Articles written by Justin Barnes

How To Guides |
Community

About me - Justin Barnes

I am a 27 year old male currently living in the greater Raleigh-Durham area. I graduated in 2003 from the University of Oklahoma with a B.S. in Physical Geography and received an M.S. in Environmental Policy from Michigan Tech University in 2006. I now work

+ more bio information

RSS Feed

Politics, News & Issues > War & Peace Analyzing the war on Iraq: Justified or not: 1 of 90

This is an interesting question because there are a lot of different facets to the issue, and it is made more complicated by our feelings about the current situation in Iraq and the fact that some of us believe we were misled about the reasons for going to war. Here is a look at what I see are the primary possible rationales...
Politics, News & Issues > Political Issues Should the US continue to detain suspected terrorists without charging them with specific crimes?: 1 of 10

Detaining prisoners without trial is quite simply, Un-American. I recently saw a news article where Dick Cheney contended that the Gitmo facility cannot be closed because if it were, the inmates there would have to be transported to other prisons within the continental U.S. In Cheney's words, being on U.S. soil would "give u...
Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory Should the media have freedom of speech?: 10 of 66

Freedom of speech is the hallmark of what we as Americans consider a "free society". Without it, all of the other freedoms we possess or seem to possess would be worthless. The power of free speech is that it allows us broadcast our ideas, create groups of like minded people, and thereby stimulate positive changes in society...
Politics, News & Issues > Energy Issues Choosing renewable energy sources for America: 2 of 12

The lead in to this subject is somewhat misleading because renewable energy sources are primarily dependent on local conditions. This is in contrast to fossil energy resources, most of which are extracted a long distance away from where they are ultimately used. Transportability goes a long way towards explaining why coal, o...
Politics, News & Issues > Energy Issues Are wind farms good sources for environmentally safe energy?: 3 of 16

At present wind energy is the most available, technologically mature, and economically viable renewable energy resource we have. While the U.S. is one of the world leaders in wind generated electricity production, vast untapped potential still remains. Does wind energy have some limitations and drawbacks? Of course it does, ...
Autos > Fuel Economy Should governments give tax credits for alternative fuel vehicles?: 4 of 12

One of the primary purposes of government is to enhance societal well-being. In doing so, there is a long history of government technology support programs which are designed to bring about this greater good. You cannot iron out the kinks in any new technology without some practical experience, which of course is difficult t...
Politics, News & Issues > Political Issues Funding the Iraq War Bill vs. "pork belly" spending: 3 of 7

I won't take a stand here about whether providing a time-line for troop withdrawal is a good idea because I'm not certain it is. However, according to a number of polling agencies, a majority of citizens in this country do support some sort of deadline for bringing our troops home from Iraq. The Democrats have attempted to c...
Education > Colleges & Universities (Other) Is professor bias a problem in our public colleges and universities?: 6 of 12

It is no secret that the general tendency of academia is towards a liberal point of view. I make no claims as to why this is true, but I have spent enough time on college campuses and in college classrooms to know that this "stereotype" has a pretty solid basis in reality. Professors also tend to be highly opinionated people...
Politics, News & Issues > Climate Change Acid rain and the environment: 4 of 8

Acid rain is rain which has a pH value of less than 5.6. This differs from the definition of acidic that we see most often in chemistry (pH of less than 7) because all rain is naturally slightly acidic. The natural acidity of rainfall arises primarily from the interaction of rainwater and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, wh...
Politics, News & Issues > Politics in the Middle & Near East Does Kuwait's refusal to allow US troops to launch strikes against Iran signal a decline in US prestige among friendly Arab countries?: 4 of 8

It doesn't amount so much to a decline in prestige as it does a decline in trust. Friendly Arab countries (as well as unfriendly ones even if they won't admit it) know how militarily and economically powerful the U.S. remains. They cannot help but notice. However, they also cannot help but notice the speed with which the U.S...