A friend of ours told us about a project that his brother and sister-in-law are endeavoring on. They are Jonny and Michelle, boutique photographers, and the couple behind Paper Antler. Their work is beautiful and captivating. Looking through their photos I see hope, love, romance, passion, adventure, and an unquenchable joy for life. Their desire is to bring together their passions–their gift for capturing the beauty of the world around them and social justice– through the Fifty Nifty project. One of the things that I really love is that it will only work if others join them. We need each other and the success of this project is dependent on more than just this lovely couple. It isn’t safe. It is risky. They are putting themselves out there with faith that they will be joined and that is beautiful.

Fifty Nifty:

• Beginning in January of 2012, Jonny and Michelle will begin an adventure that will span one year.
• Their goal: photograph 50 weddings in 50 states in 50 weeks donating $1000 from each wedding to She Dances for a total donation of $50,000. While this is their ideal goal, their primary goal is to raise $50,000 for She Dances in 50 weeks.
• She Dances is an anti-human trafficking organization that they have worked closely with over the years.
• $50,000 would assist She Dances in sustaining their current safe home in Honduras for one year or allow them to open a new safe home in another place of need.
• They have a route mapped out, so check it out to see if they will be in your area when you or someone you know is getting married. Download this PDF for information about their route.
• Spread the word.

Paper Antler‘s blog will have updates on Fifty Nifty bookings and other Fifty Nifty related news.

Being a mama has taught me that the most important thing I can do to care for my son is be present and available to him.  It has also shown me that that is really what all of us need.  We need people to be present and available to us. Sometimes that takes the form of showing up when there is a need, being there for one another, and giving what we can.

If you visit the site (versus getting it in your RSS feed or as an e-mail), you may have noticed a new addition to the site!  On the right hand side of the site you will notice the addition of “Give A Gift”.  We have chosen to highlight World Vision, Heifer International, and Partners in Health.  These are not ads and at a later point I will go into why I have decided to use that space on my site to support non-profits in lieu of ads.  Each of these images will bring you directly to a page on their site where you can choose to give a financial gift to the non-profit organization.  There are many great organizations out there, but these are ones that we know really well and trust.

The day after Thanksgiving has become a Holiday spending spree, so much so, that it has been dubbed “Black Friday” because it has become the most profitable day of the year for many businesses.  I know that there are very complicated economics involved here regarding businesses “counting” on shoppers to shop.  However, our vision of Christmas has evolved slowly, but rather dramatically, over our years together.  In fact, it has changed so much so, that even what I mean by vision has changed.  In the past, I strained to create The Vision of Christmas with hope that if I did so, I would be able to feel the warmth and love of The Vision inside myself.

I wanted so badly to feel that warmth, love, and closeness of family.  I thought the gateway to all this was to create the ideal picture of Christmas–presents, lots of food, holiday cheer which, was best created by having the right atmosphere… stockings, christmas tree, christmas lights, snow-hot chocolate-fireplace, the smell of food.  What I didn’t understand was that I got it all backwards.  That warmth and love came out of being close to Kendall and now also to Finn.  I now know within me (although my brain is still being re-trained), that when I give myself over to loving and being loved by these two people and other loved ones, and that when we have our need for food, shelter, health, and other basic needs met, that my life is bountiful.

I want to be clear, I don’t think there is anything wrong with giving gifts to those you know and love–you know yourselves and your loved ones best.  However, I would like to ask you to join our family in giving to those who are not able to rest in knowing their basic needs are being met.

Opponents of this proposal have said that it taxes those who cannot afford to purchase reusable bags. So to alleviate that cost, the city of Seattle will distribute reusable paper bags to all residents, also giving lower income residents additional bags to use.

The council also passed a ban on plastic foam food containers that is a two-phase project. The first phase will address take out containers and it will take effect in January as well. Restaurants will not be allowed to use plastic foam in their takeout containers. The second phase will take effect July 2010 and focuses on all plastic food containers and utensils. Businesses will be able to use only recyclable or biodegradable products for their food containers.

I’m glad to see that our city is taking steps to reduce the unnecessary waste produced by convenience. If you live in a place that is using plastic bags and you feel like you want to make changes to that, Bring Your Own Bag is a great organization that is fighting for that. They also recently posted to their blog specifically addressing the situation in North America.

I am groaning under the miseries of a diseased nervous System; a System of all others the most essential to our happiness–or the most productive of our Misery…Lord, what is Man! Today, in the luxuriance of health, exulting in the enjoyment of existence; In a few days, perhaps in a few hours, loaded with conscious painful being, counting the tardy pace of the lingering moments, by the repercussions of anguish, & refusing or denied a Comforter.–Day follows night, and night comes after day, only to curse him with life which gives him no pleasure.

Worsted Witch (thank you) brought to my attention the Mental Health Parity Bill, which will require insurers to treat mental illnesses in the same manner as physical illnesses. Please write to congress in support of this bill.

It is estimated that there is 100 million to 49.5 billion barrels of oil located in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In 1998 the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that there would be a 50/50 chance of 7.7 billion barrels of oil being technically recoverable. The debate over whether to drill, or not to drill in this protected area only stands to get more intense as oil nears a record $100/barrel.

I am aware that there are many possibilities for new jobs and financial gains by drilling in ANWR. However, when this region became a refuge, it was not done so under the contingency of the wants of corporations or residents. The whole reason that these areas of protection have to be established, in the first place, is because we have bulldozed our way through so much of our natural world that we have to protect it from our own greed. ANWR holds more than just wealth for oil companies and petroleum for gas-guzzling consumers.

This is an area rich in wildlife and wilderness. Porcupine caribou, polar bears, grizzly bears, Dall sheep, wolves, moose, a herd of rare muskoxen, snow geese, shorebirds, loons, songbirds, raptors, and fish such as the Arctic char and Arctic grayling all live within ANWR. All of these animals create a balanced ecosystem living off the tundra and other animals. As a result of industrialization we have lost respect for the delicate balance of ecosystems and living in a way where we take only what we need. When we drill for oil, we do so at the expense of the ecosystem that it is located within. There is evidence from previous oil spills of the damage that it causes. The Exxon Valdez oil spill is still affecting Alaskan beaches and in 2005 (10 years later) unweathered oil was found on over half the beaches and still causing harm to fish, birds, and polar bears.
The risk for oils spills only increases as we continue to drill for and transport oil. Polar bears, endangered bowhead whales, and the fragile tundra are all disturbed by the seismic testing used for oil exploration. The porcupine caribou herd that migrate through ANWR from the mountainous area to the coastal plains to give birth, are thought to be the largest animal group immediately affected by the drilling. The cows (female caribou) and calves are disturbed by the seismic activity. In addition to this, the porcupine caribou, especially the cows and calves, that depend on the nutritious vegetation of the tundra will be negatively impacted as the permafrost that is easily broken by road construction and seismic explosions, changes the water drainage patterns of the soil, thus retention of moisture, and further the vegetation which grows on the tundra.

Ecosystems hold a complex ecology of organisms that rely on each other and, in doing so, create a balance that sustains their existence. The affects of drilling for oil in this protected refuge for wildlife and wilderness could destroy it. It is a sad truth but the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge needs to be protected from the actions of human beings that prey on these precious ecosystems.

Take Action.

Los Angeles-based design company Stolen, Inc. was researching a project they were working on and came across some staggering information.

came across “Life Expectancy at Birth.” Andorra was the highest with 83.51 years, and all the way at the bottom was Mozambique with 31.1 years

They decided to do something about it. They’ve created a line of tshirts to educate and raise funds. It’s called StatAttak. Stolen will be setting aside 20% of the money from the sale of the shirts to build an orphanage in Mozambique.

Since Mozambique was the country that inspired all of this, the Sons of Stolen are putting 20% of the money from the sale of the shirts towards building an orphanage in Mozambique. Instead of giving the money to a charity, we will go to Mozambique with a group of volunteers from the design industry and build an orphanage from the ground up. We hope that this will help us better understand Africa and that a personal interaction with the local population will inspire everyone involved to keep working towards solutions to the many problems facing that continent.

Not only is this a great opportunity to make a change in the world, the shirts are also beautiful. Mollie and I will both be sporting StatAttak tshirts.

EWG is very close to their goal of 30,000 signatures, but they are still a couple thousand short. Follow this link to the petition page and take 1 minute to fill out your information (name, e-mail address, and zip-code…seriously, that is all) and press the “Sign now!” button.

“The farm bill, which is reexamined approximately every five years it’s come around again in 2007 determines which U.S. crops will be subsidized by the government, and which will not.” ¹ “Congress is about to vote on a new Farm Bill, which could be the first to include fair funding for organics.” ² You taking the time to sign this petition gets us a step closer to this happening!

You have until Sunday, July 15th to do this. Thank you for your support!

¹Jasmine, Worsted Witch; ²EWG

I just read about Step It Up in a TerraPass e-mail. Step It Up is a protest that is taking place all over the country on April 14th, The National Day of Climate Action. There are over 1200 actions all ready organized, making it the “largest day of citizen action focusing on global warming in our nation’s history”. The goal of the protest is to move Congress to make a commitment to cutting carbon emissions 80% by 2050.

The actions range from a rally of thousands in New York City, to a handful of scuba divers off the coast of Key West, to a community of senior citizens in Ohio holding a global warming awareness day.

Find/Join an Action.
If you are really ambitious you can Start an Action.

If you do participate in some way please let me know. I would love to hear about it and how you felt that it went.

Similarly, The Sierra Club has started the Be Part of the 2% Solution campaign to fight Global Warming. The idea is that if we cut carbon emissions by 2% a year over the next 40 years we will have met the goal of 80% by 2050.

The world’s scientists agree: Global warming is real, here, and happening faster than anyone predicted. But scientists also say we can curb global warming and its consequences—if we take bold, comprehensive actions now that add up to an 80 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2050. That’s a do-able 2 percent cut a year for each of the next 40 years.
To reach our goal, to build a cleaner, smarter, and safer energy and economic future and rise to the most urgent challenge of our generation, we must all be part of the solution. You, me, businesses, and government—we all have a role to play. To cut carbon emissions 2 percent a year for each of the next 40 years means we must start right now to make different, better decisions about the energy we use at home, at work, and as a nation.

You can Be part of the 2% solution by:

Signing the letter written by the Sierra Club to President Bush asking him to take action to curb Global Warming. This is so easy and there is really no reason to not do this. You not bothering to click on the link I provided you with is not a good excuse.

Checking out their great list of things YOU can do to help cut carbon emission by 2% per year for the next 40% years. I think I may post the list tomorrow if you don’t get a chance to look at it.

This is becoming a huge problem because these same people, in the form of large corporations, are trying to lower organic standards. Now, does this make sense to anybody? Because it makes NO sense to me. I think it is totally ridiculous and illogical. A category of agriculture already exists that has lower standards, its called industrialized farming! Are they wanting to change the name “industrialized farming” to “organic farming”? We cannot let terms become so relative that we have no idea what we are talking about any more. I get that these corporations don’t care about the organic industry and see it as a good business opportunity where they can make a lot of money. This will go on until people finally catch on that what they have really done is just steal the term organic and use it to re-label industrialized agriculture.

It is important that we work to keep organic standards high. In fact, if anything, organic standards need to be raised. Those of us who believe in the ideology and importance of organic agriculture need to protect it and not let the USDA and members of Congress sell off the hard work of the Organic Movement.

To read more or take action visit Safeguard Organic Standards at Organic Consumers Association.

Over 70,000 people are estimated to have died in Darfur, western Sudan since the conflict erupted in February 2003. More than 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes and 200,000 have sought refuge in neighboring Chad. Another 800,000 people are said to be beyond the reach of humanitarian agencies.

However, recently the crisis in Darfur has been receiving much needed attention and many activists, politicians, and celebrities have been rallying around the country to urge the U.S. government to take action in the Darfur Crisis.

To read a brief history of the Darfur Crisis click here.

Take Action.