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Katrina - 5 Years Later...

2010-03-08T22:10:00.005-05:00

This week, I drove to New Orleans as part of a Mission Trip to help rebuild homes that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. After five years, there are still literally thousands of people who are still homeless or living in trailers that FEMA provided in 2005. Most of these people are people who have little or no income, have lost family, often the main income earner, are elderly, widowed or disabled. There is no funding that these people can get to rebuild. They have nowhere to go, and in the richest nation in the world, the shame we saw when the poor were left behind when Katrina hit is still here, albeit not on National TV, since it is not a current story anymore.

The good news is that not everyone has forgotten these people. The Louisiana United Methodist Disaster Response Organization has been building homes for people who most need it - every single day since Katrina - over 1600 days! They rely ENTIRELY on volunteers like myself, and countless others who travel to New Orleans and other affected areas every week to work. This week, we are helping to build one home for an elderly lady who survived Katrina with her husband, only to lose her husband to a stove explosion in the FEMA trailer they had been living in for years. The area we are working in has had over 20,000 homes repaired or rebuilt by volunteers since 2005. Over 3000 homes have been completely built from scratch. Katrina's storm surge sent over 20 feet of water up to 30 miles inland, destroying homes, cars and lives.

I toured St.Bernard Parish and the Lower Ninth Ward on Sunday. They were the most devastated areas, and the Lower Ninth Ward is still less than 15% renewed. It is hard for people who are not here to understand or even think that this situation exists so long after Katrina, especially when we see aid to Haiti and Chile and other places.

The volunteers here come from all over the the world - U.S. , Canada and elsewhere. The organization that coordinates the volunteer work is to be commended for their dedication and perseverance, and just for managing to keep on doing the same thing every single day tirelessly for over 1600 days.

I am only here for a week - around 40 hours of work. It does not seem like much, and it would be easy to say that it does not make much of a difference. Tell that to the over 20,000 people who are back in homes today thanks only to the Volunteer Organizations.

A shovel can be used to kill someone...or dig a hole.

2009-08-18T10:36:00.003-05:00

A shovel can be used to whack someone over the head, or it can be used to dig a hole. It is a tool, and how a tool is used is up to the user. I use the shovel analogy, because it gets attention and is kind of humorous in a dark way, but the truth is that we use tools everyday, and not always in the best way. I suppose if you want to put a starting date on the introduction of tools, it would have to be the industrial revolution. Sure, we had tools before that, but really that was when all hell started to break loose, and we have not really looked back. I'm not sure we could even turn our heads to look back, due to the breakneck (pun intended) speed at which we are hurtling forward technologically. When I graduated from college 29 years ago (wow - was it really that long ago?) personal computers were brand new and the internet was just a newborn. There were no browsers, ipods, iphones, DVD's, PVR's, MSN, Facebook, Twitter or MySpace. If you had a 'cell phone' it weighed about 20 pounds and was bolted to your car floor and it cost you around $2000.

TV was the first technological 'tool' of the masses that started to change our way of life. From there, the internet, mobile devices like Blackberries, iPhones etc are the tools that are changing our lives today, and not always for the better.

Of course, all of these things are just tools, like the shovel. We decide how to use them. The problem today is that most times we don't really think about making choices about how or when to use these tools. We just get caught up in the hype and plunge forward, like lemmings off a cliff.

iPhone apps like Poop the World or Baby Shaker or iFart are examples of using a tool for purposes with little redeeming social value. Sure they are funny (well except Baby Shaker which is just plain stupid.), but how can we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars (probably millions) to hear farts or see where people are pooping, when that money could be spent on the environment, health care, poverty, food production, etc.?

I have a Blackberry, which I use for email, telephone, text messaging and GPS navigation. I don't have any games on it, and I sure don't have any silly apps that are purely entertainment.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with entertainment and games, but they should be a diversion for a small percentage of our life, not 80% of what we do every day.

Come on people - wake up and see where we are heading. Think hard about the tools you use and how you use them. Think about a way you can use them for good productive benefit, rather than as a goofy toy. Are we that affluent and self-centered or have we just given up on the thought of contributing something really useful to this world?

Think of what you could have been doing for six hours instead of playing Call of Duty, or MSN or Facebook. As a matter of fact, I think I better cut this blog short and get off my own butt and do something!

Next time your Blackberry or iPhone buzzes and you reach to pick it up, think of the shovel.

United Breaks Guitars

2009-07-09T12:35:00.002-05:00

From CTV.ca - A Halifax-based songwriter has used a country-rock protest song to air his grievances with United Airlines -- the company he accuses of breaking his custom-made guitar -- and to draw continent-wide attention to its customer service practices.

Dave Carroll's song, "United Breaks Guitars" tells the story of how his $3,500 Taylor guitar was allegedly broken by baggage handlers who threw it off a plane last year.

In the song, Carroll tells the story of his fight with the airline following the incident at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and he sings about the limited circumstances that would see him fly with United again.

The video is awesome!

A sad week in Hollywood

2009-06-26T11:58:00.017-05:00

For anyone like me who grew up in the 1970's, this week was a sad one, as we lost three people from the entertainment industry that we felt we knew. I must confess I never did watch the Tonight Show after Johnny Carson left. Johnny and Ed McMahon made me laugh no matter how the day had gone. Many nights after college, I watched them with their silly sketches and jokes, and Ed always impressed me as likable, personable and genuine. It was sad that in latter years, he suffered both health and financial problems, but there was some faith in human nature when Donald Trump stepped in to help Ed when Ed was going to lose his home.

Not unexpectedly, but sad was the death of Farrah Fawcett yesterday. Farrah fought a three year battle with cancer. Farrah was the epitome of beauty and glamor in the 1970's and she worked hard to overturn the public's impression of her innocence and ditziness by succeeding in serious dramatic roles. She will always be remembered as one of Charlie's beautiful Angels and she died with dignity, her long-time love Ryan O'Neal at her side.

Later yesterday, we were all shocked by the sudden death of Michael Jackson. Love him or hate him (and I'm sure like me, there were many people who did both), Michael was one of the most talented composer/singer/dancers we have seen in a long time.

I am saddened that after Michael was burned filming a Pepsi commercial, he seemed to start on a downward spiral that he could not get out of. (I have always hated Pepsi.) Back in the 1970's, I was fascinated by Michael and Donny Osmond, who were the same age as me. How could kids my age do what they did? Michael went on to do great things with Billie Jean, the Moonwalk and Thriller. I feel sad for how he became in latter years - he seemed so alone and crying for help.

When people we grew up watching on film and TV die, we suddenly feel our own mortality rushing ever closer, as well as the realization that life is very short and we are only here for a short time. At least these three lived a good life, albeit cut short, and their work and impact made a difference to people. That is what we all need to strive for - making a difference and influencing others in a positive way. Our theme here at Globespotter is: 'Together we can make our world a better place.' These three did that.

An open letter to Fritz Henderson

2009-06-22T12:10:00.005-05:00

To Fritz Henderson, President, General Motors:

OK, Mr Henderson, listen up, because this plan is short, sweet and may be the only way to save what's left of GM.

You are on the right track recognizing that one of GM's big mistakes was keeping multiple divisions that make similar cars. You just need to take more drastic action to save what is left.

First - Dump Cadillac, Buick and GMC as well as Pontiac, Saturn, Saab & Hummer. Yes - Do it. Cadillac is past it's prime and represents gas guzzling excess. Attempts to change that in the eyes of Americans will fail. Sell the Cadillac division or close it down now.

Buick - Shut it down. Old people who can't buy Buicks will buy a decent alternative. Those sales can be transferred - trust me and read on...

GMC & the GM name/brand. Kill it. More than anything, the GM brand contains negative marketing to consumers due the the recent problems. GM started as a merging of many good auto companies - the best of which is the one that needs to be saved: Chevrolet.

Here is the plan. Kill GM. Dump Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Turn GM back into Chevrolet. Chevy has the best positive appeal to consumers. Use that to your advantage for Marketing. Go back to the old "Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet" appeal to Americans who will be patriotic to the Chevy brand.

Chevy has the best potential:

Green / Environmental: Chevy Volt
Sports: Corvette / Camaro
Economy: Cobalt
Mid Size: Malibu
Full Size: Impala
Trucks: Chevy Trucks can replace GM trucks. Most were the same anyway.

Fix the problems with existing models like the Cobalt IMMEDIATELY. That means upgrade components like brakes and front-end components. Don't cheap out. Hey - if the kids can put cross-drilled rotors and upgrade and race Cobalts, what the heck is wrong with you spending a few more bucks to make a great little car?

Make a new model for the old geezers to buy since Buick is gone. Hell, call it a Chevrolet Buick Roadmaster Classic and put portholes on the side if you have to.

Announce the death of GM and the re-birth of Chevrolet. Do it right and in a few years you will reap great rewards.

Pretend it was your idea. I don't need the credit or the fame. I'd just like to see a great American car company survive, and know it's going to take balls to do it.

GM & Chrysler - What now?

2009-06-16T14:09:00.004-05:00

In 2008 GM & Chrysler combined account for less than 31% of U.S. vehicle sales, down from approx 39% in 2006.
- Source: Autodata 2008

Total Auto jobs are split - approx 1 Million in Automaking & Parts and 1 million at new car dealerships, but this is for ALL U.S. car makers - not just the big three.

Ref: http://tinyurl.com/6zaqgj

The majority of the jobs are in Parts and New Car Dealerships - over 775,000 in parts and 1,105,000 at New Car Dealerships.

Pro bailout propaganda always paints a picture of the total loss of the Big Three, including Ford and it most often includes auto industry jobs that they say will be lost that include parts and dealership jobs as well as jobs like glass and metal manufacturing and car washing.

Basic economic theory of supply and demand says that there will be a certain demand for a product. So for cars, there will be a demand from the population to buy a certain number. Although that number fluctuates due to economic good and hard times, overall it will be a certain demand. It does not say 100% GM, or even 50% domestically manufactured.

Artificially propping up an auto company to manufacture products ignores this supply / demand concept. If the demand for autos drops off, then the industry needs to account for it.

If an Auto Manufacturer goes out of business, it does not change the demand - either the demand is not there, or some other manufacturer will move in to fill the demand. The trickle down that the pro-bailout supporters say will decimate jobs in parts and dealerships is the same. Is demand there? If so, then the closure of 10 GM dealerships will mean expansion at Ford or Toyota dealerships in the U.S. which means more jobs. More sales of Toyota or Ford means more parts needed. It may not be a one-for-one relationship, but it is not fair to use statistics of total jobs lost, when in reality, the number includes more than GM & Chrysler and also quotes total existing 'trickle down' jobs that will not all disappear.

I think the biggest problem is not the employment numbers, manufacturing numbers or 'trickle down' jobs, but the huge number of pensioners and spouses that GM & Chrysler committed to support using existing sales.

The big question is - what kind of short-sighted management who only needs basic calculator skills would allow for a pension set up that is doomed to failure like some crazy pyramid scheme?

Why not use employee deductions and company matching to invest as employees work and make sure those funds are paid into the plan and vested to the employee? Promising pension income to retirees without paying into a plan that way makes no sense at all and I don't think the government and taxpayer should have to shoulder the cost. Who is paying for the millions of retired Americans who have little or no income in retirement and because they do not all work for the same company, they are not even considered? Did they not work as hard or harder than auto workers?

What do you think? Post your comment here or join the debate at: http://tinyurl.com/lrpsjq

Thoughts...

2009-05-21T10:25:00.010-05:00

It has been two months since my last post! I have always been called a 'Jack of all trades and master of none' ever since I was young, and it is so true. The scary part is that now I have a 20 year old daughter who is just like me! We both get excited about a new idea or project and jump into it at 150%, only to either tire of it or find something else more exciting around the next corner. I am proud to say that there are at least two things I have stuck to for 25 years - my marriage and my job! That's quite a feat for anyone that knows how I jump to the next 'hoodlum scheme' as my brother so aptly described my 'projects'. Right now, I feel like a juggler who has 100 balls in the air, and the funny part is that I'm not even sure I have seen some of those balls in a while. Let me explain to the uninitiated. Firstly, I'm not even sure who I am! My family knows me as Douglas Brown, but there is a whole group of online friends that know me as Vincent Madison. I started the Vincent Madison pseudonym when I started my LOST 'project'. Back in 2005, I came up with the idea (well to be truthful, the idea kind of grew out of control like some mold) to create an online world of entertainment that was based on the hit ABC TV show LOST. I needed a name, so used the character name of the dog on the show - Vincent, along with the dog's real name - Madison. The rest is history. So real has Vincent become, that he (um me really) is writing a novel this summer that will allow online users to be part of the process. (See how crazy I am?)

I think a lot of it has to do with using the TV as a babysitter back in 1963 when I was only five and living in Edinburgh, Scotland. I grew up (and I think my brain developed) watching Doctor Who. I truly believe that watching Doctor Who, in combination with some crazy creative genetics, paved the way for my love of science fiction, fantasy and that just 'thinking out of the box' was not enough - I knew that there WAS NO BOX!

Our family moved from Scotland to Toronto, Canada in February 1967 when I was eight years old. That was exciting for me, and every time we moved somewhere, I thought that the change and new adventure was the best thing ever. I could never understand those kids that were upset and sad at the thought of moving, but then I was never Mr. Sociable, so for me that was not a big issue.

I remember arriving in Toronto on a BOAC (Now British Airways) Boeing 707. Back in 1967 there were no such things as jetways, so we had to walk down the steps of the plane onto the runway in -20 degree weather - me of course wearing my British School Uniform with shorts!

The other thing I remember on that day - Feb 4th 1967, was traveling by car across Toronto on the 401 and how futuristic it looked as we went under the interchange at Yorkdale Mall.

Since that day, we moved from one house in Toronto to another, then to Montreal in 1971, then back to the Toronto area, then I moved out to Edmonton, Alberta after college, then back to the Toronto area where I am today.

For someone who keeps saying he wants to live alone in a cabin in the woods (Jacob?) I embraced the internet at its birth. I was an early Compuserve user in the late 1970's and had my first PC in 1979.

I now have more websites than I even know, along with multiple YouTube, MySpace and Blogger pages. My LOST online world expanded from a single website in November 2005 to an integrated online world that I sometimes think is real.

It's no wonder I don't feel like I have time to relax, with a Film Production Company, TV Broadcast Studio, Passenger Airline, Historical Society, Photographer Site, Environmental Site, Web Design, and novel writing on my plate. There is more, but I would need to actually research what else I have forgotten, and I'm to lazy to do that.

It makes my otherwise boring life exciting and fun, and I know that my online friends appreciate it, but mostly I do it because I crave new ideas and love coming up with them. Implementation is usually fun too, but ongoing detail and support is when things get boring for me. I need to team up with someone like my younger daughter who thank goodness although she got the family creative genes from my side of the family, seems to have got the organization, and attention to detail and follow through from my wife's side!

I'm not even sure why I'm writing this post. I initially thought it might help me to regroup and consolidate things to keep all my crazy ideas under control, but it seems more like I just needed to get my swirling thoughts on paper with the hope that some of them might get out of my head.

I think I do need to try this summer to both downsize, reorganize and focus on a few projects and do them well, as well as finding time to relax with friends and family.

Natasha Richardson

2009-03-19T10:32:00.002-05:00

We were all shocked to hear of the sudden death this week of actress Natasha Richardson after a skiing accident at Mt.Tremblant north of Montreal.

Of course I would like to express my condolences to her husband Liam Neeson and her family at this sad time.

It does amaze me how people and the media (fueled by the people's desire to know) pounce on stories like this, and then in our internet based life, how comments on the news stories and blogs pop up which makes it seem like everyone is an expert on what happened and how to prevent it.

Here is the way I see it. It WAS a tragic accident. It MIGHT have been prevented had she worn a helmet or might not. There have been more than one skiing / snowboarding accidents in the past month here in Ontario where people have died and they WERE wearing helmets, so the helmet issue is not a guarantee.

I'm not saying helmets don't save lives, they do, but not always and there are no guarantees.

If you hide in the Chalet because you don't want to risk injuring yourself on the slopes, you might fall down the stairs. (Should you wear a helmet?) I'm being facetious.

There is risk in all we do. I skied and cycled for years like every other kid of the 1970's and we NEVER wore helmets. Yes - some kids got injured and some probably died, but you should not do the 'What if?' thing.

None of us are really in a position from afar to say for sure if anything might have prevented this tragic loss. We can speculate and comment and sound like experts, but in the end, it really does not matter.

From what I have read, Mt.Tremblant Resort did everything they could and there is no question that Montreal hospitals are well equipped to handle patients like this, but again, I was not their, and neither am I an expert, so I wish people would stop speculating on things they really know little about. It would be nice to see people commenting on positive things about Natasha and expressing their condolences rather than pouncing on the negative and 'what if's'.

Only when people stop being an audience for the kind of paparazzi media stories will the media stop reporting them that way.

Just imagine...

2009-03-19T09:43:00.003-05:00

Remember that Lotto 649 TV ad that shows the Dad giving two cottages to his kids when he wins the lottery? Lotto 649 ads that use the tag line 'Just Imagine' and show images of cars, houses and quitting your job to live the dream life?

Well this morning on the radio, the Ontario Lottery Group (OLG) had an ad where a guy says to his wife - 'Let's invest your paycheck in the lottery' and the ad goes on to say that the odds of winning big are low and discourages the irresponsible buying of lottery tickets.

Wow. Why? Either one or the other message is the right one, in my mind the latter.

Why do the lottery, alcohol and tobacco industry spend money with the left hand to encourage use and the right to discourage it?

Does it really make sense?

Wordle.net

2009-03-10T23:28:00.009-05:00

Sara told me about a very cool website at http://www.wordle.net.
It creates a neat looking word cloud from words you enter or grabs them from your blog like this one created from Globespotter.com. One of the interesting things about it is that the more you use a word in a blog, the larger it is in the cloud. So I guess I use the word 'Really' a lot. On the positive side - I see in large letters - REALLY LIKE & PEOPLE :)

What do we value?

2009-03-10T12:42:00.008-05:00

This past week, my friend Surya posted a very funny yet true clip on his blog that gets you thinking about what we have today and how little we really seem to appreciate it.

You seriously need to watch this:

So it got me thinking about how much things have changed since I was in school. I don't even have to go back too far - say to when I graduated from College in 1980. (Yup - I'm THAT old :) )

So back then, we had no cell phones, no Blackberries, no CD's, VCR's were new, most people still had phones that were screwed to the wall, and the internet was barely there.

So here we are in 2009 - "Everything is so amazing, and nobody is happy."
Flashback to 1980 - "Things were not too amazing, and people were happier."
Flashback even further to say 1973 - "Things were not really amazing, and people were much happier."

In the interest of not boring you, I think I'll end up breaking my 'flashback' blog into several episodes. (Think LOST).

So flashback to 1973 (Cue the LOST Whoosh sound...) - I was living on the West Island of Montreal and starting High School. We had a very long 1969 Chrysler New Yorker with lots of new electric options - Power Windows, Door Locks, Antenna, a foot button that changed the radio station etc. That was our 'Blackberry' of 1973.

I started making short films then. I recently converted one of my first films and uploaded it to the internet. We forget what life was like back then, until we watch a film and see that black dial desk phone and typewriter. In the Police office - the Captain's desk has NO computer, but lots of files. Look at your desk today. Shut off your computer and Blackberry. Can you work? Don't know what to do?

How soon we forget how business used to run with no PC's or Laptops, or Blackberry's or Cell Phones.

Our house had one phone. Wall mounted. Standard Issue. Dial. Probably white, later to be Harvest Gold or some 70's Green. Long cord so Mom could talk while she cooked. No call waiting. No answering machine. Nobody home or on the phone? Call back later or get off your butt, cross the street and ring the doorbell.

One TV. Black and White. (Finally got color in 1975.) Get up to turn it on. Get up to change the channel. Get up to turn the volume up or down. Get up to slap it when the Vertical hold started going wonky. No Cable or Satellite. Only Rabbit Ears. (Click if you are confused.) Channel 12 (CFCF - CTV), Channel 6 - (CBMT - CBC), and the American channels out of NY, Maine or Vermont or somewhere just close enough that on a good day you got a pretty clear picture, with periodic snow flurries. Channel 3 - WCAX (CBS) Vermont, Channel 5 - WPTZ (NBC) - Plattsburgh NY, North Pole, NY, Burlington, VT and Channel 8 - WMTW (ABC) - Poland Spring ME, but actually transmitting from Mount Washington, NH. Missed the show? Too bad. (No VCR or PVR or TiVO)

Not a lot of amazing stuff (other than the 1969 Chrysler New Yorker). Certainly no computer in the house and no internet or text messaging.

(All the teens reading this say in unison - "So what did you do????")

Well when I think back, we were never really bored and we were much happier. How is that possible? Well, we rode our bikes EVERYWHERE. We went to the park in the summer to play games and discover things. We built snow forts in the winter and went toboganning. We made smoke bombs with a chemistry set and burned magnesium. We strung two cans and a string together and ran it across the road between my house and my friend Bruce's house.

We built go-carts and raced them down the street. We read books and comics - Superman, Superboy were my faves. We listened to the radio. We hiked in the natural areas that were not built up and found rocks and toads and all kinds of cool stuff. I found a rock I thought was a meteorite and still have it. (Maybe it is.)

We watched freight trains and counted the cars and dreamed of hopping one to California. We always found something to do that usually cost nothing and was a lot of fun. Time moved pretty slowly in the summer, but we were rarely bored.

We forget what it was like, and that is too bad. Our kids don't even know what it was like back then, and that is even sadder.

Maybe things were not so 'amazing' back then, but we sure were happier and appreciated what we DID have.

Stay tuned for more 'flashbacks.' I'm starting to like this.....

Thanks Surya.

Gregory Knox on the GM Bailout

2009-03-10T11:43:00.004-05:00

You might have heard of this email from Gregory Knox of Knox Machinery, as it has been circulating on many blogs already, but if not, I wanted to share. I have verified that the email is authentic and is from Greg Knox. I'm sure that there are GM employees who do work hard and try to do their best, but I cannot deny that the letter does make good points.

Abridged letter from Troy Clarke, President of General Motors–followed by a response from Gregory Knox, President of Knox Machinery, a manufacturer of precision machine tools which, supplies the auto industry.

Dear Employee,

Next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation’s history.

Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis… As an employee, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices.

I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard. Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.

Troy Clarke President General Motors North America

RESPONSE: From Gregory Knox:

In response to your request to call legislators and ask for a bailout for the United States automakers please consider the following, and please also pass this onto Troy Clark, the president of General Motors North America for me.

You are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has bred like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping the nation, awaiting our new "messiah" to wave his magical wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream"?

The dream is over!

The dream that we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities and that still the masses will line up to buy our products

Don't tell me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM ,Chrysler, TRW, Delphi ,Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's and Tier ones for 3 decades now throughout the Midwest and what I've seen over the years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.

Mr Clark, the president of General Motors, states:

There is widespread sentiment in this country, our government and especially in the media that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management. It is not.

You're right. It's not JUST management. How about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass, so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour week ?

How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics for putting out too many parts on a shift, and for being too productive (mustn't expose the lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?!? Do you really not know about this stuff?!?

How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea:

Over the last few years, we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors.

What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!?

Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them?

The K car vs. the Accord?

The Pinto vs. the Civic?!?

Do I need to go on?

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades.

Time to pay for your sins, Detroit .

I attended an economic summit last week where a brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money". Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems, but despite what people like George Bush and Troy Clark would have us believe, the sun would, in fact, rise the next day And something else would happen where there had been greedy and sloppy banks new efficient ones would pop up. That is how a free market system works- it does work if we would let it work.

But for some reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the government to step in and "save us". Save us, hell ! We're nationalizing; and unfortunately *too many of this once fine nations citizens don't even have a clue that this is what's really happening. But they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams - yeah ? THAT'S important? * Does it occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades now in this country?...

How can that be???

Let's see?

Fuel efficient ?

Listening to customers?

Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul?

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr W Edwards Deming 4 decades ago

Ever increased productivity through quality, lean and six sigma plans?

Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy"?

Efficient front and back offices?

Non union 'DejaVu Sans Mono'"?

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into. My children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did at their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way). I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work them through.

Radical concept, huh?

Am I there for them in the wings? Of course. But only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and
government.

Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins.

Bad news people. !!! It's coming whether we like it or not.

The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away". I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the vote count was tallied. "We might not do it in a year." Where was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for office?

Stop trying to put off the inevitable.

That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000.

People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits.

That job driving that forklift for the big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year.

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home.

Let the market correct itself people. it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it is a nation that appreciates what is has, and doesn't live beyond its means and gets back to basics and redevelops the work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world - and probably turns back to God.

Sorry - don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news".

Gregory J Knox
President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin , Ohio 45005

Facebook Terms of Service

2009-02-26T17:33:00.005-05:00

There is a lot of discussion over at Facebook about their new Terms of Service. I won't go into the details here - you can read all about it here.

In a nutshell, people are up in arms about the proposed Section 2.3 which states:

"2.3 For content that is covered by intellectual property rights (like photos and videos), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, copy, publicly perform or display, distribute, modify, translate, and create derivative works of (“use”) any content you post on or in connection with Facebook. This license ends when you delete your content or your account."

The funny part is that this is ONLY a big deal because it has had such media attention. The current Facebook Terms state:

"When you post User Content to the Site, you authorize and direct us to make such copies thereof as we deem necessary in order to facilitate the posting and storage of the User Content on the Site. By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content. Facebook does not assert any ownership over your User Content; rather, as between us and you, subject to the rights granted to us in these Terms, you retain full ownership of all of your User Content and any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your User Content."

Almost all other networking sites like LinkedIn, Yahoo etc have terms that are pretty much the same. I am willing to bet that more than 98% of the people who sign up for these free services NEVER read the Terms to which they agree, yet those same people (who claim to be professional writers, artists and photographers) are now going nuts about the Terms, claiming that their work will be stolen, sold or used without their permission.

First - If you ARE a professional writer, artist or photographer, why the heck are you using Facebook to post your professional work???

Facebook is a great social networking tool, so go ahead and use it to promote yourself, your business, your website, your services, but don't post your professional work there. Post samples with watermarks or copyright if you must, or link to your own website where you can control your material.

Second - READ THE TERMS when you sign up for an internet site! Don't complain later because you are too lazy to read.

Third - Understand that ANYTHING you post to an internet server / site should be considered able to be viewed by ANYONE. If you have that mindset - you will NOT POST anything that you don't want others to see. Most people don't really understand how the privacy options work and what can bypass them.

Fourth - Most people also do not understand what goes on 'behind the curtain' - the technology that gives them the cool features they want. As an example - a big part of 2.3 is so that Facebook can make sure applications work that share information. If you like these features - you need to let them have the legal right use them in the way needed - or forget the applications.

Fifth - Facebook is FREE. I can't really see how you can complain. You have the right to not use it.

I can't believe how people have become so used to getting free services like Facebook, agreeing to their Terms without reading them, and then going absolutely nuts when they discover something they don't even understand.

All I can do is shake my head and move on.

Reality TV - Part 2

2009-02-24T11:06:00.007-05:00

It has been two years since I posted about how bad I thought reality TV was getting, and not much has changed. Back in January 2007 I criticized Simon Cowell for going over the line in insulting people. I said that I was done with watching these kinds of shows, but like a car accident, I find myself unable to turn away. I justify my behaviour by saying I need to keep in touch with today's culture and be able to intelligently discuss and debate it, and I suppose that is true, but at times it feels like an excuse for falling into the trap of enjoying the drama, loose morals and gossip of reality TV. This time around, I'll try to see the good and bad in these shows.

Firstly, I had a frightening thought this morning as I was thinking about writing this blog. I had just seen on the news about Jade Goody of U.K. Big Brother fame. (I'm not even going to explain about her - click the link if you must know...) The point is that now that she is dying of cancer, she is still using Reality TV, and I suddenly thought of Stephen King's novel 'The Running Man'. At the time I first read the Running Man, it seemed absolutely ludicrous that someone would actually have a Reality TV show that might pay someone under those kinds of circumstances, but today we are actually edging closer to that reality.

Yes - Reality TV is starting to push the envelope. Witness the challenges in Survivor, where there are no rules and women and men together are getting quite violent in their bid to win. Witness the pressure in the Bachelor for the women to have sex with the Bachelor and show extremely intimate behaviour on TV. The trend is frightening and likely to get worse.

This year, I chose to watch American Idol, The Bachelor, Survivor, The Amazing Race and True Beauty. I'm not sure why some people deliberately choose to be on some of these shows. I suppose in a lot of cases it is the lure of winning a million dollars or the fame, but at the same time, if you watch any of these shows, you have to know the downside - how you may be insulted, humiliated and portrayed as a loser. I must give Simon Cowell some credit however - I do feel he has toned down a lot of his personal insults, and although he can be very insensitive, a lot of his honest criticism is the reason that some contestants rise to the challenge and push themselves to do their very best. He realizes that in today's society we are all brainwashed into thinking we can succeed without trying 100% and he comes from an old school where you get out what you put in, and I can't argue with that kind of work ethic. The good thing about American Idol is that if you are talented, you get exposure even if you don't win. I'm quite sure it kick starts some people's singing careers.

The Amazing Race is probably the best Reality TV. It does have drama, but overall it is a fun challenge where people have to work as a team to win. It does not seem to have gone down the road of pushing the envelope to do stranger and more shocking things and I hope it does not. In fact it seems to have for the most part avoided that, unlike Survivor.

True Beauty seemed to be a great concept. Let's get people to think they are in a contest for physical beauty, but really secretly judge them on both outer AND inner beauty. It's too bad the concept did not translate well into reality. A poor choice of judges - (Vanessa Minnillo was ok, but Cheryl Tiegs and Nole Marin were just awful) - resulted in a show that was painful at times to watch. Asking the losers - 'Are you truly beautiful?' while subjecting them to watching their secretly taped flaws was uncomfortable and did not feel right. In the end the winner was the person with the most inner beauty, but Julia only won one out of seven challenges. True - she did pass all the hidden tests, but Billy who won five out of seven challenges also really showed how he had changed during the show and showed inner beauty and compassion. I'm pretty sure we won't ever be seeing this show again, and in a way it is too bad - since the concept of portraying inner beauty as important is rare in today's society. If anything the show's failure just emphasizes how today we place our importance on looks and self, and not on compassion for others and inner beauty and morals.

I had quit watching the Bachelor a long time ago as it was one show that really seemed wrong to me on so many levels. It emphasized physical beauty and created an unrealistic - albeit cheaply entertaining atmosphere of catty women all fighting for a single eligible man.

This season the 'Bachelor' was a divorced man with a young son - Jason Mesnick which seemed different enough to be interesting. Never mind that Jason is not a Bachelor. (A bachelor is a man who has never been married.) I decided to watch and of all the reality shows, this one once again proved to be one of the worst in my opinion. Putting a bunch of young women together in a house where the sole purpose is to win a man is not a good way to build a lasting relationship. I was impressed that a few of the women seemed to manage to evade most of the catty drama although in the end only one - Stephanie seemed to have her morals intact and in the right place. Have we really come to the place where it is not only expected that the finalists will sleep with the Bachelor but that the physical part is the deciding factor in a long-term relationship? Yes we have. If I was ever on the show as a Bachelor (and I never would be) the winner for me would be the woman who said 'No' to the Fantasy Suite. Wow - our morals have really turned around in a few short years. I am not trying to portray the final women as bad - personally I think the stress and pressure placed on them is so high that some of them probably ended up doing things they did not really want to do. It's not right that they should be put in that situation. I was initially impressed with Jason - he seemed more mature than previous bachelors, however as the show progressed, he ended up showing that most men behave the same way regardless of whether they are older, or have a kid. I know this is cheap entertainment designed to shock and create drama and controversy, but Jillian understood what long term commitment is about when he told Jason that when he is 90 you want to be with your best friend. Jason unfortunately like a lot of men was thinking with his wrong head.

So, I am not going to promise never to watch Reality TV, and I think I will still report on how I think things are progressing, however I do kind of regret wasting four to six hours a week just to confirm what I already knew, when I could have been doing something more educational, fun or philanthropic. We need to challenge ourselves to not get lazy and fall into the ever cheapening world of not so 'reality' entertainment, and get back into the real world while we still have a chance to keep it real.

$$$ Billion Dollar Gambling...

2009-02-18T13:59:00.011-05:00

The U.S. Government has now passed it's $787 Billion stimulus package. In addition to the package is a $275 Billion Mortgage program. GM & Chrysler are asking for an additional $19 Billion on top of $17.4 Billion already given to them. Does anyone else have a frightening feeling that if this fails, we end up much worse?

Experts say we MUST implement the stimulus package to get the economy started on the road to recovery, but my greatest fear is that billions and billions of dollars does not really mean that people will make a tough fundamental change in the way they think or spend.

We are in this position because of the way society has moved to a norm of 'instant gratification', selfishness and materialism, and away from a life of relationship, helping others and faith.

Pumping billions of dollars into saving a badly bleeding auto industry and paying for mortgages that are worth more than the value of property only serves to reinforce the new way of thinking - that you can buy your way out of trouble - even if you don't have the money.

That scares me more than GM going bankrupt or millions losing jobs or homes - not because I am heartless and cruel, but because in my gut, I know it will not change the way we think or spend. Look at the 70's oil crisis. It did not take very long before the compact cars sold in the 70's were replaced once again with gas guzzlers like Cadillac Escalades and Lincoln Navigators.

People are too weak, too lazy, or lack the faith to walk the tough road, and ultimately will have to pay a much higher price when the party ends - and it will end.

What do we do, when the auto industry spends the almost $40 billion and still goes bankrupt?

What do we do when people still lose their homes even after the government has spent $75 billion on mortgages?

The media has been throwing around figures of billions of dollars for a while now - so much that we really don't understand what kind of money we are talking about.

Let me try to put it in perspective:

The bailout is currently $787 Billion.
There are approx 306,000,000 people in the U.S and approx 116,000,000 households. So right off the top that equates to $2,572 per person in the U.S. - every single man, woman, youth, teen, child and infant. It amounts to $6784 per household. EVERY household -regardless of what they earn.

But that is not the whole picture. Consumer Credit Card debt has soared over 200% from 1990 to 2003 to a whopping $8000+ per credit card consumer in the U.S. - and there are over 144,000,000 people who charge on credit cards.

That is an average. With an average household income of $50,000 and an average credit card debt of over $8000, the numbers start to mean something to individuals and families.

Add $6784 of bailout money to each household. Any of you struggling to pay down a $2000 or $5000, or $8000 credit card bill know how much you can afford to pay each month, and how slowly the balance declines.

The math does not lie. If we don't do an immediate U-Turn on our attitude to credit and spending more than we earn, no bailout is going to help.

Are we just adding to our credit and debt to try to solve this problem? Is it fiscally responsible to go out a buy a new GM car when credit gets loosened due to the bailout and you still don't have the money and owe thousands on your credit card?

Who are we kidding? The right road is the tough one, and it's going to hurt. This is a time we need to get together to help each other - remember when a family of 8 or more grew up in a little house with one bathroom, and had their grandparents living there too? Every family had one car - if they had one, and it was not usually new. One TV, one telephone, families actually spent time together. Overall I think they were less stressed and happier too.

To look forward, I think we need to look back.

No more blank cheques

2008-12-16T13:11:00.006-05:00

It appears that the Ontario Government remains determined to throw good money after bad by signing a contract for the construction of new nuclear reactors as early as the spring of 2009. These contracts will lock Ontario into high cost, high risk nuclear energy for another 60 years – putting a big barrier in front of efforts to green our energy system. In fact, Energy Minister George Smitherman has essentially admitted that it is impossible to predict the real bottom line on nuclear projects.

We have a better idea: A Nuclear Cost Responsibility Act that would make it illegal for nuclear giants like Bruce Power to pass on their capital cost overruns to Ontario ratepayers and taxpayers.

We need your support to get the word out about this important fiscal safety net. We have a great new pamphlet ready to print, but we need your dollars to help us get it into the hands of people across Ontario.

Every dollar you can give us right now will help us derail the nuclear express train that is about to leave the station in Ontario. Every dollar you can offer will help us demonstrate that blank cheques for nuclear are not in the interest of our economy, our environment or our future.

The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is one of the most effective (and leanest) champions of green energy around. Your dollars will go directly to our work to build a green energy future for our province.

To make a contribution, please click here

To view our new pamphlet, please click here.

To get involved in this campaign, contact Angela@cleanairalliance.org

Please pass this message on to your friends.

Thank you.

Jessica Fracassi,
Communications & Membership Director

Ontario Clean Air Alliance
402-625 Church St, Toronto M4Y 2G1
Phone: 416-926-1907 ext. 245
Fax: 416-926-1601

Email:
jessica@cleanairalliance.org

Website: www.cleanairalliance.org
Website: www.OntariosGreenFuture.ca

The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is a diverse, multi-stakeholder coalition of approximately 90 organizations including cities, health associations, environmental and public interest groups, corporations, public utilities, unions, faith communities and individuals. The OCAA’s short term goal is to achieve the complete phase out of Ontario’s four coal-fired power plants by 2010. Our long term goal is to ensure that all of our electricity needs are met by ecologically sustainable renewable sources. Our partner organizations represent more than six million Ontarians.

Interested in volunteering with the OCAA? Please contact Angela at: Angela@cleanairalliance.org, 416-926-1907 ext. 246.

If you are on facebook, please consider joining our group.

I have a dream...

2008-11-04T23:45:00.007-05:00

August 28th 1963. Washington D.C.

45 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and spoke these words:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today."

Today that dream is a reality. Martin would be proud. We should all be proud today.

Congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama. Tonight I see the flicker of light that is the American Dream coming back to life when it was almost extinguished.

I am happy to have been here to witness history.

Politics

2008-07-28T14:51:00.005-05:00

I try to steer clear of discussing politics on this blog. Mostly I like to focus on ways we can make our planet a nicer place to live and figure out ways we can all get along better. (Pretty idealistic for an old guy eh?)

Although I don't usually discuss politics here, I do try to keep up with what is going on, and although I am Canadian and see things from a Canadian perspective, things that go on in the U.S. always affect us in some way, so we Canadians do have a vested interest in who will be the next U.S. President, even if we can't vote.

I don't have a lot of good things to say about the current president, so I won't say anything at all. I'm not alone in my feelings, and I think that most of what needs to be said has already been said, so 'nuff said about that.

Looking forward, although I have at times leaned toward liberal ideals as well as conservative, recently I tend to gravitate to a more middle ground. My idealistic youthful liberal self morphed through a phase of being pretty conservative to the point at which I am now at, where I understand and agree with certain liberal principles and ideas, but still yearn for an older and simpler time with old-fashioned values.

Until now, I have not come out and endorsed a party or a candidate in the U.S. election. I have been waiting and watching, listening and researching. I guess my idealistic nature was hoping for the perfect candidate, but with middle age, comes the wisdom to understand that there is no such thing.

I will say however, that I am now endorsing Barack Obama for President. I have always thought he was a capable and charismatic leader, in spite of his 'lack of experience', or perhaps because of it!

I have been much more convinced that he is the right choice since Hillary dropped out of the race and I have been watching Obama's campaign. Sure, all candidates are able to put the right spin on, and say the right things, but over the long haul, little things come out that tell you if a person is pretty genuine or if they have certain ideas that they may not normally publically state, but that come out in subtle ways.

I think Obama has handled criticism like a gentleman and a strong leader. I really think Obama is the kind of leader America needs right now. Is he perfect? Of course not. Is he capable? Does he have enough experience? Can he affect real change? Will he be able to earn back the respect of the world for the U.S.? I think he can and will.

It has been a long time since I have seen a leader like Obama. The more he campaigns, the clearer the choice seems to me.

Time for a little happy dance!

2008-07-03T15:16:00.006-05:00

With all the bad news lately, gas prices, the economy, etc... I thought it was time to bring back a little light hearted, feel-good stuff, and who better to bring it home than Matt Harding!

I discovered Matt a few years back when he made his first 'Where the Hell is Matt?' video and I loved it. My friend Surya posted Matt's new video on his blog so I thought it was time to bring back the old video as well as post the new one.

I love the way these videos deliver a message of peace, happiness and global harmony without doing anything except dancing and music.

Thanks Matt!!!!

Enjoy!!

Original 2006 Video:

New 2008 Video:

Earth Hour

2008-03-31T12:05:00.004-05:00

Earth Hour has come and gone, but the war lives on. On almost all the blogs and online news sites the comment wars rage on about whether global warming is real or a hoax, and whether or not events like Earth Hour are useful to save energy, raise awareness or are organized by rich corporate organizations whose real agenda is far from saving the planet. I think everyone is so busy fighting for their cause and trying to prove their point that they are missing the real point and the big picture.

I have always known that the truth usually lies somewhere in between what two opposing sides are saying. The reality of the matter is that in the global warming debate - the two sides are arguing so much about who is right, they fail to realize that they are actually both right and if stood together instead of selfishly trying to prove how right each side is, we might actually manage to do something good.

Are the motives of some people and organizations not always primarily for the overall good of the Earth, but about the bottom line or making sure that resources are protected for a few at the expense of others? No question about it in my mind.

Is Global Warming a natural cycle that we have little or no power to stop? Probably.

Do humans contribute to making Global Warming much more of a crisis than it would be without us. No question.

The real problem that people fail to realize is that over the past 100 years - maybe even less, our western society has rapidly become a materialistic, resource consuming monster that both individually and in organizations is selfish to the point where the 'monster' analogy is true. We don't even realize what we have become. We are bombarded by the media. Technology has become a parasite on humanity, not the labor saving saviour that was promised to us. The deadly combination of our rich society, the constant bombardment of images and expectations in media that we need better and more 'stuff', that we need to keep 'fixing' ourselves because we don't look like the people on TV or in the movies or in magazines, does nothing but lead us like sheep in a constantly downward spiral of disappointment, depression and dissatisfaction with ourselves and our society.

So at this point, devoid of our spiritual compass in many cases, and part of a society where 'anything goes' and everyone can do 'what they want', and where nothing is really wrong anymore, people have little choice but to 'check out', hang on for dear life, or to turn into themselves as selfish people who only care about living the good life before any government or other country starts to use 'our' resources.

Oh, most of us do our token 'guilt' giving or conserving so that we don't feel like we are evil. We really have no idea of what is going on outside of our little sphere of influence. We think we do, because we watch TV and read newspapers and are educated. But do we really have any idea of how people live in Africa, or Mexico, or South America, or even in our own country?

We are the lucky ones. We have it all, yet want more. We blame the poor and sick and say they just don't try and don't deserve handouts. We justify what we do saying we have worked hard for what we have and demand more.

We complain when we are asked to turn our lights off for an hour, saying nobody can tell me what to do. I have earned the right to suck the resources of this planet and throw them in the garbage if that's what I want to do.

Wow. Have we really come this far? I'm afraid we have.

So what do we do? Do the people that care continue to work to conserve our precious natural resources while others waste them? At what point do we throw our hands up and say why are we doing this?

The reality of our situation is that no matter what we do to conserve non-renewable resources, they are going to get less and less and then run out. The price of oil will keep going up until there is no more oil. Global Warming will likely keep causing the wet areas of the Earth to get wetter and the dry areas to get drier. Areas of the world WILL experience terrible drought and people may have to leave areas of the southwest that will not be able to support growing populations. Storms will get worse, flooding will happen more and more to coastal areas. I know, people will deny it, but it does not matter which side of Global Warming you are on - the 'humans caused it' side or the 'it's just a cycle' side. If you can't understand the trends either way, then you are an ostrich with your head in the sand.

We need to adapt to our Earth and understand it, not to insist that we can abuse it and deplete it of resources and poison it. The native people understood that. We could have learned from their understanding, but as soon as we invaded North America, we started the systematic rape of the land and its resources.

It is said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So for those who insist on their right, (no longer God-given in most cases) to consume resources and waste without regard for others, the time will come when their ride is over. That time may come sooner than we think and for those people, it will be a great shock. Think of those countries where a rich few ruled over the poor and how in the end when the people were so desperate that they had nothing more to lose, how they rose up and the once rich and mighty fell at the hands of the majority. Do we learn nothing from history? Why do people always think that it will never happen to them?

For the people who do care, do not be discouraged by what you see or hear. Keep true to what you know is right in your heart. Stay true to your spiritual self and understand that we are all one. Opposing one another in wars of words and deeds is opposing ourselves. Discard arguing to prove you are right and someone else is wrong. Show people what is right by your deeds, not your words. Do what is right in the face of scorn and mockery. Hold your head up high and teach your children to lead by example. Find ways to understand this place we call home. Get out in nature and reduce or eliminate the technology monster that is sucking our life away. Don't be influenced by the media's narrow view of life. Get out and see for yourself what is really going on in our world. Give back to others, not out of guilt, but to strengthen us as a whole.

Above all, be thankful for what you have, not disappointed that you do not have more. Spread your thankfulness to others, rather than complain to them. Only in this way, will a grass roots movement begin to grow that is a positive, unifying light in the darkness of our world.

You know, I think the people who turned their lights off for Earth Hour had 60 minutes without distractions to ponder some of this. Maybe that is what Earth Hour was really about.

Globespotter is now on Facebook!

2008-01-26T15:50:00.001-05:00

Globespotter is now on Facebook! Join our Facebook Group and tell your friends to join. Together we can make our world a better place.

Earth Hour 2008 - Are you signed up?

2008-01-19T23:52:00.000-05:00

It started with a question: How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?

The answer: Ask the people of Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.

On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour.

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.

This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm on the 29 March, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane, Tel Aviv and Manila will unite and switch off for Earth Hour.

For more information or to sign up - visit the official Earth Hour Website at: http://www.earthhour.org/

Politically Incorrect

2007-11-26T11:09:00.000-05:00

It is that time of year again when we are all faced with the fear of offending someone by using the word 'Christmas' or some other word that is specific to a certain cultural or religious group. Over the years we have not only managed to lose the real meaning of Christmas, but we have managed to twist it into some kind of economic, materialistic shopping spree, and the time of the year that we end up getting so stressed with rushing around trying to find parking at the mall, and worrying about increasing debt to pay for the things we think we 'need' to buy, that most people dread the season.

It was bad enough that we lost the original meaning of Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all Mankind, but now local and regional governments, stores and others are working to erase the name and replace it with 'Holiday Tree' or 'Seasons Greetings'. A task force in Colorado recently recommended not using red and green lights, and removing ribbons from wreaths and stars from trees.

I know that most of these initiatives are germinated with the good intentions of embracing our multicultural backgrounds and to try to make things more fair for all cultures and religious beliefs (or lack thereof), but the end result is that none of us get the opportunity to enjoy the season, and end up uptight, stressed and certainly not closer to those whose beliefs are different from our own.

So - what should we do about it? Sit back and let this time of year slowly vanish along with message of goodwill that started over 2000 years ago?

I'm not ashamed to say that I am a Christian. I don't think you should be ashamed to say you are a Muslim, or a Jew, or a Buddhist either.

I know many people with lots of different beliefs - specifically Muslim and Jewish, and they don't have a problem with wishing me a Merry Christmas, any more than I enjoy learning about their culture and beliefs. In fact, we end up having meaningful dialog about what we believe, and while sometimes we may agree to disagree, more times than not, we are surprised that our core beliefs are not really that different.

I know there are fanatical Christians, Jews or Muslims who expound their beliefs as the only truth to the point of aggression toward others. I also know that 2000 years ago, Christianity started based on teaching tolerance and not judging others for how they act or what they believe.

I am being politically incorrect, and I think we need to be. If not, we all risk losing the real meaning of what we believe and the opportunity to influence others not by aggression or arguing, but by our own behaviour in helping others and being compassionate.

There will always be some people who are not happy because their own beliefs are not fairly represented by a store, or by their town. We should not try to 'be fair' to everyone, but rather let people express their own beliefs without fear of being 'politically incorrect'.

If a store owner really does not believe in Christmas, then don't sell Christmas trees at all - but please don't call them 'Holiday Trees' or 'Family Trees' just so you think you will please everyone and sell more.

If you want to make a difference this year, why not find someone with different beliefs and talk to them and share and learn about your differences and similiarities?

Why not expand both your understanding and your sphere of influence in a positive way?

Take the time to be thankful for what we have instead of complaining about the stress of rushing around. Take the time to do something for someone less fortunate, whether it be visiting someone in the hospital or old age home, or helping someone living on the street to get a hot meal or a warm blanket.

Stop being politically correct and start really getting to know your neighbours. Christmas is not about convincing people that you are right and they are wrong. It should be about sharing the good news that there is hope for Peace on Earth and Goodwill to ALL mankind.

A Thousand Hills

2007-10-22T13:09:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity this week to be at the premier of an independent film that was filmed around my community. Figuring it was a low budget local film, I was expecting the quality of acting and cinematography to reflect that.

I was pleasantly surprised (blown away is probably a better definition) by the outstanding quality of "A Thousand Hills", the story of a young boy who struggles to try to save his family farm.

It is rare today to find a movie that all of the family can enjoy, and rarer still that it is a touching story and of outstanding quality. "A Thousand Hills" is all of these and more. With cinematography, score and acting that rivals big budget Hollywood films, it charms as an independent film while easily making you forget that it is not a Hollywood production. It makes you laugh and it makes you cry, and in the end just makes you feel good.

With crisp directing by Allison Wilmarth and a tight musical score that captures the ups and downs of this story perfectly, it was a pleasure to watch from start to finish.

The film is not in cinemas, but is available on DVD, and would make a great gift for all ages.

You can buy the DVD online here.

Blogger Play

2007-09-19T10:55:00.000-05:00

The internet is full of stuff - from the worst dregs of our society to the coolest. Blogger Play is in my opinion one of the coolest. It is an application by Blogger that displays real-time photos that people all over the world are uploading to their blogs. Check it out - it is neat to see what people are uploading.

Toronto International Film Festival - Man from Plains Review

2007-09-10T21:31:00.000-05:00

I had the great opportunity this afternoon to head down to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to see the premiere of Jonathan Demme's Man from Plains, which is a documentary-style portrait of former President Jimmy Carter. The film debuted in Toronto at the stunning Wintergarden Theater which in itself is worth going to see. Prior to the film we were treated to a live performance of the song "Man from Plains" written for the movie and performed by the artist himself. It was a great performance. It was disappointing to say the least that the song did not end up getting the treatment it deserved in the film. It ended up being used in three spots that I noticed - two were in book signing scenes where the song had to compete with dialog so that both were hard to hear. The song was heard again when the end credits rolled - appropriately enough, but was quickly interrupted by film clips that seemed out of place and again did not allow the song to be heard.

President Carter was introduced by Director Jonathan Demme, and although Carter's speech was brief, it was great to hear him speak with passion about things he has cared about for over 30 years.

I had the opportunity last month to see President Carter in a video interview with Bill Hybels at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit, and from that interview (which in my opinion was much better than Man from Plains), viewers got an in-depth view of Jimmy Carter and the tremendous work he has done since leaving the presidency.

Unfortunately, Man from Plains never seems to decide on whether it is focusing on the man from Plains or just his recent tour to promote his latest controversial book - Palestine - Peace, Not Apartheid. It ends up with too little of learning about Carter's boyhood and early life in Plains, and what he does with his Carter Center - great work for fighting disease around the world and his personal commitment to building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Sure it touches on them, but the short clips seem out of place and incongruent to the tale being told. It should not be that way. The story jumps from present to past too many times and appears disjointed and repetitive. Footage of Carter in his Black Chevy Tahoe in police motorcades seem more like filler than substance, which is a shame. Jimmy Carter has a lot to say and the impact would have been much more true to his character, had it been him sitting and talking without the media-like coverage of constant getting from place to place accompanied by screaming sirens and irrelevant dialog.

The film attempts to be a media vehicle to voice Carter's thoughts on how to achieve peace between Israel and Palestine, and I think he is right. Building walls and miltary conflict will not win over either side in this prolonged war. His critics are quick to condemn him for blaming Israel and saying that the Palestinians are very badly treated, yet downplaying the terrorist tactics of the Palestinians and their newly elected Hamas government. Carter counters that the media in the U.S. has failed miserably to portray what goes on in the West Bank and Gaza and challenges people to go there and judge for themselves.

This is a conflict with no winners unless both sides agree on peace. Of all people, Jimmy Carter knows this. He knows the futility of arguing about past wrongs and instead focusing on how to achieve peace.

The film seems to make a valiant attempt to present both sides, but I'm not sure it succeeds.

It does stir awareness through controversy, and even though Carter admits that he has been hurt by the criticism, he says he can take it and I know he does so in the hopes that people will start to talk about the issues, find out what needs to be done and challenge their governments to seek peace not war.

Carter does not have to do this at 82 years of age. He does it because he wants to make a difference in this world. His faith teaches him that.

I think the film could have motivated us much more. I know Jimmy Carter could.

Other issues

2007-08-15T10:43:00.000-05:00

At Globespotter we have spent a lot of time recently on climate change and global warming, especially in the lead up to the Live Earth concerts. We still feel that global warming and climate change are very important issues, but we also feel that we need to remember some of the other issues that are important to us, and may have recently been overshadowed by the huge focus on global warming. Issues like poverty and other human rights issues come to mind - things like HIV/AIDS and Malaria. There was an article in July's National Geographic Magazine on Malaria that really opened my eyes. We in the western world don't ever think of the impact of malaria, but it kills over a million people worldwide every year - 90% of them in Africa - 70% of them children under the age of five.

If malaria was here in our countries, killing large numbers of children, you can be sure there would be an outcry and we would demand action.

Why is there no outcry for the children dying of malaria and other diseases around the world? Is it that we just don't know what is going on - or do we not care?

I'd like to think it is more that we don't know. That is the main reason I started Globespotter - so that we can learn more about what is going on around the world. Sometimes it will be tough - nobody wants to hear about these kinds of issues, but I think it is important to know - so that we can be upset enough to take action - and that is really the important thing - is to take some kind of action to help.

Let me know what you are doing for poverty and human rights issues in your local area or around the world.

Highway madness

2007-07-25T08:55:00.000-05:00

I have been driving for 32 years, and have driven in most provinces in Canada, a lot of states, as well as the U.K. and Italy. The past few years I have noticed a dramatic increase in speeding and reckless driving on highways, particularly here in Toronto. It's not just my imagination. Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) statistics show a dramatic increase in deadly highway crashes this year.

I drove from Newmarket to London last week and there was a very noticeable difference in driving behaviour - speed and carelessness around both cities compared to the rural areas in between. In Toronto the highways are very busy - the amount of traffic seems to compound the situation by both frustrating people who are in a rush and making reckless driving potentially much more deadly. In London the traffic was not so busy, but the increase in speed was obvious.

What is it about busy urban centers that starts to cause drivers to drive well over the speed limit in busy traffic?

Last summer, I vacationed in BC and Alberta and noticed two significant differences in driver behaviour. In Alberta they use a lot of fixed photo radar on highways. Those highways are clearly marked with signs showing people that speed is measured by photo radar, and I noticed that almost all the cars were keeping to a reasonable speed despite being a busy highway in Edmonton.

In BC they use a lot of red light cameras, and nobody was going through red lights there. In Ontario after the light turns red it is common to see 2-3 vehicles go straight through and I have seen up to 4 or 5 turning left after the light has turned red.

Intersection accidents can be deadly, and it is usually the innocent that pay the price.

The OPP is strained to cover the entire province and is only able to do so much with the funding they get from the provincial government. I am sure it is the same in most jurisdictions.

They feel that education and awareness is key, but from what I can see, I don't think the drivers who are exhibiting the behaviour I am talking about care about education or awareness.

With the huge increase in traffic in urban areas, and increased budget constraints, it only makes sense to look for most cost effective ways to address the problem.

Photo radar was used in Ontario when the NDP were in power, but was scrapped as unpopular and was considered a 'cash-grab'.

Most people today look at it differently. The Canada Safety Council commissioned a poll in July 2007 which shows that over 2/3 of Canadians support photo radar.

Red light cameras and fixed photo radar on key highways with clear signage will make a difference. The driving public has had enough of innocent people being killed by reckless driving.

What do you think?

Live Earth Criticism

2007-07-16T09:57:00.000-05:00

The Live Earth concerts are over and there has been a fair share of criticism about them in the media. Most of the criticism revolves around the feeling that they were hypocritical by asking people to save energy while at the same time the concerts used energy. There was also criticism of performers that have a large global footprint because of what they do. Lastly, there was criticism that the message was not clear and it was just about music.

First off, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and criticism in itself is not a bad thing.

I personally think the concerts were a huge success and that the message could not have been clearer. My opinion was based on the tremendous 29 hour coverage by CTV in Canada. CTV covered all the concerts from beginning to end in Live HD and they did not just show the concerts, but had rotating remote and local anchors that discussed ways to help the environment, conducted exclusive interviews with performers, actors, organizers and other celebrities, and even had built a set that was an earth-friendly condo with ideas on saving energy and promoting environmentally friendly products and ideas.

From what I could see of the U.S. coverage - it did not even come close, and was more of a recap of highlights and in my opinion spent a lot less time reinforcing the message - so kudos to CTV for bringing the message home in a big way!

Now to criticism about using energy to send a message about saving. The choice is simple - do nothing or do the best you can to get the message delivered in order to obtain a net gain overall - either now, or in the future.

Criticism is easy, but everyone uses energy. If an individual criticizes but does nothing to help, then their net effect is negative.

It would be great if the Live Earth concerts could have used no energy, but the reality is that everything we do uses energy. The organizers went to a lot of trouble to minimize the impact, using recyclable and recycled material in the stages - old tires and oil drums and low energy lighting.

Could they have done better? Maybe. We can always do better. When I hear the critics though, I think of the passage in John - Chapter 8, where Jesus said: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone."

We all use energy as we live and breathe. Some of us use more than others and some waste more than others. In our western society, we are more guilty of waste than most people in the world.

Are performers or actors or people like Al Gore worse than we are because their global footprint is much bigger?

That is a good question, but not such a simple one.

I believe we need to do two things:

1. Take a look at what people do that positively impacts our environment. A person with a large global footprint may also be able to impact our global environment in a much greater positive way than individuals like you and me. As an example - Al Gore certainly has a very large global footprint, but one could argue that his individual impact to reduce greenhouse gases is even more huge - much more so. If he did nothing to promote his cause, and even cut back on his own global footprint, the net effect would be much more negative globally. If we are not completely aware of both our own global footprint and how we contribute to improving our global environment, how can we stand in judgement of someone who contributes so much?

2. Criticism of Al Gore, Actors, Performers and high profile people is ok. As a hugely consuming western society - we need to speak up about excess consumerism and waste. If people are in the public eye and are speaking out as activists and supporters of improving our environment, we should challenge them to improve their own habits. Now wait a minute, you say. Didn't you just say we should not judge these people? I am confused. Don't be. There is a difference between judging someone and challenging them to be accountable for showing how they are improving.

Here is what I would like to see.

There are great tools available to measure your global footprint and track your progress of improvement. SOS has one that is posted as a link on our main Globespotter.com site.

I challenge the high profile people involved with Live Earth and the SOS movement to do their own ECP quiz and publically post their score. I will do mine right on the Globespotter site and if they do theirs I would be happy to post their scores too.

Now that may be a real tough thing to do, as I am sure their score will be very, very high, but the important thing will be that they are willing to practice what they preach and work to reduce the score. Publish the progress right on the SOS site.

If you have a score of 800, then show us how you can get it down to 600. If you have a score of 2000 show us how you can reduce it to 1500.

It is not so much the fact that Al Gore or Leonardo DiCaprio may have a huge ECP score compared to you or me - I'd like to see how their scores are going down and the critics need to do the same.

Controversial? Yup. A tough thing to do? You bet. The worst PR ever? Maybe - but sometimes you have to do the right thing, and I think it is the right thing to do.

Will it silence the critics? No. Of course it won't, but it will go a long way to showing the average people that we are all in this together and it is not about how much we consume, but rather how much we can improve and how much positive net impact we can have on our world.

So - do me a favor. Pass this on to anyone who might be able to get this message to where it will be read by the high profile people involved in the climate crisis movement. Let's use our 6 degrees of separation to quickly get the message to everyone and challenge them to honestly do their ECP score regularly - at least 4 times a year and publish the results. I will. Will you?

Edited on July 19th 2007 to add:

Today I posted in the liveearth.msn.com forum about this issue and I quoted the beginning of this post along with a link to it so people could read it. I was dumbfounded to login to the MSN Live Earth Forum later today to find my posts gone and my account permanently banned with no email or any other communication to advise why. I reviewed their Code of Conduct and cannot figure out why they would ban me for my posting. The only two things I can think of is that they did not like me posting a link to my blog (I am sure MSN can stand the competition :) ) or that they found my post "objectionable". I am at a bit stunned to say the least and not sure what that makes me think of the openness of the whole Live Earth / MSN organization.

Oh yeah - I tried their 'feedback' link but it does not work and I can't find a way to contact anyone to ask why I was banned. Nice.

2007-07-08T13:24:00.000-05:00

Even though it was the smallest Live Earth concert with no audience attending, the concert from Antarctica was one of the most meaningful in terms of the message. Check out the scientists from the British Antarctic Survey who have a band called Nunatak playing for Live Earth!

Live Earth is here!!!

2007-07-05T22:43:00.000-05:00

Live Earth is here! Concert coverage of the Sydney, Australia concert starts at 10pm ET on Friday July 6th 2007.

Don't miss any of the great concerts! Tune in to TV coverage or watch on the internet at: http://liveearth.msn.com

Seniors Rock!

2007-06-07T21:26:00.000-05:00

Who says old people can't have fun and get the message out that seniors are people too? Check out the British Group - The Zimmers, singing The Who's 'My Generation'! Lead Singer Alf is 90. Oldest member Buster is 100. You gotta love it.

Summer is coming

2007-05-22T13:53:00.000-05:00

Summer is coming fast, and with that, Globespotter is suggesting a way that you can help to keep energy costs down as the temperature goes up.

Keep your home air conditioner off or set the thermostat higher than you usually do. Open windows in the morning and evening to air condition your home the natural way.

Plant shade trees in strategic locations so that they block direct sunlight from entering your home through windows. Deciduous trees such as maple trees will keep your home cool in the summer but allow sun to shine through in the winter when leaves fall off. Coniferous (Evergreen) trees block cold north winds.

Walk or bike short distances instead of taking the car.

Air dry your clothes on nice days instead of using the dryer.

Get out and enjoy the natural environment this summer!

For more information on the benefits of Urban Trees click on the picture.

'Premier McGuinty's' Reply

2007-05-07T15:21:00.000-05:00

Well I did receive a response to my question. I worded the question differently and submitted it from a different email address. I guess I should not be surprised - the reply was word for word identical to the first response. You know, if you are NOT really going to read the question, and just provide a cookie cutter response, it probably would be less misleading to just have a FAQ section on the website with the responses, rather than make it seem like you are actually responding to a question.

As the Ontario election is coming closer, I am going to have to change my approach to get real answers. Stay tuned.

Try, Try again!

2007-05-01T15:10:00.000-05:00

I still have not received a response to my clarification about Nanticoke to Premier McGuinty's office, so I am trying again. This time, I am asking directly why they are not planning to convert Nanticoke to natural gas, and also asking for specific targets for reduction in coal generation between now and 2014.

As the Ontario Provincial election gets closer, I am planning to post report cards on all parties that are running, so voters can see exactly where they stand and what their plans / promises are in regards to the environment.

Of course we all know how guaranteed politicians promises are :)

Hope everyone had an opportunity on Earth Day to do something good for our environment, even if it was just appreciating it!

I have installed some CFL bulbs - 3 outside and 1 inside. There are some very nice bulbs that not only look like regular bulbs in shape and size, but the color they give off is not much different than the old bulbs.

I am NOT a fan of those curly harsh white fluorescent bulbs, but the ones I got, I am pretty impressed with. I also installed two motion sensors that turn on my hall and office light when I come in the room and turn it off when I leave.

Let us know what you are doing to save energy or improve the environment. Comment on this post, email us, or comment on our MySpace.

Have a great week!

Response from Ontario Premier McGuinty's office

2007-04-25T12:08:00.000-05:00

I received an email from Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's office in response to my blog/email about Nanticoke Generating Station. (Email below) Although the information sounds impressive, in true political fashion, my original question was not answered - that was - Why not convert Nanticoke to cleaner burning Natural Gas? I have responded to the Premier by asking that question more clearly.

Also - be careful of the spin you can put on an answer by using certain statistics. The year 2003 is used deliberately, not so much because it was the year the Liberals took office, (although conveniently it is), but because that year was just prior to a significant decrease in electricity demand and use as shown here in an Ontario Power Generation (OPG) Graph. It's a lot easier to show reduction in emissions when electricity use decreases!

More disturbing is the fact that the original commitment to close Nanticoke and Lambton by 2009 looks now to be at least 2014 and possibly longer! Why would we believe a 2014 date when the 2009 commitment was reversed?

The Ontario election is coming up in October. Make sure you push your candidates to answer the Nanticoke question clearly. Although the numbers in the email appear impressive, the reality is that Nanticoke is still the #1 source of CO2 in Canada and will likely be for many more years.

Message from Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's office:

Thanks for your online message about our government's plan to replace coal-fired
generation.

Our government remains firmly committed to improving our air and contributing to the
sustainability of our environment by replacing coal-fired generation with cleaner
sources of energy and conservation. Over the past two years, we've set the wheels in
motion to bring on line 10,000 megawatts of cleaner, diversified generation. We're
also enabling over $2 billion to be spent on conservation and are proud to now be
the largest wind power jurisdiction in Canada.

While there's a great deal of work yet to be done, our government is heartened by
the progress we've made to date in helping to clean up our air. Since we took office
in 2003, generation from coal-fired plants has dropped 32 per cent, representing a
huge reduction in greenhouse gas emissions - equivalent to the emissions of over two
million cars. Our government has lowered Ontarians' reliance on coal from 25 per
cent to 16 per cent.

Carbon dioxide emissions from Ontario's remaining coal-fired generation stations
have dropped by 29 per cent since 2003 and are currently below 1990 levels.
Similarly, sulphur dioxide emissions have been reduced by 44 per cent since that
time, while nitrogen oxide emissions have declined 46 per cent. By replacing
coal-fired generation with cleaner sources of energy and conservation, our
government is demonstrating its strong commitment to fighting climate change and
protecting the air we breathe.

We remain committed to replacing coal-fired generation while ensuring the
reliability of the electricity system. Our government's plan to replace coal-fired
generation will help Ontario reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30 megatonnes
- the largest climate change initiative in Canada. We've asked the Ontario Power
Authority and the Independent Electricity System Operator for their expertise on how
we can most quickly replace the coal plants while ensuring reliability. Their
preliminary advice is that some coal stations be maintained beyond 2011 to provide
additional insurance for system capacity risk. They suggest that remaining coal
plants can be gradually replaced by cleaner generation between 2011 and 2014.

We're proud of the fact that Ontario stands as the only jurisdiction in North
America that has committed to closing its coal-fired power plants. We'll continue to
do our part to show leadership in the world's increasing battle against global
warming.

Thanks again for contacting me. Our government remains steadfast in its goal of
protecting the environment and the well-being of all Ontarians.

Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario

Is Global Warming a hoax?

2007-04-20T10:12:00.000-05:00

Although most people and the vast majority of scientists now believe that the Earth is in a global warming period and that human created greenhouse gases, predominantly Carbon Dioxide (CO2), are a large factor in contributing to global warming and climate change, there are still a vocal minority out there who insist it is not real, is a hoax or a conspiracy of sorts. I want to address this issue as it can really confuse people. The reality of our current situation is that scientists can never be 100% sure about all the causes of global warming - they can only use data to come up with probabilities.

Most scientists have now examined enough data, going back far enough to conclude with a large degree of certainty that the correlation between CO2 emissions in the atmosphere and global temperature rise are connected.

If you go back in time, using core samples from ice that has been around for thousands of years, you can plot temperature and CO2 emissions and I am sure you have all seen the graphs and they have a direct correlation.

At this point, the ardent conspiracy theorist may indicate that that data and those graphs are faked. Unfortunately for you and me, unless we are personally drawing core samples and testing them and know what we are doing, we do have to rely on the reports of accredited scientists as being accurate.

We can however attest personally to the changing climate and also the increase in airborne pollution, because we can see it and it affects our health.

I have lived in the Toronto area for over 30 years and the smog is visible over the city much more than it ever was, and I cannot drive across the city with my windows open like I used to without coughing.

In most countries, they measure CO2 emissions, and they have been increasing drastically over the past 30 years. Emissions from coal fired generating plants and vehicle emissions are predominantly the largest.

So, we can pretty much agree that humans are contributing to polluting our air with substances that are not healthy, including CO2 which is the gas that is primarily responsible for regulating the amount of sunlight that stays or leaves the earth.

Without a CO2 layer, we would freeze to death, as the sun's rays would bounce off the earth and be reflected out of our atmosphere.

With too much CO2, we could burn to death as the sun's rays get trapped and cannot escape.

Over the course of our known habitation of the earth, the CO2 levels have increased and decreased but have stayed within limits that do not seriously affect us.

Why they increase and decrease is not completely known, but it could be due to natural cycles, volcanic eruptions, comet or asteroid impacts or huge forest fires.

In most cases, the historic fluctuations are likely caused by events that we have little control over.

People who say global warming is a hoax also point to evidence that the sun is heating up and that several other planets in our solar system, with no humans on them are heating up.

That may be true and the unfortunate reality is that if the sun increased output too much, it would drastically affect life here on earth, but - and here is the point - there is little that we could do about it.

What we do need to do is focus on what we have done to contribute to climate change and work on what we can do to help.

We cannot stop natural cycles or the sun heating up, and likely would not be able stop volcanic eruptions or even large forest fires, or asteroids hitting the planet - but we can reduce the clear-cutting of rain forests, the emissions of CO2 into our atmosphere and the indiscriminate waste of packaging materials we use today.

Does that mean that humans and our CO2 emissions are the only cause of global warming? Not any more than natural cycles and the sun increasing it's heat are the sole cause.

Are we a contributing factor? I would say - yes we are. People who believe otherwise are either misinformed, do not want to believe it, or have reasons why they want people to believe global warming is a hoax.

Let's take a look at some scientific evidence that climate change deniers sometimes use. This report talks about cyclical global warming starting before CO2 increases - ie: the lag of CO2 increases behind cyclical temperature increases.

Ref: http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=13

Why is this important? Well, because when you get issues that get people emotionally charged up, they tend to polarize their opinions drastically to one side or the other. Global warming and climate change is no different. Taking a polarized stand one way or the other does nothing to help and wastes energy on debate and discussion.

The reality is that there are, and probably always have been, cyclical periods of global warming, followed by increased CO2 levels, then a return to 'normal'. Whether or not the cause and effect is proven or not does not really matter - the cycles occur and likely not due to any human action or lack of action.

No scientist would deny that. The climate change deniers would have you believe otherwise.

So why are we concerned now? Why not just wait for the cyclical period to return to normal? That is what the deniers are suggesting.

The problem with that recommendation is that there is a huge difference between historical global warming and the current global warming.

In a way, the deniers are right. There has always been 'global warming' which returns to 'normal' and comes back again. The problem is that the Earth is a fairly well balanced eco-system and that allows it to cycle back and forth within parameters that we can live with.

Barring an unforeseen disaster that we cannot control - like the sun doubling in output or a huge asteroid hitting the earth, the earth should be able to cope with returning the balance periodically.

The problem today is that for the first time, humans have tipped the scales to the point where it is becoming increasingly more difficult for the Earth to return balance.

In the past 50 years or more, humans have increasingly become dependent on fossil fuels and consume huge volumes of natural resources, returning equally huge volumes of waste products into the atmosphere.

Cyclical global warming has this time around been affected by that and specifically has reacted to the huge increases in man made CO2 emissions.

That means that returning to the 'normal' will at best be hugely delayed and at worst, the scales will be tipped so far that it will not be able to return.

Do you want to take that risk? The deniers would say yes. They would say there is nothing to worry about, that things will return to 'normal'.

Most people are not really aware of the impact that humans have really had on this planet over the past 50 years. As long as the sun comes up, and we can breathe and live our lives, they become lulled into a state of complacency, ignorance or denial.

The only people who might benefit from denying that we are having a huge impact on our climate are those who may benefit from it - people involved in the coal or oil industries, politicians or individuals or groups concerned about their own short-term selfish goals.

People who want to stand up and make a change for the better on the other hand have little to gain in the short-term or from a selfish perspective. The reality is that the work we do will only start to have impact when we are long gone.

We do what we do for our children, and for their children and for the long-term future of our planet.

That is what this is really all about.

Ask yourself - why would you not want to clean up our air, or our water, and make sure that our wonderful planet is able to maintain the balance it has managed to for thousands of years if you can make a difference?

Because it costs too much? Because you will not be able to drive that SUV or consume electricity at ever growing amounts to power our conveniences?

Because you only care about now, and figure your children can take care of themselves?

The deniers are right - cyclical global warming should be nothing to worry about - had we not thrown a wrench into the machine.

This is all about that wrench and what we can do to get it out - because it is not going to fix itself.

We as humans have the responsibility to take care of this place we call home. So far, we are not doing a very good job.

I for one, intend to change that.

Doug@Globespotter

The Secret

2007-04-16T09:26:00.001-05:00

This blog entry may seem a little off our normal focus, but I have been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I need to express some of my thoughts about this. I'll start off with a disclaimer of sorts that the thoughts here are my personal thoughts only.

If you have not heard of The Secret or know what it is, you are probably in the minority, but for those who are not aware, The Secret is a movie that was created by Australian TV producer Rhonda Byrne and marketed on the internet. It has been tremendously popular and featured twice on Oprah.

What is the 'Secret'? Well, it is not really a secret - it is the Law of Attraction or the Power of Positive Thinking. It is not a new concept by any means, although in this case it has been packaged and marketed in a slick and clever way, particularly by the name 'The Secret' (who does not want in on a secret?) as well as the imagery in the movie which draws on images of ancient places, scrolls and manuscripts, reminding us of the Da Vinci Code, or the Dead Sea Scrolls or numerous other ancient mysteries which intrigue so many people.

Rhonda Byrne got her idea from a 1910 book entitled 'The Science of Getting Rich' by Wallace D. Wattles, but there was also a 1906 book entitled 'Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World' by William Walker Atkinson. The New Thought movement is based on these concepts.

There are also countless courses and self-help books that talk about positive thinking.

As tends to be normal in our world, there are few new ideas. Most are recycled and re-packaged ideas that are in some cases very old - in this case going back potentially thousands of years.

I started to watch The Secret DVD about three months ago, but did not finish it, as I was turned off by the fact that it seemed to be a 'Get Rich' scheme and focused on material wealth.

Then last week it came up in conversation with someone and we debated a little bit about it. There were some points brought up about the success of positive thinking that made sense.

At the same time, I had another conversation with someone who had been offended by a radio broadcast and had decided not to listen to the radio station. It is a radio station I listen to and get a lot out of it. My comment was not to turn off the whole station because you did not agree with one opinion or were offended by one person. There could be much to gain that you might miss if you turned it off. Now I understand that we are talking degrees here. If the amount of material or the severity of the material is really offensive to you or goes against your beliefs, then I am all in favor of you making the choice to reject it and choose something more suited to your beliefs, however you have probably heard the saying 'Don't throw the baby out with the bath water".

That is what we sometimes do when we see or hear something we don't like or when we are offended. I think we sometimes need to take the time to see the good within something that does not jump out to us on the surface.

So last night I watched The Secret - and this time I watched the entire DVD.

I still do not like the way it presents a selfish, materialistic, get rich kind of attitude, but as I watched it all the way through, I saw things in it that were true.

We DO make our own reality. Positive thinking DOES work. Negative thinking creates MORE negativity. This is neither news nor a secret. It IS the way our universe was created. The 'secret' if you want to call it that, is really just a better understanding of how this universe was created and how it works.

Now, I could go 'spiritual' on you and explain how it is really God that created the universe along with the 'laws' of how it works - positive & negative, good & evil, etc, and I do personally believe that, but here is what I think is the 'real secret' which is true regardless of your religion or spiritual beliefs:

The Secret is not magic. The Secret is not a tool. The Secret is not about YOU. The Secret is not about making YOU rich. The Secret is not about getting a lot of money or material things.

I'm not saying that using the power of positive thinking may not get you those things, but if that is how it is presented and used - I think we are missing the mark.

Here is the problem, and how it all ties back to what we try to do here at Globespotter. Society and people today (for the most part) view success as being rich and having a nice house, a new car and taking nice vacations. It is all about Me, Me, Me.

The Secret starts to address that, but only towards the end. Success should not be measured by how rich anyone is, or by the possessions they own. Success should be measured by the difference we can all make by working together to make our world a better place. The real 'Secret' is that we are all in this together. You have heard the saying 'No man is an island'.

Look at your spiritual teachings. We are parts of a much bigger whole. Think of us as key pieces in a finely tuned machine - or molecules in a human body.

They need to work together if we want all to benefit. The minute we turn all of our focus to only ourselves, is the minute that the whole starts to suffer.

In 'The Secret' DVD, they talk about how Mother Theresa said she would never attend an 'Anti-War' rally, but would attend a Peace Rally. I think that was an amazing part of the DVD that could easily have been missed by most people. To most people,(myself included), my first reaction is - they are the same. But they are NOT. Here at Globespotter we need to focus on the positive, not the negative. We need to focus on what we CAN do to make things better and try to avoid dwelling on all the bad things that have made our world what it is today.

That is the true secret. It is not about making money, or getting things. It is about understanding. The true secrets of our world and universe have always been about knowledge and understanding, never about material objects.

Jerry Adler writes in Newsweek and puts it better than I could:

"On an ethical level, "The Secret" appears deplorable. It concerns itself almost entirely with a narrow range of middle-class concerns—houses, cars and vacations, followed by health and relationships, with the rest of humanity a very distant sixth. Even some of the major figures in the film confess to uneasiness with its relentless materialism. "I love 'The Secret' but I also think it's missing a couple things," says "metaphysician" Joe Vitale. "If I were producing it, I would have added something more about serving others."

Ref: Decoding 'The Secret' by Jerry Adler - Newsweek - March 5, 2007

Like anything else - The Secret can be used or misused. Think of fire. It can destroy, or keep us alive depending on how it is used.

I encourage you all to be careful about what you read and what you watch - to not give in to the temptation of greed and material things - to not succumb to the societal pressures of Me, Me, Me.

At the same time, I encourage you not to 'throw out the baby with the bath water'.

Look for the positive everywhere, AND then use that positive to benefit us ALL.

If you are religious or spiritual, use it within your beliefs and morals. It does not matter what religion you are. It is up to you to choose how you will live in this world, and what influence you will have on others, and that is the greatest gift of all - worth more than any riches, gold, money, cars, houses.

That is what I believe is the real 'Secret'.

Doug @ Globespotter

Earth Day

2007-04-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

Earth Day is on April 22nd - less than 10 days away. What are you doing for Earth Day? Why not get together with friends or family and clean up a park or other area near where you live or work? Plant a tree. Turn your thermostat down for the day (or up if you are using air conditioning!) Wash your dishes by hand for the day. Air dry your clothes. Walk or bike instead of taking the car. Turn your lights off.

Add a comment here with other ideas that you can do to make a difference and celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd!

Why try?

2007-04-11T10:41:00.000-05:00

I was talking to a friend about the Nanticoke issue, and they pointed out how little impact it would have on a global scale in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

It sometimes can get depressing if you look at the big picture and realize that what little you do has small impact.

It's like trying to fight one of those California brush fires with a small garden hose. What is the point?

If China is building Coal fired generating plants at the rate they are, why should we bother to reduce the amount we have?

That is when you need to do two things. First - stop focusing on the big picture. It can be overwhelming to anyone. Focus on what you CAN do and don't worry about what fraction it adds up to. Anything to help is better than nothing.

Second - realize that you are not alone. Each one of us doing a little amounts to a lot of us doing much more.

Don't ever discount your influence on others. It's not always what you do or how you are measured in terms of 'success' by our society - as much as how you might have influenced others who may go on to do great things.

I am reminded again this week of the Apprentice. There were two people on that show that were portrayed as 'losers' - Michelle and Surya. Both of them - even though they may not even realize it - inspired me to take Globespotter to another level and showed me that I can make a difference.

You can make a difference too. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

Canadians & New Yorkers - Read This!!!

2007-04-07T16:09:00.000-05:00

OK, Following up on my recent information about the makeup of Greenhouse Gas emissions, here is an appalling but true fact:

In Ontario Canada, the Nanticoke Generating Station, which is a coal-fired electrical generating station is the #1 industrial source of greenhouse gas emissions in ALL of Canada!

In 2005, Nanticoke emitted over 17 million metric tonnes of CO2. That is equivalent to over 3 million cars!

More disturbing is that Nanticoke is operated by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) which is wholly owned by the Government of Ontario.

In the U.S. there are many more coal-fired generating plants and it is difficult to eliminate or convert them to cleaner burning fuel such as Natural Gas, but in Canada, where there is both an abundance of Natural Gas and the ability to deliver it to Nanticoke, there is no excuse for this blatant polluting.

The Ontario Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty promised to end coal burning at Nanticoke and Lambton generating stations by 2009, but have now reneged on that promise.

Nanticoke is also the biggest industrial smog-causing polluter falling over much of Southern Ontario, Quebec and Western New York state.

Globespotter urgently needs you to help us to end coal burning at Nanticoke by 2009 or sooner. We recognize that the generating station cannot be shut down, but we are lobbying for it to be converted to Natural Gas.

A Nanticoke conversion to cleaner-burning natural gas would cost less than half of the $1.25 billion (CAD) that OPG spent to re-start the Pickering A Unit 4 nuclear reactor while providing almost eight times as much power.

If you live in Ontario - please write or call Premier McGuinty and urge him to keep his promise to end coal-burning at Nanticoke. You can contact Premier McGuinty at:

Hon Dalton McGuinty - Contact Information

Constituency 1795 Kilborn Ave
Ottawa ON K1H 6N1
Tel: 613-736-9573
Fax: 613-736-7374

email: dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org

Queen's Park Rm 281, Main Legislative Building
Toronto ON M7A 1A4
Tel: 416-325-1941
Fax: 416-325-3745

I sent the following email today:

Dear Mr. McGuinty,

I'm not sure if you realize it, but many Ontarians are not aware that the Nanticoke Generating Station is Canada's #1 industrial source of greenhouse gas emissions.

It is more disturbing to me personally that the Generating Station is run by Ontario Power Generation - a wholly owned corporation of the Ontario Government.

I am sure you are aware of the growing concern among all Canadians of the direct correlation between CO2 emissions and climate change, specifically Global Warming. This issue will be the biggest issue facing electors in upcoming elections here in Canada and globally. Politicians need to recognize that this will be the #1 issue and prioritize it as their top priority. Your government has made some excellent steps to addressing this in the past, including closing the Lakeview Generating Station and increasing the use of renewable power.

You are in a unique position, compared to politicians in the U.S. You can make the most significant impact to reduction of greenhouse gases not just in Ontario, but in the entire country of Canada by keeping your promise to end coal burning at Nanticoke. I understand that Nanticoke generates huge amounts of power and that it cannot be shut down, but I do not understand why you would not prioritize conversion of Nanticoke to cleaner burning Natural Gas. Please take the time to respond to this email and tell me how you will rise up to the challenge and end coal burning at Nanticoke as soon as possible.

Your promise was to end coal burning at Nanticoke and Lambton by 2009. I strongly believe that we need to end coal burning at Nanticoke prior to 2009. This is an opportunity to prioritize a single issue that will have the greatest impact to Ontario and Canada and significantly move us closer to meeting our Kyoto goals.

Please do not say that financially it is not feasible. The cost of conversion to Natural Gas is an investment in our future and the future of our children and grandchildren.

Thank you for your time and attention to this important issue.

For more information about Nanticoke and Clean Air in Ontario, visit:

http://www.cleanair.web.ca/

To view Canada's top polluters - visit:

http://www.environmentaldefence.ca/pressroom/viewnews.php?id=19

Plastic bags are banned...

2007-04-05T09:28:00.000-05:00

...in Leaf Rapids, Manitoba.

On March 22nd 2007, municipal by-law #462 was passed, making Leaf Rapids the first community in Canada to ban single use plastic bags.

Although the initiative has drawn some criticism, we feel it is a step in the right direction. Most of the criticism is based on the estimate that currently approximately 50% of plastic bags from grocery stores are used for garbage, and that when a ban is enacted, people will purchase thicker garbage bags to use, adding plastic to landfill. That is a good point, and underlines the need for us all to not only look at the small things we can do to help our environment, but also consider potential ripple effects - both good and bad. In this case, we not only need to reduce or eliminate plastic from packaging and grocery bags, but do the same thing for our garbage. Perhaps we need to start using recycled paper bags for garbage, as most communities are now doing for yard waste. It's ironic that some of the easiest ways to help our environment are going back to the way we used to do things about 30 years ago. I remember paper shopping bags - do you?

For more information about this initiative, check out this CTV News report and video or visit http://www.bringyourbag.com/

What are you or your local community doing to help our environment? Post a comment here and let us know.

Daily Globespotter News!

2007-04-04T16:46:00.000-05:00

We are using Google Reader technology to share news stories with you, both here on our blog (check out the Globespotter News Picks box on the right side), and also on our main site at Globespotter.com.

We take the time to review lots of news feeds daily so you don't have to. We select stories that are current, interesting and we feel relevant about key issues like climate change and global warming.

Let us know what you think by posting comments here. We want your feedback so we can continue to provide a valuable service to you. Let us know what you like or what you don't, or just tell us what you think about some of the key news stories or issues.

Check back regularly for new stories or subscribe if you have a Google or other RSS reader.

Running your car on vegetable oil!

2007-03-24T12:23:00.000-05:00

There is a company in L.A. called Lovecraft Biofuels that will convert your diesel car to run on vegetable oil for $700. Their conversion is different from some, in that the conversion is designed so the car will start and run on vegetable oil - no other fuel is required, but the car will still run on diesel if you need to. There are potentially large cost savings here - reducing fuel costs to $20 a month from $40 per week for their public relations manager Judi Krant. Check them out at http://www.lovecraftbiofuels.com/

Sustainability is the key!

2007-03-23T08:51:00.000-05:00

I know there is a HUGE groundswell of support for fighting Global Warming, and I think that is great, but we need to keep a couple of things in mind. First - we need to make sure we do our due diligence on signing petitions, and on supporting groups and even action. Don't just get sucked into the emotion of 'doing the right thing'. Research the groups that ask you to sign a petition so you can find out the pros and cons of what they are asking. There is no magic bullet solution - all actions will come with a cost and with negatives. It is our responsibility to make sure we understand what they are before 'jumping on the bandwagon'. Don't get me wrong - I am in full support of fighting issues like global warming - I just want to make sure we do things for the right reasons and understanding better what real impact it might have. E-petitions (internet or email) only rarely have significant impact. They can if they are done properly - like Al Gore's recent e-petition, but many become endless chain letters looping around the internet going nowhere and accomplishing nothing but using up resources. Some are inaccurate, and some are badly outdated. If you get one - do your due diligence. Places like snopes.com can be a good resource for checking email letters to see if they are real or not.

At Globespotter, we are going to be doing a review of both sides of the global warming issue and will blog our results here so you have a better understanding of the issues.

Secondly - and MOST IMPORTANT I believe is that no matter what environmental issue you are supporting - the key to them is sustainability. Take a look at the article I have on the main page at Globespotter.com or read it here.

No matter what we do to try to fight environmental issues like global warming, we will accomplish little if we do not understand the impact of consumption greater than the ability of the earth to provide. That is sustainability.

One of my Myspace friends - Dr.David Suzuki, blogs about the waste we see today, specifically disposable technology. Here is an excerpt from his blog that I think is so important, I must continue to drive it home. I have bolded the parts I think are critical. Click here to go to David's Myspace to read the whole blog.

From David Suzuki's MySpace Blog:

There ought to be a law

Sustainability is a word that is generously slathered through corporate and government reports and from the lips of those who say they're committed to being green, but to turn words into action we've got to reflect on what they mean in everyday life. Sustainability is about ensuring that what we do today does not compromise the opportunity and future for our children and grandchildren. We are a long way from achieving that right now. Everything we use - food, clothing, energy, consumer goods, etc - comes from the biosphere, the zone of air, water and land where life exists. And all of our garbage, effluent and waste goes back into that same zone of life. Indeed, if the globe were reduced to the size of a basketball, the biosphere would be thinner than a layer of plastic sandwich wrap. That's it, our home where we live. It is finite and fixed; it can't grow.
Today most people, myself included, are all agog at the wondrous outpouring of new technology, from cell phones to ipods, iphones, laptops, blackberries and on and on. Even though I am a techno-incompetent and like to think I shun these new devices, I actually have a drawer filled with the detritus of yesterday's hottest product, now reduced to the status of fossils. I have video cameras that use tapes no longer available, laptops with programs incompatible with anything on today's market, beta cassette recorders, portable tape and CD players I no longer use, and more. But what really upsets me is opening a drawer and finding it filled with cords, chargers, and transformers for which there is no longer anything to plug them into. Yet if I misplace a cord to charge the battery of my current camera or laptop, none of the cords in the drawer works!

The message here is - Please stay focused on sustainability and doing whatever you can to reduce waste in what you choose to buy. Don't get comfortable signing e-petitions for global warming and thinking that alone is going to make a difference.

Al Gore's testimony to Congress

2007-03-21T12:01:00.000-05:00

This morning, Al Gore took over 516,000 of your signatures to the House of Representatives. Thanks to all of you for doing your part to help out!

Here is the video of Al's testimony this morning:

TV Ad about Global Warming

2007-03-17T23:05:00.000-05:00

This TV ad caught my attention recently. It is by one of my Globespotter Certified Friends - WWF in Canada.

Globespotter Certified Friends

2007-03-12T16:36:00.000-05:00

One of the main missions of Globespotter is to try to help individuals to understand what groups or individuals are doing good work to help make our world a better place. Today it is easier than ever for anyone to set up a very professional looking website or MySpace site that either looks like a reputable organization, or in some cases even purports to be a particular organiztion or individual that it is not.

We understand that with the thousands of well meaning individuals and groups, comes a wide range of delivery in terms of what happens to money donated as well as whether or not the services provided result in a net positive impact.

We are concerned that a lot of people may get 'information overload' and end up doing nothing due to the overwhelming number of groups that are available as well as the fear that their money or time might end up being wasted or spent on the wrong things.

To help people in making decisions about what groups to support or assist, we are pleased to announce the Globespotter Certified Friends program.

Globespotter will do the due diligence and research on groups and organizations or even individuals who are working to make our world a better place. We will audit the organization and if satisfied that they meet our high standards for integrity, efficiency and net positive benefit, we will certify them as Globespotter Certified Friends.

We do not accept ANY donations or funding of any kind, so our audits and reviews are designed to be as neutral and fair as possible.

The number of Globespotter Certified Friends is limited as the reviews we perform are extensive and can be time consuming.

We will review additional groups that we feel are deserving, and if you know of any that you feel should be reviewed - please let us know.

Check out our first Globespotter Certified Friends at our MySpace or at our website.

Bono's Acceptance Speech - NAACP

2007-03-04T23:30:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Surya for bringing this video to my attention. This speech by Bono of U2 at the NAACP Awards ceremony has a great message which I want to pass along to you.

Lighting - what is the right thing to do?

2007-03-02T14:32:00.000-05:00

Australia has banned incandescent lighting, and California and Ontario, Canada are also lobbying to do the same.

I cannot deny the huge energy savings and efficiency of fluorescent lighting over incandescent, but at the same time, I have a big problem with fluorescent lighting in the way it produces light, the type of light it produces and the components used in the lighting. There are significant negative aspects that I believe are being overlooked due to the huge benefits realized by energy savings.

Read here to learn more about how fluorescent lighing works.

There is a new kind of lighting that may be another alternative - if not now, in the near future. It is called Solid State Lighting and uses LED technology.

Read here to learn about this kind of lighting.

Here is what I am going to do. I am going to conduct my own little tests on different kinds of lighting in my home and let you know based on real experience what the pros and cons of each are.

I am not satisfied that Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL's) are the right answer in the long term. I know this may be controversial due to their popularity and being endorsed by so many good groups, but I just don't feel right about them.

There has got to be a better alternative that we can use.

Let me know what you think. Click on the comments link below and add your opinion or ideas.

Al Gore needs your help!

2007-03-01T16:37:00.000-05:00

Please take minute to read this message from Al Gore from his website. Sign your name and pass this along to others who care.

Thank-you
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From AlGore.com:

Thank you for helping me take this crucial message to Congress.

On March 21st, I'm going to hand-deliver your messages on television when I testify at Congressional hearings on global warming.

This is an incredible opportunity to show Congress the energy behind this issue. I need your help to really make it count. Can you commit to getting 10 of your friends to sign a message to Congress before March 21st?

To get your friends involved in our effort, please forward them this note or direct them to:

http://www.algore.com/cards.html

Thank you,
-Al Gore

Emission Credits

2007-02-27T10:34:00.000-05:00

The concept of emission credits is a controversial one, as a lot of people feel that all it does is allow companies with deep pockets to pollute.

This article from the Toronto Star, shows how it can be globally beneficial however.

While I agree it would be ideal to have hard caps and not credits that can be bought or sold, the reality is that the credit system can and does offer benefits - albeit perhaps in the short term.

Listen to the Globespotter Podcast

2007-02-26T21:43:00.000-05:00

Listen to our new Globespotter Podcast here:

This podcast introduces Globespotter and what we do.

Global Warming: It’s All About Energy

2007-02-21T10:12:00.000-05:00

This article is a 'MUST READ' for all Globespotter friends.

It really hits the nail on the head in terms of both what I believe the core issue really is and it eloquently states exactly what I think.

Please read this and pass it on to your friends.

Global Warming: It's All About Energy by Michael T. Klare

Changing the world...one step at a time...

2007-02-19T10:35:00.000-05:00

Changing our world for the better - whether it be improving our environment, reducing poverty or famine or conflict is not an easy task. It is not like switching a light on or off. That is why most people get easily discouraged about their impact - they feel like no matter what they do - it won't really make a difference.

Most of the ways we can currently help are not 'silver bullet' solutions. They come with benefits and at the same time may have mitigating factors. Some are short-term solutions that may not be feasible in the long term.

Any initiative that helps - no matter how small is worth pursuing, even if it is only a short term solution with little impact. Little is better than nothing!

At Globespotter.com, we are going to try to make it easier for you to find out about things you can do, and the positive, negative, and net impacts of each idea.

We will publish ideas in 3 initial categories. All ideas will be considered to have net positive results.

The categories will be:

1 - Easy Short-Term Ideas
2 - Challenging Short-Term Ideas
3 - Long-Term Ideas for radical change

For most people, we encourage you to start with Category 1. Although the ideas seem so small that they would not have significant impact - imagine the impact multiplied by 10,000 or 100,000 or even 1,000,000 people!

You can help to increase our impact by encouraging others who are passionate about making things better to join us by subscribing to the blog, signing up for our email newsletter or adding us at Myspace.

Independent Music Artists on MySpace

2007-02-14T14:12:00.000-05:00

Some of you may know that one of my many areas of interest is Web Page design. I have been working with someone in the music business recently and have been doing their MySpace page.

MySpace has been criticized a lot for the spamming and porn and other things that are prevalent there, but if you have not visited some of the independent musicians and bands that have MySpace pages, you would be amazed by some of the talented musicians there that we may have not heard of.

Here are a few of the musicians I have come across in the past few days that I think have an incredible talent:

Cori Yarckin - http://www.myspace.com/coriyarckin
Mandi Perkins - http://www.myspace.com/mandiperkins
Daniella - http://www.myspace.com/daniellalive
Sarah Hethcoat - http://www.myspace.com/sarahscoats

If these young ladies are an example of the new musical talent in North America, I am impressed!

Media Player 11 - WARNING!

2007-02-14T11:01:00.000-05:00

I learned the hard way that the 'new and improved' Media Player 11 from Microsoft can be a real pain. Sure it has a nice look to it that makes it easier to see your music, but what they don't tell you (at least - not in an obvious way) is that Media Player 11 no longer lets you back up your license files. That means that people like me, who have been purchasing music legally for years cannot backup those licenses anymore. I got a new laptop this week and copied all my music over and guess what? They don't play! When you look for help from Microsoft then they tell you that Media Player 11 does not offer the option to backup licenses - so you need to go back to where you bought the songs to get licenses!

Now I know what they are trying to do - to discourage you from paying once and using them on many computers - but when they put these kinds of roadbloacks in place for legitimate users - they are only encouraging people to say - why bother? - and download illegally.

In my case I was lucky on two fronts. First - I purchased my music from Puretracks.com and they quickly responded to my help ticket and reset my licenses and provided instructions on how to download the licenses again. I had 14 orders that went back as far as January 2005 and they were all still accessible at Puretracks and able to be downloaded. Thanks Puretracks!

The second reason I was lucky is that I purchased my music from only one place. If I had purchased from many different places - it would have been a nightmare trying to recover all the licenses and not all sellers are as good as Puretracks at assisting in this issue.

So - a big thumbs down to Microsoft for another way of ticking off legitimate honest customers and a big thumbs up to Puretracks for their excellent customer service.

My advice to everyone - stick with Media Player 9 or 10 and DO NOT upgrade to Media Player 11.

Don't even ask if I am upgrading to IE7 or VISTA!

It is Random Acts of Kindness Week!

2007-02-12T10:15:00.000-05:00

Here is something YOU can do !!!

This week is "Random Acts of Kindness" week.

Click here and print off a Globespotter RAK Coupon.

Do a random act of kindness for someone and give them the coupon. This is a small way we can start to spread our message of how this world is a great place when we work together.

Has someone given YOU a Globespotter RAK Coupon?
Let us know what they did for you. Click here to submit your story.

What a Wonderful World!

2007-02-12T09:38:00.000-05:00

Found this video on YouTube and just had to share it with you all.

Don't just sit there!

2007-02-10T11:58:00.000-05:00

OK - now the world is starting to take notice that we - (yes - you and me) are affecting our world in ways that are long term and far reaching.

That is a good first step, but awareness is just the beginning.

If people like Al Gore and Michelle Sorro and Bono can get off their comfy chair and talk to people about making a difference - you can too!

It is way too easy nowadays for us to sit back and watch TV, surf the net and read the newspaper and say - "Oh, that's too bad."

But what do we really do about it?

Don't think that you cannot make a difference, because you can. One small step that you take, which could be as simple as making others aware and encouraging them to action could have effects on others that ripple around the world.

Here is my challenge to you ALL - do something - anything - and let me know what you are doing so we can share and spread the good news.

Post a comment here on Globespotter or email me directly at: vdmadison@oceanicworldair.com

Let's stand hand in hand with the actors and politicians and performers that care enough to work for a better tomorrow.

There truly is a bright future for this world - Beyond the Horizon. Can you see the light?

Department of Peace

2007-02-09T16:39:00.000-05:00

Remember my recent blog post about Michelle Sorro from the Apprentice?

I said at the time that there was more to her than anyone watching the Apprentice saw, and I was right.

She is in Washington D.C. now, at the U.S. Department of Peace conference promoting a great initiative that I think is very worthwhile.

Here is a copy of her MySpace blog about what she is doing:

Monday, February 05, 2007

U.S. Department of Peace

Friends, I'm currently in Washington DC at the US Department of Peace conference. Most of you are probably thinking, "Huh, what Department of Peace?" No worries, that was me just a few days ago.

Turns out, there is a powerful grass-roots MOVEMENT to establish a US Department of Peace, created by The Peace Alliance (www.thepeacealliance.org). Please don't misinterpret the word "peace" for a passive, anti-military whoo-whoo term. The Dept. of Peace is a cabinet level department of the Federal Government with a serious and sophisticated pro-active approach to dealing with the root causes of violence to help prevent violence from erupting, both domestically and internationally.

This nonpartisan movement is for every US citizen and ultimately, the world. Don't forget your government works FOR you, only most of us don't have the moral courage or are just flat our resigned, due to the violent critical mass our planet is facing.

I'm here to tell you this is your shot, perhaps our last, to effect change. The Peace Alliance is your opportunity, your RIGHT, to be a history maker as we unite together to establish a Department of Peace. Regardless of whether or not you're passionate about politics, I KNOW you're passionate about life, which is what this movement protects.

Check it out: www.thepeacealliance.org or email me with any questions.

Peace.

PS - Please, copy and re-post this to all your friends. There is no reason why every citizen of the United States would not want to know about this, but it takes you to tell them. Thank you!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Way to go Michelle!

Global warming to last for 1000 years...

2007-01-31T16:09:00.000-05:00

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will release a report on Friday at a news conference in Paris on climate change and global warming. An early version of the report obtained by the Globe and Mail newspaper paints a pretty clear picture that should eliminate any lingering doubts that global warming is really happening.

Humiliation on TV - the new trend?

2007-01-29T17:36:00.000-05:00

It seems to be that TV is getting worse and worse in terms of disrespect and humiliation to get ratings. Shows like UK Big Brother, American Idol and The Apprentice LA come to mind.
I for one have decided not to watch shows that blatantly humiliate or disrespect people.

On American Idol, it is expected that the judges (and Simon in particular) may be blunt when critiquing the contestant’s singing ability, but when they stoop to making fun of people because of the way they look physically - ie: the judges think they are too fat, too ugly or question their morals - ex: sleeping with their Boss who was kind enough to foot the bill for the trip, then they are stepping over the line of my moral standards.

The Apprentice seems to be trying to boost ratings by moving to L.A., showing lots of bikini clad people and having a reward as going to the Playboy mansion. Talk about a rapid descent from what once was a fairly good show. The shows rating have dropped from #7 in the 1st Season to #51 last season. I predict this year they will plummet even more and we may not see The Apprentice next year. We can only hope.
The last episode, Michelle chose to quit. Trump and his kids (no more Caroline & George) berated her and Trump called her a loser because she was quitting. Now, I agree that we should instill the ethic to not quit and keep working hard, but give me a break. This is only a TV show Donald. No matter what you may think - the entire world does not revolve around you.

Michelle made a choice and she needs to live with it. You can’t honestly tell me that if you realize that what you are doing is a mistake or wrong that you should keep at it just because people will think you are a loser if you quit? Sometimes you have to retreat from a battle to win a war. I think Trump was more angry because he did not get to say “You’re Fired!”. The edited perception we get of contestants on these reality shows does not really do justice the depth of the individual, which is too bad. Take a look at Michelle’s Website and you can get a better idea of what she is all about. It’s too bad most people rely on just what they see.

I’m not even going to talk about Big Brother. I am done with these shows and any other that treats human beings like they do. That is not how we are supposed to treat people.