Regulation? No, just simple economics

On January 1 of 2012 the European Union will be giving air carriers the choice of reducing fuel emissions or paying additional fees. In an article in the July 28 New York Times (U.S. and Europe Battle Over Airline Carbon Fees) this choice is depicted as simple economics by EU regulators and as inappropriate regulation of U.S. corporations by lobbyists and the U.S. State Department.

 

As long as the air carriers are free to choose between the fees and reducing emissions this is simple economics. The problem appears to be the fact the U.S. airline industry isn't prepared to do business in Europe under the new standards. The story behind the story is "What does the Air Transport Association do for its members if it is not helping them to continue to be competitive in a changing world?"

 

Read the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/business/energy-environment/us-air-carriers-brace-for-emissions-fees-in-Europe.html

 

http://www.DanLococo.com/

 

 

Prioritizing Sunday morning

It is a warm Sunday morning here in Milwaukee. The air is fresh and the birds are singing.

 

that's not how the morning started. I was awoken this morning by the sounds of an approaching thunder storm and the recognition I would need to get up and make sure the windows were closed against the impending sheets of rain. This has become a regular routine lately and it is not always a pleasant way to start the day.

 

I took Zoe for our usual Sunday morning walk. Everything was still wet despite the fact the rain had stopped an hour ago. As we walked the swaying trees drop the rain water clinging to their leaves. At times I was not sure if I was being showered with fresh or leftover rain drops. I was  surprised to find small branches and twigs freshly fallen from the trees. With all of the storms we've had recently I thought the trees would have shed all of their dead branches by now. 

 

As we walk I realize the recent weather pattern will bring a level of frustration to those who tend yards and gardens. I know my wife has been wanting to get some seeds planted but has not been able to plant them between the frequent showers. I expect more than one person will have grown weary of gathering the fallen branches which have littered their lawns so many mornings in recent days.

 

Upon further reflection my mind wonders back to a time when these city blocks were forests of rolling hills. The weather pattern we have been experiencing would allow some seeds to flourish and others to rot in the ground. The branches freed from the trees by the wind would have simply composted back into the ground to nourish the forest.

 

 That is all the time I have for reflection this morning. It is Sunday after all. I have Bible readings to review and I need to wake my wife in time for us to get in the car so we can go to gather to celebrate God's creation.

 

I have to prioritize.

  

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http://www.DanLococo.com/

 

Marquette University disrupts morning prayers

Each morning I try to take a little time out to pray the Rosary. I find the prayers allow me to take a step back before getting into the activities of my day. Today, I found my prayers were disturbed by thoughts about Marquette University's decision to rescind its offer to hire a Seattle University professor as Arts and Sciences dean.

 

Various reports identify the reason for rescinding the job offer as being related to the professor's writings on marriage and gender issues, but unrelated to the fact Jodi O'Brien  is a lesbian. This is a plausible explanation as Marquette University very likely employs the same proportion of gays and lesbians as occur in the general population (about 10%). Unfortunately, the questionable writings have not been identified so there is no reason, other than the fact the professor is a lesbian, to believe she would not serve the university and the community well in the position she was hired to do. I suspect Fr. Paul Hartmann  more accurately described the problem when he said "My greatest fear..is that the important decision to be made in this moment will instead dichotomize university from Church and reason from faith," The intriguing idea here is that of dichotomizing reason from faith.

 

While it is often much simpler to keep reason and faith separate  both are often strengthened by the presence of the other. If the decision to rescind the job offer to professor O'Brien has nothing to do with her sexual orientation or political pressures it seems more likely there are fears the professor's power of reason may overwhelm the university's Catholic identity. This seems highly unlikely in a 131 year old institution.

 

I consider myself a person of faith and a person of reason. Why do I pray the Rosary most mornings? It is a part of my faith. I frequently question my faith but I rarely change my beliefs as a result of being exposed to others who are different from me.  

 

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http://www.DanLococo.com/

 

Economic Hit Men in Louisiana

While eating lunch yesterday, I tuned into one of the many talk shows which focus on things angry white men can get behind. The host was taking a call from a woman in Louisiana who warned about the dangers associated with elimination of oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

The woman explained that oil drilling must continue or the State of Louisiana would be in a worse financial situation than California is in. The caller contended that Louisiana relies so heavily on oil revenues as a funding source the state would be unable to fund operations if oil money were cut off. My first reaction to these statements was: "Who got you onto that plan?" The talk show host had different ideas and began a long monologue on how poorly  the Obama administration is running the country.

 

It later occurred to me the talk show topic was a page right out of the book "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2005, ISBN 1576753018, 9781576753019). In the book Perkins tells of a U.S. foreign policy which creates an economic dependency on the United States while providing great wealth to U.S. corporations. The parallels between Perkins book and the caller's assertions were very close. Louisiana may very well be in a position where its people and representatives can't afford to do what might well be in their own best interest.

 

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<http://www.DanLococo.com/>

 

 

   

 

Fact, fiction and "The Road"

I recently read "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. I found it a riveting book that was both compelling and depressing. Actually I read the book after buying it as a Christmas gift for my wife. Helen found the story equally compelling and we find our selves talking about scenes from the book on a regular basis. One of our favorite quotes from the book is: "Query: How does the never to be differ from what never was?"

 

Helen recommended the book to a friend of ours who had a negative reaction to both the book and its author. He sent Helen a note which described some of the apparent discrepancies in the author's biographical history and between the authors background and the life of his characters.

 

Our friend's note clarified a mental practice I have embraced for many years. I purposely try to avoid learning too much about the lives of writers of fiction. I don't read forwards to books if they were not written by the author themselves. I want the writer's words to be the fact of their lives. To me the biographical information about the author is the fiction. The author's writing is the facts of their life.

 

I spend too much time with non-fiction to chase after facts about the writer of a perfectly good piece of fiction.

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<http://www.DanLococo.com/>

 

MIA? Ho, how rude of me

I periodically contract people to provide services I either cannot or do not want to do myself. Since my daughter is home from college and in need of money, I thought I could take advantage of her recently acquired web-development skills. My daughter has adapted to her role as a contractor quite quickly. We had a 9:00 AM appointment to  review the project and she is nowhere to be found.

 

I thought to myself: "Where's Jessica? She's missing in action (MIA)". In fact, Jessica stayed out late with friends last night and is still fast asleep. Not only is she not MIA she's fully engaged in producing no action at all.

 

It occurred to me I often use MIA to refer to people who have  forgotten about commitments they've made. The more traditional use of MIA refers to persons who are unaccounted for in war zones. Using "MIA" to refer to a kid who forgot to set her alarm is a long ways from the original use of the term. Oh, how rude of me.

 

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<http://www.DanLococo.com/>

 

 

Losing my way

Zoe and I took our usual Sunday morning walk today. The Sunday morning routine is to make a pot of coffee, load up my talking book reader and head out for our walk. It was about 6:00 Am: prime time for a morning walk.

 

Unfortunately 6:00 AM is much darker this time of year and my vision continues to get progressively worse. I found myself having trouble negotiating our route and giving my book the attention it deserved. I also wasn’t very present to Zoe. I ended up not enjoying my walk very much at all. As I reflect on my experience this morning I find myself knowing I need to do something different if I am going to continue to enjoy the morning ritual Zoe and I have come to look forward to each day.

 

I realize I am making the experience too complicated and at the same time trying to be too controlling. I created a set of reinforcing loops that lead from bad to worse.

 

Given the amount of vision I have it may not be feasible for me to both navigate the walk by sight and read a book at the same time. I realize now I walked slower to compensate for my inability to keep track of my surroundings. This resulted in Zoe feeling she had time to explore all the interesting things a dog can find along the way. I found myself having to struggle to get Zoe back on track, which got me more off track.

 

The fact is there is nothing bad about just enjoying the sounds of the morning and leaving it at that. I think I have a plan for next weekend.

 

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<http://www.DanLococo.com/>