Odds and ends, 9/18/07

It looks like something called "tattoo remorse" is causing people to spend $2,200 or more. But there are new tattoo inks coming out that will make removal much easier.

The full story is here on cnn.com. An excerpt:

The American Academy of Dermatology reports tattoo regret is common in the United States. Among a group of 18- to 50-year-olds surveyed in 2004, 24 percent reported having a tattoo and 17 percent of those considered getting their tattoo removed.

As I wrote months ago, I've never been tempted to get a tattoo. For one thing, I have no idea what one would say or be. For another, my body is okay without special adornment.

One of my older half-brothers had the name of his girlfriend and short-term wife tattooed into his arm. It was still there long after they split, and it was probably an identifying mark when his body needed to be identified after his death.

But that's one ID that I don't need, thank you very much.

If anyone can explain why it's so cool to have a tattoo, I'm willing to listen. But not for long.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Gov. Joe Manchin wants to go retro when it comes to West Virginia’s welcome slogan.

Manchin added his two cents worth to a statewide telephone and online poll that seeks to determine whether the state should adopt a permanent greeting. If that’s what state residents want, the governor said, he favors going back to an old phrase first adopted in 1975: “Wild Wonderful West Virginia.”

There's nothing like joining a winning team, is there?

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The science is clear and the time short, but the political will is lacking to confront global warming, the U.N. secretary-general said Tuesday.

Ban Ki-moon said he hoped next Monday’s “climate summit” here will help galvanize leaders to take action “before it is too late.”

Asked at a news conference about President Bush’s planned separate meeting to discuss global-warming measures among a handful of countries later next week, the U.N. chief said Bush assured him it would be coordinated with the established U.N. process of negotiating climate treaty commitments among all nations.

The U.S. administration rejects treaty obligations, such as the Kyoto Protocol, to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Bush favors voluntary reductions instead.

Sometime in the next week, I plan to write something in more detail about climate change, the part that you rarely hear about. I will do my best to not mention Al Gore. The gist of the piece will be that if we are really serious about reducing "greenhouse gases," then we had better be ready for some big changes in our lifestyles. And I'm not talking about taking a canvas bag to Kroger or installing those fluorescent bulbs in your lamps or even riding the bus. It's much deeper than that, and it involves changes very few Americans are willing to make.