Lucky Honu

You are looking at someone's home- yes that's right, the pile of a sleeping bag and things under the stairs of this warehouse. That's the scariest picture I can imagine in one of the richest provinces of Canada.  This is in Edmonton, where the average winter temperature is -15º C. Low temperatures of -34º C occur on average three or four times per year. The Edmonton Joint Planning Committee on Housing has been working hard to keep count of the homeless and plan services.  But last fall, more than 200 people were living in a tent city on the south side.  What happened to them over the winter? Now that the frost is gone, Edmonton's Mayor has vowed to prevent a new tent city from cropping up in the warm weather.  Does anyone care?

Recently 500 ducks were killed when they landed in a oil tar sands tailings pond.  It was all over the media, and yes it was terribly sad and should have been prevented.  However, last year 27,000 women and children were turned away from women's shelters here in Alberta.  Where is that in the news?!  I just hope that home we see pictured above was not one of their homes. 

Okay.  I'm off to look at a picture album blog and try to think about something else.

He who knows others is clever;
He who knows himself has discernment.
He who overcomes others has force;
He who overcomes himself is strong.

He who knows contentment is rich;
He who perseveres is a man of purpose;
He who does not lose his station will endure;
He who lives out his days has had a long life.

- Tao Te Ching, Chapter 33

There is a classic asian tale that talks about blind men who encounter an elephant. Each describes what he feels of the elephant including the tail, leg, trunk, etc. Each is confident he knows what the elephant is but obviously does not have the whole picture. This elephant knows who he is.

Jacky's Opinion is a great blog that covers all kinds of great tips from finances to shopping.  If you are just looking for generally useful information, that is the place to go.

You name it, Jacky has an opinion on it.  You will find movie critiques, website reviews and lots of information about financial opportunities.  If you read Jacky's Opinion frequently you will be up to day with all the new products and entertainment. 

On the odd occassion, you will even find that Jacky will write about personal life events.  The ode to the Siemens cellphone really cracked me up.  I especially enjoy the international opinions Jacky comes up with that range from commenting on  gold to the price of rice.

Jacky takes the challenge of writing in english as a second language and runs the marathon with it.  Congrats Jacky on getting to a google page rank of 3!  And keep up all the great opinions!

Bernie Krause has been traveling the globe since the 60s recording the sounds of our natural environment.   We saw a little interview on the Daily Planet TV Show where Krause had recorded the sounds of a meadow before logging and after logging occurred. Before, the meadow was alive with sound.  A year afterward, from inside the meadow, the change where they had selectively logged away part of the forest, was not visibly apparent.   However, you could barely hear any bird and wildlife sounds. The real consequences of the logging and loss of wildlife was obvious in how the soundscape of the area had been decimated.

At his website, Wildsanctuary.com, Krause uses google earth to show you exactly where his sounds were recorded. He does eco-casts (podcasts) and there are a variety of sound albums available for purchase.  Krause and his wife also keep a blog that talks about the work.  It covers everything from their outreach in the Second Life game to how they have installed Solar power for their residence, office & sound studio.  Listen to your Earth today.

Happiness is...
a warm sunny spot.

What is your "Happy Place?"

Reduce, REUSE, Recycle, Recover.

Hubby caught this silly picture of me while I was messing around in the kitchen refilling water bottles. I like to reuse them. Since we spend nearly all day at our computers and have cats that like to frequent our desk space also, I've found that water bottles with lids prevent expensive computer + water entanglements. 

We rinse and reuse them a few times before sending them to the dishwasher.  These usually wash 15-20 times in the dishwasher before losing their shape.  Then they get sent off to be recycled.   What kinds of things do you reuse at your house?

When spring comes, the grass grows by itself.
- Tao Te Ching

Yesterday, I got an email from a friend that asked, "How is life in the great white frozen north?"  It was just below freezing and we had 3 inches of snow outside and I wondered to myself, "Will Edmonton just skip spring and go straight into summer?"

This morning, I woke up to a warm misty fog that was melting everything away like magic. We moved into our rental house here in late summer, so I have no idea what will arise out of the ground this spring.

This afternoon, I looked hopefully out in the front flower bed, wondering if it would just be a soggy mass of last fall's leaves.  I found a tulip or a daffodil poking its exploratory greens out. This, I hope, is spring.

Nature is a living system, so sacred
That those who use it profanely
Will surely lose it;
And to lose nature
Is to lose ourselves
- Tao Te Ching 29

On March 29th, 2008 at 8pm local time Earth Hour will commence ALL AROUND THE WORLD.

Cities such as Chicago, Copenhagen, Manila, Melbourne, Sydney, Tel Aviv and Toronto have already signed up.

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.

Be part of making Earth Hour 2008 a huge, global success by telling your friends and family. Remember, every single light makes a statement and makes a difference.

Last year, on 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney (Australia) 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.

IN SHORT:
WHEREVER YOU ARE IN THE WORLD at 8pm, March 29th, 2008, turn off your lights at home or at work for only just ONE hour to reduce energy consumption and raise awareness.

Sign up at http://www.earthhour.org/

Check out this 100% recycled plastic kayak by Old Town Canoe Co. It is about time something was made from completely recycled plastic other than park benches!

It weighs only 46lbs so it is something I could actually carry! I used to do a lot of canoeing growing up, but I've never trying kayaking. I had no idea there were environmentally friendly kayaks.