Be cool. Stay in school.

So did anyone read/listen to Obama’s speech he gave to the schools?  I personally think it is a very good speech.  As those of you who have known me from way back when, I was a bit of a trouble maker in highschool.  The majority of my friends didn’t go to school and I hated it that I did…I wanted to be “cool” like them and not go.  So…when I told my mom I was dropping out, she lost it.  She said “Like hell you are!!” and we discussed it and she set me on the right path.  I think that was the breaking point of my idiotic adolescence.  My mom was my support system, and with her encouragement I worked my ass off the following semester and instead of dropping out, graduated early.  So I still got to hang out with all my friends…but I had a degree, and they didn’t. 

It was the best thing she could have done for me and I would not be who I am today without her intervention.  Nor would I be attending Grad School to get a degree in Community Leadership!  So…for all you youngin’s…take Obama’s words to heart.  They really do mean something, whether you realize it now or not. 

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009
 

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today. 

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.   

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year. 

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn. 

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox. 

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve. 

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. 

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. 

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. 

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future. 

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy. 

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country. 

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in. 

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse. 

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right. 

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying. 

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future. 

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America. 

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall. 

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. 

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it. 

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things. 

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK.  Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” 

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying. 

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals. 

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. 

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?  

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Reuse the plastic!!!

8 Ways & Whys to Reuse Plastic

by Raquel Fagan

As many people know, reuse is a step up from recycling. In fact, reuse is the middle-man between reduce and recycle, and some would be surprised at how many opportunities for reuse there really are – once you start looking for them.

We’re not talking about simply covering a bottle in magazine cut-outs, sticking some flowers inside and voilà
- a masterpiece vase is born. There’s more to it.

Though there is always room for easy and fun projects, the reuse that we find most interesting is the kind you can’t tell is reused. There are some quality results that can be achieved, and just like we learned with T-shirts, many products have a lot of reuse potential.

These are our eight creative ways (with a why and how mixed in) to reuse plastic, in all of its forms:

1. Getting Every Drop: Plastic Bottles

These little puppies are everywhere. In fact, they are a valuable part of most U.S. communities’ recycling stream since PET (#1) and HDPE (#2) make up 96 percent of all plastic bottles produced in the U.S. Since 1977, when the first PET bottle was recycled, plastic bottle recycling has increased to more than 2.3 billion pounds annually.

An entry in the design contest Concept Product of 2009, Sarah Turner’s lamp constructed from used drink bottles is an inspiration to say the least. Photo: 19bis.com/objectbis 

Today, more than 80 percent of communities collect plastic bottles. So, recycling this product is most likely a common practice for most. But if you shoot for more long-term reuse projects, it can definitely be worth it.

• Lamp - Light up your home with some creative artistry. This example from designer Sarah Turner shows how much beauty and polish a reuse project can have.
• Juicer - This simple reuse gadget is inventive, practical and just plain fun. Check out how Jeff Yeager did this one.
• Purse - Still lugging around the cloth purses of yesteryear? Well, welcome to the 21st century with this fabulous reuse trick that is both impressive and practical.  Instructables.com has done it again with this funky piece of fashion.
• Everything and then some – Everyone stand back , we saved the best for last: These awesome design ideas cover everything from candle holders to piggy banks.

2. Thinking Twice: Plastic Bags

This plastic product is probably one of the easiest  to reuse. Since a typical plastic carryout bag weighs approximately 4 to 5 grams and can hold up to 17 pounds of product – nearly 2,000 times its own weight – they can usually withstand a few rounds as a carrier. But what’s next?

If you do have access to one of the nationwide stores that offers plastic bag recycling, that’s a great option. But if you want to flex a little craft muscle, there are plenty of reuse projects for these bags.

• Messenger bags – Though not that far off from its original use, a messenger or tote bag adds more sturdiness, durability and lifespan to these plastic sacks. Check out the below video by Bre Pettis for more details.
• Yarn – On the same note as fusing plastic layers together (did you watch the video?), you can also get more out of plastic bags by turning them into yarn, and the creative sky’s the limit! Check out Helle Jorgensen blog for step-by-step details.
• Art - As any artist, craftier or school project participant can tell you, art supplies can get pricey. Next time, turn towards your plastic bag drawer and pull at handfuls and handfuls of colorful supplies.  As Design-Crisis.com pointed out, Austin artist Virginia Fleck did just that, and they turned out great (if we may say so ourselves).

3. That’s For Real: Styrofoam

Styrofoam, the trademarked product name from the Dow Chemical Company, is the most common type of plastic #6. Because it is most often used in packaging to help insulate and keep delicate things from becoming damaged during transport, everybody deals with Styrofoam at some point. Recycling it, however, can end up being a bit of a challenge.

But the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers reported that 69 million pounds of EPS were recycled in 2008 alone. That’s an astonishing amount considering that EPS is 98 percent air. So, we know that it does happen, but we also know you can sometimes have it around the house and you’re not sure what the next step is.

Like plastic bags, you can turn around and use them as they were intended: to secure your items in storage or send a package or protect your fragile items. If you’ve wrapped and padded every glass item you can get your hands on, and you still have leftovers, here are some things to explore:

• Crafts abound - Remember those Styrofoam molds that you used to make wreaths as a kid? Well, you could use that leftover Styrofoam that came with your new DVD player to do the same thing. To get your creative juices flowing, check out Dow Company’s Web site dedicated to Styrofoam product use.
• Foundations - Along the same lines, utilize those Styrofoam pieces to keep center pieces upright, line planters or elevate trinkets on display. Think back to your school days and solar systems made of Styrofoam. You can stick pretty much anything in it. Go crazy!
• Glue – This one isn’t a promise on our part, but is too intriguing to pass up: Check out tip #4  from this WikiHow page. Our minds are still a bit blown from this one.

4. Get the Dish: To-Go Containers

Single-use plastics such as the kind found in many to-go containers are often not recyclable and are usually discarded after one use. With today’s hefty portions in restaurants, to-go itemspile up. Before any reuse happens with these items, make sure to thoroughly rinse and sanitize so food residue doesn’t spoil your reuse efforts.

• Classic reuse – Having a dinner party, a play date or any function where friends and food is involved? Saving your to-go container from last week’s take-out could provide a free carry-home for your friends and family. Plus, they can keep it, so there isn’t any Tupperware track-down missions the next time you visit their home.
• Seed starters - As any seasoned grower or newbie green thumb knows, getting a garden to start can be the hardest part. That is where germination containers come in handy. They create mini-greenhouses for your seedlings. But why buy when your old to-go containers can work perfectly? Check out this how-to for more details.
• Yarn holders – Though our office isn’t full of knitters, we definitely see the value in organization. And if you’ve ever had to untangle a ball of yarn, you instantly see the value in this one. Make traveling with yarn easier without spending a dime.

5. Perfect Possibilities: Packing Peanuts

The easiest reuse for this plastic is in another package you need to ship. You can also donate them to UPS or other shipping stores, which will gladly reuse the material. Not sure where to go? Call the automated, 24-hour Peanut Hot line at 800-828-2214 to find a site near your residence that will reuse them. Some more crafty reuse projects include:

These little puffs of air and plastic can jump-start your next big reuse idea! Photo: Alex Flury, Wikimedia 

• Bean bag chair re-stuffing – Though it may seem like a blast from the past, the bean bag chair is still alive and kicking. As anyone who has unknowingly plopped down in a not-so-stuffed one can tell you, they can need some refreshing every now and then. Pass on the “beans” and go for some packing peanuts.
• Pet beds – Got an old pillow cover? Fill it will these little puffed treasures and make a cozy new bed for your pups or kitties.
• Chandeliers - The complexity and skill level on this one can range, but when done to the level that Mollie Dash and her boyfriend Bryan did it, it’s quite a sight!
• Curtains, strings and other things – Classic garland or newfangled strung curtains can easily be the fate of packing peanuts especially when a little paint and a dash of glitter is involved. Though this one is pretty self-explanatory, Danny Seo takes it beyond just packing peanuts and gives more tips on eco-decorating for the events and holidays in general.

6. Buttons, Nails and Thumbtacks (Oh My!): Plastic Food Containers

From yogurt cups to butter tubs (often created from plastic #5), these conveniently shaped little items can easily translate back into food storage containers or used for holding office, craft or home repair supplies. Anything else? Well, since you asked…

• Car cup holder - Not sure how well this may translate to your vehicle, however it was worth sharing. This take on reuse is pretty darn inventive.
• Planters plus more - We have all seen the random container-become-a-vase-or-planter trick, but this one has a little reuse duality to it. For all you  knitters or crocheters out there, take those swatch samples and cover your plastic containers, creating both function and form in one foul sweep. Kristin Roach at Craft did just that, and we think it has some potential.
• Too cute to not mention – While not the most necessary of items, Michelle at Her Cup Overfloweth breaks down how to create fuzzy little characters out of your old yogurt cups. This would be a perfect project for the kids or creative minds in your life. Don’t have a puppet theater of your own? Don’t let that stop you! Share this cuteness by making a series of these little guys and donating them to a local school, day care or library.

7. Doing the Math

You never know how much you can save practicing reuse until you try. Set a goal and see how close you can get! Photo: Channel4.com 

The best part of reuse? You already own it! That means anything you do above and beyond its original use is money in the bank. Not so sure? Well let’s just sample a few of the above projects and get out the old calculator.

Remember, the point of reuse is to not go with the new, but the old. So, we’re going to assume that other items around the house were also utilized in your projects, in turn, having new expenses total a nice, fat zero.

• $11 (four pack of new, 4 oz. food storage containers)
• $14.86 (two bags of new packing peanuts)
• $7.95 (a new seed starting tray)
• $11.24 (a new car cup holder)
• $16.95 (manual citrus juicer)
• $12.94 (your own collection of fuzzy finger puppets)
  

  Total savings of $74.94

While that may not break the bank, it’s a nice chunk of change that could be used to invest in your organic garden, buy some monthly passes for public transit or maybe a few resources on more reuse and reduction ideas!

8. Hitting the Books

Caught the reuse bug? Well plastic is just the beginning. There are multiple ways to approach any trash problem, and reuse is just one of them. Check out the books and DVDs below to find out more ways to expand your use of what is often thrown away:

• The Bag Book: Over 500 Great Uses and Reuses for Paper, Plastic and Other Bags to Organize and Enhance Your Life Written by Vicki Lansky and illustrated by Martha Campbell
• Using Trash: How You Can Rethink, Recycle, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle and Rebuild; The Little Book of Exploration Scholastic, developed in cooperation with Cosi, Ohio’s Center of Science and Industry
• Renovation Nation: Recycle, Reuse and Reclaim DVD: Gaiam
• Don’t Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew and Reuse to Make Things Last By Lori Baird, Editors of Yankee Magazine

Homepage image courtesy of SOCIALisBETTER via Flickr.

Raquel Fagan

Raquel Fagan is Executive Editor of Earth911.com.

More articles by Raquel

Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty

I may have found my new favorite book. Ok, maybe not my favorite of all time, but this book…its amazing. Where do I begin…I guess I’ll begin with the author, Tim Sandlin. Tim Sandlin has long been one of my favorite authors, introduced to me by my good friend Kelsey…we both were in love with his wild and quircky stories of 13 year old pregnancies, drunkin escapades, and now the glorious experience of the sixties generation when they are 80.

This book, I fell in love. From the moment I saw the cover, I knew I was in for a trip…and what a trip it was. I’ve long idalized the sixties generation. The flower children. I’ve often thought I was born in the wrong generation…but I think alot of my generation thinks that. Probably much to do with being the children of that generation. But at least if I cannot be a part of that generation, I’m a child of the generation that changed the nation.

Sorry, enough blabbing, onto the book. I’m not great at giving reviews, especially when something touched me the way this did. So here are a few of my favorite reviews about this book. All I can add, is that its a must read!!

“After crafting uproarious tales about fatherhood (Social Blunders, 1995) and Washington sleaze (Honey Don’t, 2003), Sandlin asks, What will the age of assisted living be like for boomers who longed for the Age of Aquarius? It’s 2022, and Guy Fontaine, a widower from Oklahoma, finds himself committed to a California old-folks facility where the flamboyant residents have reverted to the pursuits of their glory days, the late 1960s. Pot smoking, group sex, a rock band called Acid Reflux, cliques formed according to where you were during the Summer of Love, and the motto “don’t trust anyone under sixty” all make for a wild, sometimes grotesque milieu overseen by a bitchy director who treats the oldsters like idiot children and a staff doctor who overmedicates them. When Guy inadvertently jump-starts an insurrection, the old hippies, old hands at civil disobedience, take over the compound. Hilarious in the fine-tuned details and rapid-fire dialogue, Sandlin’s antic yet precision-aimed and unfailingly entertaining novel is a mordantly witty, covertly poignant, and genuinely insightful dissection of our fear and loathing of old age.” —Donna Seaman, Booklist

“Part Cuckoo’s Nest, part Acid Test, and part Alamo, Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty shows us that to awaken the passion and idealism we thought flatlined at thirty, we need only to slip it a dose of sunshine and poke it with stick of sandalwood. Tim Sandlin takes us on a comic flashback to the future that can give you the giggles and the willies at the same time. What a trip! Pound for pound, Tim’s stuff is as tight and funny as anyone doing this comedy novel thing.” – Christopher Moore – best selling author

“Tim Sandlin’s new novel, Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty, makes you scared shitless of growing old while looking forward to it at the same time. He states that sometime in the future, librarians will move this book from fiction to non-fiction, and I have every inclination to believe him. No matter how bizarre some of the turns in this book; it’s not hard to think that this could be real, right down to Drew Barrymore as Governor of California.

Imagine hippies and boomers, who started a whole new counter culture, getting so old that their children think they can’t take care of themselves anymore. An assisted living facility is just what these people have rebelled against their whole lives: the establishment. Here they are, older, wiser (most of the time) and with much more worldly experience than the ones taking care of them. Now they are part of a booming business, with their children all too eager to drop them off, take their money and discard them once and for all.

Thrown right into the middle of all this is Guy Fontaine. Unlike the other residents, he was never a hippie, never did drugs or protested, and wasn’t at Woodstock. He’s from Oklahoma after all. But one trait they all share is that they know for sure, yet refuse to believe that they are getting old before their time. When a resident’s cat is confiscated, and the shit hits the fan at Mission Pescadero, Guy finds himself as the unlikely leader of the aging bunch, who prove that they still have plenty to offer, with mostly hilarious and sometimes tragic results.

Throw in Viagra, LSD, pot, orgies, protests, rock concerts, dementia, Alzheimer’s, catheters and more outrageous characters than any other Sandlin book, and you’ve got a novel destined to bridge the gap between generations. I’ve never before read a book that I could recommend to my sixty year-old father, my fifty year-old uncle, my forty year-old friend, my thirty-year old wife and my twenty year-old brother. And once they read it, I’m sure there are many more people of different ages that they would recommend it to. And the reason is that Tim’s themes are universal without being set in a conventional setting. Amidst all the craziness going around at the facility, new love is found, death is dealt with, friendships are made and broken, and happiness is both a fleeting memory and also right around the corner. Within ten pages of this book, I went from snorting out loud laughing to being choked up with tears. And not just once, but consistently throughout. Tim is one of those rare authors that makes me have feelings that are almost identical to those I’ve had in actual life situations, kind of like a karmic deja vu.” – Curt Pasisz, www.timsandlin.com

vote for max!!

My Favorite Photo (I’ve Ever Taken) Brickfish

more pics to get me to grad school!!

My Favorite Photo (I’ve Ever Taken) Brickfish

The Pot Debate

legal garden in portland oregon

It seems there is a lot of talk going on regarding the issue of legalization of pot. I, for one, feel that it should absolutely be legalized. I see pros and cons but the pros far outweigh the cons. For one thing, can we say boost to the economy?! The amount of jobs created and money that would flow throughout the economy would substantially boost the economy. Think of what legalizing liquor did for tax revenues alone!

Aside from the economic plus, drug cartels in Mexico (and elsewhere) are completely out of control. One of their primary products is pot. If pot was legal, they wouldn’t have the market on it anymore, as there would be competitive prices, thus, the demand for their product would diminish. Crime would drop. Granted, they do have other products, but its a start.

Another pro I see is that the manpower that is put into fighting the “war on drugs”, right now is massive. If we focused our attention on other things, real problems, as opposed to stamping out illegal growths in california, etc. we could really make things happen. You know, things like fighting the murderer’s, rapists, and people who torture animals, help cure hunger in our very own country, help educate the poor, you know, things that sort of really matter.

Furthermore…why the heck alcohol is legal and pot isnt, I do not understand. Alcohol is far more dangerous than pot, and worse for your health. I’m just baffled at the explanation behind that…wait, is there even one?

Anywho…I recommend you check out Anderson Cooper 360 for some amazing debates on the legalization of pot. Go green!!!

the real meaning of words

love

sorrow

innocence

respect

patience

rescued

best friends

divine

Barack announces June as LGBT Pride Month!!

This is a beautiful and momentous, announcement from our President, Barack Obama.  All I can say is GO OBAMA!!!!!!

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

___________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                     June 1, 2009

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2009
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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country’s response to the HIV pandemic.

Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration — in both the White House and the Federal agencies — openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.

The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.

These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA

Coca-Cola gets earthy friendly

Article pulled from Earth911.com~go Coca-Cola!!

Coca-Cola Introduces Plant-Based Plastic Bottle

by Lori Brown

The Coca-Cola Company recently unveiled a new plastic bottled made partly from renewable plant-based resources. The “PlantBottle™” is fully recyclable and has a lower reliance on non-renewable resources than traditional petroleum-based plastic bottles.

The new bottle is made from a blend of petroleum-based materials and up to 30 percent plant-based materials. The process involves turning sugar cane and molasses, a by-product of sugar production, into a key component of PET plastic.

Coca-Cola will release its new plant-based bottle starting with its Dasani water line. Photo: Nubloo.com 

 

“The “PlantBottle” is a significant development in sustainable packaging innovation,” says Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. “It builds on our legacy of environmental ingenuity and sets the course for us to realize our vision to eventually introduce bottles made with materials that are 100 percent recyclable and renewable.”

The new bottles will be piloted with Dasani later this year and with Vitaminwater in 2010. The bottles will be identified with on-label messages and in-store displays so consumers know they are purchasing the plant-based bottles.

A life-cycle analysis conducted by the Imperial College London indicates the “PlantBottle” consisting of 30 percent plant-based materials will reduce carbon emissions by up to 25 percent, in comparison with traditional PET plastic bottles.

As reported by The Coca-Cola Company, unlike some other plant-based plastics, the “PlantBottle” can be processed through existing manufacturing and recycling facilities without contaminating the tradition PET stream. The recycling of plant-based plastics has been an issue of concern among the plastic manufacturing and recycling industries as many believe improved research and design is needed to make bioplastic recycling feasible.

Lori Brown

Lori Brown is a staff member of Earth911.

More articles by Lori

hubble space photos

What better way to start off the all the good news in the world series than looking at our place in the universe.  I mean, here we are…thinking we are so very important in this universe…and when you view these pictures…you really begin to realize how small we are.  But despite the fact that the Milky Way is a tiny part of the universe, that Earth is a tiny part of our solar system, that I as an individual am a tiny being on Earth…there is no small act of kindness. 

So, the Hubble Space Telescope took some AMAZING photos, I am truly in awe.  I’m not poetic…so I’m not even going to try to describe these…they pretty much speak for themselves regardless.  Enjoy.

Cone Nebula

 
Believe it or not, this image is made entirely of gas and dust. The entire cone is about 7 light years long, while the photograph shows just the top 2.5 light years (that’s 23 million round trips to the moon). These pillars have many counterparts throughout the galaxy, and astronomers believe they act as incubators for developing stars.

Photo: NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (UCSC/LO), M.Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESA

Starburst Galaxy

Starburst Galaxy M82, also called the Cigar Galaxy, is a prime example of a starburst galaxy. In the center, gases are compressed and temperatures rise as new stars are formed 10 times more rapidly than in the Milky Way. All these young stars are compressed into star clusters that can have dozens of stars in them at a time, and the energy they emit is referred to as a cosmic ‘super wind’.

Photo: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Orion Nebula

M42, often referred to as the Orion Nebula, goes by many names. In some older texts, it is called the Great Nebula, because it can be viewed with the naked eye. In even older texts, it is called Ensis which is Latin for sword. The Orion Nebula is one of the most photographed and studied objects in the sky and has provided scientists with much insight about the creation of the universe.

Photo: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

Sombrero Galaxy

The Sombrero galaxy is located within the constellation Virgo. It is easily visible through amateur telescopes with its unusually large central bulge and bright nucleus. At the very center of the galaxy resides a supermassive black hole, which keeps the large galaxy together. Originally discovered in 1767, the galaxy is still being studied by astronomers today.

Photo: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

Monocreotis

This is one of the most unusual stars known to man. This previously ordinary star underwent a violent and sudden burst in 2002. The star burned about 600,000 times brighter than our sun during this time. The light that was emitted was bounced off layers of cosmic dust and debris, literally creating a ‘light echo’.

Photo: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)

Cat’s Eye Nebula

The Cat’s Eye is one of the most complex nebula known, filled with knots, jets and arc-like features. Located in the constellation Draco, it was originally discovered in 1786. The nebula provides astronomers with many mysteries, one being that chemical measurements taken by two different methods come up with completely different results, and scientists cannot figure out why. Another, is that the structure of the nebula suggests there should be two central stars, but no evidence of a second can be found.

Photo: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Terra, Luna

This image was taken in 1999 by the crew on a Hubble service mission. On this particular day, Dec. 22, the moon is incredibly bright and visible. That is because it became full at the same time it was closest to the Earth, on a day that the Earth was especially close to the sun.

Photo: NASA

THERE ARE SO MANY MORE…CHECK THEM OUT HERE!!

http://www.mnn.com/technology/research-innovations/photos/the-hubble-space-telescope/12170