Thursday, February 21, 2008

We're all human beings, and we're asked to think....


I bumped into my my friend John Trudell, poet, musician, Native American Icon, voice of humanity, etc.

He told me about his latest project - "Give Love, Give Life" which is an initiative to make sure that every woman and child in the country has healthcare insurance.

His words on the first page of the website for his project are not only applicable to his cause, they are words to consider for all of us, at all times. They speak for themselves:

"WARNING! EXPLICIT REALITY!

Give Love Give Life is a perception focused on the health of women and children, about what we have in common – women and children. This is not about our differences – political, class, racial or religious. This is not about whether we are from the left or from the right. This is not about whose fault it is. This is not about whose medicine is the best.

This is not about our differences. We all have our differences. Give Love Give Life is about what we have in common. Too often in the chaos of the world we are in, there seems to be a programmed focus on our differences, and this focus on our differences is perpetually being emotionally manipulated to the point that we no longer remember what we have in common. We are human beings. It is time to think together and show responsibility to the women and children.


We are human beings. It is time for us to recognize that we are human beings.

As human beings, we have intelligence and it is through this intelligence that we manifest our power.

As human beings, how we use our intelligence to perceive reality dictates how we will use the power of our intelligence.

As human beings, we have a responsibility to use the power of our intelligence clearly and coherently.

As human beings, we find ourselves in a dimensional reality where we feel powerless to deal with the various situations we find ourselves in.

As human beings, it is time to take responsibility for the power of our intelligence and use the power of our intelligence to think clearly and coherently and create solutions to the problems we are confronted with.

Simply put, as human beings, we are asking the human beings to think."

Photo from John Trudell's website www.johntrudell.com

Friday, February 08, 2008

Clearing land for Biofuel Production Produces more greenhouse gas emissions...

A recent article in Washington Post confirms some of my suspicions of biofuels...which are proving to be less and less a solution to the global climate change crisis...

The article speaks for itself:

"Clearing land to produce biofuels such as ethanol will do more to exacerbate global warming than using gasoline or other fossil fuels, two scientific studies show."

"The independent analyses, which will be published today in the journal Science, could force policymakers in the United States and Europe to reevaluate incentives they have adopted to spur production of ethanol-based fuels. President Bush and many members of Congress have touted expanding biofuel use as an integral element of the nation's battle against climate change, but these studies suggest that this strategy will damage the planet rather than help protect it."

"One study - written by a group of researchers from Princeton University, Woods Hole Research Center and Iowa State University along with an agriculture consultant - concluded that over 30 years, use of traditional corn-based ethanol would produce twice as much greenhouse gas emissions as regular gasoline. Another analysis, written by a Nature Conservancy scientist along with University of Minnesota researchers, found that converting rainforests, peatlands, savannas or grasslands in Southeast Asia and Latin America to produce biofuels will increase global warming pollution for decades, if not centuries."

Read the entire article here.