Haiti (Not over for a long time)

Even though Haiti isn't in the news anymore, the situation isn't getting much better. The ammount of people who are concerned is vast but the amount of people who actually donate money or attempt to help the cause is pity.



Naomi Judd  (1946-present)
"If you want a helping hand, first look to the end of your own arm."

One of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, Haiti in recent years has struggled with problems ranging from near-constant political upheaval, health crises, severe environmental degradation and an annual barrage of hurricanes.

On Jan. 12, 2010, a devestating earthquake hit Haiti, reducing much of its capital to rubble. It was the worst earthquake in the region in more than 200 years. A study by the Inter-American Development Bank estimated that the total cost of the disaster was between $7.2 billion to $13.2 billion, based on a death toll from 200,000 to 250,000. The toll was later revised by Haiti's president to upwards of 300,000.

Huge swaths of the capital, Port-au-Prince, were destroyed, and thousands of people were trapped in the rubble of government buildings, foreign aid offices and shantytowns. Schools, hospitals and a prison collapsed. Thousands of new amputees faced the stark reality of living with disabilities in a shattered country whose terrain and culture have never been hospitable to the disabled.

At a conference in New York in March 2010, donors promised Haiti $5.3 billion over the next 18 months. Two weeks later, although questions about giving up control to foreigners arose, the Parliament approved the creation of an interim reconstruction commission to be led by former President Bill Clinton, the United Nations special envoy to Haiti, and Jean-Max Bellerive, Haiti’s prime minister.

Six months after the earthquake, only 28,000 of the 1.5 million Haitians displaced had moved into new homes, and the Port-au-Prince area remained a tableau of life in the ruins.

Sites where you can help Haiti:

• Action Against Hunger
• American Jewish World Service
• American Refugee Committee
• CARE
• Catholic Relief Services
• Children Incorporated
• Compassion International
• Doctors Without Borders – USA
• International Medical Corps
• International Rescue Committee
• Lutheran World Relief
• Mennonite Central Committee
• Oxfam-America
• Partners in Health
• Project Concern International
• Salvation Army
• Save the Children
• UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief)
• William J. Clinton Foundation
• World Concern (Program of Crista Ministries)
• The Y (formerly YMCA of the United States) – N.O.

Please help raise money now.

 Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."

Vision Romania

I'd like to put a message up here for the charity Vision Romania and I hope you support this charity.

Romanian poverty facts -

• 3.1 Million living in poverty.
• Romania is among the poorest countries in Europe
• Material deprivation is above 50%
• 33% of children in Romania are living in poverty.
• 40% of Roma children drop out of school before acquiring their compulsory education diploma.

Please go on to visionromania.com.

Sponsored Events - if you would like to help raise money for Vision Romania one of the simplest ways is to use the Just Giving Web Site.  Simply click on http://www.justgiving.com/visionromania/Donate and make a donation or click on http://www.justgiving.com./visionromania to create your Just Giving on-line sponsorship web site for your event.  Funds raised will then be provided directly to Vision Romania as they are collected.
Sponsor a Family - for £30 per month you can provide basic daily food stuffs to feed a poor and destitute family in Romania.  Please contact info@visionromania.org.
Christmas Shoebox Appeal - Every November we collect hundreds of shoeboxes filled with small gifts and take them to Romania for distribution to Romanian Children.  Please contact info@visionromania.org or click on the Contact Us link above for further infromation on collection points.
Vision Romania also organise an annual charity ball, sponsored cycle events, quiz nights, supermarket bag-packing and other events throughout the year,  If you would like to help out please do get in touch.

Olivia

I found this story of animal abuse online. (http://www.animal-abusesite.info/AbuseStories.html) There is no name on who wrote it.

HIT BY CAR AND LEFT FOR DEAD

OLIVIA
Sweet and Sensitive.
Likes to cuddle and give kisses.
Very, Very Gentle.
About 3 years old.

OLIVIA WAS
HIT BY CAR AND LEFT FOR DEAD
THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

On December 26th, I received a call from
Sergeant Todd Curtis
with the
Perkins Township Police Department
(located in Sandusky, Ohio, Erie County).

He said that he had responded to a call
concerning a dog
that had been hit on the highway.
The dog was lying on the side of the road when he arrived.

I was confused why Sergeant Curtis had called
S.P.A. as we are a small, grassroot organization
located in another county
about 35 miles away from Sandusky, Ohio.

I asked Srg. Curtis if there were any local animal rescues
who would be willing to help this dog,
and he said he had made several calls
to local rescues and
no one was willing to help her.

He said he had a real fondness for dogs
and that this girl seemed to be in pretty bad shape.
He wasn't sure she was going to make it, he said.

I did indeed hesitate for a few seconds,
as we had just taken little Bell the Chihuahua
(also rescued from Sandusky, Ohio)
to Ohio State University to repair her broken leg
and her bill there totaled well over $1,300,
not to mention after care and boarding.

I needed to make a decision quickly
as this poor dog must be in tremendous pain, I thought.
Officer Curtis had made several calls
and all the while she was in severe pain.

Two SPA members immediately rushed to pick her up
while I placed an emergency call to our vet.
He met us there, and it was determined
that "Olivia" had severe breaks in her upper left leg
and a cracked sternum (in the shape of a lightning bolt).
She had been hit head on.

Dr. Reineck made a call
to Ohio State University
in Columbus, Ohio
to request that Olivia
be admitted as soon as possible.

There was no time to raise funds.
We simply could not allow her
to remain in the tremendous pain
she was in until we were able
to raise the money needed for surgery.

They repaired her leg with pins and plates,
and said that the crack in her sternum
will have to heal on its own.

The doctors at OSU were very surprised
that she took such a hard hit to the chest
without receiving internal injuries.

This sweet dog, who we have named Olivia,
is one of the most gentle, loving dogs
we have ever rescued.

She must have recently given birth.
Hard telling what happened to her puppies.

Total cost at OSU thus far:
~$2,083.01~

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE

Well Sergeant Curtis,
the officer who found her there
along the road suffering,
and his wife and two children
have decided to adopt this sweet girl!

They all came to see Olivia at the vet's office today.

Officer Curtis and his wife are on the left,
and Dale and Char, the two SPA members
who drove to Sandusky to pick Olivia up
and who then took her to OSU are on the right.

Srg. Curtis said he just can't quit thinking about her, and that once his wife
saw Olivia's picture, it took her all of 3 minutes to say, "We need to adopt this sweet dog."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And there is more!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Sandusky Register (Sandusky Ohio's main newspaper) did a really nice
story about Olivia and her color photo was on the front page of their paper.

Someone recognized her as their neighbor's dog and called and told me the
entire story, and that is just this beginning.
IT GETS MUCH BETTER!!!

The day before (yesterday), the Sandusky Register
printed a short article about the dog warden finding
6 puppies taped shut in a box and placed
along State Route 250, a very busy road.

When the woman who called me saw Olivia's picture, she also remembered
seeing the article about the pups taped in a box and discarded and immediately
went to the pound to identify the pups. She said she realized that Olivia
(her neighbor's dog who was kept in the garage and allowed to run the
neighborhood) and all of her 6 puppies had suddenly disappeared.

We could tell Olivia had recently given birth. The puppies are about 6
weeks old.

So what does this mean? This means that this couple's neighbor, a
single mother, taped up Olivia's six 6 week old puppies in a box and
placed them along a really busy highway.

I told her that S.P.A. has a special fund that was begun 4 years ago when
someone locally taped their pregnant beagles back legs together to try to
kill the pups inside of her. We started a REWARD fund to to award to
anyone who could turn in the guilty party, and people soon donated over
$1,000. The woman who knew who did it was afraid to testify, so no one
was prosecuted. We offer this money to anyone offering information leading
to the arrest and conviction of an animal abuser. They must be willing to
testify.

Well, the wonderful folks who called me today ARE WILLING. The dog
warden is aware of this and
CHARGES WILL BE FILED!!!

This doesn't happen nearly often enough in these parts. Although $1,000
is one heck of a lot for us to give to this special couple who are willing to
testify, it is money that was earmarked for this purpose to encourage
people to get involved and to help stop at least some of the horrible
atrocities done to the animal in this area. Horrible things that people
get away with. This will send a clear message to others that animal
abuse will not be tolerated!

Good Good news, wouldn't you say?

 

3 of Olivia's puppies were adopted out from the pound.
The other 3 were still at the pound late this afternoon.

UPDATE

Lea Bullion, Sandusky, Ohio
Found Guilty of
6 Counts of Animal Abuse
and
6 Counts of Abandonment!!!

Top 50 Things To Do To Stop Global Warming

Here is a list of 50 simple things that everyone can do in order to fight against and reduce the Global Warming phenomenon: some of these ideas are at no cost, some other require a little effort or investment but can help you save a lot of money, in the middle-long term!

1. Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl)
   CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. 
2. Install a programmable thermostat
   Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.
3. Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer
   Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.
4. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner
   Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
5. Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases
   Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most energy efficient products available.
6. Do not leave appliances on standby
   Use the "on/off" function on the machine itself. A TV set that's switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.
7. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket
   You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 50°C.
8. Move your fridge and freezer
   Placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35ºC, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO2 emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers.
9. Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly
   Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors.
10. Don't let heat escape from your house over a long period
    When airing your house, open the windows for only a few minutes. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm inside during six cold months (10ºC or less outside temperature) would result in almost 1 ton of CO2 emissions.
11. Replace your old single-glazed windows with double-glazing
    This requires a bit of upfront investment, but will halve the energy lost through windows and pay off in the long term. If you go for the best the market has to offer (wooden-framed double-glazed units with low-emission glass and filled with argon gas), you can even save more than 70% of the energy lost.
12. Get a home energy audit
    Many utilities offer free home energy audits to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy Star can help you find an energy specialist.
13. Cover your pots while cooking
    Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!
14. Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full
    If you need to use it when it is half full, then use the half-load or economy setting. There is also no need to set the temperatures high. Nowadays detergents are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes clean at low temperatures.
15. Take a shower instead of a bath
    A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximize the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.
16. Use less hot water
    It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.
17. Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible
    You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.
18. Insulate and weatherize your home
    Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. Energy Efficient has more information on how to better insulate your home.
19. Be sure you’re recycling at home
    You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.
20. Recycle your organic waste
    Around 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions through the methane is released by decomposing bio-degradable waste. By recycling organic waste or composting it if you have a garden, you can help eliminate this problem! Just make sure that you compost it properly, so it decomposes with sufficient oxygen, otherwise your compost will cause methane emissions and smell foul.
21. Buy intelligently
    One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.
22. Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can
    You will also cut down on waste production and energy use... another help against global warming.
23. Reuse your shopping bag
    When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.
24. Reduce waste
    Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.
25. Plant a tree
    A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.
26. Switch to green power
    In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. In some of these, you can even get refunds by government if you choose to switch to a clean energy producer, and you can also earn money by selling the energy you produce and don't use for yourself.
27. Buy locally grown and produced foods
    The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.
28. Buy fresh foods instead of frozen
    Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
29. Seek out and support local farmers markets
    They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. Seek farmer’s markets in your area, and go for them.
30. Buy organic foods as much as possible
    Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!
31. Eat less meat
    Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.
32. Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible
    Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Look for transit options in your area.
33. Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates
    Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. eRideShare.com runs a free service connecting north american commuters and travelers.
34. Don't leave an empty roof rack on your car
    This can increase fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 10% due to wind resistance and the extra weight - removing it is a better idea.
35. Keep your car tuned up
    Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.
36. Drive carefully and do not waste fuel
    You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car mantainance.
37. Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated
    Proper tire inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!
38. When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle
    You can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid! You can find information on fuel efficiency on FuelEconomy and on GreenCars websites.
39. Try car sharing
    Need a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Many companies – such as Flexcar - offer low emission or hybrid cars too! Also, see ZipCar.
40. Try telecommuting from home
    Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the number of miles you drive every week. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.
41. Fly less
    Air travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. You can also offset your air travel carbon emissions by investingin renewable energy projects.
42. Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions
    You can extend your positive influence on global warming well beyond your home by actively encouraging other to take action.
43. Join the virtual march
    The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to bring people concerned about global warming together in one place. Add your voice to the hundreds of thousands of other people urging action on this issue.
44. Encourage the switch to renewable energy
    Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them. U.S. citizens, take action to break down those barriers with Vote Solar.
45. Protect and conserve forest worldwide
    Forests play a critical role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere - deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on saving forests from global warming.
46. Consider the impact of your investments
    If you invest your money, you should consider the impact that your investments and savings will have on global warming. Check out SocialInvest and Ceres to can learn more about how to ensure your money is being invested in companies, products and projects that address issues related to climate change.
47. Make your city cool
    Cities and states around the country have taken action to stop global warming by passing innovative transportation and energy saving legislation. If you're in the U.S., join the cool cities list.
48. Tell Congress to act
    The McCain Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would set a firm limit on carbon dioxide emissions and then use free market incentives to lower costs, promote efficiency and spur innovation. Tell your representative to support it.
49. Make sure your voice is heard!
    Americans must have a stronger commitment from their government in order to stop global warming and implement solutions and such a commitment won’t come without a dramatic increase in citizen lobbying for new laws with teeth. Get the facts about U.S. politicians and candidates at Project Vote Smart and The League of Conservation Voters. Make sure your voice is heard by voting!
50. Share this list!
    Send this page via e-mail to your friends! Spread this list worldwide and help people doing their part: the more people you will manage to enlighten, the greater YOUR help to save the planet will be (but please take action on first person too)!
    
    ALL RIGHTS GO TO GLOBAL WARMING FACTS (http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html)

Introduction

This blog is all about the world, the planet, the earth.

"There are three kinds of people in this world - those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened."

I want to be one of those people who makes things happen. I want to make the world a better place. But because I am too young to make change in the world by action, I've decided to make change through words.

"One written word is worth a thousand pieces of gold."

The best way to show what I think and feel about things is by writing. So, I am writing this blog. You can put anything on the Internet these days and even if nobody ends up reading it, I will still have the satisfaction of knowing I tried to make the world a better place. Ah, but how will I make the world a better place?

"The only defense against the world is a knowledge of it."

Every so often when I find something that is worth reading, I will put it up here for others to see. A gathering of knowledge read by a gathering of people can make change. If you read my blog, tell your friends, family, work colleagues, etc. to read it. The more people who know about this stuff, the better.

The things worth reading won't all be about global warming, pollution, etc. It will be about animal cruelty, political prisoners, poverty and world disasters. But I won't just be informing you about it. I'll tell you how you can do something about it. I'll put tales of how other people helped in it. It's all about reaching out and helping the larger community.

"Be the change you want to see in the world."