With Climate Change and Global Warming now becoming more important daily, educators, students, journalists, scientists and governments all need fast access to all the latest Global Warming research and news.

Alphatech5.com has created a large directory of information on Global Warming and put together all of the links to every major research center, research paper, news source, government bodies and educational institutions that are the authorities on Climate Change and Global Warming.

Leading authorities such as the IPCC, US EPA, the Stern Review, the Woods Hole Institute, NASA’s Goddard Space center and dozens more can all be accessed from one easy directory.

The site can be found at:

http://www.alphatech5.com/cchange/cchange.htm

Access is free and all interested parties are welcome to browse the directory and use the links as required. They give essential information for the general public, plus important research links for students and educators.

Global Warming and Climate Change are now accepted as fact, with governments around the world now looking to build on the Kyoto Protocol by establishing greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

The US President, George W Bush, has recently held talks with European counterparts in order to kick start this process and begin working on establishing reduction targets and time frames for the USA.

Currently only the USA, Canada and Australia have not accepted the Kyoto Protocols and it is currently the intention of those governments to establish their own frameworks rather than adopt the Kyoto Protocols.

The major stumbling block to worldwide adoption of uniform targets and time-frames will be differing economic and political imperatives. The fast developing nations such as China and India do not wish to hinder the growth of their burgeoning economies, whilst the developed nations do not wish to slow their economies drastically either by reducing their income from fossil fuel industries such as oil, gas, petroleum and coal.

The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is clear. Polar ice caps are receding rapidly, glaciers are disappearing, weather patterns are changing, flora and fauna are disappearing at alarming rates.

It is now not a question of will the use of fossil fuels disappear, but when? Alternative energy sources such as Fuel Cells, Solar, Wind, Wave and even Nuclear will grow apace and the fossil fuel industries are now in their sunset phase.

Like the steam train, they have been of great use to mankind but they have now outlived their usefulness and must be consigned to the pages of history.

Keep plenty of photographs of your favourite petrol-guzzling auto. In a few years we will all be driving Hybrids – and eventually Fuel Cell or Hydrogen powered cars.

The preservation of human life is the ultimate value, a pillar of ethics and the foundation of all morality. This held true in most cultures and societies throughout history.

On first impression, the last sentence sounds patently wrong. We all know about human collectives that regarded human lives as dispensable, that murdered and tortured, that cleansed and annihilated whole populations in recurrent genocides. Surely, these defy the aforementioned statement?

Liberal philosophies claim that human life was treated as a prime value throughout the ages. Authoritarian regimes do not contest the over-riding importance of this value. Life is sacred, valuable, to be cherished and preserved. But, in totalitarian societies, it can be deferred, subsumed, subjected to higher goals, quantized, and, therefore, applied with differential rigor in the following circumstances:

1.. Quantitative – when a lesser evil prevents a greater one. Sacrificing the lives of the few to save the lives of the many is a principle enshrined and embedded in activities such as war and medicinal care. All cultures, no matter how steeped (or rooted) in liberal lore accept it. They all send soldiers to die to save the more numerous civilian population. Medical doctors sacrifice lives daily, to save others.

It is boils down to a quantitative assessment (“the numerical ratio between those saved and those sacrificed”), and to questions of quality (“are there privileged lives whose saving or preservation is worth the sacrifice of others’ lives?”) and of evaluation (no one can safely predict the results of such moral dilemmas – will lives be saved as the result of the sacrifice?).

2.. Temporal – when sacrificing life (voluntarily or not) in the present secures a better life for others in the future. These future lives need not be more numerous than the lives sacrificed. A life in the future immediately acquires the connotation of youth in need of protection. It is the old sacrificed for the sake of the new, a trade off between those who already had their share of life – and those who hadn’t. It is the bloody equivalent of a savings plan: one defers present consumption to the future.

The mirror image of this temporal argument belongs to the third group (see next), the qualitative one. It prefers to sacrifice a life in the present so that another life, also in the present, will continue to exist in the future. Abortion is an instance of this approach: the life of the child is sacrificed to secure the future well-being of the mother. In Judaism, it is forbidden to kill a female bird. Better to kill its off-spring. The mother has the potential to compensate for this loss of life by bringing giving birth to other chicks.

3.. Qualitative – This is an especially vicious variant because it purports to endow subjective notions and views with “scientific” objectivity. People are judged to belong to different qualitative groups (classified by race, skin color, birth, gender, age, wealth, or other arbitrary parameters). The result of this immoral taxonomy is that the lives of the “lesser” brands of humans are considered less “weighty” and worthy than the lives of the upper grades of humanity. The former are therefore sacrificed to benefit the latter. The Jews in Nazi occupied Europe, the black slaves in America, the aborigines in Australia are three examples of such pernicious thinking.

4.. Utilitarian – When the sacrifice of one life brings another person material or other benefits. This is the thinking (and action) which characterizes psychopaths and sociopathic criminals, for instance. For them, life is a tradable commodity and it can be exchanged against inanimate goods and services. Money and drugs are bartered for life.

December is well-known for Christmas but do you know how people in countries around the world celebrate it? Here are some customs from various parts of the world.

Australia

Greeting – Merry Christmas
Santa’s Name – Santa Claus. Children leave him a piece of cake or biscuits and a glass of milk or a bottle of beer.
Food – Many Christmas dinners include roasted meats and vegetables, special fruit cakes, and puddings with a coin baked inside. Since the temperature can reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit, people are starting to eat cold meats and salads, tropical fruits like mangoes, and stone fruits like plums. Often, the main meal is eaten for lunch.
Gifts – These are left under the Christmas tree and opened Christmas morning.
Decorations – Shops and homes are decorated with tinsel, Christmas trees, decorations for the holiday, and special lights.
Customs – Traditional and Australian carols are sung by candlelight on Christmas Eve and are broadcast on television. On Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, two sporting events take place:
The Boxing Day Test Match (cricket game) and the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

Brazil

Greeting – Feliz Natal
Santa’s Name – Papai Noel (Father Noel), who is dressed in a red, silk suit with boots.
Food – Many people eat a traditional feast with roast turkey and vegetables, while others eat chicken and rice or beans. Beer and wine are also served. Some regions begin eating around 9 PM on Christmas Eve, while others eat around midnight.
Gifts – Local charities take in donations but do not seem to have enough presents for all the children.
Decorations – Brazil has a mixture of people so Christmas is celebrated in different ways. In the northeastern area, it is common to find Nativity Scenes; in the southern part, snow is simulated with little pieces of cotton on pine trees.
Customs – Brazilians sing a number of Christmas carols.

Greece

Greeting – Eftihismena Christougenna
Food – Special holiday cakes are baked.
Gifts – Most Greek people exchange gifts on Saint Basil’s Day, January 1.
Customs – To honor Saint Basil, the holiday cakes have gold coins hidden inside them. The cakes are cut at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Whoever has a gold coin in his piece of cake will have good luck the following year.

Hungary

Santa’s Name – Actually, the Baby Jesus is said to bring presents on Christmas Eve. A bell sounds signaling that the Angels have brought the tree and gifts.
Customs – On December 5, children leave out their shoes. During the night, Mikulas and Black Peter come to fill them with goodies for well-behaved children and switches for naughty children.

India

Decorations – Sometimes, houses are decorated with mango leaves; mango or banana trees are also decorated. Small, clay, oil-burning lamps are placed on the edges of flat roofs as decorations.

Israel

Greeting – Chag Semeach (Happy Chanukah)
Santa’s Name – Actually, parents, grandparents, and other family members give presents to the children.
Food – Because oil is an important part of the holiday, many foods are prepared with it. A favorite is potato latkes (pancakes).
Gifts – Since Chanukah lasts for eight days, children may receive one present each night.
Decorations – Jewish stars, blue or silver foil garlands,
dreidels (spinning tops), Chanukah gelt (chocolate coins), and pictures of the Macabees (Jewish army that recaptured the Holy Temple and Jerusalem from the Assyrian Greek King Antiochus) are found around the house.
Customs – The menorah (candelabra) is lit each night. On the first night, one candle is lit; on, the second night, two candles; and so on until all the candles are lit on the eighth night. After lighting the candles, families eat a festive meal, dance, play games, and open presents. They also attend Chanukah parties.

Japan

Greeting – Kurisumasu Omedeto
Santa’s Name – Santa Kurohsu. He does not appear in person but is pictured in advertisements as a kind old man with a round sack on his back.
Food – Depending upon the family’s custom, they eat turkey on Christmas Day or on Christmas Eve. Japanese families also eat Christmas cake.
Gifts – Stores sell merchandise for men, women, and children; and on Christmas Day, families exchange gifts.
Decorations – More and more artificial Christmas trees are beginning to appear. They are decorated with small toys, gold paper fans, dolls, lanterns, paper ornaments, and wind chimes. A popular ornament is the origami swan. Other decorations are mistletoe, evergreen, tinsel, and lights. An amulet is put on the front door for good luck and children exchange ‘birds of peace,’ pledging there must not be anymore war.
Customs – The daiku, or Great Nine, refers to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and is performed many places.

Mexico

Greeting – Feliz Navidad
Customs – Beginning on December 15, some families carry colorful lanterns and walk from house to house in their neighborhoods, each night, until Christmas Eve. This is called La Posada, which means ‘the procession.’ On each of the nights, the families are invited into different houses where they become guests at a party. There is plenty to eat and drink. Children play the pinata game, trying to break open the papier-mache figure with a stick while blindfolded; when it is cracked open, candies and small gifts fall out.

Netherlands

Greeting – Hartelijke Kerstroeten
Santa’s Name – Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas), who wears a red bishop’s hat and bishop’s cloak and has white hair and a white beard. He arrives on a white horse with his servant, Black Pete, to put small gifts in children’s wooden shoes.
Food – The Dutch people eat lots of marzipan, spiced ginger biscuits, tall chocolate letters, and ‘bankletter’ – initials made of pastry and filled with almond paste. When they are around the Christmas tree singing songs, they eat ‘Kerstkrans’ – a Christmas ring.
Gifts – On December 6, after hearing a knock at their door, children find a bag full of toys, nuts, and gifts.
Decorations – The Christmas tree is known as the Paradise Tree. Decorations of the season include dolls, musical instruments, fruit, candies, and lights.
Customs – The Dutch sing carols, the most popular one being “O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree.”

Sweden

Greeting – God Jul
Food – Coffee, cakes, and special buns are served on Santa Lucia Day, December 13.
Customs – Santa Lucia Day honors Saint Lucy, who helped blind people. The oldest daughter in each Swedish household dresses in a white gown with a red sash, wears a crown of evergreen
with seven candles in it, awakens the family with a song, and serves the coffee, cakes, and buns. Each town and city also chooses a young woman to be Lucia for the day. She then serves coffee and food to the townspeople at schools, hospitals, and other public buildings. From these women, a national Lucia is chosen; followed by a parade, feast, and dance.

Now that you have this data, let your children put the information in a comparison chart. Label the left side with the names of the countries and the bottom with the various information (ie: Greeting, Food, and so on). Then fill in the boxes!

Let your children do research to find out the information I left out.

Conduct research to find out the same customs for other countries, especially the heritage countries of students in your class or your own family.

However you celebrate the holidays, have a safe, wonderful season and a Happy New Year!

I hope these ideas are useful and inspire your own creative thinking.

And remember…Reading is FUNdamental!