If Harry Can't Do It, Who Can?

I know I say it all the time, but seriously, I LOVE National Public Radio. I listen to it everyday on my way to and from work and I'm always amazed at how many interesting stories there are out there. And they're not just 1 minute stories with cutesy soundbytes - the reporters tell a full story (and I love the way they use sound in the background for say a busy street market while they're speaking).

Anyway, I caught this topic today, Summer Reading and Harry Potter. In case you've been living in a cave for the past three weeks, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final installment of the Harry Potter series, will be released on July 21st and has brought about the usual discussions of children and their reading habits.

I'd always heard praise for the series because it was credited with getting millions of kids reading. And while not wanting to take away from what author J.K. Rowling has accomplished, it appears that while kids may be reading Harry Potter they aren't reading much else. As David Mehegan talked about today on NPR, and in a July 9th article in the Boston Globe, a recent survey conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts titled "Reading at Risk" found that leisurely reading among teens and adults has actually declined.

The New York Times wrote about the same topic in today's edition. Reporter Motoko Rich writes that the percentage of kids who say they read for fun drops from 43% of fourth graders to only 19% of eighth graders. And why is that?

Some believe it's television, although studies don't seem to show any kind of increase in television viewing between the age groups. The consensus seems to be that there are just SO MANY things competing for children's time - television, video games, music, the Internet, text messaging, cell phones and don't forget those traditional activities of going to the movies with friends, athletics and just plain old hangin' around.

I would say that I experienced a similar decline in my own reading life. I was an avid reader for much of my young life and then right around my freshman or sophomore year in high school - I just sort of stopped. Reading became a homework assignment; something I had to do; books assigned to me by teachers I felt didn't understand me and had no idea what I'd like to read.

It wasn't until I was in my early twenties that I returned to the wonderful world of reading for pleasure. I started with fiction - my first love - but have branched out in recent years with plenty of non-fiction which includes some of my favorite magazines. While I don't pretend to represent all kids, I think my experience is pretty common. It was, at least, among my own friends at the time.

So maybe kids aren't all that different today than they were 10 or 20 years ago. Maybe we're just taking more notice because of our fear of "losing" them to a world of technology that we as adults don't fully understand.

What I hope is that those kids who don't read just for the sheer pleasure of it right now will find themselves devouring all that they missed out on in 10 years or so because making my way back to books - smelling those new, never touched, crisp, clean pages of a good novel - has been one of the best experiences (and continues to be) of my life.

Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha

I couldn't resist sharing this little news item. I heard it on the radio this afternoon on Weekend America. It's a short clip about how Dubyah's childhood home in Midland, Texas has been turned into a museum. It's been open for about a year now, and well, I won't spoil it for you. Just read it if you want a little laugh ;)

China's Coal Mines

Today I learned: that China is the world's leading consumer of coal. According to NPR, 70% of China's energy comes from coal - "the dirtiest of all fuels to produce energy."

The biggest problem? Greenhouse gases. China is averaging about one new coal-fired power plant per week which will certainly lead to its surpassing the U.S. in greenhouse gas emissions - maybe even by the end of 2007.

There is certainly a need for this country's rush to produce more and more electricity; China is undergoing an industrial revolution and it's moving with incredible speed. (It is estimated that with such rapid growth and development by 2031 China will need more oil than the world can produce.) And yet, still 10 million people living in rural areas of the country live without the convenience of electricity. Coal happens to be the easiest and fastest way to generate the power this new era in China's history demands.

And it's not just the effects on the environment. Coal mining is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world, and some accuse Chinese mining companies of overlooking safety hazards and putting their employees at risk in order to keep up with the demand - and profit - for such large quantities of coal. Thousands die annually in mine accidents or from mining related health problems.

But isn't China doing just what every other wealthy country has done for decades? Is it fair for the rest of the world to say, "Stop!" After all, the U.S. has a horrendous record when it comes to environmental issues - and as a matter of fact it's our consumption of and dependence upon vast quantities of oil - contributing to greenhouse gas emissions in its production and its use - which has helped make the rich richer over here in the West.

But whether it's fair or not, because of China's large population it's environmental impact on the world is greater and happens at a faster rate when care is not taken to use renewable, "clean" energy and limit greenhouse gas emissions. While it's easy to pick on China because of it's sudden impact, it's time we all take a step back and own up to our own contributions to the environmental mess we find ourselves in.

This is a worldwide problem and it will take the cooperation of all the world's citizens to make a change.