Every day, we slather ourselves with liquids, lotions, and potions – from shampoo and soap to deodorant and makeup. After all, most of us want to look and feel clean and to smell nice. It's not uncommon for a single person to use 10 or more personal-care products daily.
We don’t usually think of our cosmetics as a source of pollution. But U.S. researchers found that one eighth of the 82,000 ingredients used in personal-care products are industrial chemicals, including carcinogens, pesticides, reproductive toxins, plasticizers, and degreasers.
Take a look at the ingredient list on your bottle of shampoo or hand lotion. Most of us would have a hard time identifying which chemicals in the typically long list of ingredients may be harmful to human health or the environment.
Chances are your personal-care products contain “fragrance” or “parfum” – often the last item on the ingredient list. Fragrance recipes are considered trade secrets so manufacturers don’t have to disclose the chemicals they include. More than 3,000 chemicals are used to create “fragrances”, usually in complex mixtures. Up to 80 per cent of these have never been tested to see whether they are toxic to humans.
These fragrances are not just found in perfumes and deodorants but are also in almost every type of personal-care product, as well as laundry detergents and cleaning products. Even products labelled “fragrance-free” or “unscented” can contain fragrance, usually with a masking agent to prevent the brain from perceiving odour.
The negative effects of some fragrance ingredients can be immediately apparent, especially for the growing number of people with chemical sensitivities. For example, fragrance chemicals can trigger allergic reactions, asthma attacks, and migraines. Researchers have even found evidence suggesting that exposure to some of these chemicals can exacerbate or even contribute to the development of asthma in children.
Other chemicals may have harmful effects that don’t show up right away. For example, diethyl phthalate (DEP) is a cheap and versatile chemical widely used in cosmetic fragrances to make the scent last longer. But it is associated with a range of problems.
The European Commission on Endocrine Disruption has listed it as a Category 1 priority substance, based on evidence that it interferes with hormone function. Phthalates have been linked to early puberty in girls, reduced sperm count in men, and reproductive defects in the developing male fetus (when the mother is exposed during pregnancy).
Some research has also suggested that phthalate metabolites may contribute to obesity and insulin resistance in men. Health Canada has moved to ban six phthalates in children’s toys, after evidence showed that prolonged exposure can cause liver or kidney failure, but it has no plans to regulate the chemicals in cosmetics. DEP is also listed as a Priority and Toxic Pollutant under the U.S. Clean Water Act, based on evidence that it can be toxic to wildlife and the environment.
Fragrance chemicals often harm the environment. Some compounds in synthetic “musk”, which wash off our bodies and find their way into nature, remain in the environment for a long time and can build up in the fatty tissues of aquatic animals. Researchers have found measureable levels of synthetic musks in fish in the Great Lakes, and they’ve found that levels in sediment are increasing.
In response to the sensitivity many people have to airborne chemicals, a growing number of offices and public spaces are becoming “fragrance-free”. This is a great initiative, but what are these and other harmful chemicals doing in our cosmetics in the first place?
Canada’s regulations don’t measure up to standards in other parts of the world. The European Union restricts many fragrance ingredients and requires warning labels on products if they contain any of 26 allergens commonly used as cosmetic fragrances. Europe also prohibits or restricts the use of chemicals classified as carcinogens, mutagens, or reproductive toxins in personal-care products.
The David Suzuki Foundation and other organizations are working for safer products. We’re conducting a survey (www.davidsuzuki.org/whatsinside) to raise awareness and to find out what’s in the products people use every day. We plan to present the results in September, along with recommendations for strengthening laws to protect Canadians and our environment from harmful chemicals in personal-care products.
You can help out by becoming more aware of what’s in the products you use and switching to products that don’t contain harmful ingredients.
Cars and trucks are among the biggest contributors to the heat-trapping emissions that cause global warming. About 12 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions come from private automobiles, and up to a quarter come from road transportation in general. That makes driving a good place to start in confronting one of the most serious challenges humans face.
Canada and the U.S. just announced plans to enact fuel-efficiency standards for new cars and light trucks manufactured in the two countries. Canada is expected to match the U.S. standards, which will require all cars and trucks built by a company to get an average of about 35 miles per gallon, or six litres per 100 kilometres, by 2016. Canada’s government estimates that will lead to a 25 per cent reduction in vehicle emissions in 2016 compared to 2008. The government’s next step should be to require more zero-emission vehicles powered by clean-energy sources.
The new-vehicle regulations are good for the environment and the economy – but people who don’t plan to buy new cars can also reduce their driving-related impact on the environment. Maintaining and driving a vehicle efficiently can make a big difference. Of course, the best way to reduce fuel consumption is to get out of your car. Walking, cycling, or using public transit mean fewer cars spewing emissions and less gridlock, which causes pollution as cars waste fuel while idling.
Getting out of the car isn’t always possible, though, especially in rural areas not served by public transit, where travel distances and weather often make walking and cycling impractical. Designing communities around people instead of cars by investing more in public transit and less on roads and freeways is important in the long term, but for now drivers can reduce their current gas consumption by as much as 20 per cent with a few eco-driving tips – something the David Suzuki Foundation’s Quebec office learned with its Drive Smart or Roulez Mieux campaign (www.roulezmieux.ca/).
As with the new government fuel standards, adopting better driving habits demonstrates that doing what’s right for the environment also makes good economic sense. Beyond saving money on gas, drivers can reduce wear on their cars, saving on maintenance and car-replacement costs.
One of the first things you can do is make your transportation more efficient through planning. Instead of making separate trips to get to work and the store, combine the journeys. Joining a car pool is also a great idea.
Keeping your vehicle properly maintained, with regular tune-ups, including air-filter and oil changes, and tires in good shape and properly inflated will allow you to go further on less gas.
Driving habits also help. Avoiding rush hour and driving defensively can help ensure that the fuel you burn will get you to your destination more quickly and efficiently. Shutting off the engine if your car is stopped for more than a minute makes sense too. Slowing down also helps. Going over the speed limit won’t get you to your destination much faster, but it will burn more fuel.
Other good habits include keeping your trunk clean – as less weight requires less fuel to transport – and using the car’s accessories sparingly.
It’s up to all of us to do what we can to reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change. That’s especially true because governments are often slow to act and don’t always go far enough. Sometimes they need a bit of a push, from individuals, communities, businesses, or even other levels of government. For example, the U.S. emissions standards were developed in response to tough standards enacted by the state of California and adopted by other states. (In Canada, Quebec was the first province to implement tougher fuel standards.)
As fossil fuels become scarce, and as our knowledge of the impacts of pollution and global warming increases, the benefits of doing all we can to use less gas just keep adding up. For the new fuel standards, savings at the gas pump will even offset the higher costs of the new fuel-efficient vehicles. The new standards will also lead to more jobs, as new technologies are developed.
We have a long way to go in resolving the issues around our love affair with the car and environmental destruction, but at least we’re getting started.
Somewhere in your city, several renegade environmentalists are huddling around a dimly lit kitchen table drawing out their latest offensive. They make a few phone calls and send out a couple of emails before they grab their shovels and march downstairs into the dark city streets. They call themselves guerilla gardeners and, today, they will be defacing another drab city sidewalk with bright yellow sunflowers and lovely purple lavender.
Guerrilla gardening, a tradition that can be traced back to the late 18th century, consists of people planting crops, flowers and shrubs on land that does not belong to them. At its core, it is a direct action political statement intricately tied to land reform and land rights. However, it has been making a significant comeback in recent years, according to prominent guerilla gardener Richard Reynolds. Why? Well, because it is simply a fun way to spend an evening.
We here at Alternative Channel have become increasingly intrigued by this blossoming movement. So, we tracked down Richard Reynolds in his London office to find out, why he does what he does, what is behind the movement’s growing popularity, and what are some of the problems guerrilla gardeners face.
AC: So, for all of us that are not familiar with Guerilla Gardening, what is it about?
RR: It’s about gardening wherever you want regardless of who owns the land. It’s about getting out there and doing it and expressing yourself in a public place. In a place where the land is not being done anything with. It’s not until the last four years that it has caught on because people like myself have been blogging about it and writing about it and talking about it and making short movies about it.
AC: Why do you think Guerilla Gardening has been gaining in popularity?
RR: People want to keep in touch with the land around them. More people are getting the sense that we need to get a little closer to nature again. More people are living in cities. So they don’t have their own garden space. That is how I came to be doing it. Because I moved to London and I had no garden. Not even a window sill, for the first time in my life. But I also got involved for the sense of community. If you’re doing something in public that is generally seen as pretty positive, you are going to meet people. That is the social side of it.
AC: So you have collaborators?
RR: Yes, I do it with others (laughter). These days some of my best friends are from guerilla gardening. And, some of my older friends, who aren’t really gardeners, come on the journey with me.
AC: Watching your video, I noticed you spend a lot of money on this.
RR: Sometimes. Yep. But by no mean does it have to cost that much. It depends on how impatient you are. And there are times when I’m quit impatient. And I want to do something that is really obvious and that means buying plants. But you don’t, by any means, need to spend a lot.
May 1st, for four years now, has been the international sunflower guerilla gardening day. Which is an idea some guerilla gardeners in Brussels conceived. And that’s just about planting a few sunflower seeds around the city.
And, if you get word out people give you stuff as well. Gardeners chuck stuff out and people chuck stuff out of their gardens. They feel guilty about it, so if they can find some positive way to direct it then...
AC: When you have to spend money, do you pay for everything out of your own pocket?
RR: Yes. Or there is a little bit of fundraising going on.
AC: What kind of fund raising?
RR: We sell lavender. Some of the lavender that we planted in the guerilla garden, which you can see on some of the online films, we chop up about once a year anyway, and stuff goes into pillows. And that raises lots of money because we sell them at an extortionary price. (laughter )
AC: Have you ever had any mishaps when guerilla gardening?
RR: There is an online film showing one of my many encounters with police. It is the only one, actually, where I was threatened with arrest. I have a video of it online. It’s quite hammy. It’s quite a bit hyped up to be dramatic, because it was being done for Swedish children’s TV. They didn’t really appreciate that, actually. There was no need to film it like it was some spy movie, because the drama is there anyway.
AC: So that was the only time?
RR: Yes. That’s when it got difficult and I got angry. Normally when the police realize, after brief questioning, that we are not really destroying stuff, they just let us get on with it and turn a blind eye. The wide spread attitude is tolerance. Sometimes we will try to provoke a political reaction, by planting larger plants. Quiet tolerance is usually the response. However, for virtually every guerilla gardener I’ve met, the political objective is secondary to the fun and pleasure of doing it.
In an attempt to refill its coffers and rebrand itself as an environmentally friendly company that has its finger on the pulse of the global economy, General Motors Co. (GM), unveiled its new pod-like electric vehicle in Exo Shanghai 2010, last month.
GM's EN-V, or Electric Networked-Vehicle, is a 1.5 meter two-seater concept car that is both economical and environmentally friendly. But that is not all it does. The EN-V also offers drivers an ‘autonomous driving’ option, which uses a GPS system, digital maps, vehicle sensors, and cameras to pick the best routes and avoid accidents.
Definitely an “interesting” start for the struggling company, says Elizabeth Hirst, public relations instructor at McGill University in Montreal. “It kind of revived any respect I might have had for GM, which until recently has been behaving like a reactive dinosaur,” she said.
Not bad for a company that in September 2006, was sued by the state of California for producing cars that emitted over 289 million metric tons of carbon each year in the United States. That is nearly 20 percent of all carbon emissions in the United States. And as for California, the suit argued that GM was responsible for 30 percent of all carbon emissions in the state. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed, but the trial was a public relations nightmare.
But things are different today, according to Kevin Wale, GM’s China president. “EN-V reinvents the automobile by creating a new vehicle DNA through the convergence of electrification and connectivity,” he said, in a statement. “It provides an ideal solution for urban mobility that enables future driving to be free from petroleum and emissions, free from congestion and accidents, and more fun and fashionable than ever before."
The EN-V is a positive step for a company that has often been criticized for both, its lack of foresight and its dismal environmental record. GM's insistence on producing large gas-guzzlers, when consumers were moving towards smaller, more environmentally friendly and economical cars, has hit the company hard in recent years.
Since the 1990s, GM has relied heavily on its SUVs as the main profit center. As a result, when the economy started to dive, the company followed closely behind. GM lost $18.8 billion USD during the first 6 months of 2008 and its stock dropped 76 percent by late October.
GM executives failed to hedge their bets to protect themselves from an economic crash and they failed to understand that the vast majority of today’s consumers expect more from their brands.
According to a nine-country survey, conducted by international public relations firm, Edelman, 85 percent of consumers around the world are willing to change the brands they buy to make tomorrow’s world a better place. And, 88 percent said it is their “duty” to contribute to a better society and environment.
However, it must be genuine, insists Hirst. “The main message that people like me want to get across to clients is that if you want to appear green you better be green. You can’t paper everything over,” she said. But the creation of the EN-V, she adds, “ shows they are listening. And, when companies respond to consumers, shareholders, public opinion, government, whatever it is, then that is good. That is corporate social responsibility.”
A price for the EN-V has not yet been set, but GM says will cost less than a small car but more than a moped. GM expects to role out the EN-V within the next 15 years.
Water is one of the most essential elements to our existence. It is vital for all forms of life and it is the defining feature of our planet. But today, in many parts of the world, water is also responsible for snuffing out life, according to an annual report released on Monday by the UN Environmental Program. In fact, more people are dying each year by water related illnesses than by all violent crimes combined, including war.
According to the 88 page report titled Sick Water, more than half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by people suffering from water-related illnesses and 3.7 percent of all deaths, millions of people, are caused by water related diseases, each year. Unfortunately, as is often the case with war and ecological disaster, young children are the most vulnerable. Annually, approximately 1.8 million children under five die because of the water they consume. That means a young child dies every 20 seconds.
Achim Steiner, the U.N. Undersecretary General and executive director of UNEP, is urging quick action. "If we are not able to manage our waste, then that means more people (will be) dying from waterborne diseases," he said. The most serious cases are in underdeveloped nations, where an estimated 90 percent of all wastewater goes directly into rivers, lakes or oceans, untreated. An estimated two million tons of sewage, industrial and agricultural waste is dumped into the world’s waterways each year, causing disease and damaging ecosystems.
However, the report does offer solutions which Steiner underscores. "If the world is to thrive, let alone to survive on a planet of 6 billion people heading to over 9 billion by 2050, we need to get collectively smarter and more intelligent about how we manage waste, including wastewaters."
Sick Water calls for a sustained investment and a firm commitment from the local authorities and international donors. It is not the quantity of investment, the report says, “not one-off, short-term, single-sector investments,” that will make a difference. Rather a paradigm shift is proposed. New approaches that include carefully targeted investments and technological innovation, are needed. “Not one size fits all,” but by ensuring that investments are appropriate to the industries and communities they serve.
In short, effectively tackling this problem requires engagement and commitment that boost economies, increase labor productivity and reduce poverty.
The video below is a commentary by Rose George, the British author of the 2008 book "The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters."
What can a 9-year-old teach us about sustainability? Ask Carrick McCullough's dad, Colin from Our Renewable Nation, whose family values include teaching sustainability. Colin, his wife and their two boys traveled cross country in a veggie powered Beetle visiting renewable energy sites and sustainable companies to create a series of eco-videos for kids.
Their latest video is from the Solar Decathlon—a contest of universities across the globe to build zero energy homes and buildings, where Carrick shows off the latest in renewable energy technology, solar power and sustainable building. It’s quite incredible what types of innovation is taking place around green building.
They published their first video with 9-year-old Carrick interviewing Jeff Cresswell, the owner of Klean Kanteen, in Chico, CA that makes eco-friendly stainless steel water bottles a few weeks ago. Jeff talked to Carrick about the benefits of using stainless steel water bottles in regard to sustainability.
Carrick is quite an incredible 9-year-old kid and Change Agent who understands the impact of his actions and the world's behavior. He's using his language and interests to help share eco-friendly information with kids across the country. In the past, Carrick's created an award winning film seen by more than 200,000. They hope to distribute the videos to schools to help empower the youth to create a sustainable and renewable future.
He truly embodies the meaning of being a Change Agent--he's an independent spirit working toward making positive change in this world. Changents is helping Carrick tell his story and share his videos with people around the globe. He's growing awareness and raising support of his projects. Follow his story and show him some support on Our Renewable Nation’s story home on Changents.com.
Last December, I spent three weeks in Japan. As a first-time visitor to the country, I spent most of my time just taking it all in…the people, the food, the cities, the country side, the social norms, and the practices relating to environmental action. Here were some of my observations:
1. Getting Around
The Japanese-made car is one of the most respected in the world and clearly, they love them here too. But more notably, people embrace bicycles, the Shinkansen (the bullet train goes up to 300 km/hour), and super wide-spread and efficient transit systems. As a foreigner, it was simple enough for me to get around, starting from the airport, and including the busy cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and the countryside.
The Freeplay Foundation is delighted to announce that two-time Academy Award winning actor Tom Hanks, and Freeplay Foundation ambassador, is kick-starting a Haiti Humanitarian Radio Relief Fund for earthquake survivors in Haiti.
Why radios are needed
Access to information is critical both during an emergency and in reconstruction. Although often overlooked, news and updates from local and international sources is an urgent need, along with water, food, shelter and medical attention. Radio stations are broadcasting and our radios will help aid agencies, the UN and the government get essential information to the population.
The Lifeline radio is one of the most successful aid-only products in history and is robustly engineered for harsh conditions. With AM/FM and short-wave bands, it will pick up both local and international stations and with its excellent sound quality, large groups will be able to hear it clearly. It operates on solar energy coupled with a fail-safe winding mechanism.
Working with credible local partners, the radios will be distributed to shelters, schools, churches, health clinics and wherever people are gathered.
Tom Hanks joins the Freeplay Foundation in asking you to help get Freeplay solar-powered and wind-up radios to the Haitian people for the days and months ahead. You can also make a one off donation for any amount by visiting the Haiti Humanitarian Radio Relief Fund page.
In our short time on Earth, we humans have emerged from a chaotic world, imposing order and meaning in myriad ways, imagining the world into being. That was our great gift. As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, will we prove ourselves to be imaginative beings capable of creating a better world ?
Our challenge is to imagine a world where our wealth is in human relations and where we learn to live in balance with the rest of nature. By imagining a future, we can make it happen – as we always have.
If we continue, though, to set human borders and the economy as our highest priorities, we will never come to grips with the destructiveness of our activities and institutions.
In imagining a better future, we must open ourselves to the idea of change. And we’d do well to remember that people with vision have been overturning outmoded ways of thinking and acting throughout our brief history on this Earth – often in the face of great resistance. It wasn’t long ago that people in countries such as the U.S. believed slavery was an economic necessity and that abolishing it would destroy the economy and way of life of its “free” citizens.
As far as the cost and the speed of acting in our own best interests, consider how quickly the U.S. was able to build its space program after the Russians launched Sputnik I in 1957. In putting tremendous energy, thought, and resources into getting people onto the moon, the U.S. also sparked innovations such as 24-hour television news channels, cellphones, and GPS navigation.
On the environmental front, world leaders came together in Montreal in 1987 to confront the effect humans were having on the ozone layer with our use of chlorofluorocarbons. The international treaty they signed used trade sanctions and incentives to get countries to phase out the use of chemicals that were contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer. And that agreement allowed developing countries to take longer to phase out CFCs because the industrialized world had disproportionately contributed to the problem.
We really do have to think big – to imagine what a future that offers the most good to the most people and to all life on this planet would look like. Obviously, reducing poverty, conflict, and human-rights abuses is paramount. Environmental problems exacerbate those issues and so must also be dealt with. Part of the problem is that many of our political leaders are stuck in the mindset that constant economic growth is essential.
For example, consider what Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a speech to South Korea’s National Assembly in late 2009: “Without the wealth that comes from growth, the environmental threats, the developmental challenges and the peace and security issues facing the world will be exponentially more difficult to deal with.”
But with constant growth comes depletion of and increasing competition for scarce resources, as well as more waste; in other words, increased environmental threats, developmental challenges, and peace and security issues.
Constant growth is just not possible in a finite world with finite resources. Our focus on constant economic growth also leads to some bizarre anomalies. War and natural disasters, for example, can contribute to economic growth by creating employment and resource-use activity.
In thinking beyond these artificial parameters that humans have set (and remember, they were only set during the middle of the 20th century), we can imagine a more sustainable way of living, as York University economist Peter Victor has done in his excellent book Managing Without Growth: Slower by Design, Not Disaster. As Dr. Victor points out, we can’t change overnight, but by imagining a future in which humans live within the Earth’s capacity to provide for our ongoing needs, we can steer ourselves in the right direction.
Once we have imagined this better future, we can get serious about solving the challenges we have created with our now outmoded ways of thinking. Issues such as climate change, mass extinctions of plant and animal species, pollution and toxic chemicals in the environment, water shortages, and more require scientific and political solutions – along with the efforts and support of citizens throughout the world.
We’re well into the 21st century. It’s time we started thinking and acting like responsible 21st century citizens. It’s time to imagine what we really can be.
Avatar : beyond science fiction All of the issues on this world are clearly the same as those on Earth when Europeans first contacted the indigenous people of the Americas, Africa, and Australia. The invaders perceive the natives as ignorant, superstitious, and cultureless beings with far less worth than their own. Read more
2010 eco-friendly resolutions Whether you call them resolutions, goals, or lifestyle changes, there are measures you can take to make 2010 easier on the planet. This week we’re pointing out several of those actions, plus providing the numbers to back them up. Learn more...
In 2009 pictures screamed louder than words
Which Change Agent Screamed the Loudest ? Pacific Ocean turning into plastic soup ? The End of the World in Central African Republic ? A sand less beach in Papua New Guinea ? See pictures
Whether you call them resolutions, goals, or lifestyle changes, there are measures you can take to make 2010 easier on the planet. This week we’re pointing out several of those actions, plus providing the numbers to back them up.
Tell us: How do you plan to cut back your meat consumption this year?
Tip #2: Restrain Methane
We hear people preach about recycling all the time. But did you know that composting may be as important? As food and other organic waste decomposes anaerobically in the landfill, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas that's more than 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide. Because composting is an aerobic process, it only produces carbon dioxide and not methane. Not sure how to get started? Click here and here to find out.
One thing I enjoy about the holiday season is having time to go to movies. For more than 40 years, I’ve been involved in making television programs to educate people about science and the natural world. But people watch television in a desultory way, often interrupted by the need to help children with homework, let the dog out, or go to the fridge for a beer or to the bathroom for a break. So we tune in and out, often forgetting whether we got a memorable factoid from The Nature of Things or Grey’s Anatomy.
Movie audiences are different than those in TV land. For one thing, people have to make an effort to go to a theatre. They must then pay to watch, and once they start, they have to focus on the film. There are no commercial breaks. So the impact of watching movies is far greater than the impact of television viewing.
Years ago, while camping on the Serengeti in Africa with my family, I was astonished to meet three young Chinese-Americans, who, as I could see by their clothing alone, were clearly not seasoned campers. I asked what made them want to come and experience the wilderness. Their answer amazed me: “Because we saw The Lion King.”
So even an animated film had such a powerful impact that these urbanites were motivated to set off on a wilderness adventure. For me, Dances with Wolves was a monumental experience, as it presented North American aboriginal people and their values in a way that was a big departure from the usual Hollywood stereotypes.
Which brings me to the latest movie blockbuster, James Cameron’s Avatar. Some reports claim that Mr. Cameron has wanted to do an environmental film since he was 14 years old. I don’t know whether that story is apocryphal or not, but I do think he’s produced an incredible film.
Of course, the 3-D effects are dramatic and charming, but the best part is that Mr. Cameron has created a world that is instantly compelling and believable, which is what good fairy tales do. The indigenous inhabitants of Pandora are clearly alien but not so profoundly different that we can’t identify with them.
All of the issues on this world are clearly the same as those on Earth when Europeans first contacted the indigenous people of the Americas, Africa, and Australia. The invaders perceive the natives as ignorant, superstitious, and cultureless beings with far less worth than their own. When the Earthlings learn that an ancient, immense tree that is a sacred home to the native Na’vi sits on a priceless resource, nothing is going to stop them from exploiting it.
The movie is over the top, as most fairy tales are, with its conflict between the good guys (the Na’vi and a few Earthlings) and bad guys (the rest of the Earth people), but it’s a rip-snorter of an adventure when the good guys fight back with flying reptiles (I’d give my right arm to have one of them!), six-legged horses, and a host of other ferocious “beasts”. I won’t give away the ending, but I can say that I left the theatre very satisfied.
Right-wing commentators in the U.S. and Canada have been apoplectic in their condemnation of Avatar. They say it is anti-American, depicts soldiers and corporations negatively, is anti-Christian, promotes paganism, and on and on. One of the more amusing comments came from someone who wrote a letter to the Calgary Herald, claiming that “This movie will be the undoing of our children. They will soon turn into a hive-mind of radical environmentalism – puppets of their master, David Suzuki.”
Talk about confusing fiction and reality!
One U.S. “family” movie-review site says Avatar “has an abhorrent New Age, pagan, anti-capitalist worldview that promotes goddess worship and the destruction of the human race.”
Of course, this anger is in reaction to the clear analogy of Na’vis with North American natives – the way they’ve been exploited and the ignorance of the oppressors about the interconnectedness of everything in nature. .”
Sure, the movie has a great ecological message, but overall it’s just a lot of fun. Please go and see it if you haven’t already. I’m going to watch it again – and again!
Port-au-Prince was devastated by an earthquake measured at 7.0 on the Richter scale Tuesday afternoon. The quake destroyed most of the infrastructures of the capital, putting millions of people to the streets. The President of America’s poorest country fears more than 100 000 people have died. Aid organizations have deployed emergency response teams to Haiti.
The best way to help is by donating through one of these high-rated effective and financially stable charities.
The Canadian Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRD) is accepting donations to support Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti. Donations can be earmarked to the Haiti Earthquake fund. The Red Cross response includes evacuation support, search and rescue efforts and providing shelter and first aid. Local Red Cross volunteers continue to work around the clock to help the many people affected by this disaster.
The humanitarian organization delivers medical care to people caught in crisis. Donations to its Haiti relief efforts will go toward repairing the obstetrics and trauma hospitals in Haiti that were damaged in the earthquake. They also will go to transporting an additional 70 doctors and medical supplies to the island in an effort to set up makeshift emergency medical response centers. To donate, go to doctorswithoutborders.org or call 1-888-392-0392.
The national committee for UNICEF is responsible for the organization's fundraising. UNICEF uses the money for health care, clean water, nutrition, education and emergency relief. The organization has issued a statement that "Children are always the most vulnerable population in any natural disaster, and UNICEF is there for them." 64% of Haiti’s population is less than 18 years old. UNICEF requests donations for relief for children in Haiti via their Haiti Earthquake Fund. You can also call 1-800-4UNICEF.
You can also find a list of all the organizations you can donate HERE
Chris Nicolais sharing his secrets from Priest’s Grotto, a place he discovered nearly 17 years ago while looking for a cave of 38 brave Jewish Holocaust survivors who used to hide from the Nazi genocide.
Chris, inherently an adventurer and a Change Agent, has devoted more than three decades to the exploration of caves across the world from the former Soviet Union to the Caribbean, Europe, Oceana, the Americas and Africa. Yet, his life-long commitment is to raising awareness about the Holocaust genocide through the amazing and awe-inspiring story of the survivors who lived underground in a dark, 77-mile massive Ukrainian cave system for an excess of 500 days.
Priest’s Grotto is a place where Chris and a team of expert volunteers excavated a large amount of delicate archeological and historical artifacts. Not surprising considering the cave was a home to 38 people for about a year and a half.
Through Chris’ discovery, advocacy and a new documentary, the story of how two families lived in complete darkness only leaving the cave at night to search for food and supplies is able to remind us of the tragedy and need to promote human rights. Single-handedly, Chris worked to find the caves and share their Holocaust survival stories to inspire people around the world to come together.
There are two projects taking up much of Chris’ time. He’s working on The Priest’s Grotto Heritage Project, a genocide awareness program where he trains youth in Borchev to work as archeologists with local museum staff to locate, protect and preserve the cave artifacts.
He also created The Ukrainian American Youth Caver Exchange Foundation (UAYCEF) dedicated to protect Ukrainian caves while fostering the exchange of speleological (the study of caves) related information between young cavers in America and Ukraine. Chris serves as its director and frequently leads caving trips.
Intrigued? Read more about Chris and his amazing journeys as he works on his documentary on Changents.com.
In 2009 Pictures Screamed Louder than Words: Which Change Agent Screamed the Loudest?
Scott Harrison stunned us with a beautiful slide show about "The End of the World," a village in Central African Republic. Scott's org, charity: water, changed lives in an instant - as they have done so many times before - when they drilled a clean water well for the village.
Anna Cummins heard a talk on the North Pacific Gyre and it changed her life forever. She's trying to help raise awareness about the Pacific Ocean turning into plastic soup. This is a picture of a youth canoeing down a waterway in Java. Anna created a JUNK raft and began giving talks down the West Coast about the effects of plastics on the water. It's not easy work to change the world one piece of plastic at a time, but Anna's doing a pretty awesome job.
Christine Destrempes' exhibit "13,699" stands for the number of people who die each day from water related diseases. Each person is represented by a bottle cap - captured before heading to the landfill and suspended from fishing line.
This looks like paradise, right? Erland Howden may have captured a gorgeous beach scene in Papua, New Guinea, but if you look closer you can see that the sand is disappearing from the base of the palm tree. The culprit? Erosion caused by global warming.
Want to help make a difference in 2010? Check out what the Change Agents are doing on Changents.com and back one. Maybe you can help make a change in 2010.
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