Making It Right

About This Map

This is a No-FAQ Zone, still heavily under construction.

Property rights, public rights and a finite world

--T.N. Narasimhan

"There exists a reasonable scientific consensus that the Earth is a very finite system, with well-defined boundaries. Within this system, the air, the water, the soils, the landscape, and the biological organisms exist in very delicately balanced mutual relationships. As the balance is disturbed by technological innovations, nature responds by adjusting itself to a new equilibrium compatible with the new conditions. This new adjustment usually manifests itself in the form of changed environmentaland ecological conditions that may often be highly detrimental to the community at large. ..." --T.N. Narasimhan, The Hindu; read more on cite

What are Economic and Social Rights?

--The Center for Economic and Social Rights

"The world’s great religious and moral traditions all recognize that human beings deserve to live in freedom, dignity, and justice. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights drew on these traditions to affirm the fundamental importance of both freedom of expression (civil and political rights) and freedom from want (economic and social rights). The 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights elaborated this set of rights.

"Despite widespread recognition on paper, economic and social rights were ignored in practice until recently, when groups and activists began using these rights to combat the rising tide of inequality in the post-Cold War era.

"Economic and social rights require governments and other powerful actors to ensure that people have access to basic needs such as food, health care, and housing, and that people have a voice in decisions affecting their well-being. These rights also provide a legal framework to hold public officials accountable for development policies and priorities. ..." CESR; read more on cite

Embedded Patriots

--William Grieder

"The most intriguing story in Washington these days is a subterranean conflict that reporters cannot cover because some of them are involved. A potent guerrilla insurgency has formed in and around the Bush presidency—a revolt of old pros in government who strike from the shadows with devastating effect. They tell the truth. They explode big lies. They provide documentary evidence that undermines popular confidence in the Commander in Chief. They prod the media and the political community to ask penetrating questions of the Bush regime. Doubtless, these anonymous sources act from a mixture of motives—some noble, some self-interested—but in present circumstances one might think of them as “embedded patriots.”

"The business of leaks is an everyday thing in Washington and, arguably, the government could not function without them. It is a way to communicate official and unofficial information in a tentative fashion—nudging events in one direction or another without the need to take responsibility for what's communicated. Reporters participate enthusiastically in the traffic and call it “news.” The process is sustained only because everyone can rely on the journalists' mock-heroic code of omert�: Never reveal the names of your secret sources—never—even if the revealed “information” turns out to be spurious.

Digital Bearer Instrument Underwriting

--by Robert Hettinga

"...At about the same time of the "Grundy" debacle at Mark Twain, I came up with my now well-known comparison of cryptography to flight. Just like people died learning to fly, others died in the cause of privacy, as anyone who has studied cryptographic history from the ancients to Midway and Canterbury could attest. Privacy, like flight to some people, is an inherent good. However, there has to be an *economic* basis for increased privacy, or nothing changes. What sold flight-hours in the end was not "slipping the surly bounds of earth" at Kitty Hawk, it was the price of airline coach fare from Kitty Hawk to Dayton. Flying is simply the cheapest way -- including net present value of everyone's time -- to move people over any large distance.

Community Energy Opportunity Finder

--Rocky Mountain Institute

"The Community Energy Opportunity Finder is an interactive tool that will help you determine your community's best bets for energy solutions that benefit the local economy, the community, and the environment....Developed by energy experts at Rocky Mountain Institute, the Community Energy Opportunity Finder mimics the preliminary analysis of an expert consultant in order to help your community realize the benefits of wise energy use. Version 1.0 of the Finder was released in February 2004.

The Finder helps you collect information on your community's energy use, and then demonstrates the potential energy savings; dollar savings; reductions in carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide emissions; and job creation from energy efficiency programs. The Finder also gives you an overview of the kinds of renewable energy sources that could power your community..." Rocky Mountain Institute; read more on cite

Toxic Cleanup in Your Neighborhood

--Toxics Action Center

"...When drinking water is contaminated or a landfill is proposed in a community, most of us believe laws and government officials will be there to protect us. Yet too often, under pressure by industry, government officials do not aggressively enforce these environmental regulations...Often it is up to residents to take action....Since 1987, Toxics Action Center has helped more than 400 neighborhood groups across New England fight toxic pollution in their communities. ...Toxics Action Center will help you wage effective campaigns to force stubborn polluters and unresponsive bureaucracies to protect the health and safety of your community..." Toxics Action Center; read more on cite

Carbon Credits Partnerships Emerge

--Conservation International Partners with SC Johnson to Offset Carbon Impacts through Investment in Ecuador’s Rain Forest"

"A first for consumer packaged goods manufacturers, SC Johnson has made a $50,000 contribution to Conservation International’s Conservation Carbon program to fund project work that will offset the carbon impacts associated with the printing and distribution of every SC Johnson Public Report dating back to 1991 as well as office paper for the past two years..." Conservation International; read more on cite

6 Steps to Natural Lawn Care

--Seattle Public Utilities; Conservation and the Environment

"...Soil is alive, with millions of creatures from earthworms down to tiny bacteria and fungi – your lawn is part of a whole ecosystem! Grasses and other plants depend on these soil organisms to recycle nutrients, protect them from disease, and build loose fertile soil. But over-use of soluble fertilizers and pesticides can disrupt this ecosystem, and contribute to lawn problems like thatch buildup and soil compaction...." Seattle Public Utilities; read more on cite

Peace Through Tourism

IIPT - International Institute for Peace Through Tourism

"On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, in 1918, The Treaty of Versailles was signed to end World War I – “the war to end all wars”. Yet in this century, more men women and children have been killed in warfare than in the entire history of human-kind up to the start of the 21st Century.

"As we begin a new Century and new Millennium, it is appropriate that we re-dedicate ourselves to a peaceful and sustainable world. A world where all are adequately fed, clothed, housed and have the opportunity for a dignified means to sustain their livelihood and the livelihood of their families. A world where all children are nurtured and educated, and can look forward to growing into adulthood in a caring, global community. A world that respects the integrity of our ecosystems and the land, air and water that sustains all life. A world that is sustainable for the benefit of future generations..." --International Institute for Peace Through Tourism; read more on cite

Carbon Neutral Citizen Calculator

--Future Forests for a CarbonNeutral world"

"We have seperated the different regions of the world and calculated the average CO2 emissions for their citizens.

This calculation takes into consideration how much energy is used in your country and divides it by the total population. The result? A figure that reflects how much carbon emission you, as an individual citizen, are responsible for." Future Forests; read more on cite

Traditional Natural Foods, Turtle Island Style

--The New Focus On Native American Cooking
By Karen Lincoln Michel

"Cedar-planked, fire-roasted juniper salmon and the ash-roasted sweet corn
with hazelnut butter are not typical cafeteria fare in the museums that line
the Mall, where hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza are in abundance. But as
these dishes and other regional foods make their appearance on the menu of
the Mitsitam Cafe in the new National Museum of the American Indian, it will
be one more step in a growing movement to highlight and preserve Native
American cuisine.

"The movement was the focus of the Native Food Summit held in Milwaukee
earlier this month to coincide with the city's annual Indian Summer
Festival, one of the midwest's largest Native American cultural festivals.
The summit, which was sponsored by First Nations Development Institute,
based in Fredericksburg, drew 160 attendees from food-related nonprofit
organizations focused not just on Native cuisine but on building sustainable
food systems on tribal land. ..." --Karen Lincoln Michel; read more on cite

Walk This Way; The Natural Step

--George Basile and Jill Rosenblum

"...Any system is defined by its first-order principles. The games of soccer or chess, for instance, are defined by the objectives and the rules of the games -- the first-order principles -- not by various strategies and skills, which come later.

"The Natural Step begins with a goal of sustainability, for both people and planet, and combines science and a systems perspective in articulating four first-order principles for sustainability..." --George Basile and Jill Rosenblum, Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy; read more on cite

The Global Green Deal

--Mark Hertzgaard

"So what do we do? Everyone knows the planet is in bad shape, but most people are resigned to passivity. Changing course, they reason, would require economic sacrifice and provoke stiff resistance from corporations and consumers alike, so why bother? It’s easier to ignore the gathering storm clouds and hope the problem magically takes care of itself. ... there is nothing inevitable about our self-destructive behavior. Not only could we dramatically reduce our burden on the air, water and other natural systems, we could make money doing so. If we’re smart, we could make restoring the environment the biggest economic enterprise of our time, a huge source of jobs, profits and poverty alleviation."

"What we need is a Global Green Deal: a program to renovate our civilization environmentally from top to bottom in rich and poor countries alike. Making use of both market incentives and government leadership, a 21st century Global Green Deal would do for environ-mental technologies what government and industry have recently done so well for computer and Internet technologies: launch their commercial takeoff. ..." --Mark Hertzgaard, "The Global Green Deal"; read more on cite

Reclaiming the Commons

--David Bollier

"...The American commons comprises a wide range of shared assets and forms of community governance. Some are tangible, while others are more abstract, political, and cultural. The tangible assets of the commons include the vast quantities of oil, minerals, timber, grasslands, and other natural resources on public lands, as well as the broadcast airwaves and such public facilities as parks, stadiums, and civic institutions. The government is the trustee and steward of such resources, but "the people" are the real owners.

Salvaging our water commons

--Robert G. Wetzel

"Our water commons are under direct attack. Humanity is contaminating, redirecting, and extracting fresh water at rates impossible to sustain. Over one billion humans do not have access to water of acceptable quality - a child dies every few seconds from contaminated water, largely from waterborne diseases. Net human growth now exceeds 200,000 each day. In spite of occasional gains in certain areas of Europe and North America, surface waters globally are being damaged at accelerating rates by toxic contamination from industrial and urban pollution, infectious diseases, dam construction, irrigation, factory farming, forest and wetland destruction.

Most ground waters are being exploited more rapidly than they are being replenished. The demands of burgeoning humanity for material goods contribute to the doubling of the per capita use of fresh water every two decades at a rate twice that of human population increase. Without question, the lack of available quality fresh water has emerged as the greatest threat to humanity and many other organisms. ..." --Robert G. Wetzel, International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology; read more on cite

Amphibian Monitoring Program

--USGS NAAMP, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center;

"Welcome to the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) website. The NAAMP is a collaborative effort among regional partners, such as state natural resource agencies and nonprofit organizations, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to monitor populations of vocal amphibians. The USGS provides central coordination and database management. The regional partners recruit and train volunteer observers, like you, to collect amphibian population data, following the protocol of the NAAMP.

Amphibian population data are collected using a calling survey technique, in which observers identify local amphibian species by their unique vocalizations. Not all amphibian species make vocalizations, but many frogs and toads do. Observers are trained to identify their local species by these unique vocalizations or "frog calls."

The Volunteer! link will tell you more about what it is like to be a volunteer observer and how to contact your Regional Coordinator. ..." --NAAMP, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; read more on cite

The Dollar Value of Wetlands Restoration

--Joe Rojas-Burke, the Oregonian

"Stripped of native greenery and laden with bacteria and pesticides, Johnson Creek cuts like a scar across southeast Portland. Every three or four years, its degraded waters spill over rock-armored banks to flood nearby streets and properties.

"Fixing the problem the old-fashioned way -- sinking pipes and vaults to capture flood surges -- could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Restored wetlands, however, could do the job for a fraction of the cost, says a new study. It suggests wetlands could perform additional jobs, such as filtering contaminants from drainage water, scouring pollutants from the air, and supporting fish, birds and other prized wildlife.

"If such services could be bought and sold, researchers estimate the combined value at more than $30 million over the course of 100 years.

"The forthcoming study, funded by the city of Portland, is part of a new wave of research across the nation seeking ways to measure the economic contributions of living ecosystems. Conservationists say such studies may be able to help cities choose restoration projects likely to have the biggest payoff. In the future, some advocates say the studies may be able to show that some wild landscapes can be more valuable than building homes or office buildings. ..." -- Joe Rojas-Burke, The Oregonian; read more on cite

Building Spirit-Centered Community

--Anne Glass, Elder Spirit Community

"In the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia, something new is being created – ElderSpirit Community — the first co-housing community in the U.S. exclusively for older adults and the first residential community that states late-life spirituality as a primary goal.

America is aging on a scale never before seen. While most older adults enjoy many healthy years, physical changes and other losses are inevitable over time, and caregiving needs may emerge. Turning inward and developing the spiritual side can provide a sense of growth and meaning during this transitional time. However, despite the importance of this development, our culture is not supportive of spirituality.

The ElderSpirit Community vision has risen to answer these challenges. ElderSpirit is a community of older adults committed to spiritual growth, caring for one another, respect for the earth, and service to the larger community.

After a long journey, groundbreaking on this affordable housing project was held in Abingdon, Virginia, on March 13, 2003, and the cohousing village will soon be a reality. Beyond the physical building, however, is the exciting evolution of our thinking to realize the ElderSpirit concept can be much bigger. We now believe that ElderSpirit Communities can potentially be formed wherever there is a nucleus of older adults interested in their own spiritual growth and development. In a natural progression, we believe our next challenge will be to crystallize and disseminate the lessons we learn into an innovative approach to helping elders develop “communities of late-life spirituality and mutual support” in a variety of settings such as neighborhoods and apartment complexes...." --Anne Glass, Elder Spirit Community; read more on cite

Nuclear Guardianship

--Joanna Macy

"Nuclear Guardianship is a citizen commitment to present and future generations to keep radioactive materials out of the biosphere. Recognizing the extreme damage these materials inflict on all life-forms and their genetic codes, Nuclear Guardianship requires:

* interim containment of radioactive materials in accessible, monitored storage, so that leaks can be repaired, and future technologies for reducing and containing their radioactivity can be applied;
* stringent limits on transport of radioactive materials, to avoid contaminating new sites, and to minimize spills and accidents;
* cessation of the production of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy;
* transmission to future generations of the knowledge necessary for their self-protection and ongoing guardianship through time. ..." --Joanna Macy; read more on cite

Slow Food USA

"Recognizing that the enjoyment of wholesome food is essential to the pursuit of happiness, Slow Food U.S.A. is an educational organization dedicated to stewardship of the land and ecologically sound food production; to the revival of the kitchen and the table as centers of pleasure, culture, and community; to the invigoration and proliferation of regional, seasonal culinary traditions; and to living a slower and more harmonious rhythm of life. " --Slow Food USA; read more on cite

The Election is Over, We Lost

Now on to November 3rd
--By Sam Smith

"The winner is a supporter of three of the worst government decisions of our time: the war in Iraq, the Patriot Act, and the Bush education law.

"He is a Yale graduate and a member of a secret society of dubious values and influence. He is arrogant with the sense of self-entitlement of the fully privileged yet has done little in life to justify this self esteem. And he is a tenured and servile member of an establishment that has trashed the Constitution, badly weakened the economy, made us hated around the world, and effectively brought to the end of the First American Republic. ..." --Sam Smith, Progressive Review; read more on cite

Episodic Redefinition of Self Actualization

--by Abraham Maslow
from Toward a Psychology of Being

Self-Actualization redefined in terms of frequency of peak experiences

"In other words, any person in any of the peak experiences takes on temporarily many of the characteristics which I found in self-actualizing individuals. That is, for the time they become self-actualizers. We may think of it as a passing characterological change if we wish, and not just as an emotional-cognitive-expressive state. Not only are these his happiest and most thrilling moments, but they are also moments of greatest maturity, individuation, fulfilment - in a word, his healthiest moments.

"This makes it possible for us to redefine self-actualization in such a way as to purge it of its static and typological shortcomings, and to make it less a kind of all-or-none pantheon into which some rare people enter at the age of 60. We may define it as an episode, or a spurt in which the powers of the person come together in a particularly efficient and intensely enjoyable way, and in which he is more integrated and less split, more open for experience, more idiosyncratic, more perfectly expressive or spontaneous, or fully functioning, more creative, more humorous, more ego-transcending, more independent of his lower needs, etc. He becomes in these episodes more truly himself, more perfectly actualizing his potentialities, closer to the core of his Being, more fully human. ..." --Abraham Maslow; read more on cite

Sustainable in Seattle

--by Ross A. Leventhal

"The sixth annual EnvironDesign conference brought 1200 people to Seattle, a fitting venue for a conversation on sustainability. The city now has over $1 billion of new construction in progress expected to receive a "green building" certification. Regional neighbors Vancouver, British Columbia and Portland, Oregon also stand out as leading cities in this movement."

"The four-day EnvironDesign6, in April, 2002, featured workshops, panel discussions, keynote speeches, tours of green buildings, an art exhibit, and a fashion show in which "chic" was defined in terms of respect for workers and the natural environment. ..." --by Ross A. Leventhal, Architecture Week, June 2002; read more on cite

Chicago's Organic Food Dilemma

--Juli Brussell
Concious Choice, October 2002

"Should you eat organic or local? Can you do both? � Scene One -- A Saturday morning in October 2002. Place: Chicago. Citizen "A" enters a natural foods store, looking for good food. Looking to do the right thing. "A" begins to fill her shopping cart with organic items: lettuce, butter produced from grass-fed organic cows, sunflower seeds, potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes.... The food is certified organic, but it was produced thousands of miles away. Should "A" buy this food?

"Citizen "B" drives twenty miles to his favorite farmers' market, looking for good food; looking to do the right thing. "B" takes out his canvas bag and begins to make the rounds. Tomatoes, salad greens, zucchini, potatoes.... The food is not organic, but it is locally grown. Should "B" buy this food?

"Looking for no more than a simple meal, Citizen "C" walks to a local conventional grocery store to buy sunflower seeds and cheap vegetable oil. She plans to walk home and make a salad with tomatoes, lettuce, and herbs grown in pots on her apartment balcony. Some of the food is local; some is not. Some of the food is grown without chemicals; some is not. Should "C" buy this food?..." --Juli Brussell, Concious Choice; read more on cite

Emergency Management Institute

FEMA's Independent Study Program (ISP)
Department of Homeland Security

[...Citizen preparedness will only prepare citizens if the citizens - and not the government - are the ones who are chiefly preparing. Wherever you are, become involved in preparedness for the normal disruptions of modern life and lessen the burden on all of us...]

"The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) offers more than forty independent study courses. These are self-paced courses designed for people who have emergency management responsibilities and the general public. For most of our courses you will need to download and print the materials. Others are interactive courses that you can take directly over the internet on the NETC Virtual Campus. All are offered free-of-charge to those who qualify for enrollment. Each Independent Study Course includes lessons with practice exercises and a final examination. Students who score 75 percent or better are issued a certificate of achievement from EMI. ..." online EMI courses; read more on cite

Geo-Destinies

Chapter 27 — Myths and Realities of Mineral Resources
by Walter L. Youngquist

Although minerals and energy minerals are fundamental to our existence, the facts of these resources and of industries which produce these materials are subject to many myths and much misinformation. This is unfortunate for it clouds the ability of individuals in a democracy to make intelligent choices...

"...Regardless of the popularity of optimism over realism, the wisest route for humanity would be that plans and decisions be based on today's scientific and technological realities and reasonably visible resources, rather than on hopes for things which may never arrive. Optimism is vital in looking toward the future. One must be optimistic as a basis for making an effort. But optimism should be tempered with facts. The media and government leaders should try to learn the facts, and then have the courage to state them. Campaigns for public office should not lead the citizenry into false hopes. As civilization proceeds, it will be much more convenient and less disruptive to be pleasantly surprised along the way than unpleasantly surprised. Myths must be replaced by reality on which intelligent decisions are made...." --Walter Youngquist; read more on cite

Election Eve Candlelight Vigil

--American Friends Service Committee

Lighting the Path for Democracy

On the evening of November 1, people in 127 communities across the country and abroad held vigils:

To hold our nation in the light.
To show that democracy matters.
To call for clean elections.
To remember the things we all care about — peace, justice, security. ..." AFSC; Quaker values in action; read more on cite

Nicholas Roerich and the Banner of Peace

"The Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace is an international treaty signed by India, the Baltic states, and 22 nations of the Americas including the United States. The Roerich Peace Pact established an international agreement allowing any nation to protect its cultural or artistic heritage with a symbolic banner, the Banner of Peace. Signed in 1935, this treaty is international law today.

"Nicholas Roerich, shocked by the devastations of World War One and the Russian revolution in his own country, realized that the cultural heritage of each nation is in essence a world treasure. His idea of cultural heritage included not only the physical remains of earlier cultures, but also the active creative centers, universities, libraries, concert halls and theaters of all nations. Just as the Red Cross protects hospitals, the Banner of Peace was implemented to protect culture..." --Planet Art Network; read more on cite

Cancer Prevention Tips

Link: .
--by Dr. Robert Moss, M.D.
The Moss Reports

Your home and office may be filled with toxic substances that put a stress on your body...a stress the person with cancer should absolutely do without!

The idea here is to lighten the toxic load your body has to cope with daily. Here are some important tips on how to recognize these hidden toxins and clean up your environment, inside and out.
* Why water is so important
* Are toxins hiding under your sink?
* Where there's smoke, there's fire
* Is electromagnetic radiation hurting you?
* Is anything bugging you?
* A breath of fresh air
* How to avoid the most dangerous toxins
* Web sites you shouldn't miss!

--Dr. Robert Moss' Cancer Information and Referral Service; read more on cite

Lab Fired After Questioning Federal Probe

Link: .
--John Dobberstein
South Bend Tribune Staff Writer
11-23-4

SOUTH BEND -- The laboratory director from a South Bend firm has been fired for attempting to cast doubt on the federal investigation into what caused the World Trade Center's twin towers to collapse on Sept. 11, 2001.

Kevin R. Ryan was terminated Tuesday from his job at Environmental Health Laboratories Inc., a subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories Inc., the consumer-product safety testing giant.

On Nov. 11, Ryan wrote a letter to the National Institute of Standards and Technology -- the agency probing the collapse -- challenging the common theory that burning jet fuel weakened the steel supports holding up the 110-story skyscrapers...." --John Dobberstein; rense.com; read more on cite

Taking the Cure

Link: .
by Andy Craft
Black Book magazine, Spring 2000

"The government doesn't want you to know about a rainforest shrub that cures "the great twentieth-century malaise" after one dose. But who's really keeping Ibogaine from the people who need it?

"I wake up and the bed is all wet. It's 8am. I haven't pissed in it and neither has she. I move and the bedclothes peel away from my sweaty body, letting in a bit of cold air. It's freezing. She gets up and deals with the kids, who are watching TV. I can't stand the TV in the mornings. She puts the kettle on, turning up all the rings of the stove so it will heat up the kitchen. Makes the veins stand out a bit better.

"I want the relief and the warmth now. I need to smell it behind my nose and feel the heat behind my eyes now. I keep pushing the plunger and it all goes in. I wonder whether to flush it, to try to wash every last particle of smack out of the works with blood and shove it into me...." --Andy Craft; read more on cite

New Venture Championship;Past Winners

The New Venture Championship (NVC) is one of the top three business plan competitions in the United States. Presented by the University of Oregon’s Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship (LCE) the NVC offers more than $ 60,000 in cash prizes and has grown from a small, internal competition to an international event that attracts schools from across the nation and halfway around the world...

Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship;read more on cite.

Mangrove Shields Slow Tsunamis

By G. Venkataramani The Hindu

Monday 27 December 2004

"Tsunami is a rare phenomenon. Though we cannot prevent the occurrence of such natural calamities, we should certainly prepare ourselves to mitigate the impact of the natural fury on the population inhabiting the coastal ecosystems. Our anticipatory research work to preserve mangrove ecosystems as the first line of defence against devastating tidal waves on the eastern coastline has proved very relevant today.

Link: t r u t h o u t - 'Mangroves Can Act as Shield against Tsunami'.

Circle of All Nations

"It was prophesized that the time would come when the voice of indigenous peoples would rise again after five hundred years of silence and oppression, to light a path to an eternal fire of peace, love, brotherhood and sisterhood amongst all nations." --William Commanda, Algonquin Elder; read more on cite.

Greening Your Final Arrangements

On his deathbed King Alfred the Great said, “I desire to leave to the men that come after me a remembrance of me in good works.” It’s a noble quote that raises this question: What do we as a society leave future generations when we bury our dead? Will our ancestors inherit a positive legacy?

Not through our current funereal habits. Each year in US cemeteries, we bury 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid, which includes formaldehyde, 180,544,000 pounds of steel, 5,400,000 pounds of copper and bronze and 30 million board feet of hardwoods, including tropical woods, according to Mary Woodsen, vice president of the Pre-Posthumous Society, an organization dedicated to bringing memorial nature preserves to New York state.

While most people don’t like to think of their own final arrangements, it’s possible to prepare for the inevitable. Planning ahead will not only remove a considerable burden from grieving relatives, it can give you peace of mind knowing you leave behind an Earth-friendly legacy.

Link: read more on cite.

Nardostachys jatamansi alert

The Himalayan Tea Company -- organic/free trade tea

Nardostachys jatamansi is a root herb native to the central Himalayan Mountains of Nepal. It is found to grow between 2500 to 4500 m. elevations. The essential oil content of this herb is prized for its aromatics and used widely throughout the Himalayas for medicinal and aromatic use. In the fall of 2001, Nardostachys jatamansi was placed on the international endangered species list. This status has prompted the government of Nepal to ban its export. Unfortunately, this only propels prices for the black marketing of the herb due to its increasing rarity in the wild.

Link: read more on cite.

43 Things

by robot co-op

24,679 people in 2,706 cities are doing 96,820 things including… kiss the sky... be fearless ...download myself into a computer ...buy some new clothes ...conquer the world ...Stacey wants to become a sommelier ...Snowboard with my love ...pay off my student loan ...travel across Europe ...Go skiing ...write a song ...be fluent in english ... start my own company ...renew my passport ...Kiss in the rain ...clarrie wants to Spend less time fooling around on the net and more time actually working ...take better pictures ...Travel in space Try out 43 Things

Link: visit 43 Things.

The World's Shortest Comprehensive Recycling Guide

Link: The World's Shortest Comprehensive Recycling Guide.

"This is world's shortest comprehensive USA/Canada recycling guide. Contains generalizations; local procedures may differ. From the Consumer Recycling Guide, "www.obviously.COM/recycle/". ©1997-2003 Evergreen Industries. Remember: Unless you buy recycled products, you are not recycling."

Plan Vivo

Link: Plan Vivo.

Plan Vivo is a system for managing the supply of verifiable emission reductions from rural communities in a way that promotes sustainable livelihoods.

With growing awareness of the problem of climate change, governments, industries and other organisations are seeking ways of reducing their emissions of carbon to the atmosphere. Quantified reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from project based activities, so-called ‘carbon credits’, may be used to help offset emissions from other sectors.

Barbara Ehrenreich | Corporate Home Wreckers

Corporate Home Wreckers
By Barbara Ehrenreich
The Progressive

March 2006 Issue

I was in the Atlanta airport recently, cruising a bookstore, when this catchy title leaped out at me: Women Who Make the World Worse: and How Their Radical Feminist Assault Is Ruining Our Schools, Families, Military, and Sports. Since the author is National Review Washington editor and Fox News pundit Kate O'Beirne, I indulged my vanity and looked up my own name in the index. There I was, right up front on page four, credited with ruining our families.

Link: read more on cite.

Mass Media Mass Media Cover-up

Leading Journalists Expose Major Cover-ups by Mass Media

This is a 10-page summary of revealing accounts by 20 award-winning journalists from the book Into the Buzzsaw, compiled Kristina Borjesson. All of these courageous writers were prevented by corporate mass media ownership from reporting major news stories. Some were even fired or laid off. These journalists have won numerous awards, including several Emmys and a Pulitzer. Join in building a better world. Spread this news across the land.

Link: Read more on cite.

Green Home Toxipedia

[The Toxipedia is the place to come for definitions and
explanations of environmental terms of all types. This is a good example of an online 'encyclopedia' that demonstrates the advantages of the web in tracking an emerging lexicon around the effects of chemical proliferation. cab]

Link: Visit the Toxipedia.

LEDtronics, Inc.; Discrete LEDs, LED Panel Mount Lamps, Based LED Lamps, SMT LEDs, PCB LEDs

Link: LEDtronics, Inc.; Discrete LEDs, LED Panel Mount Lamps, Based LED Lamps, SMT LEDs, PCB LEDs.

Save money on electricity. This site comes well recommended as a good resource.

Gentle Survivalist- Native Spirituality, wisdom and Natural SustainABILITY

Natural SustainABILITY and Native Preparedness

"Since 1991, Laura Martin-Bühler, "The Gentle Survivalist," a leader acknowledged in the simplicity movement, nature poet and naturalist healer has aided survivors of sickness and society's imbalance in exploring Native spirituality, ancient truths, and prophecy to find inner balance. Always remember that respect for fellow believing travelers is essential for ethical and spiritual growth."

Link: Gentle Survivalist- Native Spirituality, wisdom and Natural SustainABILITY.

EATING LOCALLY IS HARDER THAN YOU THINK

November 21, 2005 1100 PST (FTW): --

Though I engaged in this two-week exercise as a specific homework assignment for a graduate school level Ecological Agriculture course, I would not hesitate to recommend that absolutely everyone living in industrialized countries participate in their own local food sourcing experiment. Where is your food grown and harvested? Not just some of it — this is a query about each and every component of your current diet, whether you’re eating junk food for pleasure and solace, or enjoying mindful dining for nutritional health. Restrict your food purchases to items grown within a specific mileage radius ... It is an eye-opening, if disturbing, exercise. Food security vulnerabilities are ordinarily easy to overlook until the veneer of plenty is ripped away. The vulnerabilities of Sonoma County’s local food system were exposed through this assignment, as were the shortfalls for meeting the caloric, let alone nutritional, needs of the county’s 478,400 residents. Link: READ MORE ON CITE.

powering down: chickens feed me

Link: powering down: chickens feed me.

How many of you have always wanted chickens? Maybe those of you who live in urban or suburban areas here in the United States have never really considered keeping a small flock of fowl right on your own property. Stop and ask yourself whether you’ve never considered the idea because you don’t really want anything to do with chickens or because you thought it wasn’t possible where you live? If it’s the latter you can toss out the notion that keeping chickens in town isn’t possible. It is very possible and you can start raising your own poultry as soon as you’d like.

The I AM Movement

Link: I AM.

"This film is far from done. It will never be done. As a living film -- perhaps the first major "open source film" -- to be evolved forever by the collaboration of people around the globe, I AM can become a powerful vehicle to foster unity among competing traditions of thought and belief. Over time, I AM can catalyze understanding among nations and religions, and between religion and science. During these troubled times, we hope it will be seen by as many people as possible..."

John Perkins: New Confessions and Revelations from the World of Economic Hit Men

John Perkins, Author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, from his new book
Link: New Confessions and Revelations from the World of Economic Hit Men.

"After reading the chapters you will have a better understanding of why people around the world fear, resent, and even hate us. As a result of the corporatocracy’s policies, an average of 24,000 people die every day from hunger; tens of thousands more—mostly children—die from curable diseases because they cannot afford available medicines. More than half the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day, not nearly enough to cover basic necessities in most places. In essence our economic system depends on modern versions of human exploitation that conjure images of serfdom and slavery.

We must put an end to this.

You and I must do the right thing. We must understand that our children will not inherit a stable, safe, and sustainable world unless we change the terrible conditions that have been created by EHMs. All of us must look deep into our hearts and souls and decide what it is we can best do. Where are our strengths? What are our passions?

As an author and lecturer, I know that I have certain skills and opportunities. Yours may be different from mine, but they are just as powerful. I urge you to set as a primary goal in your life making this a better world not only for you but also for all those who follow. Please commit to taking at least one action every single day to realize this goal.

Think about those 24,000 who die each day from hunger, and dedicate yourself to changing this in your lifetime. Write letters and e-mails—to newspapers, magazines, your local and national representatives, your friends, businesses that are doing the right thing and those that are not; call in to radio shows; shop consciously; do not “buy cheap” if doing so contributes to modern forms of slavery; support nonprofit organizations that help spread the word, protect the environment, defend civil liberties, fight hunger and disease, and make this a sane world; volunteer; go to schools and teach our children; form discussion groups in your neighborhood—the list of possible actions is endless, limited only by imagination. We all have many talents and passions to contribute. The most important thing is to get out there and do it!

One Planet Budgeting: making sustainability real with the ecological footprint

Google Tech Talks December 6, 2006 ABSTRACT Are we running out of planet? Was Malthus wrong? Do economies self-correct or self-destruct when operating as if resources are limitless? Can everyone on this planet live like a Chinese? A Costa Rican? A Canadian? Mathis Wackernagel, co-creator of the Ecological Footprint, explores these questions, and showcases applications from around the world with government agencies, NGOs, businesses, cities, highlighting how this tool helps make development sustainable. Since the 1980s, humanity's demand on ecological resources has exceeded what the Earth can renew. We are in a state of ecological overshoot, on an unsustainable path. We can reverse this trend by managing both supply and demand. The Ecological Footprint is a practical, scientific tool designed to do just that. Developed over the last 15 years, this tool compares human demand on ecological resources with the planet's capacity to renew them and is being used by hundreds of governments, businesses, and NGOs around the globe. Global Footprint Network's mission is to support a sustainable economy by advancing the Ecological Footprint and making the reality of planetary limits relevant to decision-makers throughout the world. Together with its over 50 partner organizations around the world, Global Footprint Network continuously strengthens and improves the Ecological Footprint by coordinating research, developing methodological standards, and providing robust national resource accounts. For more information visit www.footprintnetwork.org.