Genocide Awareness Day

Today was Genocide Awareness Day at the high school, featuring speakers and survivors from various genocides, including the Armenian Genocide (not a survivor but nevertheless interesting), the Jewish Holocaust, and the Sudanese Genocide prior to the Darfur conflict. Personally, I thought that it was extremely important that we experience this, since we are the last generation who will be able to hear the words of a Holocaust survivor. And when that fades, who will stand up to the words of the denyers? Whether or not the Armenian genocide occured is still debated, and some people today doubt the existence of the massacre of 12 million people, 6 million of which were Jews.

Similarly to denial is apathy and ignorance. I feel as if few people are aware of the terrible deeds commited by human hands, and have no desire to halt any current or upcoming conflicts. For most of my life, I had only heard about the Holocaust, finding out recently about the genocides in Armenia, Rwanda, Cambodia, and Darfur (though that is one of the relatively recent ones). Many consider the extermination of the Native Americans by the settlers, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Japanese invasion of China (more notably the Rape of Nanjing) genocides as well, and those are very rarely spoken of with the use of “the g word”.

We have to recognize that we as a race have commited terrible, brutal acts not only to this planet, but to our own kind. Before we do anything, we have to care. Then we can move forward. We have to accept differences. We have to abolish the hatred between each other, and transform it into anger for positive change. According to the back of a System of a Down album, “The hand has five fingers, capable and powerful, with the ability to destroy as well as create. We have the power to stop and reverse the tides of time by making our awareness of abuse known to the powers of industry and their uncouth political arms. Only by raising this awareness and promoting personal peace within today’s self-defeatist society can we allow the planet a chance to avoid self-destruction.”

Its a bit more extreme/morbid than anything that could have come out of my mouth, but it is very powerful. Here’s another powerful snippit featuring this group, a preview of a film called “Screamers.”

 

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!

On the boycotting of the Olympics

My opinion: no.

For once, I actually agree with the current president on something. This doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up my opposition to everything else (terrible environmental policy, Iraq war… the list goes on)

There are many policies (i.e. handling of Tibet, Darfur) of the Chinese government that I disagree with, but we do have to realize that there have been improvements. The main issue though, is the way activists are protesting this. Being interested in social/environmental activism and change myself, I would never discourage speaking out for those who have little to no voice, and for a better future.

But why boycott an event that celebrates global unity? As one of my friends said, “The Olympics are about bringing people together, so we shouldn’t tear them apart.” This is an event that the people of China (and Chinese Americans like myself) and not just the government, have anticipated eagerly, filling them with pride for their increasingly powerful country. Plus there’s that issue of foreign relations. Our current approval rating is unbelievably low, but do we really want to strain them further? At least strain them differently.

On a completely different note, I’m reading Cradle to Cradle right now, and it’s a really great book. I’ll post a review when I’m done, or when I’m not studying for my AP Euro test. It renewed my interest in bioplastics, and I hope I’ll get a bit of research in on that topic.

Earth Hour

Last night, I celebrated the global “Earth Hour”, when all our lights flicker off and our pupils expand rapidly to account for the darkness.

And I ignored the fact that there was so little I could do, that my schoolwork was left undone, that I tripped over my backpack three times. The only light I had came from the screen of this computer, and that eventually went off. I just walked into the middle of the room and let myself linger in the darkness, letting it enfold me. I might be crazy, but I find that there’s something romantic about standing alone together with this black curtain. Indeed, this is far too poetic a description for a simple absense of light (I was going to put shadows somewhere in here, but realized that there has to be light to create one…)

And I, a treehugging, emotional, language loving, musical, nature idolizing, self indulgent nerd held hands with darkness.  

Weather Channel Founder Wants to Sue Al Gore

I came across this article on my way to check my Yahoo email.

Great. Another global warming denyer trying to make a scene by trying to sue people who sell carbon credits. Ever wonder where the money goes to? Many offsetting businesses fund renewable energy projects, a sector we could be leading the world in. Instead, we continue to use nonreusable fuels such as oil and coal that are detrimental to the environment (smog, CO2, other fun stuff). Wouldn’t the obvious answer be to revolutionize our energy with science and change our resource use? I’m not telling anyone to live in a tree for their life, but we Americans just waste so much. Nordic countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Denmark aremuch more  efficient in terms of  resource usage per capita and enjoy a much higher quality of life than us.

And the argument that this year’s winter was one of the coolest so global warming is a hoax does NOT work because…
1. It’s climate change, not global warming. Some places will experience different effects.
2. This year is la nina, so it’s supposed to be colder.

The article below might help explain why there’s so much skepticism lately, or more importantly, who’s responsible.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DIRTY_AIR?SITE=NVREN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Thoughts on the Election

Recently, there has been some news on the pettiest matters possible regarding the election.

Before I start, I’d like to point out that there’s no one candidate that I absolutely prefer (though a Clinton-Obama ticket would be nice- Obama would get the experience that people claim that he lacks, and would be an unstoppable pres. candidate later). Unfortunately, I don’t see any of the non-major candidates becoming president anytime soon. Regardless of whoever becomes president, it will be a drastic improvement from our current president. Not that my opinion matters much; I have no vote.

However, the hatred towards Hilary Clinton has been unbelievable. I really don’t understand it. I’ve asked a couple of my friends what the reason for this hatred was, and their answer was usually some form of mumble. Those who said they merely disliked her gave slightly better reasons. I personally don’t agree with all that she advocates (I wish she were a bit more liberal, but that would just detract support from other people who don’t think like me), but I don’t hate her. I guess she’s just an easy target for bashing. Then again, so is Bush, but look where we are now…

And reading some discussion forums, I usually see words/phrases like “shrill”, “too emotional”, “too liberal”, “too conservative”, “calculating”, “bad judgement”, and “bitch” spoken about her (note that most of these phrases contradict each other). The fact is, she’s a strong woman where being one will get you criticized, and I admire her for that. If she’s not the people’s choice for president, then so be it. If people don’t agree with her policies, so be it. But throwing out contradictory terms at a woman who is at the forefront in a predominantly male role makes little sense for a society that claims to be so ahead. There’s also the matter of sexism, which appears to be more acceptable than racism. Reporters and talk show hosts have talked about personal matters (by talked I don’t mean in a good way, there is a lot of Clinton bashing in the “respectable” media) that have absolutely nothing to do with her leadership and politics, such as her hair, her weight, her smile, and her clothing.

There’s also been some news of the fact that Obama has been seen in traditional Kenyan garb, plus too many mentions and too much attention towards his middle name.

The fact that we Americans are so bigoted and stereotyped is really disappointing to me. Not only are these allegations untrue, but they really shouldn’t be offensive. What’s wrong with being a Muslim? The Army of God and their bombing of abortion clinics probably isn’t the first thing that comes to people’s minds when we think of Christianity, so why should we link terrorism to Islam? There are 1.5 billion people who follow Islam, so I’m sure they are all out to get us (sarcasm). Maybe my being atheist gives me a different view on such matters, but I still can’t believe that we’re this backward to buy into this racist crap.

Here’s another something Bill Maher said (wow I’m quoting him a lot…). I might butcher this, since it’s from memory, but it goes something like this.
“It’s not amazing that a black man and a woman are in the race. It’s just more than 200 years late.”

Water

This is in response to my own comment on Ethos.

Perhaps instead of donating money when someone purchases an Ethos bottle, why not reward them for being eco-friendly? I think that bringing a reusable mug instead of using paper or plastic would certainly be a good reason for a donation. And if that isn’t as broad as it should be, they could expand it to organic products. Or they could ask for, for example, a quarter or dime or something when people ask to fill up their reusable water bottle, using some of it for their profits and most of it for charity. It’s a rough idea, and it would require some work, but the concept would have a much better effect environmentally than asking people to purchase Ethos. What do you think?

 Also, what would be the best water related charity to donate to?The one’s I’ve found so far are…

• Oxfam America Unwrapped has some nice water related emergency essential gifts.
• UNICEF’s Water and Sanitation program
• Wateraid America
• Playpump- I heard about this when I visited the Museum of Natural History’s water exibit, and thought the idea was great
• Water1st
• Ethos (just kidding, though this spoof site is a bit amusing 
   
• Edit: Water for People was mentioned in a comment

  If I missed anything, please let me know
   

Random ideas/findings

-Vote on the Top 10 most important questions that we should be asking ourselves and the world. I found most of them to be really legit.

-Also regarding questions: I’ve had quite a few interesting debates with my friends about Ethos water (and the nature of tap/bottled in general, but that’s a topic for a later discussion), as I am the one questioning the method that it strives to accomplish its goal with. Last time I checked, bottled water wreaks havoc on the environment & it’s people (droughts! corporate control!), so in a way, it’s like they’re selling oil to combat global warming (perhaps a better example would be selling American coal to promote alternative energies in, say, China). I agree, it’s better than normal bottled water, but that’s like saying “clean coal” (mentioned later) is better than regular coal; they’re both coal. It would be nicer if groups trying to do the same thing but in a different way (donations as opposed to goods that go to establishing clean water infrastructure, and marketing of ideas instead of plastic, for example) get some more publicity.

-A citizen journalist’s blog in Kenya, describing the chaos around the elections.

-Speaking of elections, the next Democratic debate will once again be sponsored by the coal industry. Yup, those “Clean Coal” (puke) commericials are coming back.

-And food biofuels- found to be a greater greenhouse threat than conventional fuels. Personally, it would make much more sense if there was investment waste products and 2nd gen biofuels as opposed to crops.

 -Speaking of alternative energies, I found this article on generating energy from the movement of clothing fibers. However, I lost the link, so I’ll update you on that once I relocate it.

Consumption and PIZZA PIE: System of a Down’s Subliminal Messages

Chic N’ Stu by System of a Down

The first time I heard this song, I admit I was a bit suprised. It was such a catchy song, but it was about pizza. Come on. How pointless is that? Then, I looked at the lyrics (which I had not really paid attention to, besides the ingredient listing). They are below, with lines I found important in bold the first time they are sung.

This ballgame’s in the refrigerator, door’s closed,
Lights are out, butter’s getting hardWhat a splendid pie
Pizza-pizza pie
Every minute every second
Buy buy buy buy buy (x2)

Pepperoni and green peppers,
Mushrooms, olives, chives (x2)

Need therapy, therapy,
Advertising causes need
Therapy, therapy (x2)
Advertising causes
Therapy, therapy
Advertising causes…

What a splendid pie
Pizza-pizza pie
Every minute every second
Buy buy buy buy buy (x2)

Pepperoni and green peppers,
mushrooms, olives, chives

Need therapy, therapy
Advertising causes need
Therapy, therapy (x2)
Advertising causes
Therapy, therapy (x3)
Advertising causes…

Advertising’s got you on the run
Need therapy, therapy advertising causes (x2)
Advertising’s got you on the run (x7)

What a splendid pie
Pizza-pizza pie
Every minute every second
Buy buy buy buy buy (x2)

Pepperoni and green peppers,
Mushrooms, olives, chives

Need therapy, therapy
Advertising causes need
Therapy, therapy
Advertising causes need
Therapy, therapy
Advertising causes
Therapy, therapy
Advertising causes
Need therapy, therapy
Advertising causes need
Therapy, therapy
Advertising causes need

 Suprisingly enough, this is quite in sync with much of the environmental movement. We in America are known as a nation of consumers, of shoppers. Unfortunately, we buy much more than we need, because the system of consumerism is all around us. Advertising shouts at our face that no matter how good the stuff we have already is, it is our utmost desire to purchase ___ product, which we will never be happy without. So we buy, and don’t stop. Indeed, it’s seen as a disaster if holiday shoppers decide not to go out to malls to supply their friends/family/selves with items (packed so nicely and attractively in not so nice plastic) that they may never use.

Yet mone/physical items do not buy happiness, since it isn’t a commodity. No Impact Man argues that it is the quality of time spent on what really matters, such as relationships with family and friends, that is really what we need. In many ways, I agree. However, the global economy is a bit more complex than that. As more developing countries turn to our way of life (buying and disposing), the consumption cycle becomes more and more like a discombobulated web, entwined in this neverending cycle.

Another meaningful song that I found is by the solo project of the lead singer of SOAD, Serj Tankian. But as I have already spent enough time not prepping for tomorrow’s model UN competition, I’m not in the mood to discuss it. I find it a bit more powerful though, and it seems to be about our involvement in foreign countries… cough. The video (below) makes this a lot more obvious. If you’re a liberal, you’d probably enjoy it.

Warning: You will probably find the facial expressions either disturbing or highly amusing (my reaction was a mixture of both).

Water- H20=Life Exibit

Recently (or last week), I visited the water exibit at the Museum of Natural History with some fellow Treehuggers, as well as other people who decided to tag along. For someone who had been to the museum far too much, I thought it was great: there were loads of facts with brilliant visuals, though many who find the act of reading taxing may not think the same. See it before it closes in May. Water is becoming an increasingly important/urgent issue, so it’s great if you inform yourself on the topic.

 

 In the near future, I will be looking for a water related charity (clean water in developing coutries, etc)  to donate to. If anyone has suggestions, please leave them in your comments.

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/water/
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_FORUM_WATER_SCARCITY?SITE=NVREN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT