Van Jones is an all-around superhero, fightin for the small guy and now about to make big, green waves in Washington. Here is a short interview talking about his recent appointment to Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to the President. Very inspiring!
A friend of my family, Jim Murray was recently killed by malignant mesothelioma - a form of cancer caused exclusively by exposure to asbestos. I really had no idea what asbestos was or why it was bad, where it comes from, who sells it, who buys it or what it is used for. I just read a short paper titled: ASBESTOS – CANADA’S POLITICS OF DEATH that was written by a good friend of Jim’s who was helping with his palliative care and addresses some of these questions.
It exposes that Canada is one of the major exporters of asbestos in the world and that the Conservative and formerly Liberal governments have gone to bat at an international level to protect this perverse industry. This is horrendous policy because every medical community on the planet is in agreement that asbestos should never be used. Even the WTO is in agreement and has supported Europe’s ban. Please contact your MP, ask their position on the issue and pressure them to understand the implications of supporting the Canadian asbestos industry.
I’m currently working on an MBA in Sustainable Development at Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) in Washington State. BGI is one of the most progressive institutions on the planet that’s focused on creating a socially just and sustainable world. The school is attracting the people who have the intelligence, wisdom, compassion and skills to transform how we do business on this planet - to something that benefits all life - and teaching them the skills to actually do it.
It turns out to be a rather expensive to start a graduate school. BGI is seven years in and doing well but the current economic situation is making it difficult to both deliver the education and grow to a point that the school can make a meaningful and lasting difference in the world. You can see our school founder Gifford below explain why growing BGI is essential. If you think what he has to say is accurate and you want to and can help, visit the following link which includes details on how to donate to BGI.
There is considerable energy in the strategic voting circles to organize votes against Harper. This (kind of) makes sense (in the short term) because our first past the post electoral system is so antiquated that it will likely elect another minority Conservative government even though most Canadians don’t vote Conservative and a significant number of Canadians do not have anyone in government representing their interests. I’m undecided if it’s a good idea. No one who plots themselves somewhere in the divided centre - left can say it is without its pluses. Read More »
I just finished watching Chris Martenson’s Crash Course for the second time. Chris has done an absolutely world class job of synthesizing a massive tomb of interrelated societal and economic issues and presented them masterfully in an easy to digest form. No previous experience required! Fasten your seat belts and get ready for a far more interesting future than we have lavishly grown up with.
Since I’ve been growing food in the city I’ve been concerned about soil contamination. One answer, innovated by urban farmers in New York is to lay down a thick layer of tree mulch and build raised beds on top. This is similar to packing lots of condoms and going on a sex holiday in Africa. It might work out but doesn’t do anything for the underlying problem. As a real solution, I’ve been curious about bio-remediation of soils but haven’t delved into it in any meaningful way. Paul Stamets at the TED conference gives an incredibly optimistic and inspiring presentation about the unseen world and work of mycelium. Check it out.
and then remove get_page_link($page->ID) from the following line<a href="' get_page_link($page->ID) . '".... and replace it with $url: <a href="' . $url . '"
Now log in and edit the page or post you wish to specify a customized url for. Add a ‘Custom Field’ with key: ‘url‘ and a value of the full url (including http://) that you wish to send users to. The screenshot below shows the completed hack. NOTE: This will get wiped out next time you upgrade! I’ve also used the same logic to show/hide posts and pages from the menu systems.
For an economics paper I’ve researched how the PR industry has influenced the climate change debate by creating denial campaigns to cast doubt on the science and urgency of global warming and how all this activity has been funded by heavily polluting industries. Following the trail of disinformation, I’ve come to learn about Steve Milloy, his website junkscience.com and his Yahoo store: http://store.junkscience.com/index.html.
I find it insincere and hypocritical for Yahoo to be preaching green living and evangelizing carbon neutrality while supporting the work of a vocal climate change denier like Steve Milloy. I realize that Yahoo Stores and Yahoo Green are probably separate departments that may not collaborate on any work but this is not an adequate excuse forever, especially considering the significance and urgency of the crisis that is unfolding. All of our collective energies need to be dedicated to moving forward – creating solutions that solve the problems at hand, not dithering in indecision. These deniers have already been given far too much voice in the public realm. Please thoroughly research Steve Milloy’s background, see who is paying for his work and then decide if it is moral and just plain responsible to continue hosting his site.
In the spirit of transparency - I’ve posted this as an open letter on my blog at http://shibumi.net. If you respond by email, I will include your comments there or feel free to comment directly.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response.
David Wilcock has become a strong voice of inquiry and hope in my own personal quest for truth and insight. He has had a remarkable life and is now sharing what he has synthesized through the immediacy of Google Video in a lecture called The 2012 Enigma. I love the transparency that the modern web is creating. Everything and anything anyone could possibly want to know is available with next to no effort and cost. Soon no secrets will be safe and old systems of power over and exploitation will cease to exist. Bilderburg and friends - fasten your seat belts.
The remarkable Aquarian Age is rapidly approaching and I’m so grateful to be having closure in my day job so I can fully commit my energy to my conscious growth and service to the divine. Enjoy the video.
The purpose of the economy is to support our health, wellbeing and happiness. Unless we find ways to produce substantially more happiness with far less stuff and damage, our civilization is doomed. But this is a happy task, a joint project of sustainability experts, entrepreneurs, consumers, citizens, corporate innovators, academics, legislators and policy wonks. Given that most of happiness comes from relationships and most of consumption uses stuff symbolically rather than for its intrinsic value, it won’t be hard to make 1000 fold improvements in the ratio of happiness to stuff. These innovations will often be very popular, cost-effective and profitable. In this direction lies hope and true prosperity.
I’m currently working on an MBA in Sustainable Development at 
