Adopt an Acre

The Nature Conservancy has a program out that lets us adopt areas of the globe that need our help. This program began in 1991, and has helped identify problem areas and initiate solutions to make a difference.

For $50, you can adopt an acre of land in any of the following areas:
Africa's Grasslands and Savannas
Australia's Gondwana Link
Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula
United States: The Appalachians
United States: Las Californias
United States: The Northern Rockies
United States: Southern Coastal Plain Forests

Click on their website
http://support.nature.org/site/PageServer?pagename=faq_aaa

It was really hard for me to decide where to adopt an acre. All the areas are beautiful. Because I'm from Utah, and this is the area closest to my home, I'm going to adopt land in the Northern Rockies as my first adoption.

The Northern Rockies is pristine lands and waters stretching as far as the eye can see. Amazingly, the Northern Rockies contains almost all of the species that were there during the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition 200 years ago. This vast, beautiful 80-million-acre landscape is home to a wealth of plants and animals that represent the very essence of wildness in North America.

As one of the fastest growing regions in the U.S., the Northern Rockies is facing unprecedented threats from human encroachment. The population of the Greater Yellowstone region grew by 20 percent between 1990 and 2000. And, the U.S. Forest Service estimates that more than 44 million acres of private forests will be developed over the next 30 years, more than half within 10 miles of a national forest. These startling trends could spell the end of the Northern Rockies’ magnificent wildlife, as many of its animals require large ranges and intact migration corridors to survive.

By adopting my acre, I'll get the satisfaction of knowing I'm helping to protect this extraordinary wild habitat now and for future generations.

I encourage you to look into this program and make a difference in an area close to YOUR heart!

If the World were a Village of 100 People

Poverty plays such a huge part in the global picture. This is a sobering way to bring the concept home and make it real.
Makes me stop and appreciate all that I take for granted, and to resolve to help end this legacy of poverty that so many are forced to endure.

Here are some links to check out:
http://www.endpoverty2015.org
http://www.standagainstpoverty.org

Complaining

Recently I received an interesting e-mail.
The heading said, "This e-mail should circulate forever!"
I believe it. If we were to see this, and take it to heart even once a year, we would cut our complaining by a huge percent.

Life Straw

Half of the world's poor suffer from waterborne disease, and nearly 6,000 people - mainly children - die each day by consuming unsafe drinking water.
Visit this informative website to learn more:
http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com/lifestraw.htm

LifeStraw® water purifiers have been developed as a practical way of preventing disease and saving lives, as well as achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe water by the year 2015.

LifeStraw® Personal and LifeStraw® Family are complimentary point-of-use water filters that will help people obtain safe drinking water at home and outside.

LifeStraw® Personal has been referred to as 'One of the Ten Things that will Change the Way We Live´ by Forbes Magazine

In fact, Vestergaard Frandsen is committed to saving lives from easily preventable diseases. They are proud to offer various solutions for diseases that claim many lives everyday. See list here: http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com/targeted-disease.htm

The LifeStraw® Family is only $15 dollars and can be used for 10-15,000 Liters, which is approximately one year’s drinking water for a family of five. Donations can be made here http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com/lifestraw-p-donations.htm

$15 isn't that much to me. If I went without one personal item, it would probably cover this cost. Yet that same $15 may make a life or death difference to someone in need of this invention!

I'm buying ONE LIFESTRAW today, and challenge myself to do this every month. Every little bit counts!

Pay It Forward

http://www.payitforwardfoundation.org/home.html

WHAT IS “PAY IT FORWARD”?

“Pay It Forward” is a book written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, but it's also an idea. It's an action plan within a work of fiction. But does it have to be fiction? We're hoping not. In fact, since the book was released in January of 2000, a real-life social movement has emerged, not just in the U.S. but worldwide. What began as a work of fiction has already become much more.

Reuben St. Clair, the teacher and protagonist in the book “Pay It Forward,” starts a movement with this voluntary, extra-credit assignment: THINK OF AN IDEA FOR WORLD CHANGE, AND PUT IT INTO ACTION. Trevor, the 12-year-old hero of “Pay It Forward,” thinks of quite an idea. He describes it to his mother and teacher this way: "You see, I do something real good for three people. And then when they ask how they can pay it back, I say they have to Pay It Forward. To three more people. Each. So nine people get helped. Then those people have to do twenty-seven." He turned on the calculator, punched in a few numbers. "Then it sort of spreads out, see. To eighty-one. Then two hundred forty-three. Then seven hundred twenty-nine. Then two thousand, one hundred eighty-seven. See how big it gets?"


Pay It Forward Foundation board member Charley Johnson has introduced a new web site, a great location where anybody and everybody can submit their PAY IT FORWARD stories and also post comments, visit the website here.
http://payitforwardnow.blogspot.com/

Charley and the Pay It Forward Foundation have officially gone through 150,000 bracelets in the past 6 months with a 2nd batch of 100,000 just received. http://www.cryanhyde.com/payitforward_wristband.html
These bracelets have made their way to 5 continents (Asia, Europe, N. America, Australia & Africa) and over 50 countries.

The website says, "We are just getting started, but Charley feels something very BIG is going to happen with Pay it forward in 2008, something that is going to change the world. We agree. Let's prove him right!"


I remember seeing this movie and thinking, "What if this REALLY caught on?!!!" This site shows that the phenomenon is real. You can click on a list of REAL stories and be inspired by what is happening out there in the world.


After I saw the movie, I couldn't wait to read the book. It is mostly the same, but different. I recommend either seeing the movie, or reading the book---or BOTH!

My goal is to actively do three Pay It Forward gestures this week. I'll keep you posted, and if a good story comes out of it...I'll post it to the official site.

Eating Green

The SCPI, Center for Science in the Public Interest, http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/index.html, has an interesting link to educate us to the consequences of our food choices. Eating Green has several interesting interactive resources to help determine the impact our diet has on the planet.

For 35 years the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest has published hard-hitting studies exposing the dreadful nutritional content of movie theatre popcorn, fast foods, and restaurant meals. Its latest book is SIX ARGUMENTS FOR A GREENER DIET —a meticulously researched examination of scientific studies that finds that eating more plant foods and fewer fatty animal products can lead to extra years of healthy living. Happily, explains lead author and CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson, that same diet also leads to much less food poisoning, water pollution, air pollution, global warming, and animal suffering.

The Interactive Tour of the Food Supply is both interesting and horrifying. There are so many parts of food production that we simply don't want to know. Because if we acknowledge these facts to ourselves, we'll have to take some soft of action. For me, that time is here. I'm ready to ruthlessly omit certain things from my diet.

The things I'm concerned with are not merely calories, or fat content. I'm concerned with where and how we get the resources. Are animals being treated compassionately? Are the people involved getting an adequate wage and working environment? Is the Supplying Company practicing Green Measures?

It certainly gives me plenty to think about!

Room to Read

Last year I read the book about John Wood and his Odyssey to Educate the World's Children. It was a fascinating read, and I encourage you to read it.

I often think about what I would do if I could do one thing to change the world. John's account is a real life version of that dream.

There is much written about John Wood and what he is accomplishing. He has been featured in many magazines and articles, and I hear Oprah has "sanctioned" him. Read one of the many articles here: http://www.edutopia.org/global-education-room-to-readhttp://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com/faq.html

Reading is such a valuable gift. I've been a voracious reader all my life. I can't imagine where my life would be without books. So, I'm going to do something to give the gift of books to others. My goal this month is to support ROOM TO READ, and I encourage you to do the same. Check out http://www.roomtoread.org/