Green Options

A quick discussion on how the laws surrounding conduct in war and conflict also have articles designed to protect the environment.

My attention was captured yesterday by a story written by AFP. Entitled ‘Madagascar: solar power ends Dark Age for rural clinics,’ the author looked at how one of the poorest countries in the world is using solar power to benefit those in poor rural areas.

The author wrote of Elisabeth, a 53 year old grandmother, who accompanied her daughter after she gave birth to her first child. She spoke of how, for her, if she had wanted to give birth with light, she would have to bring her own candles.

Now, in the small village of Antsahadinta, 20 kilometers to the west of Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, the medical clinic now has its own solar generator to produce its own electricity.

One of the biggest crises facing the human population is not a complete shocker. It affects countless nations across our planet, and is continually getting worse and worse. There are things that we can do, but so many of us fail to do anything. Governments are worse, prolonging worsening conditions and human lives in the process.

And no, it’s not global warming. It’s the myriad humanitarian crises that plague the third world.

That I am writing about it here though, obviously speaks to a link to one of PlanetSave’s main topics; climate science.

This is not my usual blogging area with GreenOptions. I keep it on the lighter side of green (more humor and fluff than science, research and serious global news), but from time to time I get serious especially when deeply inspired as I have been with this particular group of elders.

It just may be that rock n roll/music will indeed save the planet. In 1999 Peter Gabriel and Richard Branson decided that we as a global village were missing the essential survival ingredient - the wisdom of our elders. So they set about to identify a few of them. It didn’t take long for them to approached Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel, both who have done amazing work beyond what I can even describe here in this brief blog post. If you’ve been under a rock for the past 20 years, you will want to read up on Mr. Mandela, but I would encourage everyone to please see the brief, but inspiring biography I’ve linked you to for Graca Machel.

While it took several years for them to put this group together, they launched these elders as facilitators of powerful global change last July.