Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Hunger in East Africa or the madness in which we live
The word for Sunday, 30 July 2011spoken by Dr Adelheid Ruck-Schröder
Twelve million people are starving in the Horn of Africa. A few of them could be saved at the last minute. But even the peanut butter solution ten tons of emergency aid for small children were in no time at the mercy of violent militias. It also leaves us with a bitter taste. The misery in Somalia is older than the emaciated children who stare at us in recent days with blank stares. We know many of us have donated.. That's a good thing. There is an obligation to help needy ado.
But there is also a duty to look long at long term solutions. Who really is the misery of mercy, more than a charitable gift. He looks closely and examining the causes for this gigantic famine. I for one am somewhat naive calm with a donation. And many of us feel that way. But what we see draws us so-called donor countries themselves into the tragedy in the Horn of Africa: With the hunger business is done. That is the bitter truth. GOOD BUSINESS!
For a long time, the price of corn is going up on the stock exchanges because of the speculation. A few individuals located in East Africa get rich on land sales. In the civil war militias and pirates do their power game with the aid shipments. And we ourselves ? We live beyond our means and thus contribute to climate change and drought.
The dying children in Somalia are just part of a much larger problem. It's about the distribution of wealth around the world. That's madness, in which we operate: Our entire economic activity is aimed not just to justice, but leaves the greed run wild. If it is then too bad, we turn with desaster relief, the worst misery.
Anyone who sees through might resign easily. But I do not want that. And many of us do not want that. One thing that helps me is : to find counter-examples. Even in the Bible you can find them. I remember the story of Abraham and Lot. They argued for years over wells and grazing land. Finally, they have negotiated an agreement and divided their land needs. This is a very sober biblical message: People need to be able to find their own, equitable solutions to their conflicts over the spot - without outside interference. The same is true today for East Africa.
What encourages me further is the new "fair trade" trend. Also based upon biblical impulses. On the world market, it offers farmers fair prices and we consumers simply have to pay FAIR PRICES. I know that Fair Trade is only a small percentage of the world market. But still. Fair Trade can help each of us to contribute something different to a more just economic order. Anyone can buy fair trade products and contribute to more justice in this world!
Maybe that's the conclusion we must draw here in the rich West in the face of famine in the Horn of Africa: It's not enough, in the event of a disaster to give from our abundance. We must become much more sensitive to the consequences of our economy.
Original Text http://www.daserste.de/wort/sendung.asp
There is something wrong with our SYSTEM..... GREED KILLS....
Twelve million people are starving in the Horn of Africa. A few of them could be saved at the last minute. But even the peanut butter solution ten tons of emergency aid for small children were in no time at the mercy of violent militias. It also leaves us with a bitter taste. The misery in Somalia is older than the emaciated children who stare at us in recent days with blank stares. We know many of us have donated.. That's a good thing. There is an obligation to help needy ado.
But there is also a duty to look long at long term solutions. Who really is the misery of mercy, more than a charitable gift. He looks closely and examining the causes for this gigantic famine. I for one am somewhat naive calm with a donation. And many of us feel that way. But what we see draws us so-called donor countries themselves into the tragedy in the Horn of Africa: With the hunger business is done. That is the bitter truth. GOOD BUSINESS!
For a long time, the price of corn is going up on the stock exchanges because of the speculation. A few individuals located in East Africa get rich on land sales. In the civil war militias and pirates do their power game with the aid shipments. And we ourselves ? We live beyond our means and thus contribute to climate change and drought.
The dying children in Somalia are just part of a much larger problem. It's about the distribution of wealth around the world. That's madness, in which we operate: Our entire economic activity is aimed not just to justice, but leaves the greed run wild. If it is then too bad, we turn with desaster relief, the worst misery.
Anyone who sees through might resign easily. But I do not want that. And many of us do not want that. One thing that helps me is : to find counter-examples. Even in the Bible you can find them. I remember the story of Abraham and Lot. They argued for years over wells and grazing land. Finally, they have negotiated an agreement and divided their land needs. This is a very sober biblical message: People need to be able to find their own, equitable solutions to their conflicts over the spot - without outside interference. The same is true today for East Africa.
What encourages me further is the new "fair trade" trend. Also based upon biblical impulses. On the world market, it offers farmers fair prices and we consumers simply have to pay FAIR PRICES. I know that Fair Trade is only a small percentage of the world market. But still. Fair Trade can help each of us to contribute something different to a more just economic order. Anyone can buy fair trade products and contribute to more justice in this world!
Maybe that's the conclusion we must draw here in the rich West in the face of famine in the Horn of Africa: It's not enough, in the event of a disaster to give from our abundance. We must become much more sensitive to the consequences of our economy.
Original Text http://www.daserste.de/wort/sendung.asp
There is something wrong with our SYSTEM..... GREED KILLS....
Worldwide,
approximately 1 billion people are undernourished. Around 30 million
people per year – or approximately one person every single second –
starve to death.
Every day, up to 43,000 children die of starvation while at the same
time the meat and dairy industries use approximately 50 per cent of the
world’s corn and roughly 90 per cent of its soybeans to feed farmed
animals! It is absurd, scandalous and an inexcusable waste of resources
to feed plant foods to animals in order to produce unhealthy meat, eggs
and dairy products for wealthy nations. Depending on the animal, it can
take up to 16 kilograms of plant foods and 10 to 20 tonnes (10,000 to
20,000 litres!) of water to produce just one kilogram of meat. Although
people in Third World countries often go hungry and even starve to
death, many of these countries export crops to industrialised nations
for use as “livestock” feed. You may be familiar with the famous adage
“Rich people’s animals eat the poor man’s bread”. Unfortunately, it’s
true. For example, the famine that broke out in Ethiopia in 1984
occurred because crops were exported to Europe to be fed to farmed
animals, not because local farmers could not produce more food. Tens of
thousands of people died during the famine as European countries
continued to import corn from Ethiopia in order to feed chickens, pigs
and cows. If that corn had been used to feed Ethiopia’s people, there
would have been no famine. In Guatemala, approximately 75 per cent of
children under 5 are undernourished. At the same time, the country
produces more than 17,000 tonnes of meat for export to the US. Huge
amounts of corn and soybeans are used to feed the animals who are
slaughtered to produce this meat – crops that as a result cannot be used
to feed undernourished children.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Emergency SOS from Captain Watson - YouTube
Emergency SOS from Captain Watson - YouTube
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/186087?m=3f1cca43 Whaledefenders Cause where you can donate to the only real whaledefenders
Sea Shepherd remains the only non-governmental organization that actually intervenes in Japan’s illegal actions as they seek to uphold IWC regulations.
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/186087?m=3f1cca43 Whaledefenders Cause where you can donate to the only real whaledefenders
Sea Shepherd remains the only non-governmental organization that actually intervenes in Japan’s illegal actions as they seek to uphold IWC regulations.
For years now, Sea Shepherd have been the only organization to physically and effectively reduce Japan’s illegal kill quotas.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Drought Crisis in East Africa
 | Drought in East Africa: Your response needed |
 |  Send to a friend  Donate  RSS |
Dear Friend, | |
Beniye Issa, 25, walked from Central Somalia holding her baby daughter Issa and traveling with seven other families. It took them 18 days. “We are herders and did a little farming,” she told me “but there hasn’t been rain now for two years and we haven’t been able to farm. That’s the reason why we came. We left nothing behind. My cattle died two months ago.” Beniye had to leave her husband behind to care for his sick father. Support the IRC’s emergency efforts to help people devastated by drought in East Africa.
| |
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 | The Forbes Investment Guide Named The American Institute of Philanthropy BBB Wise Giving Alliance Notes |  |
| The International Rescue Committee | Rescue.org |
To give in the UK or Europe, visit www.rescue-uk.org or call +44 (0)20 7692 2735.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
GABV (english ver).mov - YouTube
GABV (english ver).mov - YouTube
How can we reach 80% sustainable and social responsible banking in the next 5 years? Right now SRI is less than 10% of all investments!
How can we reach 80% sustainable and social responsible banking in the next 5 years? Right now SRI is less than 10% of all investments!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Let's make everything FREE!
Let's make everything FREE! An introduction to The Free World Charter.
The Free World Charter is a document that proposes an advanced alternative society that uses no money, is free, fair, and sustainable.
But how do you change from the current system to a free world?
It is neither political nor religious. It is simply sense, science and survival.
This is our world and we can choose a better society now if we want it.
Together we build a brighter future..a sustainable future!
You can read and sign The Free World Charter at http://www.freeworldcharter.org
The Free World Charter is a document that proposes an advanced alternative society that uses no money, is free, fair, and sustainable.
But how do you change from the current system to a free world?
It is neither political nor religious. It is simply sense, science and survival.
This is our world and we can choose a better society now if we want it.
Together we build a brighter future..a sustainable future!
You can read and sign The Free World Charter at http://www.freeworldcharter.org
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Planetary Emergency
Agenda 2022
How we can save the Planet and Live in Peace & Harmony
The benefits of development are not shared equitably and the gap between rich and poor is widening.
Injustice, poverty, ignorance, and violent conflict are widespread and the cause of great suffering.
The
dominant patterns of production and consumption are causing
environmental devastation, the depletion of resources, and a massive
extinction of species.
We must realize that when basic needs have been met, human development is primarily about being more, not having more.
We must join together
to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for
nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of
peace.
Everyone shares responsibility for the present and future well-being of the human family and the larger living world.
- Respect Earth and life in all its diversity
- Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love.
- Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable, and peaceful.
- Ensure that communities at all levels guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms
- Promote social and economic justice, enabling all to achieve a secure and meaningful livelihood that is ecologically responsible.
- Protect and restore the integrity of Earth's ecological systems, with special concern for biological diversity and the natural processes that sustain life.
- Adopt patterns of production, consumption, and reproduction that safeguard Earth's regenerative capacities, human rights, and community well-being.
- Reduce, reuse, and recycle the materials used in production and consumption systems, and ensure that residual waste can be assimilated by ecological systems.
- Use renewable energy sources
- Try to build a brighter future, think about FUTURE GENERATIONS
- Ensure universal access to health care
- Support international scientific and technical cooperation on sustainability, with special attention to the needs of developing nations.
- Recognize and preserve the traditional knowledge and spiritual wisdom in all cultures that contribute to environmental protection and human well-being.
- Ensure that information of vital importance to human health and environmental protection, including genetic information, remains available in the public domain.
- Eradicate poverty as an ethical, social, and environmental imperative.
- Promote a culture of tolerance, nonviolence, and peace. Encourage and support mutual understanding, solidarity, and cooperation among all peoples and within and among nations.
- We must build a sustainable global community we must Connect all the caring people
- Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. Albert Einstein
- Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life.
We must BE the CHANGE we want to see in the World!
Together We Build A Brighter Future
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Official Google Blog: Examining the impact of clean energy innovation
Official Google Blog: Examining the impact of clean energy innovation
But what if we knew the value of innovation in clean energy technologies? How much could new technologies contribute to our economic growth, enhance our energy security or reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions? Robust data can help us understand these important questions, and the role innovation in clean energy could play in addressing our future economic, security and climate challenges.
Through Google.org, our energy team set out to answer some of these questions. Using McKinsey’s Low Carbon Economics Tool (LCET), we assessed the long-term economic impacts for the U.S. assuming breakthroughs were made in several different clean energy technologies, like wind, geothermal and electric vehicles. McKinsey’s LCET is a neutral, analytic set of interlinked models that estimates the potential economic and technology implications of various policy and technology assumptions.
The analysis is based on a model and includes assumptions and conclusions that Google.org developed, so it isn’t a prediction of the future. We’ve decided to make the analysis and associated data available everywhere because we believe it could provide a new perspective on the economic value of public and private investment in energy innovation. Here are just some of the most compelling findings:
Examining the impact of clean energy innovation
6/28/2011 04:00:00 AM
At Google, we’re committed to using technology to solve one of the greatest challenges we face as a country: building a clean energy future. That’s why we’ve worked hard to be carbon neutral as a company, launched our renewable energy cheaper than coal initiative and have invested in several clean energy companies and projects around the world.But what if we knew the value of innovation in clean energy technologies? How much could new technologies contribute to our economic growth, enhance our energy security or reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions? Robust data can help us understand these important questions, and the role innovation in clean energy could play in addressing our future economic, security and climate challenges.
Through Google.org, our energy team set out to answer some of these questions. Using McKinsey’s Low Carbon Economics Tool (LCET), we assessed the long-term economic impacts for the U.S. assuming breakthroughs were made in several different clean energy technologies, like wind, geothermal and electric vehicles. McKinsey’s LCET is a neutral, analytic set of interlinked models that estimates the potential economic and technology implications of various policy and technology assumptions.
The analysis is based on a model and includes assumptions and conclusions that Google.org developed, so it isn’t a prediction of the future. We’ve decided to make the analysis and associated data available everywhere because we believe it could provide a new perspective on the economic value of public and private investment in energy innovation. Here are just some of the most compelling findings:
- Energy innovation pays off big: We compared “business as usual” (BAU) to scenarios with breakthroughs in clean energy technologies. On top of those, we layered a series of possible clean energy policies (more details in the report). We found that by 2030, when compared to BAU, breakthroughs could help the U.S.:
- Grow GDP by over $155 billion/year ($244 billion in our Clean Policy scenario)
- Create over 1.1 million new full-time jobs/year (1.9 million with Clean Policy)
- Reduce household energy costs by over $942/year ($995 with Clean Policy)
- Reduce U.S. oil consumption by over 1.1 billion barrels/year
- Reduce U.S. total carbon emissions by 13% in 2030 (21% with Clean Policy)
- Speed matters and delay is costly: Our model found a mere five year delay (2010-2015) in accelerating technology innovation led to $2.3-3.2 trillion in unrealized GDP, an aggregate 1.2-1.4 million net unrealized jobs and 8-28 more gigatons of potential GHG emissions by 2050.
- Policy and innovation can enhance each other: Combining clean energy policies with technological breakthroughs increased the economic, security and pollution benefits for either innovation or policy alone. Take GHG emissions: the model showed that combining policy and innovation led to 59% GHG reductions by 2050 (vs. 2005 levels), while maintaining economic growth.
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