This great video has been circulating around the birth-activist regions of the blogosphere recently, since it first aired a few days ago. It’s a television commercial for a bed, and the characters in the commercial are no actors. It’s actual scenes from an actual family, giving birth at home while a peaceful soundtrack plays, and voiceovers talk about the miracle, the specialness, the joy of birth, and the tradition of birthing at home.
There is no fretting about whether or not home birth is safe. There is no screaming and panicking. There is a secure and confident woman with her family by her side, bringing her baby into the world in front of our very eyes.
Scientists from the University of Calgary in Canada have created a method to efficiently capture carbon dioxide directly from the air around us. The device, which is built on near-commercial technology, was built by Uof C climate change scientists David Keith and his team.
“At first thought, capturing CO2 from the air where it’s at a concentration of 0.04 per cent seems absurd, when we are just starting to do cost-effective capture at power plants where CO2 produced is at a concentration of more than 10 per cent,” says Keith, Canada Research Chair in Energy and Environment.
“But the thermodynamics suggests that air capture might only be a bit harder than capturing CO2 from power plants. We are trying to turn that theory into engineering reality.”
The latest logically bereft John McCain ad continues with the ‘Obama-is-a-celebrity-therefore-he’s-unfit-to-lead’ theme by asking if he is “ready to help your family?” The narrator goes on to say, “The real Obama promises higher taxes, more government spending. So, fewer jobs.”
About two weeks ago, I was in San Francisco attending Craft Con, a business development conference for the indie craft community, where I had the pleasure of meeting fellow CAGW writer Kelly Rand for the first time! The weekend entailed various sessions and panel talks about a myriad of subjects ranging from the meaning of craft, to computer social networking, and everything in between. I gave a presentation on the environmental impact of crafting, bringing together of months of research and new ideas for solutions. Next week, I’ll be taking off to California once again to give this talk at Maker Faire. The lovely folks from Etsy asked me to write an article about it for The Storque, which is being published in 2 parts leading up to Earth Day. The following is Part 1, syndicated in it’s entirety.
The German intellectual, Georg Lichtenberg, once said that “to do just the opposite is also a form of imitation,” but reversing Saint Nicholas’ image is certainly not the most sincere way to flatter it.
What’s the truth about Santa Claus? Who is this large, jovial fellow with flying reindeer and hordes of merry elves? If the truth about Saint Nicholas can lay the commercial icon to rest, maybe it can also restore the true meaning of Christmas as a time of peace on Earth, love and goodwill toward all.
Santa as a commercial icon undercuts the ideology of benevolence and humble giving. See this video on the chain of consumption for an idea of who gets left out when Santa goes corporate. A truer idea of the real Saint Nicholas and his current image around the world might reconnect us with the greater feelings of compassion and caring that should symbolize this (and every) season.
About two weeks ago, I was in San Francisco attending 
