Smooth Sailing...

Let me start by saying that placing these goals in a personal order was REALLY hard, and kind of made me feel bad about being able to place some of the things at the end. It was very difficult.

My First Goal Choice:
Ensure Environmental Sustainability

I am a self-proclaimed tree hugger. The environment is my thing, my obsession. This blog assignment is really exciting for me because I love searching for new, and old, inspirational songs, pictures, videos etc. To jump right in I am going to start with my list of songs that inspire my passion for this particular issue. (in no particular order)

1) “Because� The Beatles- Though this song makes no clear statement of environmental meaning, it always makes me want to go lay in a field and become one with nature. It’s rendition in the recent flick “Across the Universe� played to my love of this song, as it was sung by the characters while laying a field. Perfection. (plus I love The Beatles)
2) “Clear Blue Skies� Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young- This group of fine gentlemen is a love of my mother’s and their music has been played in my home since birth. The lyrics of this particular song fit perfectly with an environmental theme. For example, “Clear blue skies, not too much to ask for, they were here before we came, will they be here when we're gone?� It forces us to focus on the future. Those hippies know what they’re talking about. This song was written 20 years ago and still very little has changed for the better.
3) “The Golden Age� Beck- Though, again, not an in-your-face message to save the environment it just makes me think of the powers of nature, how special it is, and its importance. It’s a great song.
4) “The 3 R’s� Jack Johnson- Pretty clear I think. Here are some lyrics if you aren’t familiar with the song: “And if you've got to make some trash, don't throw it out, recycle, we've got to learn to recycle, we've got to learn to reduce, reuse, recycle.�
5) “Big Yellow Taxi� Joni Mitchell (and yes it is a Joni Mitchell original, not Bob Dylan, as my friend claimed)- I’ve always loved the familiarity of this song to many people. Most people have lived in, or at least near, areas that have been subject to unwanted development that is insensitive to the area. This song really works for cessation of over-development. Save the trees!

President Bush's views on the environment?
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

Okay images…
I love political cartoons, here is a good’n...

I borrowed "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore (the book form) to check out some of the information and images in the book. I bookmarked a few interesting, though disturbing, pages as I was flipping through. Here are some of the images I gathered...

This image shows the United States' contribution to Global Warming, while all of Europe combined contributes 27.7% and Africa only contributes 2.5%.

This is an image of the diminishing appearance of Lake Chad. 40 years ago it was the size of Lake Erie, but now it has shrunk to about one twentieth of its original size creating a desperate situation in areas like Darfur.

This image depicts the melting of the Larson-B Ice Shelf. This transformation occurred within less than a year.

One of the more interesting facts I found in the book was this: "Flooding in Asia has increased dramatically. IN July 2005, Mumbai, India, received 37 inches of rain in 24 hours... Water levels reached 7 feet. The death toll in western India reached 1000." This and many more facts about crazy weather incidences, such as there being so many hurricanes in 2005 that they had to use the Greek alphabet for the naming of them for the first time ever, that the often rejected theory of Global Warming seems to have to be fact.

I just found this video on youtube and thought it showed the huge focus of our generation on environmental issues.

On a more serious note, I think this video is very well done, and presents some valid points.

In closing, I have an interesting quote from "An Inconvenient Truth":
"The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences." -Winston Churchill, 1936

My Second Goal Choice:
Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

In high school I was a member of “Arrowhead Against Extreme Poverty� (Arrowhead was my high school). I helped put on events to raise money for local hunger fighting organizations. The posters we put together to influence people were very moving and since then I have always had a passion for the fight.

Influential Songs:
1) “Richard Cory� Simon & Garfunkel- This is a story that illustrates the organization of many working lives. I love the oldies, and this one is great.
2) “If There’s a God in Heaven (What’s He Waiting For)� Elton John- A great description of the painful events that happen to those living in poverty every day.

3) “God Save Us All� Lenny Kravitz- This is a rather desperate cry for help, though very well done. With lyrics like “There’s too much poverty, sickness, There’s pain and strife, why aren’t we trying to improve this thing called life?�

When I went to youtube to look for videos on extreme hunger, I knew there would be a plethora. The most prevalent were from the One foundation to end extreme poverty. The videos are highly viewed and appear on television regularly. Here is an example:

Images of extreme poverty and hunger are always disturbing and moving. There has been no one single image that has affected my feelings towards extreme poverty and hunger, but rather the accumulation of all the images we see over time. They should be forever engraved in our minds.

The most moving quotes regarding hunger and poverty, for me, come from the mouths of those personally suffering from poverty. It is not the commercials begging you to send money and save the lives of the kids they have standing in the background, who are probably only crying because a scary man shoved his huge camera into their face. It is the personal interviews with these people that really get me.

I joined "One: The Campaign to Make Poverty History" and you can too. Invite your friends. Here is the letter you can send out:

Subject: Join me in fighting poverty!

Hi,

I've just signed the ONE Declaration committing myself to help fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty.

I'm asking you to make that commitment, too, by adding your voice.

I think your name belongs on that declaration, too. You can put it there by visiting:

http://www.one.org/declare/

ONE is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans - one by one. So far, over two million have signed the declaration 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!

My Third Goal Choice, though not required, it is very important to me:
Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

My song choices for this Goal are quite different than the others, rather than the songs being on my side, I chose songs that are the distinct opposite of empowering women. For example:
1) “Livin’ it Up� Ja Rule- I could NOT believe what I was reading when I saw the lyrics to this song, I don’t feel it is kosher to put the lyrics on this blog. Look it up yourself if you feel the need. It is terrible.
2) “Fuck Dat Bitch� 50 Cent- Or any other song by Mr. Fiddy. I’m not a fan.
There are many other examples, and by no means are these two artists the only guilty ones. I realize that this part of culture now, but really? Women fought so long for equality and I feel it slipping away, even in this our “great country.�

More serious issues of the inequality of women occurs outside of the United States, however. I recently went to see the “Vagina Monologues� put on by MPIRG on campus where all the proceeds went to aid women escaping prostitution. They also addressed the issue of Female Genital Mutilation which occurs in many traditions to preserve the virginity of women before marriage. The castration occurs around the age of 5 on all girls in the community. Should they refuse it, their family will be shamed forever.

Very powerful…
Similarly, tradition stands in the way of the progression of women in Iraq, Afghanistan and many other countries. When looking into Iraqi women’s issues I found out about a woman who is one of the six women in an Iraqi governmental position. She and her family had to go into hiding and her children haven’t left their new compound in five months for fear of what might happen to them. She said “It’s not very happy what we have seen in the last two years, hundreds of women kidnapped, trafficked and the rest of the millions are being oppressed and pushed back into the houses…� She was photographed burning her veil and is now on the top of the hit lists for many Islamic groups. They want to stop her radical views.
Again, in Afghanistan similar issues arrive. Afghani women struggle to get education, where it is viewed that if they are educated they will lose interest in keeping a proper household. I was looking for images and came across RAWA.org, which stands for “Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.� The photos on this sight are beyond disturbing and I had a hard time choosing any that I felt comfortable posting on my blog. Here are a few:

References:
Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth. Emmaus: Rodale, 2006.

"Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)." RAWA. 17 Feb. 2008. 17 Feb. 2008 .

"The Campaign to Make Poverty History." One. 17 Feb. 2008. 17 Feb. 2008 .

Youtube. 17 Feb. 2007. 17 Feb. 2008 .