It's Love. Not Loss.

Here's a video which explains that sharing the devastating results of our actions has not gotten us very far. It is not the loss of life that inspires us, but the awe and freedom we feel from those very systems we are destroying. Focusing on the positive gives us a genuine sense of hope, something that negative messaging will never be able to do.

I get the feeling that this video focuses on the messaging that non-profits, media, and figure heads are coming out with, but the same message is true on a much deeper and more personal level as well. Projecting love, not negativity, will serve you far greater than judgement and despair ever will.

You catch more flies with honey.

Observing Your Mind - The Power of Thoughts

I recently took my first course with Brahma Kumaris, an international spiritual organization, and learned many an important lesson.

Focused on Raja Yoga (a form of meditation), we first learned about the nature of our thoughts. To practice observing your thoughts, even just for an hour, is a powerful thing. You'll find that they range from great ones, to not so great ones, and we were given guidelines of what types we would be finding. They are:

• Positive (ex. She's so kind!)
• Negative (ex. He looks bad in that picture)
• Wasteful (The chitter chatter)
• Necessary (ex. I need to pick my son up at 8)

Thoughts, like everything else, are energy, and powerful energy at that. Negative and Wasteful thoughts will deplete your energy, Necessary ones will have a fairly neutral effect and Positive ones will magnify the 'good vibes' that you are both receiving, and giving out. The first step to transforming your thought energy into positive, powerful, and well balanced energy is awareness. Bringing your awareness to what is happening in your mind is a significant first step in harnessing your personal power. Personal power goes by different names: confidence, joy, commanding attention, kundalini, etc, but it's all the same thing - it is our life blood as humans, and the more we understand and work with it, the happier and more successful we will be.

Simply put - Be an observer in your life, and watch your life change. Period.

Via Flickr - Martin Sojka

What If?

What would happen if each person in North America decided to make a change? A small change. 

What would happen if we all decided to take a short walk each day? If we simply focused on quieting the inner dialogue. If we took time to connect.

What would happen if, upon returning from this stroll, we all picked up one piece of garbage? Just one piece.

Image via Flickr - Lynn

What would happen?

Our bodies would change. Our souls would change. Our earth would change.

And in a single year, 192, 983, 014, 620 pieces of garbage would be saved from making their way into streams, rivers, oceans, and animal's stomachs.

Why don't you try it?

Take Your Feelings Off Auto-Pilot

Most of us go through life with our feelings on auto-pilot. What do I mean?

"Many people don't know about the power of good feelings, and so their feelings are reactions or responses to what happens to them. They have put their feelings on automatic pilot, instead of deliberately taking charge of them. When something good happens, they feel good. When something bad happens, they feel bad. They don't realize that their feelings are the cause of what is happening to them. As they react with negative feelings to something that has happened, they give out more negative feelings, and they receive back more negative circumstances. They become trapped in a cycle by their own feelings. Their life goes around and around in circles not getting anywhere, like a hamster on a wheel, because they don't realize that to change their life, they must change their feeling frequency!"

Rhonda Byrne - Author of The Secret and The Power 

Image via Ruemag

Series: A Critique of Common Justifications for Alberta's Oil Sands

[This post is the fourth in a 5 part series, which looks at the main economic, social, and environmental justifications for Alberta's Oil Sands. The final post in this series will discuss select renewable energy sources, along with the feasibility of implementation in Alberta. Click for Justification 3, Justification 2 and Justification 1]

Argument 4 - Most Stringent Regulations in the World

“Canada’s oil sands industry operates within some of the most stringent and comprehensive regulations for resource development anywhere in the world” (OSDG)

Unfortunately, although many hours and expenditures are going into drafting these complex socio-economic and environmental regulations, the laws are simply not being monitored. World class policies remain on paper, while the realities of the industry are not accounted for. The Royal Society of Canada explains that “the environmental regulatory capacity of the Alberta and Canadian Governments does not appear to have kept pace with the rapid growth of the oil sands industry over the past decade.”

There is also a clear lack of transparency in the industry; although oil is being extracted on public lands, private property leases have been administered. Public ground access is prohibited, and minimum flight elevation rules hinder any useful observations. In addition, there is a “paucity of relevant data available to the public due in large part to a decline in government monitoring in recent decades that have coincided with rapid and major expansion of the [oil sands] industry.” (Timoney and Lee)

Native American Code Of Ethics

Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often.
The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.

Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path.
Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul.
Pray that they will find guidance.

Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you.
It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.

Respect all things that are placed upon this earth – whether it be people or plant.

Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.

Never speak of others in a bad way.
The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.

All persons make mistakes.
And all mistakes can be forgiven.

Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.

Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family.

Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life’s lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.

Avoid hurting the hearts of others.
The poison of your pain will return to you.

Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of one’s will within this universe.

Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self – all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.

Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.

Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first.

Respect others religious beliefs.
Do not force your belief on others.

Share your good fortune with others.
Participate in charity.

Do You Know Where Your Food Comes From?

You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity. 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson / Essayist

Via Flickr - thornypup

Series: A Critique of Common Justifications for Alberta's Oil Sands

[This post is the third in a 5 part series, which looks at the main economic, social, and environmental justifications for Alberta's Oil Sands. The final post in this series will discuss select renewable energy sources, along with the feasibility of implementation in Alberta. Click for Justification 2 and Justification 1]

Argument 3 - Reinvesting in New Technologies to Extract the Rest of the Oil Sands

Current techniques make a large portion of the oil sands unavailable to us. While investing only a small portion of funding into renewable and sustainable technology, Alberta and the oil companies are investing in new technology to extract the rest of Alberta’s oil sands. The logic behind this decision is that “Alberta's conventional oil and gas supplies are declining rapidly” (Alberta Innovates) Industry admits that oil is a finite resource. The thing is, by definition, a finite resource will in every single instance reach a point where it dwindles and runs out. Therefore, even if newer technologies are made available, humanity will yet again find itself at this very same point of exhaustion. However next time, there will be no more oil, or, what remains will not make economic sense to extract. By this time, the rest of the world’s reserves will have likely run out, and as the only alternative, the world will have switched to powering their economies by use of sustainable technology, making oil the least desirable option.

This is what miles of undisturbed boreal forest now looks like thanks to the oil sands operations. Via Flickr - mrjorgen

There are many examples of countries and states already moving away from non-renewable energy sources. By 2007, Denmark had managed to source 19.7% of their electricity from wind power alone. This was a 16.4% increase in only 16 years. Even other nations who are oil rich are planning ways to reduce their dependency on oil. The UAE, a federation with the most oil per hectare than anywhere else in the world, is structuring their economy to be less dependent on oil money. An unstable oil market and eventual exhaustion are reasons cited for this, conditions that apply to oil extraction projects everywhere. Saudi Arabia is also moving away from oil for the same reasons. Although the alternatives that these nations choose are often unsustainable as well (ex. energy consuming skyscrapers, nuclear power), it does show a global consensus that oil is clearly not the energy of the future.

Alberta Innovates has directly stated that the priorities of the Energy and Environmental research are focused on the next twenty-years. Such short-term thinking is highly illogical when we fully expect multiple generations to come after ours. It would be much wiser to invest in renewable technologies, which are constantly improving and becoming more affordable, both for long-term business strategy and economic, social and environmental health.

You're Journeying on an Airplane...

Now, look out the window. Know that, although the people below may see a dismal day, the sun is always shining. Always. You just have to know where to look.

Via Flickr - Gexydaf

Have an incredible day!

Series: A Critique of Common Justifications for Alberta's Oil Sands

[This post is the second in a 5 part series, which looks at the main economic, social, and environmental justifications for Alberta's Oil Sands. The final post in this series will discuss select renewable energy sources, along with the feasibility of implementation in Alberta. Click for Justification 1]

Argument 2: Reclamation - Full Restoration of Land that Oil Sands Projects Disturb

Current regulations mean that “developers are required to restore oil sands mining sites to at least the equivalent of their previous biological productivity, which means the region as a whole forms an ecosystem landscape at least as healthy and productive as that which existed before development”. (Alberta Innovates)

Suncor recently reclaimed 220 hectares of land, however wildlife is sparse and full reclamation is known to be many decades away. The idea that full reclamation even exists is still hotly debated; David Suzuki has said there is little to no chance of reclamation. The First Nations people who are affected agree. "We don't know if it will support life or what chemicals are still soaked into the soil, and at the end of the day this land will be a fundamentally different landscape than the diverse ecosystem that was here before Suncor began its destructive operations," stated George Poltras, former Chief of Mikisew First Nation, who live downstream of the oil sands.

Furthermore, the environmental impacts go much further than just the direct area that the oil sands projects disturb. The operations pollute in 11 major ways (Timoney and Lee 2009), including:

• Permitted (licensed) discharges to air and land
• Seepage from tailings ponds
• Evaporation from tailings ponds
• Leaks from pipelines
• Major spills of bitumen, oil, and wastewater
• Tar sands dust
• Ancillary activities such as transporting, construction of mines, ponds, roads, pipelines, facilities, and dewatering practices

Because of this activity, watersheds in the area suffer greatly. An independent peer-reviewed scientific study has shown that the oil sands are in fact poisoning the Athabasca river.

In addition, capital collected for reclamation security funding for just the direct area affected is overwhelming inadequate. Pembina has projected that the security contains enough funding to provide each hectare of land with $11 964. Reclamation activities will, based on current data, cost upwards of $220 000 per hectare. The balance of the funding could end up in the hands of Albertan taxpayers, each resident could be liable for $4300 to $6300. The Royal Society found that “current practices for obtaining financial security for reclamation liability leave Albertans vulnerable to major financial risks.”

Click here for more information. And please comment below if you have questions, comments of ideas.

Series: A Critique of Common Justifications for Alberta's Oil Sands

[This post is the first of a 5 part series, which looks at the main economic, social, and environmental justifications for Alberta's Oil Sands. The final post in the series will discuss select renewable energy sources, along with the feasibility of implementation in Alberta]

Humanities addiction to oil has become a global crisis, as energy needs continue to skyrocket. Because of this, Alberta’s oil sands are being touted as a ‘bright light’ for the province. Although industry and government alike have been criticized for ignoring the true costs of the operation, they continue to maintain that the oil sands are an economic necessity. This series will look at the main economic, social and environmental justifications for the oil sands, and present alternative views.

Argument 1: The Oil Sands Provide a Stable and Growing Economy for Alberta and Canada

Industry touts that there are currently 456 000 direct and indirect jobs created by the oil sands, while more are being created every day. (OSDG, an industry funded association)

The figure implies that in the:

• Short-term: Alberta’s economy will no doubt enjoy the economic benefits that oil is providing, in the form of jobs and injected capital. 
• Long-term: The number of jobs that rely on the presence of oil will become detrimental to the economy. Guaranteed oil exhaustion will put hundreds of thousands of well paying jobs into peril. This is only natural, as structuring an entire economy around a finite resource only invites an eventual collapse in the system.

The global economy will be severely affected by the projected energy crisis. As we saw in 2008, globalization means all countries are deeply linked to the economic health of the global network.

“As demand grows in the next decade, we will not have the oil production capacity we will need to meet demand. Supply will then have to ration demand, and prices will skyrocket – with the likely outcome of bringing the world’s economy to its knees.” explains John Hess, chairman of Hess, a large, international energy company based in the United States.

Furthermore, Alberta's tourism industry has been targeted because of the oil sands. In 2010, Corporate Ethics International launched a billboard campaign that encouraged Americans to rethink visiting the province, which would block valuable tourism dollars from multiplying through Alberta’s economy. The message of the campaign was simple, Michael Marx of CEI stated that he wanted “Alberta and Canada to quit interfering in our efforts in the United States to end our addiction to oil and transition to a clean energy economy.”

Even Barack Obama maintains that renewable energy sources will be the economic power house of the future; he claimed that "the country that figures out how to make cheaper energy that's also clean, that country is going to win the economic competition of the future.”

Please comment below if you have questions, comments or ideas.

Buddhist Wisdom

If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him;
If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom.

-Buddhist Saying

Via Flickr - Nir Sinay

Great Bear Rainforest threatened by Northern Gateway Pipeline Proposal

You may have heard about the Northern Gateway Pipeline in recent news, but sometimes it's hard to know the full scope of what's going on if you only get tidbits. Here's a brief synopsis of what Enbridge is planning and what's at stake.

The pipeline would be a $5.5 billion dollar project that would see 525 000 L of oil  per day taken from Alberta to the northern coastline of British Columbia. The proposal would cross over 1000 lakes, streams and other waterways before coming to a halt in the Great Bear Rainforest. Then around 200 tankers would come to the region to transport oil to Asia or California.

Enbridge has applied for permission to the federal government to go ahead with this venture, but first it has to go by a panel of experts who will look it over.

Pembina, a reputable policy research group that focuses on climate change and energy, doesn't agree with the project [and for more than just environmental reasons]. They say, among other things, that Enbridge is missing crucial pieces in their application (like that there are no long-term contracts from shippers).

Part of what is at stake

Source

Anyway, in plain language, Enbridge says that they wouldn't have proposed the project if they didn't believe they could do it without damaging the environment. They're going to do a lot of new things, and there are different regulations in place this time, etc.

Once again, these energy officials are citing policy, not reality.

And the reality is that from 1999 - 2009 Enbridge was responsible for 713 oil spills. (Polaris Institute) You might remember one of their more recent screw-ups: the Kalamazoo oil spill back in July 2010, when over 800 000 gallons of oil made their way into the river.

The Great Bear Rainforest

Source

This issue is no doubt super controversial; it has received more comments than any other project of its kind in federal history.

For more information, or to take action go to savethegreatbear.org.

Garbage Warrior - Sustainable Housing That Will Change the World

"Imagine a home that heats itself, that provides its own water, and grows its own food. Imagine that it needs no expensive technology, that it recycles its own waste, that it has its own power source.

And now imagine that it can be built anywhere, by anyone, out of the things society throws away. Thirty years ago, architect Michael Reynolds imagined just such a home – then set out to build it."

An earthship in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Michael's designs are changing the lives of victims or natural disasters. 

Garbage Warrior is a must see for anyone interested in humanity, the environment, or just plain incredible ideas. Architect Michael Reynolds has been building sustainable housing from 'garbage' for over 30 years. He creates beautiful homes that are self-sufficient: they produce their own food, catch their own water, and even heat themselves. How? You'll have to watch the documentary to find out, but among his methods are building south-facing structures to fully utilize the sun's power, water catchment systems that negate the need for wells, and greenhouses that grown an abundance of delicious homegrown nutrition.

The full value that these "earthships", as they are called, can provide the world is astounding. The documentary shows Michael traveling to third-world countries to implement these building techniques; in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, for instance, much of South-East Asia was devastated. Michael and his crew travel to these destroyed areas to show those affected how to rebuild their own housing out of trash that, this time, can stand up to earthquakes and tsunamis.

Watch the full length documentary below. Enjoy, and let this be a reminder to keep thinking outside of the box!

Zainab's Story - Realities from Pakistan

Pakistan is no doubt a country riddled with troubles, from the flooding that affected 22 million of their citizens last year, to the ongoing Taliban presence. Honour killings are still common in the country, as is rape and domestic abuse.

Many people know about these issues, however it is rare to hear first-hand accounts of the hardships of living in Pakistan. And so I introduce you to Zainab, a beautiful young Pakistani woman who completely embodies the notion of courage. She survived two acid attacks, and I highly recommend watching her story below, for a dose of both reality and inspiration.

Against All Odds: Zainab's story.

If you're interested in hearing more about Pakistan and it's people, I would highly recommend checking out gawaahi.com, which presents "stories of abuse and survival, the testimonies of the survivors of the worst floods in Pakistan’s history, and the narratives of Pakistanis celebrating their individual identities".

Water, Wind, Earth, Fire

Sardinia

Via Flickr - kaneda99

Stanton in Peak, England

Via Flickr - Alex is late

Saintes Maries de la Mer, France

Via Flickr - kaneda99

Male, Maldives

Via Flickr - Hani Amir

Hurricane winds from the Atlantic at Jupiter Inlet Beach

Via Flickr - Captain Kimo

The 12 Apostles, Victoria, Australia

Via Flickr - mtchm

Kilcunda, Victoria, Australia

Via Flickr - Steve Lacy

West Beach, Sanibel, Florida

Via Flickr - Today is a Good Day

Via Flickr - astrocruzan

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California

Via Flickr - Justin Kern

Via Appia Antica, Rome

Via Flickr - Giampaolo Macorig

Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

Via Flickr - shchukin

Via Flickr -  | HD |

New South Wales, Australia

Via Flickr - Alex Kess

Banish Doubt

"What we need to do to allow magic to get hold of us is to banish doubt from our minds ... Once doubts are banished, anything is possible."

- Carlos Castaneda / The Power of Silence

Via Flickr - Phil Gibbs

Factory Farms Want to Make Helping Animals Illegal

I have started this post out with about 5 different sentences and deleted them all. Why? Because I'm so frustrated with the topic I want to introduce and am trying to frame this situation so that everyone will see how utterly ridiculous it is.

What is getting me so worked up?

That Iowa wants to pass a law which states that "undercover investigators who take agricultural jobs to gain access to animals and record their mistreatment, will face penalties, up to a $7500 fine, and five years in prison."

This is in the wake of animal-rights activists gaining employment at a factory farm, and filming horrific abuses, such as:

• Cows on their knees being shocked and beaten 
• Pigs hit and dragged across the floor
• Chicks ground up alive or left to suffocate in a disposal bin.

Via Farm Sactuary

Basically, the agricultural industry, in plain language, is saying "if you try to protect the animals we are abusing and exploiting, we will put you in jail".

Ok, since when did "recording mistreatment" for those who don't have a voice become illegal? Would these same lawmakers have a problem if I were to record and publicize the mistreatment of child slaves in Bangladesh? Probably not. Actually, I would probably receive a pat on the back if I fought for those who couldn't fight for themselves.

So what makes this any different?

Maybe the fact that the agricultural industry is responsible for $24.7 billion in sales. Yet again, money trumps morals, but is that really the kind of society we want to live in?

You decide.

We may not all be high powered lawyers, but we can still contribute positively to this issue.
I offer the same advice I did for stopping dead zones: (weird how everything is connected, isn't it!)

Buy local and organic, and eat less meat.

{Update: The bill was passed Thursday morning. } 

Life is Now

Animal Testing at the University of Texas

Last month, I posted about animal testing and the despicable practices the industry employs. This month, the University of Texas has shown itself to be a part of that inhumane industry.

A whistleblower recently called PETA to share some rather disturbing methods the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) has been using. The insider reported that dogs, cats, monkeys, sheep, goats, ferrets and mice are all being used in painful experiments. These animals have been burned, mutilated, and cut open, while at the same time are surrounded by untrained staff, careless handling and severe neglect.

Experimenter Daniel Traber has allegedly subjected these animals to third degree burns on 40% of their bodies, while forcing them to inhale smoke.

"Scientists" and experimenters also intentionally:

• Caused spinal cord injuries in sheep.
• Operated painful surgical procedures on animals and offered no anesthetic either during or after the surgery.
• Imprisoned highly social animals to tiny stainless steel cages.

And more!

Click here for more information, and to send a letter to the UTMB President urging him to take action.

A Wowwww of a Documentary That Must Be Shared!

Last night I was browsing through the looooong list of documentaries on Top Documentary Films and was just about to watch one on the fascinating world of plastic (I even had it loaded!), when as fate would have it, I stumbled upon the most epic of epic documentaries. It's called Home, and have I mentioned it is EPIC?

It chronicles the earth's journey over the last millennia, and focuses on the last 200 000 years that humans have been on earth. The movie is filmed entirely from the air, and the shots are INCREDIBLE. It has been called visually stunning and I have to agree; kinda like Planet Earth on steroids.

Embedding for this video is disabled, but here's the link for all of you beauties. Enjoy!

Watch Home

And if I haven't convinced you juuuuust yet, check out the trailer:

You're Great

(I love the merge of linear and abstract thinking, and think both put together will lead to happier individuals, and as a byproduct: a changed world)

The more in alignment with yourself you make everything in your life, the happier you will be. By this I mean - follow your passions, any and all of them. Work with them to create a living, a lifestyle, your truest self.

Do what makes you come alive, what makes you feel you have purpose, what you are truly happy doing.

& Believe you are good enough to experience that feeling 24/7.

“If you don’t know what your passion is, realize that one reason for your existence on earth is to find it”  

 -Oprah Winfrey, Queen of the World

Dead Zones - Oceanic Graveyards

WHAT are they?

Dead zones are areas in the ocean that can no longer support life- life that once flourished there. To put it bluntly - virtually everything in that area of the ocean is dead or has fled. (Little rhymes amid research are always fun)

A 2008 study counted 405 dead zones in the world. (A 2004 report counted only 150) Many are still small, but will undoubtably increase in size unless something is done.

One of the most concerning dead zones is in the Gulf of Mexico. It is over 22 000 square kilometers - the size of New Jersey. A main cause of this particular dead zone is the massive amount of agriculture that exists in the midwest, near the Mississippi river.

This satellite image shows the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as two in Asia

Source

WHY does it happen?

Dead zones are oxygen depleted areas in the ocean that can no longer support the marine life that usually lives there. The water there can also be toxic to animal and human swimmers.

What's to blame?

• Human Activity, especially the agricultural industry. Excess chemicals like nitrogen and phosphorous that runoff from sewage, cars, factories and industrial farming operations either dumping or letting their waste seep into the water.

• Chemical fertilizers are considered to be the main cause of dead zones. There is simply too much toxic runoff for natural filters, like soil, to purify. Once the chemicals enter the water untreated, they eventually run into the ocean and cause an algal bloom; the bloom causes the oxygen-deprived dead zones. Plants and animals that are not able to escape usually die in the toxic environment, those that can flee go elsewhere.

Can this CHANGE?

Dead zones are reversible when the pesticides, manure, and other toxic chemicals that caused them are greatly reduced or eliminated. We just have to DO something about it! The Black Sea dead zone, which was once the largest dead zone in the world, mostly disappeared between 1991 and 2001 when fertilizers became too costly for farmers to use.

Moral of the story: Stop using pesticides, stop supporting the agricultural industry - go organic and local, eat less meat.

India - aka Land of My Dreams

Via Flickr - Stuck in Customs

Darjeeling, West Bengal

Via Flickr - Daniel Peckham

The Bassein Fort near Vasai

Via Flickr - calamur

Andaman Islands

Via Flickr - Matthieu Aubry

Via Flickr - ewanr

Ama Masjid mosque in New Delhi

Via Flickr - jrodmanjr

A woman goes to fetch water in the Dharavi slum

Via Flickr - Meanest Indian

Mobile yarn-seller near Haus Khaz village

Via Flickr - Meanest Indian

Tomb of Humayun in Delhi

Trey Ratcliff

Akbar's Royal Bathing Chamber in Agra

Trey Ratcliff

A poor family in New Delhi

Trey Ratcliff

Thikse Gompa

Via Flickr - ~FreeBird~

Holy Waters of the Gurudwara Bangla Sahi

Via Flickr - ~FreeBird~

A view from Nandi Hills, Bangalor, Karnataka

Via Raj Hanchanahal Photography

Too Late for the Planet?

I get comments from people all the time that basically imply that any education/activism Im doing is fruitless as it is too late. Too late for the planet, too late for our society, and too late in inspiring action.

Although I admit no one really knows what the impacts of our actions will be in the future (even those scientists that tell you they do - they're making educated guesses), I am convinced that we should at the very least try.

Let's put it this way - you put a scrumptious pizza outside to cool down. You get distracted and end up leaving it out there for an hour. Do you sit inside eating rice crackers because you figure it's too late (an animal might have eaten it) or do you take the initiative to go outside and check?

Personally I would check on my pizza, rice crackers are not that tasty. It sucks that I got distracted but maybe I can still enjoy that cheesy, veggie, doughy goodness. (Pizza = planet, I love metaphors, what can I say)

Much Love!

Resources

I added a new page to the right called resources; it has a ton of links that some of you might find interesting, helpful, educational, empowering, etc etc etc. Check it out :)

Food for Thought

"I can’t understand why there aren't rings of young people blocking bulldozers and preventing them from constructing coal-fired power plants." 

- Nobel Peace Prize Winner Al Gore

Via Flickr - 4BlueEyes Pete WIlliamson

Fun Facts about Food

• Americans waste 40 PERCENT of the food they produce for consumption; this amounts to a cost of over $100 billion a year. - Picture 40% of your grocery store being dumped into the garbage. Daily.
• The average grocery store item travels 2400 kilometers to get to your plate. Or your garbage apparently.

A Sampling of the World

Girls working at a brick factory outside of Islamabad, Pakistan. Via The Big Picture

A young woman and a small child peering into a dry taxi in India. Via The Big Picture

The Bagan Kingdom in Burma. Via The Big Picture

A massive storm cell in Montana. Via The Big Picture

A man balances on a fallen log in the Pacific North West. Via The Big Picture

Sorry some of them are captioned and some not; I've been saving pictures without labeling them for months now so I couldn't remember some of the details. But that might make them more fantastic as a simple picture can count for a thousand words!

Most images via The Big Picture