GASP!     WOOT! YES!

President Barack Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize today for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples“; as well as for his ongoing work to free the world of all nuclear weapons.

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Water scarcity resulting from climate change is the number one issue the world will have to grapple with in the future, according to chief climate scientist and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri.

On the one hand, we will have more water around us with sea level rising. On the other hand, though, drought caused by climate change will leave possibly billions of people without clean water.

This will cause great health and global security issues. Most of these problems will be caused by water imbalances.

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BUT, what does it mean to be a “global citizen”?

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The special premieres August 1 and airs throughout the month on most PBS stations. Check local listings for dates and times in your area at PBS.org.

“Through music we can get enlightenment.“

For one day — August 8, 2009 — children around the world are invited to perform simple, yet important, little acts of kindness.  Their goal this year is to have one million children participate in the Great Kindness Challenge.

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I’m a bad daughter, as I haven’t gotten anything for my mother this year for Mother’s Day. The truth is I hate buying gifts, and I don’t have time to make anything. Of course, I have turned the responsibility over to my children to honor grandmother, but I did send her this video, which of course I had to watch first making myself Mother of the Year (on the same evening my daughter told me I was “extremely mean” for asking her to do her homework).

Mother’s Day originally began as a day of peace; it is not a Hallmark holiday.  MomsRising, an organization devoted “working to bring together millions of people who share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America”, has created personal videos for Mother’s Day.  According to MomsRising, Americans will spend $16 billion this year on Mother’s Day celebrations!  That’s a lot of money to show Mom we care, and even though I have sent my mom her special video, I will probably still buy her some Dr. Hauschka.

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My reaction to seeing the Dalai Lama reminded me of my first experience at the circus as a young child. I know this may seem like a strange analogy, but when faced with beauty, I cry.  When the elephants entered the circus tent, I cried as a child. I cried when they left.  My mother asked me why, and I said, “Elephants are beautiful.”  When the Dalai Lama came on stage at the Greek Theatre, I cried. When he left I cried.  His Holiness emodies everything that is beautiful in humans.

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The source of equity, I would argue, is believing that all people deserve the same. In actual fact, though, who believes that others deserve what they deserve? More often than not, people don’t believe that others deserve what they deserve. But, this comes from people who are not happy with what they have. People who want more believe they deserve more, even if they are already making 99 times more than the average man.

Who is happy for others to receive happiness, and to receive, in general? And who is happy to give? Those are happy to see others happy who are happy themselves. Those want others to receive who receive themselves, and want others to deserve who deserve themselves.

This is the important point — this is all referring to a deep receiving and happiness, not to a superficial happiness and receiving. If one is deeply happy, one wants everyone to receive that happiness. One who is rich (with money) may want others to share in that or may not. One who is poor may want to share her or his only provisions with a stranger in need, or may wish everyone in the world had the peace and provisions of their own shelter and daily food. It is not a matter of having, physically, or not. The matter for those who are happy (which makes them want to share with others) is the happiness they find in their own soul or inner self.

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Economy is at the forefront of society’s consciousness these days. It is always a, if not the, major societal issue for most people. With the current economic crisis, it has stepped up even another level of importance. We all have to wonder, these days, if we will be able to return to the affluence of just one or two decades ago, or, if, on the other hand, the whole economic system of America, and the world that depends on it, will collapse as a house of sand built on a thin board of wood on the ocean’s waves.

We can look to the specific failures of banks and immoral business practices to explain all of this. But these failures, and much more, were built on much more widespread and much less questioned norms than these.

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In Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time, Greg Mortenson, and acclaimed journalist David Oliver Relin, recount the unlikely journey that led Mortenson from a failed attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain, to successfully building schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. By replacing guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading, Mortenson combines his unique background with his intimate knowledge of the third-world to fight terrorism with books, not bombs, and successfully bring education and hope to remote villages in central Asia. Three Cups of Tea is at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at a time.

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Well, thanks to Sarah Endline, the creative genius and cacao bean extraordinaire behind sweetriot, you can.  Oh, and did I mention that the chocolate candies are actually good for you, and rich in health benefits?  I know it seems to good to be true, but Behind the Burner gave me the amazing chance to speak with Sarah who shows us how a sweet tooth and a passion for change can make anything possible.

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Luckily, my children are not growing up with real life violence surrounding them like the children of Iraq.  It is natural for such violence to enter into children’s dramatic play; however, children in Iraq are often mistakenly assassinated for their toy guns.  That’s why the organization La’Onf (the Arabic translation for the word nonviolence) has worked to get war toys banned in the Muthanna province.  Peaceful Tomorrows, an organization founded by family members of September 11th victims, explains:

One example of La’Onf efforts to apply nonviolent principles in practical ways in the interests of children is the campaign against war toys.

In too many instances soldiers shot and killed children who were carrying toy guns that looked like real guns.

The campaign began  with programs in which  children could trade in their toy guns for soccer balls.  It then expanded into lobbying efforts.   La’Onf’s campaign has now resulted in legislation banning the sale of war toys in the province of Muthanna.  La’Onf activists hope to see national legislation passed in the near future.

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Though on the outset, the two events have nothing in common (save for the fact that the Mumbai attacks led to the cancellation of the Live Earth event) and that climate change and terrorism are two diffrent challenges faced by our civilization today, the cause and consequences of the two are in some way pretty much the same. And in order to ensure a peaceful world, it is important that both these challenges are tackled - the earlier the better.

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“When three people discover a harmony they never knew existed,
then they know there is hope for the world.”

Pete Seeger

Wow. We could use a healthy dose of Pete Seeger right about now. After watching the wonderful documentary about him, Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, for the 4th or 5th time, I still felt a powerful mix of emotions - inspired, empowered and lazy primarily.  I cry every single time I watch it. Mostly because I see how one simple, steadfast man could keep his vision of hope clear and unadulterated by his own ego and the threat of the imposing world and in the end, his simple messages, songs and way of being is one of the most powerful examples of being true to yourself, your inner ideals and the song we all inherently carry.

Watching an 84 year old Pete Seeger on stage singing with passion alongside Arlo Guthrie and his son-in-law or standing in the cold protesting the war, or making maple syrup at his home in the woods of NY state, or singing with a classroom of children, or cleaning up the river . . . All of it beautiful. All of it incredibly inspiring. All of it makes me feel like I should get busy - after all I’m already nearly halfway to his age. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do!

A Nobel Prize for Pete . . .

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Nearly half a century after her landmark work with chimpanzees in Tanzania, “Dr. Jane” as she’s more often known, is traveling the world with a message that “peace is possible.”

This message is inspiring many to join Roots & Shoots, the Jane Goodall Organization’s international youth activism program. Roots & Shoots supports grassroots activities and projects that benefit the environment, animals, and communities.

On September 21st, Roots & Shoots groups and other individuals around the world will symbolically join Dr. Jane in a call for peace from communities the world over. Groups from Tanzania to Tennessee will make and fly Giant Peace Doves, like the one pictured here.

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Thank you for welcoming me back after an extended hiatus travelling our great American countryside.  Burned out from the stresses of the Sust Enable project, my partner Scott and I took off for the great wilds of U.S. National Parks in early August.  I haven’t written a blog since, as my adventures swept me far from the reaches of the Internet, for the most part.  Now I am back in Pittsburgh, not living sustainably, yet still reeling from the life lessons reaped from the past four months.

I anticipated having a slew of breathtaking photographs to offer you, alongside commentary from the trip in which I reflected on our often-severed connection with nature, and the deep wisdom such a connection provides.  Instead, one night while we camped in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, our video and digital camera were stolen from the glovebox of Scott’s car.  In the middle of a peaceful campsite, in which the sense of goodwill invoked a dozen campers to leave their car doors unlocked that night, a band of thiefs took advantage, slipped in after dark, and robbed a handful of people… not only of material possessions, but of their precious trip memories.

I wept inconsolably when I learned that the camera which held our trip photographs had been taken from us.  I cared little for the money-cost of these items, but I couldn’t stop hurting from the void that the thief left in me–having robbed me of the potential for life-long memories.

Memories surely live on in one’s mind… but as an avid student of the sciences, psychology easily reminds me that minds distort experiences.  I was hoping to use the photographs from our trip as a guideline for revisiting the feelings and sights that this wonderful trip stirred in me.  That hope is gone now, exchanged for a fleeting handful of cash to another.

And so, in the middle of my meditations on how the entire human race might be unified if we each and all had the opportunity to pause in the arms of nature’s bounty… I was sharply reminded with a single malicious act… that we have much further to go before then.

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When I began Eco Child’s Play over a year and a half ago, I pledged to make Kiva loans on behalf of our blog. After making several Kiva loans, I’ve decided it is time to donate to and highlight different organizations helping families and/or the environment around the world. This month, I have made a donation to Women for Women International on behalf of Eco Child’s Play.

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For China, having one of the leaders of Asia’s environmental movement refuse to carry the Beijing Olympic torch must sting. After all, China is jumping through hoops to carry out the Beijing Olympics as the Green Olympics. They are decreasing pollution by planting trees, recycling wastewater, paying car owners not to drive, and more. In addition, the games themselves will be carbon neutral.

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Asia

Two “Extinct” Species Discovered

First there was Swinshoe’s softshell turtle, and then the Javan Elephant. Is this more commonplace than we might believe?

Frankly, no. Despite the occasional hubbub over an animal science has lost track of– say, the Coelacanth– we’ve witnessed something extraordinary. Swinshoe’s turtle was previously believed to be extinct in the wild, with only three remaining in captivity, and therefore every one of these 300-pound turtles is a critical find.

Continue reading: Environmental Graffiti. Hot in media: Stumble Upon.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2008/04/21/10-top-environmental-headlines-of-the-week-no-4/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2008/04/05/springtime-at-the-cold-wars-last-border/ http://ecoworldly.com/2008/04/05/springtime-at-the-cold-wars-last-border/#comments Sat, 05 Apr 2008 13:01:24 +0000 Gavin Hudson http://ecoworldly.com/2008/04/05/springtime-at-the-cold-wars-last-border/ It’s springtime in South Korea. Just a month ago the ground was covered in snow; today the hills are pink with cherry blossoms. Eager solar panels soak up the warm sunshine. On the mountain, wind turbines spin in the sweetly scented spring breeze. In the seaboard city of Gangneung, children’s delighted shrieks fill neighborhood parks.

Over the city, military jets scream through the sky.

The jets that thunder all day long over Gangneung are a reminder that for the past 60 years Korea has been a country divided and at war with itself. Gangneung, with its windfarm, solar panels, and cherry blossoms, lies less than 100 miles (160 km) from the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, the world’s last remaining Cold War border.

This week, as springtime blooms, a series of events unfolded which threaten to destabilize the delicate balance between the North and the South.

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