nice of them to do that with me.  I had a good time; it was good to have some family time putting up the tree.  Thanks Chrissy, Amanda and Heather!  You did a great job!

Eating dinner out at a local buffet

Tonight a few friends and I are going to eat out at a local all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant.  You order a main dish that includes meat and potato, and then you go to the buffet counter and get all you want veggies, salad, rolls, fruit, desserts, and more potatoes if you want.  The restaurant is about the best value meal you can buy in the area, and the wait staff is friendly.  The only problems I’ve had there is sometimes they cook the steaks more than I like so I’ve learned to tell the waitress that I want it cooked rarer than I really want it.  That way it usually comes out all right.  One thing is for sure, if you leave hungry it’s your own fault!

They have a coupon book that gives loyal customer rewards, when you eat there you leave a ticket at the cashier’s desk and they fill it out with how much money your meal was.  After you spend $100 they send you a coupon good for a free meal.  That’s one of my favorite local restaurants, good food, good value, and they send you free meal tickets every few months!

Pause and reflect

Well, even though I have a little tree, I haven’t finished decorating it yet.  I ran into a little bit of a snag when I opened the boxes of ornaments.  These are the same ornaments that have decorated the family tree for many decades; perhaps even generations.  I found that every ornament that I saw brought back powerful memories of my family, and the sense of loss from having both of my parents taken from me so early in my life, such a short time ago, made it difficult to actually decorate the three.  I know I’ll get through it, and the tree WILL get decorated, but it is going to take a long time to do it!  I think now I have a better understanding of how emotional my mother would get at Christmas time, when she would decorate the tree.  Her mother had made many of the ornaments, and so has she.  It truly IS a family tree, and right now there isn’t much family around to enjoy it.  Maybe it’s time I started thinking about taking on a family of my own and stop rattling around by myself in this big old farmhouse.