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            Power is a universal concept of influence and persuasion. If someone can get another person to perform unlike they normally would they are thought of to have power over that person. It is very important that the theory of power is not confused with the idea of authority. If you have authority then you have legal power that people accept known as legitimacy. The difference between power and authority is that with power you are able to obtain what you want, perhaps even with force, whereas if you have authority then people respect your right to make choices for the better.

            There are five main perceptions and foundations of power. The first being expertise where you draw power if you possess certain abilities or knowledge. If you know things that other people rely on you to gain from then you hold power over them because of whether or not you choose to divulged it. The second primary source of power is coercion or force where you acquire what you want through punishing or threatening others. When you have the capability to hurt someone else they will usually give into your will so as not to be injured. The third source of power is rewards or if you can give someone in return for getting something that you want or need. The fourth point of power is persuasion where you can make someone do something based on your aptitude to manipulate them. And the fifth and final main source of power is formal authority. Formal authority is more of having legitimacy then forceful power. If you have certain responsibilities then you have power over those that do not.

            “The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation’s greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable.” –John F. Kennedy. When I think of power I always think of the big fish that eats the medium fish that ate the smaller fish. I think this because when the topic of power is addressed there will always be someone who possesses more power then you and there will always be someone that you possess more power then. Power is an ever fluid, ever changing idea of the bigger and better even though to me power really just means being able to get what you want or need through any means. In terms of education and government it is also a written and unwritten contract of rules that each individual is expected to follow.

            We can see power everywhere today and throughout history. Sometimes it is more pronounced when we see it and sometimes it is more subtle but it is always present. Schools are a good example of power because the principal and the teachers hold a huge responsibility of power over the students, which is the principle of formal authority. It also enforces expertise because the teachers are expected to know what the students are expected to learn and rewards because if a student does well and understands the material then they in return can receive a good grade. We can also trace coercion because if a student breaks a rule then they will be punished with things such as detention or suspension. In terms of the fish eat fish depiction we can see a clear hierarchy of power. The typical one that we think of is that the teachers have control over the students and the principal has power over the teachers and then therefore has power over the students. But what one might not consider is that the school board has control over the principal and so on and so fourth all the way up the government being the biggest fish of all.

            In conclusion, power is the capability to change how or what someone does or thinks. It is very different from authority where is acknowledged that you have power over others. The five main concepts of power are expertise, coercion, rewards, persuasion and formal authority. Overall power is most definitely a fish eat fish world and can be seen all around you and you can pride yourself in thinking that even though you may seem like the end of the food chain you will always be able to hold something over someone else’s head. 

          Don’t believe everything that you hear or read. Some people will do anything to get what they want. We see this everyday in politics where groups will do anything to get your vote. Because of this you should constantly be on your guard and question everything. So are campaign commercials reliable and effective? I believe that yes, campaign commercials are effective as that they can persuade people into thinking and feeling certain ways about the people that they wish to support. I also believe that no, they are not always reliable. Sometimes the ideas that these commercials feed us are straight up lies or have a grain of truth in them that has been stretched and changed and warped to fit the needs of the person trying to convince you one way or the other. Some methods of convincing the public consist of bad mouthing the opponent, making people feel that everyone else is voting for the candidate in question, listing only the reasons why this person is qualified to hold the position and putting out the image that is person is supporting the better of the people. Whether or not their supporting evidence on these methods is true is where the real question is. But time and time again people are convinced into believing one thing or another even if the story is made up.

          An excellent example of public opinion and the media is when George W. Bush attempted and succeeded in convincing a large majority of the public that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This one small story made up to gain the trust of the people lead to a war that still exists today. On October 5, 2002 George W. Bush stated in a radio address, “Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons.” (‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ Quotes. <http://zfacts.com/p/581.html> 11/09/09. Modified: Mon, 17 Apr 2006). I think that this quote was a broad way of scaring the public into believing something without much evidence that it was true. As I say, “you shouldn’t believe everything that you hear or read.” This is because this quote was said by a person with a lot of power and responsibility to protect the public so naturally many people were inclined to believe him. This quote was very broad in the sense that it gives us no facts or reasons or supporting evidence, just a flat out statement to get the desired reaction of the public which they did achieve with flying colors. Much later no weapons of mass destruction were found therefore supporting my thesis. Many people did believe this vague statement so the effectiveness has no question but in the end it proved to not be true so the reliability of it was not so great.

          On the other hand we are taught as a nation to believe our leaders because we are loyal to our country and of course these leaders would not lie to us because they have our best interests at heart. The other side of this argument is to believe almost all that is said to us and to see if that is an even more effective method of gaining the support of the public. Even George W. Bush had some pretty convincing evidence to support his theories on weapons of mass destruction. On January 28, 2003, George W. Bush stated at the State of the Union Address, “Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard, and VX nerve agent…. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” (Thoreau, Jackson. Bush Admits Lies About Iraq’s WMD “Quotes” Jackson Thoreau. February 10, 2004. <http://www.apfn.net/MESSAGEBOARD/02-10-04/discussion.cgi.25.html>). Many people were inclined to believe these statements because they provided the public with what they wanted to hear and that was that there was evidence to prove that their judgment on George W. Bush had been right all along. Because these commercials seemed to prove that he was a reliable person with reliable source and the good of the people at heart these campaign commercials were extremely effective. Perhaps if people took a good long hard look at what they are hearing they would find the loop holes in these broad statements meant to con you into believing without reason. What is sickening to see is that someone would do anything for a vote, anything to get support even if it meant war; this is why I believe that you shouldn’t believe everything that you hear.

          The United States Constitution explicitly states that everyone has the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (United States Bill of Rights). Therefore these candidates have every right to say and think whatever they believe and it is up to us, the people, to decide for ourselves whether or not we believe the information presented to us. It is for this reason that I preach to not believe everything that you hear or read. It is more important to realize that just because these people say something does not guarantee that it is the truth. This is why when we are presented with this information is crucial to keep an open mind and look at all aspects of the given information to make an educated decision on what we want and believe and who to best choose to represent this.

          Overall campaign commercials are extremely effective. This has been proven to us through a war that started through lies. But more importantly even if they are effective is does in no way mean that they are reliable. Don’t believe everything that you hear or read. In campaign commercials people are ruthless to get you to think or feel in a certain way that benefits their cause. We see this when George W. Bush made up lies about weapons of mass destruction to scare the public into trusting in him. Because of this simple statement we were lead into a full blown war with Iraq. This is why it is so critical to take into consideration everything that is told to you, especially over the media where it is only too easy to twist the facts to benefit one person’s views. Because it is so unreliable it would only makes sense to have the media be ineffective but unfortunately this is not so. I believe that the only way to remedy this is to have people doubt what they are hearing a little more. The media is never going to stop lying to us to get their way — they have this right through the United States Constitution so it is even more important then ever to stick to your guns and respect that there may be some truth to the flashing lights but to not trust everything that you hear. 

          With becoming the President of the United States of America comes many responsibilities. The eight presidential roles consist of Chief Executive, Chief of State, Commander in Chief, Chief Diplomat, Chief Policymaker, Chief Manager of Economy, Chief of Party and the Chief Citizen. After conducting a survey of whether people approve or disapprove of the way President Obama is handling each of his duties in office and his overall performance, the results were surprisingly unsatisfactory with a whopping 53% of the polled populous voicing disapproval.

          As Chief Executive, President Obama controls the federal bureaucracy, hires 2,000 federal officials and issues executive orders. When surveyed about his role as Chief Executive, 60% approved vouching he reacted quickly to the 2009 financial crisis and managed to find and assign all 2,000 federal employees in less then a month. However, 40% disapproved saying that that he employed to many elected officials which results in less free enterprise and, secondly, disapproving of his order to send more troops to the war in Afghanistan.

          As Chief of State, President Obama serves as the ceremonial leader of the government; he represents the United States at official functions and encourages national spirit. The survey results recorded 20% approval rate of his role as Chief of State, with people voicing he is doing what he can with the Bush administration’s failed policy’s, and that he did promote much national spirit during his election campaign. The remaining80% disapprove of Obama in the Chief of State role, citing the example of the Copenhagen Climate Conference where he failed to reach a compromise with China over carbon credits. Others queried say that his promise of reducing the unemployment rate with “green jobs” fell short when he offered measly solutions for putting people to work with such jobs as energy weather stripping and audits, both considered minimum wage type jobs, not to mention the training that needs to occur before energy audits can commence.

          As Commander in Chief, President Obama leads the armed forces, is held accountable for the military and security of the nation and can commit troops to action without declaration. With merely 10% approving of his performance in this role, these poll results highlighted the largest disappointment of President Obama’s progress. The 10% that approved if his work as Commander in Chief stated that he is working hard to keep America safe from attacks by deploying additional troops and by keeping options open in the search for cheap oil. The 90% that disapproved responded with fury that President Obama promised to get troops out of the war in Iraq, and felt they were further betrayed by his sending troops to fight in Afghanistan.

          As Chief Diplomat, President Obama supervises U.S. foreign policies, interacts with foreign leaders and negotiates treaties. The survey showed that 50% approved and 50% disapproved. The people who approved stated that he negotiated with other world leaders on how to stabilize the financial crisis of 2009, while the other half disapproves stating he failed to negotiate with China over their monetary policy.

          As Chief Policymaker, President Obama sets the policy agenda for Congress at the annual State of Union Address, he proposes legislation, and can call Congress into sessions to veto bills and pressure people to support or oppose bills. The survey results showed that 80% approved of his performance, arguing that he got health care reform passed, and has fresh ideas for financial reform of the currently faltering economy. The remaining 20% believe that the health reform act is a socialistic enterprise and will reduce profit for health care providers while burdening the government with more responsibility and taxpayers with more costs.

          As Chief Manager of Economy, President Obama works with congress to write a federal budget and set tax policies and appoint members of the Federal Reserve board. Results verified that 40% approved saying that he approved of higher tax rates for Americans making an income of over $200,000 and that he appointed members of the Federal Reserve Board quickly and efficiently. The 60% that disapprove of President Obama’s role as Chief Manager of Economy argue that he increased taxes on the wealthy (income levels of over $200,000) and has done little to curb the high unemployment rate, that there is currently an enormous credit crisis with very slow national growth.

          As Chief of Party, President Obama is the leader of the Democratic Party, rewards loyalty and works for party elections. The survey illustrated that 70% approved saying that money is going to Democratic localities for pet projects and he is loyal to his party and the elections. The 30% that disapprove dislike that federal money is going to Democratic “pork projects” and that the federal dollars could be used for other more important public works projects.

          As Chief Citizen, President Obama symbolizes what America is and wants. He updates, motivates and reassures the American people and serves the nation by acting in its best interests. When asked, 40% approved of President Obama’s performance declaring that he is inspirational and inclusive because of his background and race and because he believes in and wants what is best for our country. The 60% that disapprove find his promised ‘change’ objectionable and are disappointed about the increase in war spending and troop deployment.

          When questioned on President Obama’s overall performance the results showed a 50/50 polled rate. The 50% that approved likes the way that he has handled the financial crisis and health care reform. The 50% that disapproved cited the high employment rates and the war in Afghanistan.

          But tallying the actual results from the questions reveal a slightly different answer. Overall 47% of the total surveyed approved and 53% disapproved.

          So is President Obama doing his job right? An interview with Laurel Wilson, Penngrove, CA. states, “The president was handed a raw deal, he walked into a hornet’s nest. He has battled the economic melt-down, the stock market slide, the credit and banking crisis and the continued rise in unemployment, however, he is doing what he can do to stop the hemorrhaging. People expect a miracle worker. Only the next three years will prove whether or not he can turn this country around.” 

President Obama’s Inaugural Address

January 21, 2009

What questions should we really be asking ourselves about going ‘Green’? I argue that sustainability and climate change are tools for transitioning into green business practices rather than the “green” environmental issues alone.

Usually the first two questions people ask about ‘going green’ are the wrong ones, according to Andy Hoffman, Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan: “How much will it cost? And does it “pay to go green”? Hoffman’s response is it depends on who is innovating, how are they doing it, when are they doing it. Innovation is about exploring ways to use fewer resources to minimize cost and to maximize new business opportunities. It’s knowing what the next technology for energy production will be, and shifting when the market is ready to reward it.

So what is it going to cost? With the possibilities of government incentives to start the market shift, the possibilities for profit are manifold: increasing energy costs, investor interest, a growing green tech sector. Many corporate reputations are on the line – even now corporate giants such as Nike and Federal Express are pushing back against outdated energy policies held by the national Chamber of 

Commerce’s stand on green business standards. Pending regulation means that it’s not a question of if but when sustainability management will become the business standard.

One local opportunity being funded by the Sonoma County Water Agency (Agency) is the Chicken Waste Biodigestion project.

Originally, the Agency was exploring the use of cow manure to fuel the biodigester.  After further investigation, it was discovered that the local dairy farmers were processing manure into fertilizers for their farms.   Also, the operational and environmental cost of transporting the manure to central digester outweighed the benefits of the digester. 

The Agency’s research revealed two things out of their control – the birds and utility costs. The Agency is using a tremendous amount of energy to pump and store the water, especially in the summer. Engineers began looking for alternatives. One such alternative was the pioneering work of John Logan, a broiler producer in Mississippi.  As a contract producer for Tyson Foods, in the 1990’s, he operated ten broiler houses. Logan described his process how he came to build an anaerobic digester takes litter and produces methane gas. The methane gas generates electricity was in turn used to heat his broiler houses. “The process reduces my energy costs and also provides high quality compost and liquid fertilizer,” he said. Logan was recognized by US Poultry as a Family Farm Environmental Award winner at the 2010 International Poultry Expo.

But before he was recognized for his biodigester work, Logan began working with a chemical engineer at Mississippi State University, Dr. Mark Zappi, Ph.D.  Dr. Zappi showed astounding results for the gas potential from chicken litter and his research concluded chicken litter out-performed dairy manure approximately 8 to 1 and swine manure about 5 to 1. Next their goal was to find a bacterium that could break the carbon out of the litter.
What they needed were bacteria that would work with chicken litter in the absence of oxygen, at temperatures around 130 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. And they succeeded.
With the help of grant from Mississippi, they built a prototype digester. After two years, Logan finally had a sufficient volume and quantity of bacteria to do what he needed done.

With this success, Logan began applying for grants and has received six major ones so far. The first was used to create the digester and the second was to put in a solar system. “I just didn’t want to design and build a system that consumed more energy than it produced,” Logan says.

The 250,000 gallon digester requires a great deal of heated water and Logan uses solar energy to heat all the fresh water coming in and also for pumping water throughout his farm.

“We also established a recycle process,” he adds. “We filter and reuse about 80 to 90 percent of the liquid from the digester.”

It did not take long to realize that managing the digester from a chemical standpoint was fairly complex. Logan’s background in computers allowed him to get another grant from the USDA to develop an elaborate process control system. “Now the operator loads the chicken litter and then goes on about his business,” he explains. “The computer manages the whole process. It is able to actually take its own samples.”

Logan is pleased with the high quality gas. Predictions were 50 percent of that gas would be methane but they stand currently at 70 percent. They’ve also been able to reduce the hydrogen sulfide to less than one part per million by scrubbing it out with scrubbers designed by Logan and made from Canadian impregnated iron oxide rock.

The project also included installing a co-generation package – to generate electricity from the methane.

“It took me a year to get a contract with the power company to net meter,” explains Logan. “We don’t have net meter laws in Mississippi, so it was quite a cumbersome legal process and I had to hire a law firm.” Today John saves the 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour that he no longer has to purchase, and sells the remainder at three cents per kilowatt-hour.

The farm does not let a BTU escape unused. In addition to the solar panels, Logan captures the heat from the exhaust and engines generating the power to help heat the water for the digester. He also had installed a wood-burning boiler to take advantage of downed wood from Hurricane Katrina.

“Maintaining the digester, plus the mixing water at high temperatures, it takes a good bit of energy. And all of my energy is coming from renewable sources,” John says proudly.

Do to this pioneering work of John Logan and others, the Sonoma County Water Agency focused on local chicken farmers who were transporting their chicken waste to East Bay Municipal Utility District, Oakland, CA, to process in their biodigester.  This was expensive for the ranchers, and creating carbon loading during the many truck deliveries, not to mention the wear and tear on county and city roads and freeways.

All told, the Agency is working with ranchers holding over two million birds for this project. The Agency is exploring the feasibility of a chicken waste biodigestion to produce renewable energy and then to use the dried sludge from the biodigester as marketable fertilizer.

Currently, the Agency is investigating the installation of a fuel cell at the Sonoma Valley County Wastewater Treatment Plant.  Methane gas from the chicken waste biodigester would power the fuel cell to generate electricity for the treatment plant.  It is anticipated that the entire energy needs of the plant will be met by this fuel cell.  Waste heat from the fuel cell would be used to heat the biodigester to maintain optimal biological conditions as well as to dry sludge from the biodigester.  The dried sludge would in turn be sold as fertilizer.

The biodigester project is projected to save the Agency utility costs over the life of the project. A way to fund this unique project is with low interest public bonding, private tax incentives and the utility incentives required to be in place before 2020.  As the Agency reviewed the project, the engineers made sure it met all the environmental requirements. The Agency designed it with the proper environmental impact for buffer zones and watershed and erosion control, conservation and wildlife.”

This would be the end of the story for some, but not for the Agency, who recognized the work of John Logan, RMC and Biostar Intervention. 

“Poultry litter is a great nutrient source as fertilizer. And my process actually improved it,” John Logan says. “Chicken manure is rated as a triple three – nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. But now I’ve got a 6-3-5 nutrient value.”

Today the overflow from the Logan’s digester is filtered to remove solids, creating an organic bedding material. And 50 percent of the liquid is used as a concentrated organic liquid fertilizer.

Logan received yet another grant to do market research on his value-added ‘bio products’ and he is discovering they may hold more value than the methane. He has already entered into a contract with a company to start marketing his products and foresees them being available nationwide.

Because the digester can be a tremendous revenue source for ranchers, John has also begun selling his patented digesters. Six digesters are on the drawing board, with three under construction.

“A big benefit for ranchers is that it allows them to get away from the CAFO requirements for managing the dry waste. He’s now into commercially organic products,” John explains.

His digesters are showing up in surprising places, Sonoma County Water Agency not the least. One is to be attached to a meat processing company, blending scrap meat with the chicken litter. Another plant will be built at a large Mississippi Indian reservation to replace all their propane and a majority of their electricity. The plant will be fueled with litter from local farmers.

Tradegy and the Human Spirit

Do you ever find yourself getting off of the computer after having successfully avoided work with social networks such as facebook or twitter feeling tired, and wondering where the time went? Or feeling on top of the world because you met someone online that you feel that you really can connect with? Technology is a wonderful and miraculous achievement of life but I also believe that to a certain extent it is dangerous to people. It takes up a lot of time and money and people become very emotionally attached to technology. In fact there was an article that I read the other day about a man (in all seriousness) who married a video game character. We are attaching ourselves to lights and pixels. Checking your twitter status, sharing gossip over MySpace, catching your favorite TV show, texting a friend or even posting something online has become an influential, critical part of millions of people’s daily lives. We depend on it. Did you know that Facebook consumes 25% of the total website page views in America? I think that technology can be dangerous because it gives us skewed images of who you are really interacting with. When your texting or instant messaging or posting online you are a lot braver then you are in person and so is the person that you are talking to. Therefore you never really know this person unless you have actually met them and interacted with them. What you are interacting with is a fantasy, a figment of your imagination. It is a lazy way to claim that you know someone or something that you really haven’t even experienced for yourself. It is an addictive self gratification game that convinces people that the can be something that they want to be and not necessarily what they are. Online dating is a cause of this. Many people are meeting online and some even end up married. Meeting people through technology is only knowing half of the story. They have the luxury of telling you only the things that they want known and keeping the undesirable parts of them on the down low. How can you be sure that you know someone or even like them if you have never actually have even met them? I can appreciate that it broadens your dating world, but is this necessary? In my opinion technology should be used to its full extent to learn and discover, and that social aspects of technology should be thought of more of a treat rather then a norm. Go outside, enjoy the real world just outside your window and meet people that you can interact with and explore relationships in a tangible way. You have your whole life ahead of you; take advantage of it, be brave! The world is waiting for you to live outside of the box that you chain yourself to.

Perspective. Perspective is the ground at your feet. It is the gravity which holds you to your beliefs and hopes and dreams. It keeps the past in a crystal ball. If you can hold on to your perspective it makes the future that much clearer because your doubts don’t conceal the truth. Sometimes things happen which makes you question that what has been real to you. And what has been real for you has been real for others, but perhaps in very different ways. Now more then ever it is important to have perspective about the world around you. We all have busy lives and so much going on that sometimes it is easy to lose perspective. Meanwhile the world around us is crashing down around our ears. In the news we hear of death and war and theft and murder and illness and loss. We also hear of gossip like the current uproar about Tiger Woods and his alleged affairs. Yes, this is juicy gossip but when it all boils down to it, it really does not concern or affect our lives in any way. This is just an escape, an escape from living in a world that is scary and unpredictable and faltering. Our world as we know it is deteriorating. Everywhere the economy is failing and people’s lives are spinning out of control. Sometimes I think to myself, the world is going crazy. Everywhere you look change is happening quicker then we can control it. We are in a depression no matter how much people try to push away the truth. Global warming is happening now, not in twenty years, but now. Education is being sacrificed for war and families cannot afford to live. The things we know and have learned are soon becoming outdated. The things that we learn today are microscopic to the new discoveries that we make. At the same time the more we learn the less we know. The more we find in the world the less hold we have over it. Our thirst for this changing world is unrealistic to what we can have. But there is no stopping it now. We are going to run into this new way of life until we crash and burn and that is what is happening now. Perhaps this is a rebellion to old ways of life. Maybe we want to be better and newer then old eras and in our leap of faith we found more then we ever dreamed. Maybe more then what is good for us. But as we hurtle though the unknown we have accomplished a lot of good as well and based on the cycle that prosperity goes through we can only hope that our recovery from this depression will come sooner then later. So from this wreckage I am hoping for a rebirth of something incredible that we all can share and that will in someway prevent new generations from having to go though this experience. So even though we may get wrapped up in our own lives, take a look around you. You will see horrible things that bring you down but you will also find wonderful things and people and places, it is these small things that can make the difference to you. And remember the things that are important to you may not be so important to other people and that this is all just a way of seeing the world. Something that is good to one person will be horrible to the next. We live in a world that is ever-changing and where everyone thinks differently. So take into perspective that there is good and bad, not good or bad. We could not have the light without the dark. And look at the world around you when you are feeling lost because we are so small compared to the billions of people living on earth. Remind yourself to not compare your lives to others but to appreciate what you have and the people you love because holding onto the good in the world will push you through the hard times.

I’ve always been a practical person. There are very few supernatural things that I believe in and even fewer superstitions that I can appreciate. I don’t believe in aliens or UFO’s and I’m not afraid of black cats. But recently a new topic of interaction with the supernatural has caught my attention. All over the world people have been seeing and documenting images of “angel orbs”. These are light circles of various sizes and shades of colors that can be seen, not with the naked eye, but with flash camera pictures. Many people have called these angels, spirits or even ghosts. The people that call them angels say that they are guardian angels or protectors and others say that they appear in places of happiness or tranquility like fairies. Even my cousin has a newfound interest in these beings. She has taken pictures at parties where there is much merriment and found many and she has taken photographs at peaceful places and buildings. See one of her photos below to see hundreds of angel orbs. These orbs have also attracted a lot of religious and spiritual beliefs and connections. People relate them to angels like those from heaven. The thing that I find most interesting about this discovery is that there is a certain amount of proof. Something that has never failed to bewilder me is that thousands of people, smart, old, young, rich and poor believe in such things as heaven and hell when there is in fact no accurate proof that they actually exist. But when someone can slap these images in my hand saying that they have proof of supernatural beings then I’m going to think twice before I contradict their findings. When I first saw images of these angel orbs and even found a few in some pictures that I had taken, my mind immediately started working out ways to scientifically prove that they were not in fact angels or beings of happiness. I thought that they must be little particles of humidity or moisture in the air. But this theory was dashed when I found images where they appeared in very dry places as well. Or perhaps they were refractions of light or even dust molecules. My mind worked furiously to find a logical reason to these unusual specks of light. People find ways to prove for and against these angel orbs. In fact many people are fascinated by the fact that they can only be seen in photographs. This, people say, is proof enough that they are heavenly beings and that somehow we have managed to capture their existence with the flash of a light. People also relate them to energy frequencies. Many have said that you can document specific years that the angel orbs show up more often then others and they relate this to years that have been more prosperous or more depressed. Some even connect them to years that have had more religious influences. So what are these orbs? Many people have found evidence to prove that they are not angels. People have taken before and after images where they have a control shot of the room and then have unsettled some dust or sprayed some mist in the room and have found that more of these orbs appear. Thousands of people have come up with ideas and theories to prove that they are just particles of light that get refracted from the lens. Just as many people have come up with thoughts on how they actually are angels. Despite all that, no actual evidence has come to light about what they really are. No one has yet found a concrete fact to explain these mysterious beings of light. As for me, I am still undecided. Part of me wants to believe that these are angels of happiness and protection and I want to find more in pictures to find some sort of connection. But another part of me, the logical part, dismisses all this and fights to find the reason why. In the long run, does it really matter? If people want to believe that we can now see angels and that we can be in there presence, then what is the harm in letting people believe this? The people that don’t believe in them will just keep on not believing in them and the people that do believe in them will just continue to believe in them. But what I think is most important is that if these images bring people happiness and hope and faith then I think that these spirits or particles of dust are simply beautiful and harmless. Especially right now during this bad economy people are desperate for hope and happiness. Or for someone that has lost someone close to them. If finding and seeing these angels makes them feel closer to those they love or gives them faith in the world or makes that moment just a little better then I believe in angel orbs wholeheartedly. The world is a hard place to live in and sometimes you just need something to believe in.