Book Recommendation

Do you think clean energy is good for the environment? That the rise of agriculture was intentional? Or that technological progress has any potential for solving the current ecological crisis? Well, YOU ARE WRONG!

To find out why, as well as learning a variety of fascinating information on the important role of decomposition in healthy ecosystems, humanity's misguided attempts to harness nuclear energy, and the striking parallels between human and insect agriculture, read "The Spherical Mind," by Adam Oswald.

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-spherical-mind/6347669

Things Learned from Translating

My job as a translator can be rather dull at times, but every now and then I learn some interesting things. Today, I learned the following:

-Indonesia is home to one of the world's three major rainforests.
-Unfortunately, every year the rainforest is shrinking by a land area equivalent to two-thirds the size of Taiwan (36,000 km2, or 14,000 ft2).
-This trend is also threatening the orangutans which inhabit the forest.
-Some Taiwanese organizations are trying to help the problem by going there to set up conservation centers, which is great, but ummm...they claim the centers are going to:

'teach local residents that orangutans are a valuable asset...develop tourism...promote cultural events...use the internet, which transcends national boundaries, to bring the people of the world together as a force for benefiting the environment as well as our posterity.'

I really don't want to be too harsh on a organization that's trying to help the environment, but you'll have to pardon my cynicism if I find their goals a little naive, not to mention ethnocentric...