Geb’s World

This video shows the sky-blue ancient sea ice being revealed as an ice shelf 5 times the size of Manhattan collapses into the sea, caused by the 3 degree rise in average temperatures in the Antarctic. Beautiful stuff, but sad when you think about the dramatic climate changes this portends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_k2Vbhza9o

The New York Times reports that rich people live longer, on average, than poor people (79.2 versus 74.7 years). Research suggests the following reasons:

• Doctors can detect and treat many forms of cancer and heart disease because of advances in medical science and technology. People who are affluent and better educated are more likely to take advantage of these discoveries.
• Smoking has declined more rapidly among people with greater education and income.
• Lower-income people are more likely to live in unsafe neighborhoods, to engage in risky or unhealthy behavior and to eat unhealthy food.
• Lower-income people are less likely to have health insurance, so they are less likely to receive checkups, screenings, diagnostic tests, prescription drugs and other types of care.

The wealthy in the US do just a touch better than the average life expectancy in France and Greece (78.8 and 78.4, respectively) and about equal to Iceland (79.4), while the poor are in the range of South Korea and Kuwait (74.4 and 74.5, respectively) [source, 2000 data]. Long-lived countries are led by Japan and Andorra (80.7 and 83.5 years, respectively). Short-lived countries are led by Mozambique and Zambia (37.5 and 37.2 years, respectively).

That just doesn’t seem fair.

I am impressed by the level of seriousness and decorum our representatives are able to bring to important matters of war oversight while they eat chips (funneling crumbs from the bag into their mouths) and slurp their sodas.

A great victory for pastafarians everywhere.

“May you be touched by his noodly appendage.” Ramen.