3 STUPID CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

Christmas is coming again...well for me, it will not be one. I left my sweet hometown of Aubervilliers when I was eighteen years old and since then, I have never had the chance to celebrate Christmas with my family. I mean, I did go back to France at times, but not for Christmas...and to be honest, I doubt the whole meaning of that celebration. Here are my findings.

Number one - in the categrory of most irrelevant toy for kids (unless you child is overweight and you think that he/she might loose weight using these awful shoes...)

THE MOON SHOES - I am entirely sure that these existed back in the 1980's. I was born in 1979 and I remember seeing some sort of flying shoes on TV. Can someone explain the use of these UGLY PLASTIC multicolored duck feet type of shoes - It is plain ugly and

who would want these for $ 29.99? Not me, not even my children (if I had any).

Number two - in the category of the most expensive jewels - DIAMONDS of any form, of any size!!!! I am sorry but I have to say it. Diamonds still represent the "quintessence" of jewelry but for me it is a symbol of WAR, DEATH, KILLINGS and ABUSE. I mean people do not even think twice before buying their jewelry to find out where it comes from. For me, Diamonds are beautiful polished but the way they are extracted is not beautiful. Just look at Sierra Leone and the republic of CONGO to see the damages done because of this bloody diamond war. It just disgusts me to think about it.

Last, but not least, MISTLETOE-TO-GO. In case you are not getting the attention sought after, you can attach a faux mistletoe to your forehead. Then, because of your movements, you will get more kisses than the previous year...check out the picture...useless in my eye.

New Scientist Environment blog

I typed "Environmental blogs" on Google and got into New Scientist Environmental bolg:

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/environment/

I started scrolling the blogs at different dates and the thing I liked the most is the fact the content is always changing. The blog is very diverse. For instance in September 2008, the writer wrote an article about Hurricane Ike that hit Galveston in September and compared the hurricane with Katrina. The articles gives you a lot of information about how the city of Galveston is structured etc...This information is vital for the readers in order to understand the damages.

Then, next to this blog, another blog about Palin and Mccain. The title is:

"Palin and McCain: At odds over the environment"

I really find interesting that the blog also deals with politics and how the former presidential candidates positioned themselves with regards to the environment and climate change.
To me, this blog is just average on the outlook but it is "Awesome" in terms of the content. New Scientist is magazine and a website. The website contains 76,000 content pieces. It shows that the information is not just average, but very dense. This is the reason I found the blog awesome because its blog contains so much detailed information about the environment, most of the data collected by scientists directly.
I like this blog because it is educational and I can learn a lot of info about climate change, but not just how to recycle cans. I learn also about environmental policies across the globe, new scientific discoveries to protect the environment, environmental politics in the U.S. This approach is very broad.
The last article I read was titled: "Five nations under threat from climate change". Here is the link:
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/11/top-5-islands-that-are-going-t.html
I think this article is amazing because instead of giving you a region attacked by Global warming, the article is precise giving you the 5 nations under threat. It really shows how detailed the information can be in that blog.

Religions and the Environment

I really enjoyed learning about how the main religions connect with the environment. Some of the religions have a deep-rooted philosophy on how to treat the environment while others use more of their common sense. For instance, Daoism is the one that really impressed me. I could tell that the whole concept was based on living in harmony with nature as well as establishing the "proper balance" for the self and the environment. Judaism also astonished me. Thinking about the stereotypes that we hold about each other like "Jewish people are stingy"!!! I realized through doing this work that it was not about stinginess but more about finding proper ways to care and nurture the environment so as not to waste what's precious. Buddhism was a bit of a complicated subject I have to admit. Not that, buddhism does not talk about the environment. In fact, there is a lot of parallelism. However, depending on which sutra we put our focus on, the information might vary. If the group had based their presentation on the Lotus Sutra, which is Siddharta Gautama last writing, I think they could have made a better link between buddhism and the environment. The lotus sutra teaches equality of all living beings and the dignity of life. The lotus sutra uses the allegory of the lotus flower because it is the only flower that grows out of a muddy pond as to say that beauty can be found in fundamental darkness found in all living entities. Also, Islam used the metaphor of the "mirror" to say that the environment is our reflection. The same is true with the Lotus sutra. The more nasty we are with plants, nature and each other is a reflection of our darkest side as humans. The wars are a reflection of our own selves and so forth. I felt that a lot of these religions had a lot in common and it is positive because we are fighting so much to know who is right and who is wrong and in fact, no one has the key to the truth. I guess only us human beings can make a change for good.

I did not go the the Museum!

But I am planning to go next Saturday! Professor X, can I still get my points?
Clem

Shell in the Ogoni region, Nigeria (Africa)

I would like my research paper to be about Environmental Racism in Nigeria, in the Ogoni region of Nigeria where Shell Petroleum tried to abuse the human rights of citizens few years ago. Shell tried to settle down in this region to take advantages of the natural resources without the consent of the habitants of this region. The company did not care about the environment but was thinking about taking advantage of the region's oil to make profit, not even thinking about sharing the financial gains of the locals. Luckily enough, the citizens of the Ogoni region protected their lands and knew about the richness of their lands and most of them were ecologically educated to oppose the settlement of Shell Petroleum in their region.
One Nigerian activist, Saro-Wiwa stood out of the crowd to fight against the occupation of the foreign company in Ogoni. Shell, in complicity with the Nigerian Military, of course corrupted, set up the execution of Saro-Wiwa and other activists of the region.

Right now, the trial is still taking place and Amy Goodman from Democracynow.org did talk about the Shell Petroleum case one week ago on her show. This is where I got inspired to write about that.
I want this research paper to be for everybody who does not know what is going on in Africa in terms of environmental racism. I want people to open their eyes and see that the corporations we all know here in the U.S. do dirty businesses in third world countries with no shame. I want politicians, activists to read my paper. Why not Barack Obama after all?

Here are a series of link that could be relevant for my research paper:

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0306-03.htm

"The specific abuses charged in the Ogoni lawsuit rest on allegations that Shell, its Nigerian subsidiary, and John Anderson, the former head of that subsidiary, conspired with the military government to arrest and convict Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the rights group Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People whose land in the oil-rich Niger Delta remains crisscrossed and badly polluted by oil pipelines and other infrastructure".

This source is helpful because it tells that there was a conspiracy by the government and Shell Petroleum to kill activists of the region.

http://www.earthrights.org/legalpr/lawsuit_against_shell_for_human_rights_violations_in_nigeria_to_proceed.html

http://www.business-humanrights.org/Categories/Lawlawsuits/Lawsuitsregulatoryaction/LawsuitsSelectedcases/ChevronlawsuitreNigeria


"Oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum, will go on trial in the United States on February 9, 2009 for alleged complicity in human rights abuses in the Niger Delta".

This shows that the trial is still going on up until now and the U.S. is going to decide the fate of this company; this means I can get a lot more info!


http://www.ratical.org/corporations/ShellNigeria.html

" Allegations that the oil multinational Shell aided and abetted the torture and murder of Nigerian activists including the executed writer Ken Saro-Wiwa will be tested by a full jury trial in New York, after the oil company's attempts to have the case thrown out were rejected.

Shell will also stand accused of orchestrating a series of raids by the Nigerian military on villages in the Ogoni region that left more than 1,000 people dead and 20,000 homeless".

On top of killing activists, they also killed civilians and people were left homeless...what a tragedy!!!This is inhuman!

Waste: Eroded Layers in the Grand Canyon

Well...I am so shocked to see these pictures by Chris Jordan. He said that the waste is exposed like "eroded layers in the Grand Canyon". This is how the grand canyon looks like (second picture) and this is real beauty compared to the layers of cell phone chargers (first picture)!
What a comparison!


I truly agree on the title of his exhibition called :"Intolerable beauty".
To me, seeing tons of cell phone chargers is not beauty, it is barbarism. I mean, first of all, it looks very ugly. Second of all, we are occupying space that could be used to plant trees or flowers or space that could be used to create schools or apartment buildings. We are really messing with the earth...I do not think that the earth will accept our apologies for what we are doing to her. I say "her" in reference to Gaia (mother).
Nevertheless, I think that it is possible for us to change our deeds if we are better educated. We can take actions at a global level or even within our own community. Like Chris Jordan says:"in that space may exist the possibility of some evolution of thought or action". I agree with him, I have not done anything yet but some of my friends chose to do something about it. One of them, an abstract artist has decided to use waste as a creative artistic tool. Yes my friends, he creates art from waste....
Check this link on youtube to see the work of my friend David Miles from London. I hope you will enjoy the video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=chvjIWq9L6Q

The video tells you the life of a CD and will show you the work that David Miles does with waste, in this case CD's. In case it is not showing, just type: Effing Art : The life of a CD.
David also creates other forms of art with waste. I remember his apartment in Maidenhead, UK was full of art made out of junk....incredible but true.

I think it is a pretty simple idea. Maybe, schools should encourage students to use waste as part of their artistic classes. It could be a simple and good idea in the long run.
As for us normal people, maybe it is time to take actions here in the United States and write to government officials about the matter. We can make it happen.

I WANT TO BE PART OF BOTH

I just stand in the middle on this matter. I want to actively stand in the middle because both, corporations and "other people" in reference to the question, are vital and necessary social dynamics of opposite natures.

Corporations and other people are interdependent. Based on my understanding, these opposite dynamics share nearly similar legal rights which might differ in terms of mission only in a fictive entity. The difference lies in how much control and resources each entity possesses in order to accomplish their goals. The reality is that there is a corporation in each one of us therefore corporations are people. In essence, we are one. Corporations should not disappear but change their relationship with economics in relation to putting people in the center of the economical chain. As a result, individuals and corporations can understand more clearly their roles added to the causality of their actions in a broader sense.

Corporations have strong social and cultural ties in the lives of people and should help ordinary people have personal or social realizations that would make us break from human habits that are non-progressive. Education is challenge but helps sustaining social and environmental justice. Education should be the core of all systems including systems found at a corporate level. Once educated we learn to care about ourselves and to take proper care of our friends and family members, of the community we live in and society a large.
I would start by trying to live true to my ideals. This means giving the best of myself in relation to the role I occupy in society and bounding the essence of my character into it! The most complicated job ever!!!!! I performed poorly this week. I did not have confidence in my natural capacity to bring back my new eating habits. As a result, I neglected myself but learned to be patient and bring confidence back progressively...it is a roller coaster.

SOLUTIONS TO HEAT WAVES

Personally speaking, I just feel that "Heat Waves" are the most dangerous part of Global Warming because they affect lives directly and indirectly. A raise in temperature can kill people just as water in oceans getting warmer; and as a result, we see catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina. You guys remember I guess....here is a picture for you though.

But what are real solutions to Heat Waves? With our level of scientific knowledge, I am pretty sure that solutions do exist. Let's look at some of them.


The first solution is to cut off the greenhouse emissions by having cleaner cars!!! What a brilliant idea knowing that super cities like New York, Chicago or London pollute so much that the residents even have difficulties breathing fresh air. To me, New York City is dirty as hell!!! and This city pollutes so much for no reasons. Because of what? Consumption and making it the most profitable city on Earth....Well, the Wall Street Crisis is putting everybody on standby now.

Here is the picture of an Hybrid car. Tell me if you see the difference between Hybrid and regular cars. The truth is on the outside, you will see no difference, but then when it comes to improving the environment, we will be making great causes for ourselves and others.

Secondly, the IPCC (International Panel on Climate change) has confirmed that many solutions already exist to solve global warming, expecially heat waves through wind power. I quote:" A reduction in the levels of climate change causing carbon dioxide emissions is the most important environmental benefit from wind power generation", Greenpeace international website.

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/climate-change/solutions/wind

Check also this video explaining how wind power works as a renewable source of energy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klFoqqgLHCA
I have the video also. Just look at wind power.

What else can we do? Have you heard of bioenergy. It is the use of organic mass used as fuel technologies. It is a good way to reduce greenhouse emissions as a whole. Here is a proper definition: "Bioenergy (aka biomass energy) is using organic matter (plants, etc.) as fuel via technologies such as gas collection, gasification (converting solid material to gas), combustion and digestion (for wet wastes)", Green peace international website.
I have found on Youtube a video explaining how BIOfuel could be created using Algae oil:

"The algae derived fuel will be an energy efficient replacement for fossil fuels and can be used in any diesel powered vehicle or machinery. In addition, 90% by weight of the algae is captured carbon dioxide, which is "sequestered" by this process, contributing significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gases, Multivuonline .

For more info, check this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyoKTbxerpQ
and
check this website also:
www.valcent.net

My journey

Soka University Pictures

I would like to continue my journey by going to Soka University and major in Liberal arts with an option in environmental studies. Later on, I would like to go to law school and become an environmental lawyer, not working for big corporations but for non-profit organizations and represent the needs of ordinary people.

I think that now we need people with a good knowledge of legal information who can protect the environment and the lives of common citizens. Reading "An inconvenient truth", I just realized how indulgent and negligent we have become in terms of protecting our surroundings. And right now, the earth is so uncontrollable that it is very difficult for us to predict what is coming next. Scientists and researchers keep on warning us of the dangers but in the eye of politicians environmental affairs are not important.

Check this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdDSw4EeC_o

The role of education is to foster role models who can benefit society at LARGE, not just a tiny bit of people. Education should also foster leaders who hold humanistic values for others and the environment. I believe there is an interconnectivity between the self and the environment, and I would like to include the ecosystem in it. If we stop treating each other like strangers, maybe we will start recognizing the humanity in us. As a result, we will take better actions to help others and to save the earth...Maybe it sounds like an utopia but a true philosophy of living is necessary to make those changes become true one day.

What I did today to help the environment - Part 3: Bagasse

Has anybody heard of "Bagasse"? Today, for the first time I bought eco-friendly writing pads made of bagasse. Bagasse is the name for the plant fiber remaining after sugarcane is processed and crushed to make sugar. What a great invention??? If poor countries could make profits out if it, it would be even greater. Sugar cane is found in the Carribean, in Africa and I guess some parts of Asia. My pad is eco-friendly for my use here in the United States. However, I wonder how the workers who made these pads were treated...well I will check it out next time.
More info about bagasse now. Normally, bagasse is burned after pulping, thus creating air pollution. But this fiber can be re-used - by being made into disposable products normally made from plastic or virgin paper. We can make paper, cups, plates and much more with it. This is so cool. I remember eating sugar canes when I was little and throwing everything away. I mean, if a lot more people knew how to transform bagasse into goods, I think that this could help a lot of poor countries. However, these countries should be the ones making profits and also the ones producing these products for us all, not just North America.

Please, go to this link to see some pictures:

http://www.nrel.gov/biomass/photos.html?print
You will see what bagasse look like.

Now, chech this link to see a plate made of bagasse:
http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50318421/Sugarcane_Bagasse_Products.jpg

I hope to find out more info about the companies using bagasse in their products and see their working policies abroad. I will not be shocked to find out a lot of disturbing info....

What I did today to help the environment - Part 2: The Earth Charter

Being a Buddhist, I was wondering today what the SGI (Soka Gakkai =value creation society) was doing in terms of helping the environment. I remembered the exhibition "Seeds of Change" that I was part of in London, which was a exhibition to promote peace through stopping environmental destructions and poverty. The exhibition was initially created in 2002 by the SGI and the Earth Charter Initiative for the World Summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg. I then focused my interest on the "Earth Charter" which is a king of international declaration of rights to build a peaceful world for all individuals by respecting the environment. By the way, some governments, religious groups, organizations and environmental groups signed this charter. In the future, I will try to find who they are. Let's see some of the key points of this charter:

1. Respect of Earth and Life in all this diversity
2. Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion and love.
3. Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable and peaceful.
4. Secure Earth’s bounty and beauty for present and future generations.

I really find these principles humanistic and inspiring for building better communities that respect each other and that respect their environment. These principles may be just "ideals" right now, because we know what's going on with the environment and to be honest, as a nation, the United States is not giving the right example....We may be recycling plastic but we still impose our superiority through war...The Iraqi war is an example. This war has already had catastrophic human and environmental consequences. I remember that the U.S.A did not sign the treaty on greenhouse emissions. What kind of Leadership are we demonstrating? To me, the U.S government acts with a lot of hypocrisy. I just hope that change will come if Obama is elected...although I have lost trust in politics. I think that the power of ordinary people or individuals working together for the betterment of society will have much larger influence in the future.

What I did today to help the environment

I have found an online organic store and bought for $200 worth of food, essential oils and hair products. The delivery is supposed to be on the same day...we'll see. The name of the website is organicdirect.com or something like that....This morning, Khalif and myself took the subway to Day Hab. Khalif is the 28 years old mentally disabled young man that I work for. Normally, every morning, Access-a-ride comes to pick us up but this week, I have started taking the subway with him. To be honest, the environment was a concern, but not my first one. I want Khalif to become independent and I want him not to be lazy. Taking the subway was still a good cause for the environment, I know that! I also unplugged the A.C at Khalif's house and the television!!!! God grace! these are good ways to save energy...I just just hope to be able to do more, but I think that the process is very gradual. I would love to become 100% vegetarian b/c meat blocks my chi...(flow of energy) and I do not digest meat pretty well. I usually eat more veggies that meat but when it comes to ordering a burger, I still do it! Next week, I will replace my light bulbs with energy saving ones or environmental friendly ones. I hope they'll work pretty well b/c I do not want to be without light when using the internet or doing my homework.
Right now, to care for the environment, I already recycle my trash, use a lot of organic products like essential oils, hair products, I shop at Whole foods or Trader Joe's when I have $$$$ but really having the awareness about how to treat our environment is what counts first b/c without that, it is impossible to start making the changes needed. Reading Al Gore's book was enlightening!!!! It made me more conscious about the causal relations of our actions and I think that it is time for me to put some of the reading into action.
Well, that's it for this week....See you next Tuesday!
Clem