CONSERVATION

One of the most freely available resources in nature has been taken for granted by humans and that is WATER. Residing in developed nations, we do not realize the importance of water and it’s conservation. As a result we cannot fathom what may happen one day when water will become scarce. Luckily, it’s not too late to open our eyes and figure out what we can do to help our less fortunate fellow humans to at least get clean water for drinking and other basic needs.
We all can begin by taking a very simple direction in the conservation of water. All we have to do is be mindful, mindful of our usage of water. Here are some things we can keep in mind:
1. Do not keep the tap running. For ex: when cleaning dishes, showering or brushing your teeth.
2. Re-use water whenever possible. For ex: for rinsing dirty dishes before cleaning them or loading the dishwasher. Sometimes water that is not safe for drinking but good for either watering the plants or cleaning stuff.
3. Reduce the amount of water to a bare minimum.
4. Read up on the internet or magazines/journals to find out what you can do in addition to this to help.
5. Be knowledgeable on where your water comes from and how its managed.
6. If you feel like doing more beyond this, feel free to look up local/national/international organizations that are involved in reaching out to developing nations to get them clean drinking water, etc..
I follow an NPO called “Charity: Water”. Feel free to look up their website: http://www.charitywater.org/about/
Maybe this can be one of your goals for 2011!
I am going to leave you with this spectacular photo of the day:
*Please note: I have not taken this photograph. Charitywater/the photographer owns the rights to this picture.

This photo has been taken from the charitywater website (Photo of the Day)

 

The Change Revolution - One Change At A Time...

I've started a new blog aimed at creating and spreading mental, physical and spiritual well-being.

The intention of this blog to promote wellness for the mind, body, soul, our fellow human beings, our fellow earthlings and above all our dear planet Earth. I <3 you! Mother Earth.....


Here's my blog:
http://thechangerevolution.wordpress.com/

Feel free to comment and/or give me your feedback.

Happy Reading! :)

Be wise, be healthy - choose wisely what you put into your body

Special thanks to my mum for sharing these videos with me... I am only posting two... there's more on youtube... Better yet, if you have netflix subscription just search for "Change your food, change your life"

I learnt a lot, I hope you find it as useful or more :)




Here's another video:


I have yet to visit her website, but you can visit the presenter's (Jill Ovnik's) website:

Anthropology

Anthropology
There's a store by the name "Anthropology", and yesterday, I was chatting with a friend about this store... much later last night, as I retired for the night, I lay in bed thinking about the word Anthropology...

According to dictionary.com (displaying just the first of the four meanings/definitions listed):
an·thro·pol·o·gy

[an-thruh-pol-uh-jee]
–noun
1. The science that deals with the origins, physical and cultural development, biological characteristics, and social customs and beliefs of humankind.


Then came to mind some lines from a book I read not too long ago...there the author rephrased the definition somewhat along the lines of... being interested without judgment, in the way other people choose to live and behave. He then went on to describe how this strategy can be applied toward developing compassion and being more patient.

When someone acts in a way that seems strange to you, rather than reacting in your usual way, such as, "I can't believe they would do that," instead say something to yourself like "I see, that must be the way she sees things in her world. Very interesting." However, if order for this strategy to help you, you have to be genuine. There's a fine line between being "interested" and being arrogant, as if secretly you believe that your way is better.

The point I am trying to get out there is: Let's all become true anthropologists! STARTING NOW!

Happy rest of September :)

Pay it forward

A couple of weeks ago, I was waiting to catch the train back home.... I am at the ticket machine and a student comes by. She asked me if the machine accepted credit cards, so I take a quick look and say...ummm, I don't think so. So then, she asks me if I knew of any ATM machines around. Unfortunately, I was not familiar with the neighborhood, so I couldn't help her much... I felt like helping her. So, I offered to pay for her ticket. At first she refused, but then I told her that it was my pleasure to be of any help to her.

I put in a twenty dollar bill into the machine and it spit out two tickets. Next, it gave me change in one dollar coins, but instead of giving me change after charging me for the tickets, it actually gave me my entire $20 back in dollar coins :)

So then, we boarded the train and she thanked me for buying the ticket for her....I smiled and said "Please don't thank me, just pay it forward"

We only live our lives once and we should live it to the fullest. We should try to find out our purpose on planet earth and find ways to serve....

Life is beautiful and we have to remember, there is always abundance all around us... plenty to go around...

Good night :)

Story of Bottled Water

I came across this article today while reading news on the internet. I am so glad that people like Annie Leonard are taking the initiative to wake people up and break the common misconceptions we have about drinking bottled water.

I, for one, have always been an advocate of carrying around my Nalgene bottle filled with nice filtered water... yay!!! :) mostly for the environment. I try my best to reuse most plastic stuff, whether it is ziplocks or gladware or yogurt containers...but with bottled water, I refrain from buying bottled water except for when traveling or when I am not sure if tap water is safe to drink. Most restaurants, I just ask for tap water as well.. but now I have more than just one reason to not only continue my good habit of carrying my own water in a reusable, environment-friendly bottle, but also promote a lesser known fact -- BOTTLED WATER IS NOT NECESSARILY SAFER THAN TAP WATER...

The excerpt from the aritcle I found online is at the end of my post and also embedded is a nice cartoon video that brings to light certain truth about the popular bottled water brands like Aquafina, Dasani and Fiji (no, the water does not come from Fiji). Also, more often than not, water also does not come from some mountain springs, but is just plain old filtered water from the tap.

Its really amazing how these corporations have used the fear factor to get us to think that bottled water is safer than tap water and gotten us to keep spending our precious dollars to buy their nicely packaged and smartly advertised bottled water.

A big shocker for me was when I learned through the video that most plastic bottles are shipped to India where they are not recycled the way plastic is supposed to..more details in the video... do check it out... the best 8 minutes you will ever spend! =) seriously!!! :)

Annie Leonard's "Story of Bottled Water" Should Make Fiji Nervous

BY Ariel SchwartzMon Mar 22, 2010

Annie Leonard, the mastermind behind The Story of Stuff and The Story of Cap and Trade, has released the latest in her series of animations about environmental issues, just in time for World Water Day. The Story of Bottled Water breaks down the problems with our beloved water in signature Annie Leonard form, with juicy tidbits like: one third of bottled water comes from the tap! And enough oil and energy to fuel a million cars is used to make bottled water in the U.S. each year! Okay, so tap water enthusiasts might already know most of what Leonard discusses in the video, but it's worth it to gather your bottled water-loving friends around the computer for 8 minutes to teach them in an easily digestible animation just why their Fiji and Dasani is so unnecessary.

Encroachment of space

Today, we humans have become so powerful that we tend to take advantage of all the freedom we have...I recently came across an article where 2 tiger cubs were poisoned to death because they killed a couple of goats on the outskirts of the Ranthambhore National Park (India). The goat herders were so furious that they decided to poison the killed goats and leave them for the tiger to feed on... the tigers did so and later died due to poisoning.

Even though the Bengal tiger numbers are fast falling, there is no process in place to protect these tigers from extinction. Apparently, the loss the goat herders incurred due to the death of those two goats was close to rupees two thousand. While I do understand that this is a big number for these villagers, the question is... is it right for us to encroach upon their (the wild animals') space and then kill them later for them simply wandering about in their own territory and habitat?

Reading the article made me weak in the knees... it makes me sad that such has become the state of affairs not only in a country like India but all over the world where humans are taking over more and more of the wildlife space that belongs to the wild creatures....

leave them alone and they will leave you alone...

Here's is the detailed article:

http://www.dickysingh.com/2010/03/two-tiger-poisoned-in-ranthambhore-tiger-reserve/