One good excuse for this blog is to tell you that our regular class on Tuesday, November 17, will be cancelled, due to a faculty meeting. You are invited to attend, but nothing bad will happen to you if you do not. I, on the other hand, am required to be there.

Anyway, we will discuss articles from the NYT issue that came out in yesterday's Lian He Bau (11/10/09) ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24.

If you did not attend class on the 10th, and are not sure what article you should prepare, please e-mail me.

Here, I would like to post three links that already appeared in the vocab list I sent you for 11/10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDAFQjLoxCM&feature=related
mountain-top removal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFJVbdiMgfM
“clean coal” air freshener

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKC5YV2yrFk&feature=related
“clean coal” smudge

These short videos show the truth about coal, one of the dirtiest sources of energy that we use today. Calling it "clean" will not excuse the "ramping up" of coal production to replace oil depletion. What we need is to do is to
use less energy and less stuff.

You might be interested in this:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2008/09/04/2003422196

A survey by Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA) showed that the Taichung and Mailiao coal-fired power plants ranked No. 1 and No. 5 worldwide in terms of carbon dioxide emissions by power plants respectively, casting a shadow on the government’s energy-saving and carbon-reduction policies.

And this:
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/index.php?nid=27&sid=1743620

Federal study shows mercury in fish widespread
August 20, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - No fish can escape mercury pollution. That's the take-home message from a federal study of mercury contamination released Wednesday that tested fish from nearly 300 streams across the country.

The toxic substance was found in every fish sampled, a finding that underscores how widespread mercury pollution has become.

Mercury consumed by eating fish can damage the nervous system and cause learning disabilities in developing fetuses and young children.
The main source of mercury to most of the streams tested, according to the researchers, is emissions from coal-fired power plants. The mercury released from smokestacks here and abroad rains down into waterways, where natural processes convert it into methylmercury _ a form that allows the toxin to wind its way up the food chain into fish.

On that happy note, I remind you again that
OUR NEXT CLASS IS NOVEMBER 24. Have an enjoyable night off next Tuesday.