MCLA Beacon Online
The Newspaper of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Opinion
Climate change shenanigans
Billy Shannon
Editor-in-Chief
Heavy snowfall in areas of the U.S., specifically the Washington, D.C. area, are leading some to make annoying, over-simplified arguments for the dismissal of the climate crisis this winter.
To make things clear here, climate and weather are, of course, two different things; weather consists of current, immediate conditions, while climate covers patterns over long periods of time.
Furthermore, the argument for climate change (which is widely accepted in the scientific community, though there is some legitimate skepticism), explains why the global average temperature has risen 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 130 years and will continue at such a rate.
This process is not one that can simply be dismissed or proven by ‘look out your window’ observations. No scientist has claimed that we can expect to see an immediate disappearance of snow and cold. In fact, the extreme weather conditions this winter fall exactly in line with what most climatologists have been predicting for years: The hot streaks will get hotter, the colds colder, and extreme weather conditions of all spectrums will intensify.Most arguments for climate change’s existence, to further clarify, do not say humans have created the problem.
Global warming and cooling cycles are natural processes the earth has gone through repeatedly throughout its history. Humans, since the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, however, have greatly exacerbated this process, radically speeding up the damage to certain species and geographical areas.Either way, it’s ridiculous to politicize environmental concerns. We shouldn’t be prideful of our dependence on oil and coal. We should instead take pride in being leaders in the development of clean energy.
Short term economics should never take precedent over clean energy advancement, which it always has and still is. Right now is no time to muddy up public perception of the climate crisis, though I’m sure India and China are thoroughly enjoying the endless opportunities we’re giving them to lead the path.the idiocy of the act some politicians and news pundits like Glen Beck have taken part in, treating environmentalists’ concerns as a busted hoax, following blanketing snowfall.
One correspondent pretending to report from Washington, D.C., declared the myth of climate change to be disproven, while another correspondent chimed in from ‘Australia’, where record-breaking droughts and heat-waves are taking place, that global warming has got to be real. Then, a third comedian in front of a fake, dark Alaskan background manically explained that sunlight is gone forever.
Petr Wronski
Online Exclusive
The Illusion of Fame
The word celebrity used to have a mystique to it. But now it seems that anyone can be famous without any reason for it. It used to be that being famous meant you had something that made you a little more special than us mere mortals.
Maybe a celebrity was prettier than most people, had a bit of acting ability or had famous parents, so they grew up in the spotlight. Think Drew Barrymore. Some deserved fame more than others, but celebrity-status was something that took a little time to achieve. Yes, there were celebrities with fifteen minutes of fame, but when their time was up, it was over. In today’s reality TV world, fame isn’t earned or deserved.
Something as simple as having a lot of babies can land you a show on TLC, and you’ll be obsessed over by soccer-moms, stay-at-home dads and entertainment bloggers. Octomom and John and Kate did it.If you live in New Jersey and have a spray on orange tan, you too could be the next big thing. Snooki, J-Woww and The Situation of Mtv’s “Jersey Shore” did it. And unless you want to be the next Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian, don’t have sex on camera.
Things that might have gotten you fifteen minutes in the 90s are keeping people in the spotlight for years these days. It might not be so bad, except that these new breeds of celebrities are not good role models.
Though parading your children around on camera, getting drunk every night, and being promiscuous are not the worst things in the world, they are not admirable qualities. But if that’s going to get people attention, it’s going to sink in to the public’s subconscious that this is how admiration is won. I acknowledge that many real celebrities do not make good role models either, but the new breed of celebrities are more like normal people.
This blurs the line between the every day American and the ones we hear about on the media. So if anyone can get famous for acting like an idiot, it’s going to seem like the right thing to do. We might not think this consciously, but subconsciously it sinks in. Not only that, but if less-than-enviable behavior creates news, we’re going to hear more about this with real celebrities. Look at the whole Tiger Woods fiasco. It’s a vicious cycle.What I think the degradation of fame reveals most is the fact that fame is illusory, even for real celebrities. They began as regular people, just like us. It’s not really important anymore why someone is famous, because the media is going to focus on people for the flimsiest of reasons.
Fame isn’t real, it’s just a distraction from our own lives. And if the people that are famous are a little bit more like us, other than the video camera in their face, so what? It doesn’t make them better than us. In fact, I pity the fake and real celebrities for their lack of privacy. I’d rather my actions get recognized than be recognized myself. I’d rather be distracted from the things I don’t like about my life than be a distraction. So, let the celebrities have their fame. I don’t want it if I haven’t earned it.
Crossword Puzzle Answers
Up = Animated Best Picture Nominee
Air = BLANK ACROSS in the ___
Oscar = Theme for this puzzle, not the grouch
Crazy = Heart Corazon Loco
Basterds = Quentin's misspelled title
HurtLocker = Ouch Closet
Avatar = Dances with Smurfs
Harbor = Location of MCLA Oscar Party
Charlie = _______ in the Morning 5 days a week
Watching = Rubano's past-time People ________
Towers = The T in BT.
Procopio = SteepleCats prospect
Flanigan = "Amplifications" Creator
Books = Paul de Jong’s band The _____
Ormskirk = Pride's Home way away from home
Juravich = Labor movement speaker
