18 days ago, twenty people from all over the globe started a very long run...15,200 miles around the world.
The Blue Planet Run is a run with a message: "we can and must begin today to alleviate the catastrophic burden placed on over a billion people who, every day, must drink unsafe local water, or travel long distances on foot to search for safe water for themselves and their families."
The Blue Planet Run Foundation has funded 11 NGOs, supporting them as they implement water projects all over the world. From what I know of it, I like this foundation. (They help bring water to people who need it - how could I not like them?)
This run around the world is very intriguing to me. Its seems like a very long, hard, and inefficient way to raise awareness and money, but I could be wrong. In any case, this is cool.
Check out the website and see when they will be running through your town.
Just as a heads-up, here is a summary of the rest of their running schedule:
Belarus: now through June 25th,
Russia: June 26-July 19,
Mongolia: July 20-23,
China: July 25-28,
Japan: July 28-1,
USA: August 1 - 26,
--California: August 1- 6
----Los Angeles is August 5th, (anyone want to spectate with me?)
Canada: August 26-28
USA: August 28 - September 4
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Thursday, April 05, 2007
An empire full of thirsty people
Today I met a man who is trying to create an empire.
He doesn't really care how it happens. He just wants his empire and his crown. If you catch him doing something helpful for a neighbor, he will say, "Don't think that this helpful act is a 'good samaritan thing', I just have to help them in order to help me."
Guess how he is making his little empire. Guess what he is using to gain his power, his authority, and his empire. Money? No. Fame? No way. Good looks? haha, you must be joking. Water? Yes.
And why is water the key to his kingdom? Well like he said to me today, "Money is water and water is money." The more water he can get for his people, the more people that can come, the more money they can create, and thus the fruition of an empire. This plan makes perfect sense.
extra water = room for more people. people = work force. work force = more money. money = empire.
Under normal circumstances, there could very well be no harm in such a plan.
But there is. There are neighboring cities, neighboring empires - other people that need the water that is coming from the ground below them. So this man has to prove that he isn't draining the supply. He has to prove that he can take as much as he wants because there's enough for him and then still more for his neighbors. And he seems to be proving this by throwing around some numbers and test results and calling it good.
There is a man, let's call him Joe, who looks for water supplies from far away lands that he can bring to the local kingdoms. Joe is a good guy. Joe is trying to give all the people water. He doesn't want anyone to die of thirst. Joe thinks (and I have to say that I agree with Joe) that our empire hunter has bad numbers and no proof of this supposed "vast supply of water." Joe needs money to buy water from other places.
But money is expensive, so Mr. I-Want-To-Be-King has decided to keep Joe poor. He would like to buy Joe out, but he can't, so he is keeping Joe poor. He claims there is enough water and that Joe doesn't need any money.
It gets worse.
Empire Man knows deep down that the water will run out, so he is building wells that go deep down - 500 feet deeper than the wells of neighboring cities. This extra 500 ft will allow him to pump water even when his neighbors can no longer reach it. He will be able to pump the ground dry until there is nothing left, long after his rival kingdoms are dry.
And there you have it.
This hopeful king is promising a very attractive place with large, affordable homes, beautiful, well-watered parks, and a life with no parched lips. But he is running the land dry, draining its resources, and creating an empire full of thirsty people.
I think I met the devil today - promising life, but causing death, all because of his desire for a throne.
I just hope Joe wins.
He doesn't really care how it happens. He just wants his empire and his crown. If you catch him doing something helpful for a neighbor, he will say, "Don't think that this helpful act is a 'good samaritan thing', I just have to help them in order to help me."
Guess how he is making his little empire. Guess what he is using to gain his power, his authority, and his empire. Money? No. Fame? No way. Good looks? haha, you must be joking. Water? Yes.
And why is water the key to his kingdom? Well like he said to me today, "Money is water and water is money." The more water he can get for his people, the more people that can come, the more money they can create, and thus the fruition of an empire. This plan makes perfect sense.
extra water = room for more people. people = work force. work force = more money. money = empire.
Under normal circumstances, there could very well be no harm in such a plan.
But there is. There are neighboring cities, neighboring empires - other people that need the water that is coming from the ground below them. So this man has to prove that he isn't draining the supply. He has to prove that he can take as much as he wants because there's enough for him and then still more for his neighbors. And he seems to be proving this by throwing around some numbers and test results and calling it good.
There is a man, let's call him Joe, who looks for water supplies from far away lands that he can bring to the local kingdoms. Joe is a good guy. Joe is trying to give all the people water. He doesn't want anyone to die of thirst. Joe thinks (and I have to say that I agree with Joe) that our empire hunter has bad numbers and no proof of this supposed "vast supply of water." Joe needs money to buy water from other places.
But money is expensive, so Mr. I-Want-To-Be-King has decided to keep Joe poor. He would like to buy Joe out, but he can't, so he is keeping Joe poor. He claims there is enough water and that Joe doesn't need any money.
It gets worse.
Empire Man knows deep down that the water will run out, so he is building wells that go deep down - 500 feet deeper than the wells of neighboring cities. This extra 500 ft will allow him to pump water even when his neighbors can no longer reach it. He will be able to pump the ground dry until there is nothing left, long after his rival kingdoms are dry.
And there you have it.
This hopeful king is promising a very attractive place with large, affordable homes, beautiful, well-watered parks, and a life with no parched lips. But he is running the land dry, draining its resources, and creating an empire full of thirsty people.
I think I met the devil today - promising life, but causing death, all because of his desire for a throne.
I just hope Joe wins.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Dear Dr. Dobson,
Do you want to focus on families?
Let us focus on them for a moment. Let us think about your children, your grandchildren, their children and grandchildren. Let us think about the world in which they will live in fifty and one-hundred years. Let us think about the world we are giving to your family, the world we are forcing your great-grandchildren to inherit.
Let us think about the families in New Orleans, Haiti, France in 2003, families experiencing floods, families experiencing drought, families living on the coast, families living in the desert. Let's take a minute to focus on them.
focus...
Should we do something about it? Should we care for these families? Should we consider their circumstances? Should we help them? Should we care about the world that we are destroying? The impact that our current actions could have on the environment that our future family will live in?
YES.
YES we should care.
And as a Christian I should be ANGRY about the way I, the church, and humanity have been completely irresponsible with the world we have been given. We have been poor stewards with the life God entrusted to us.
Dr. Dobson, I want you to know that I agree with this letter.
Maybe you should read this article.
Maybe you should focus on those families.
Maybe you should focus on all the families that are being affected by our inability to care about this world.
Well dang shoot, I think ALL the families are affected by this.
Hmmm, that's a problem, don't you think?
(and yes, I did just post two blogs in one day!)
Let us focus on them for a moment. Let us think about your children, your grandchildren, their children and grandchildren. Let us think about the world in which they will live in fifty and one-hundred years. Let us think about the world we are giving to your family, the world we are forcing your great-grandchildren to inherit.
Let us think about the families in New Orleans, Haiti, France in 2003, families experiencing floods, families experiencing drought, families living on the coast, families living in the desert. Let's take a minute to focus on them.
focus...
Should we do something about it? Should we care for these families? Should we consider their circumstances? Should we help them? Should we care about the world that we are destroying? The impact that our current actions could have on the environment that our future family will live in?
YES.
YES we should care.
And as a Christian I should be ANGRY about the way I, the church, and humanity have been completely irresponsible with the world we have been given. We have been poor stewards with the life God entrusted to us.
Dr. Dobson, I want you to know that I agree with this letter.
Maybe you should read this article.
Maybe you should focus on those families.
Maybe you should focus on all the families that are being affected by our inability to care about this world.
Well dang shoot, I think ALL the families are affected by this.
Hmmm, that's a problem, don't you think?
(and yes, I did just post two blogs in one day!)
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