Montebello E-News

 A reflective and restful Independence Day to all.

July 3, 2008

 If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955,
German-born American physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity.  Nobel Prize for physics in 1921. 

Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.
Louis D. Brandeis, 1856 – 1941,
was an American litigator, Supreme Court Justice, advocate of privacy, and developer of the “Brandeis Brief” in Muller v. Oregon. In addition, he helped lead the American Zionist movement.  

A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835 – 1910, better known by the pen name "Mark Twain", was an American humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the "Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  

[They are saying the same thing.  Are we listening?]

1. Have You Heard of “Global Dimming”?  

2.  Social-Impact Report, Part 2

3. Announcements

4. Fun Facts about Tennessee

5. The Flashback Quarterback:  The Addict in Your House      

6. Be Aware and Share:   If You’re Nuts, Eat Nuts!

7. About Montebello E-News and “My Montebello”

 Have You Heard of "Global Dimming"?  

If you know of somebody who has not heard of the phrase “global warming,” ask her how she keeps the world from intruding on her happiness.

The flip side of global warming is “global dimming.”  On April 23, 2008, I caught a “Nova” documentary about global dimming, on PBS station KOCE.  According to the documentary, there is evidence that particle pollution in the Earth’s atmosphere is cutting sunlight up to 10%, turning clouds into mirrors which reflect sunlight back into space.  Like global warming, global dimming can affect rainfall, creating drought.  

In the early 21st century, it's become clear that air pollution can significantly reduce the amount of sunlight reaching Earth, lower temperatures, and mask the warming effects of greenhouse gases. Climate researcher James Hansen estimates that "global dimming" is cooling our planet by more than a degree Celsius (1.8°F) and fears that as we cut back on the pollution that contributes to dimming, global warming may escalate to a point of no return. Regrettably, in terms of possibly taking corrective action, our current understanding of global dimming has been a long time in the coming, considering the first hints of the phenomenon date back to 18th-century observations of volcanic eruptions. In this slide show, follow a series of historic events and scientific milestones that built the case for global dimming. ....—Susan K. Lewis
From http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sun/dimming.html.  

If you answer the multiple-choice questions below and e-mail to lessonanswers@mymontebello.com with “Lesson answers” in the subject field, you will be credited toward a “certificate of recognition in community affairs” to be awarded in 2008 by a local nonprofit organization. 

 1. What is global dimming?

(a) Less sunlight reaching the Earth.

(b) People using fewer lights at night.  

2. What should we do if global dimming slows global warming?

(a) Pollute more, to keep sunlight away from the Earth.

(b) Do the right thing:  reduce our carbon emissions quickly and dramatically.

When most companies close the year, they assess their financial performance and thank their customers for sales. While we definitely succeeded on that dimension this year with over 1,000 retail locations across the United States and 300% sales growth, our far more important impact was increasing the quality of life for thousands of women and children across the globe – and we want to thank you for making that possible.  ...
Priya Haji, Co-founder and CEO
“World of Good” Social-Impact Report 2006, http://www.worldofgood.com/impact/index.shtml  

A “social-impact report”?  We have heard of “environmental-impact report”;  for example, one has to be filed with regard to the disposition of our Montebello Hills before a decision be made about the hills.  A social-impact report would talk about the probable and possible social consequences of a planned or existing activity.  

In the last part, we attempted a definition of a social-impact report, “SIR”.  In this part, we look at a phenomenon for which a SIR might well be needed.  

If you're wondering why driving to work has gotten so expensive, you might want to peruse your pension fund's investments. That's because speculation by institutional investors pouring money into the commodities market may be largely to blame for spiking oil prices, according to testimony on May 20 before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. Crude oil, a so-called hard asset, is viewed as a buffer against inflation—a foe of longer-term investment returns. At the hearing, "Financial Speculation in Commodity Markets: Are Institutional Investors and Hedge Funds Contributing to Food and Energy Price Inflation?," senators heard from those defending the role of speculators in oil and commodities markets as well as those who argue that excessive speculation is the root of global price surges.  

"[Commodities] are experiencing demand shock from a new category of speculators: institutional investors like corporate and government pension funds, university endowments, and sovereign wealth funds," said Michael Masters, managing member of Masters Capital Management, a Virgin Islands-based hedge fund. "Index speculators are the primary cause of the recent price spikes in commodities." http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/
content/may2008/db20080520_524455.htm

Can one say that pension funds, by their nature, are misanthropic, that, while serving the few, they harm the many?  And if so, should there be immediate action to remedy?

FOR EVERYONE.  Tell me that you knew this.  http://www.theroot.com/id/46894 … On Monday, June 19, 1865, the Union Gen. Gordon Granger stood in Galveston, Texas and informed a group of residents that the world as they'd known it had come to an end: All slaves were now free.  The newly liberated slaves began celebrating immediately. They commemorated that day every year after, giving rise to Juneteenth, a celebration that is now observed throughout the United States.  There are several parallels between the Fourth of July and Juneteenth.  Both celebrate American freedom and independence and feature the same kinds of activities: outdoor picnics with games, races, barbecue and red soda pop—a Juneteenth staple. For Juneteenth, there are typically speeches, rodeos, dances, church services and readings from the Emancipation Proclamation.  Slaves living in Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, West Virginia and Missouri remained in bondage, as did slaves who lived in Union-controlled territory until the passage of the 13th amendment to the Constitution. ...  

FOR EVERYONE.  City-council meeting.  The next regular meeting of the Montebello city council will be in the council chamber at city hall on Wednesday, July 9, 2008, at 6:30 p.m.  If you wish to speak during orals, come before 6:30 p.m. and sign up.  If you have more to say than there is time allotted, prepare a one pager, make copies, and hand out before you speak.  For more information, 323.887.1363.  

FOR EVERYONE.  Maybe not a delusion?  In last week’s E-News, there was an article about volunteering. The question was raised whether volunteering was promoted primarily as a way to compensate for the deficiencies of capitalism.  Note a possible answer from the Americorps listserv of June 28, 2008:  From another perspective, the argument that the union has expressed is a common one, and reflects the union's interest to address "union security." The argument goes something like this, "if work is being done, it must be necessary, a bargaining unit employee should do it." If the school is reducing its bargaining unit staff and actually transferring the work that was once done by those employees to Americorps members [volunteers], it may in fact present problems to the school and they should seek legal (labor) advice.

The city of Kingston served as Tennessee’s state capital for one day, September 21, 1807, as a result of treaties negotiated with the Cherokee Indians.  The two-hour legislative session passed two resolutions and adjourned back to Knoxville.  

Andrew Johnson held every elective office at the local, state, and federal level, including President of the United States.  He was elected alderman, mayor, state representative, and state senator from Greeneville.  He served as governor and military governor of Tennessee and United States congressman, senator, and vice president, becoming President of the United States following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  [Did he have time to get married?]  

Tennessee won its nickname as "The Volunteer State" during the War of 1812 when volunteer soldiers from Tennessee displayed marked valor in the Battle of New Orleans.

The Copper Basin is so different from the surrounding area it has been seen and is recognizable by American astronauts.  The stark landscape was caused by nineteenth-century mining practices.  [Leaving our mark for extraterrestrials?] 

Greeneville has the only monument in the United States honoring both the Union and Confederate armies.  It is located on the lawn of the Green County Courthouse.  

Hattie Caraway, 1878-1950, born in Bakersville became the first woman United States Senator.  [I associate “firsts” with liberal populations.  What persuaded the people of Tennessee to elect a woman?]  

Davy Crockett was not born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, as the song says.  He was born on the banks of Limestone Creek near Greeneville, where a replica of the Crockett’s log cabin stands today.  

The Tennessee Aquarium is the largest facility of its kind to focus on fresh water habitat.  It features seven thousand animals and three hundred species of fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals.

The largest earthquake in American history, the New Madrid Earthquake occurred in the winter of 1811-12 in northwestern Tennessee. Reelfoot Lake, located in Obion and Lake Counties, was formed during this earthquake.  

Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry is the longest continuously running live radio program in the world.  It has broadcast every Friday and Saturday night since 1925.

Oak Ridge was instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb.  Today, because of constant energy research, it is known as the "Energy Capital of the World".

Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland, is located in Memphis. Graceland is the second most visited house in the country.  [And the first most visited?]

Robert R. Church, Sr., of Memphis is purported to be the South’s first African-American millionaire.

The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis is at the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was slain in 1968.  The museum preserves the motel and tells the history of the American Civil Rights Movement.  

A replica of the Parthenon, the famous ancient Greek building in Athens, Greece, stands in Nashville’s Centennial Park.  [If full-scale, this is worth seeing.]

Tennesseeans are sometimes referred to as Butternuts, a tag which was first applied to Tennessee soldiers during the Civil War because of the tan color of their uniforms. 

The name “Tennessee” originated from the old Yuchi Indian word, “Tana-see,” meaning “The Meeting Place.” 

Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in Nashville introduced to the world the plaintive beauty and tradition of the Negro spiritual, which became the basis for other genres of African-American music.  It was because of their successful tours to raise funds for the university during the 1870s that Nashville first became known for its music.  [Now, that is interesting.]  

Cumberland University, located in Lebanon, lost a football game to Georgia Tech on October 7, 1916, by a score of 222 to 0.  The Georgia Tech coach was George Heisman, for whom the Heisman Trophy is named.  

Cotton made Memphis a major port on the Mississippi River.  The Memphis Cotton Exchange still handles approximately one-third of the entire American cotton crop each year.

The fundamental, inalterable principle of American society seems to be to keep the door open to making money, unless the harm be grave, immediate, and pervasive.  Apparently, the harm caused below has not be classified as grave, immediate, and pervasive.  Also, see “Social-Impact Report” above.  

Addiction to Video Games a Growing Concern
Many parents are wondering where online and video-game play becomes obsession
By Jennifer Seter Wagner, May 7, 2008  

Ollie Morelli, 7, logs on to the family laptop before sunup to make sure his pet lion, Cedric, is set for the day. The character in the online game Webkinz would appear to be: His house, furnished by Ollie, boasts a football-shaped refrigerator, a football-helmet coffee table, a couch, and a flat-screen TV. Cedric requires hours of after-school attention, too—and sometimes inspires an outburst when Mom and Dad say, "Enough!" Like many parents these days, Ollie's have wondered uneasily where childish pastime begins to edge toward obsession. "The issue is not the amount of time," says Brian Morelli. "We can control that. It's the fact that he gets up before everyone else and sneaks onto the computer. It's like he sets his internal clock so he can play Webkinz."  

Software sales hit $9.5 billion last year, an average of nine games sold each second. 

Concern is spreading among parents and mental-health professionals that the exploding popularity of computer and video games has a deeper dark side than simple couch-potatohood. Software sales jumped 28 percent last year to $9.5 billion; an average of nine games were sold every second of the year, according to the Entertainment Software Association. Studies show that 92 percent of children under age 18 play regularly. According to the Media Research Lab at Iowa State University, about 8.5 percent of 8-to-18-year-old gamers can be considered pathologically addicted, and nearly one quarter of young people—more males than females—admit they've felt addicted. Little wonder: In February, a team at Stanford University School of Medicine showed that areas of the brain responsible for generating feelings of addiction and reward are activated during game play. "We are seeing it over and over again," says Liz Woolley, founder of On-Line Gamers Anonymous, a virtual 12-step program for gaming addicts. "We're losing [kids] into the games, and it's turning their brains to mush." ...

http://www.usnews.com/articles/health/2008/05/07/
addiction-to-video-games-a-growing-concern.html

Should we not be thinking about alternatives to pharmaceuticals?  An example:

…[I]n a new book called "The Omega-3 Connection," [psychiatrist Andrew] Stoll argues that fish oils--with their high content of polyunsaturated, omega-3 fatty acids--may help a range of psychiatric disorders. The brain is an astonishing 60 percent fat, and it needs omega-3s to function properly. In the last century, however, Americans have drastically reduced their intake of these oils, as we moved to diets based on processed foods. This deficit, scientists agree, has contributed to an epidemic of heart disease. Now a spate of cross-national studies has also linked low fish consumption to high rates of major depression, bipolar disorder, postpartum depression and suicidal tendencies. "Heart disease and depression often go hand in hand," says Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, the National Institutes of Health psychiatrist who conducted a number of these surveys. "Now we may know why."  

For all their promise, omega-3 fatty acids won't replace Prozac. Except in mild cases, omega-3s will likely be an adjunct to standard therapy. Stoll calls them "an 'and' rather than an 'or'." "Many factors play a role in modifying depression," says [psychiatrist Joseph] Hibbeln. "People are too complex to be governed by one or two molecules." But look on the bright side. Even if omega-3s don't leave you depression-proof, they'll boost your heart health. It's hard to be downbeat about that.  http://www.newsweek.com/id/79891/page/1.

To learn about this newsletter, Montebello E-News, and the accompanying, growing Web site, “My Montebello”, visit www.mymontebello.com.  Also, you will find instructions and contact information for submitting announcements for publication in this newsletter, and for submitting stories to “Montebello Memories” at the Web site.