Is it too late to talk about Pluto?

Yesterday the whole Pluto downgrade actually sunk in.

I work at a library that hasn't done any "shelf maintenance" in the Space books since the 80's. Please face some facts with me. Books go out of date. Some of them rapidly. You can't give these books to other locations, poor counties, jails or anything like that because they are WRONG. Especially kids books. Kids read a non-fiction book and think what is in there is TRUE. And it should be. They shouldn't have to wonder whether the country they are reading about still exists, whether Mother Teresa is still in Calcutta, or whether Pluto is still a planet. Whatever they read should be true and up to date, in non-fiction.

Several weeks ago, Pluto became a non-planet. Fine. Doesn't really affect my life at all. Never been there, not planning on going. But all of my planet books are WRONG. And the scientific community apparently surprised the children's publishing industry. So there aren't any new books to buy that say this, yet. And think of the money that will be spent to correct this in textbooks, library books and such. Think of the waste.

Its not that I'm not for progress and science...I'm not for stupid waste.

I lived in Georgia during the state flag debate. OK, the old one was offensive to some people. I get that. OK, it was a relic that made a becoming-more-progressive state look bad. I get that too. But, do you know how much money it cost to change that flag? Not just the flags though, the Georgia flag was printed on most government stationary and business cards. And then there was the design teams, the lobbying, the referendum. Money that could have been used to improve peoples lives was wasted on the flag battle.

Its not that I'm not for progress ...I'm not for stupid waste.

I'd love to draw a comparison here about our consumer culture. Where computers last 2 or 3 years, where cell phones go out-of-date faster than yogurt, where soon we will be inundated with advertisments for new gaming systems that are only slightly "better" than last years gaming systems. I'd love to draw a comparison that shows that money is being spent on true ephemera. But I can't. I'm a hypocrite. I bought a new purse.

ps...and now theres probably a new element! argh!