Climate Change

There are still some who contend that climate change is a natural phase that the Earth is going through. That may be true. But man has in his quest to control his surroundings has hastened it all to a critical point.

For several thousand years mankind has made huge strides in controlling his environment, to the point that it seems nothing is impossible. Farms and cities took the place of nomadic hunting and gathering. Civilizations were built on ever hastening movement. It's said that our ancestors walked land bridges that once connected our continents. Today we bridge those continents with air planes, cruise ships and the internet. All of these advances have come at the cost of the environment. Our cities are burgeoning to a point so far greater than what the land could sustain. It's a far cry from the times when hunter-gatherers would take what they needed to survive then move on, allowing nature time to replenish itself. Our constant need to move people, food and supplies to and from urban centers has caused pollution to the air we breathe. Our need to food alone has made it necessary that we demand more from the earth we till.

Yet, for all the powerful change man has caused, it has all been for his own gain. All is not lost. If man can cause so much damage, he can also help heal it. We only need to act together to help the Earth be a sustainable place to live in. If we conserve our resources and use them wisely, we can slow climate change.

TWIT 144, OpenLibrary and Little Brother

I was able to finish listening to TWIT 144 this morning before going to sleep and they were talking about OpenLibrary.org. Brewster Kahle, the guy who heads this project is also responsible for the Internet Archive project. He talked at length about how OpenLibrary.org was helping preserve old books for future generations. Their main efforts were in getting books scanned and translated into digital forms to preserve them electronically. It's a great effort and it should be supported. Too bad their funding from Microsoft stopped. They would now have to source their funds from the public. It's a worthy cause, you might want to consider donating to it.

On the topic of free books, they got to talking about Cory Doctorow's new book towards the end of the podcast. I didn't know he gave away free eBook copies of his work. I went to Craphound.com to get me an eReader copy of Little Brother. A for-pay copy is available in audio form, an excerpt of which they played after the credits on TWIT 144 (kinda like the way that extra scene was shown after credits in Ironman - hehehe). Anyway, if you would like to support the author and listen to the audiobook version, click on the graphic below:

Did you hear about the hunger crisis?

Hi,

The world hunger crisis is all over the news this week. In just three years, the price of staple foods like wheat, corn and rice has almost doubled. If we don't do something soon, hundreds of thousands of people face starvation and a hundred million more could fall into extreme poverty.

I just took action with the ONE Campaign and you can too, here:

http://www.one.org/hungercrisis?rc=hctaf

An Open Letter

Subject: Help Fight AIDS, Malaria And TB

Hi,

I've just signed a petition asking senators to co-sponsor the reauthorization of PEPFAR, America's response to the emergency of global AIDS, malaria and TB.

ONE is trying to get fifty senators to co-sponsor this lifesaving legislation. You can help by adding your voice.

http://www.one.org/pepfarsenate

ONE is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans - one by one. So far, over two million have joined ONE in support of a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world.

Together as ONE we can make a difference!

Thanks!