"There sure is a lot to protest these days: college costs too much, the dollar buys too little, we're stuck in two wars we can't seem to win, and the Baby Boomer Generation is also leaving it to younger generations to figure out how to fix our energy policy, Social Security, and America's image problem around the world. Come to think of it, a little May '68 spirit - 40 years later - might be just what we need today."-Mike Martin, French Teacher based in Vermont-
Martin gives a nice historical briefing on the riots of May '68 in the streets of Paris.
Read (or listen) to Martin's reflection of those protests, and their impact then and now.
posted by Alexandra at 5/29/2008 12:39:00 PM
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, state representatives and concerned citizens gathered last Friday to celebrate the Vermont launch of
Project Porchlight, an energy-saving initiative that started in Canada a few years ago. So far, Canadian volunteers have delivered more than 1.15 million free CFLs in their neighborhoods, saving more than $40 million in energy costs and decreasing CO2 emissions by about 232,300 tons. The launch marks the first US stop for the organization.
The goal in Vermont is to hand-deliver 36,000 CFLs to local neighborhoods and spread the word about the energy saved by using them. According to Project Porchlight: "Once the Project Porchlight bulbs are in use the collective saving for the residents in the five communities will be about $1.7 million on their electricity bills and about 2000 tons of coal will be prevented from being burned."
*Video from Seven Days.
posted by Alexandra at 5/28/2008 12:29:00 PM
"It's difficult to imagine the courage it takes to go against a huge corporation. Worse, an oil giant like Chevron. But Pablo Fajardo Mendoza and Luis Yanza are not afraid: They are convinced Ecuador and its people deserve a clean Amazon, and their conviction has led them to the final stages of what could be the largest environmental lawsuit ever filed in the world."-Paula Alvarado-
Read the interview for more on how these two 2008 Goldman Environmental Prize winners began their fight, their motivation, and their difficulties. Both discuss the impact they've had on the Ecuadorian society in terms of environmental matters, and their hopes and fears.
posted by Alexandra at 5/27/2008 06:04:00 PM
Design 21, an organization that sponsors design competitions for social good, is hosting a cool contest -- designing a campaign for Millennium Promise. They are asking people to design a new media campaign that makes people aware of the
Millennium Development Goals, which, when fulfilled by a set date of 2015 will help end poverty in Africa.
The MDGs are "eight globally-endorsed objectives and targets that both address and seek to eradicate the many dimensions of extreme poverty. To that end, Millennium Promise is working with impoverished communities, national and local governments, and partner NGOs to implement high-impact programs on the continent by engaging donor nations, corporations, and the general public in the effort to end extreme poverty."
You have 28 days left to enter the contest. Not a designer? You can always join the the Millenium Promise cause group on
Facebook.
posted by Alexandra at 5/19/2008 07:42:00 PM
For the nearly
50,000 refugees that came to the United States in 2007 (and the thousands that came before that), making it here is only the beginning of a long, hard, journey. The
Association of Africans Living in Vermont is helping its 1,500-plus members make it here in the long run with innovative programming.
The challenge is significant. As Burlington-based newspaper
Seven Days reports: "Having emigrated from refugee camps, AALV members are familiar with hardship. But a new life in Vermont isn't exactly a piece of cake: Roughly half live below the federal poverty line. In the winter, food budgets shrink as work in local hotels tapers off. The average size of an AALV family is five or six people, but primary earners only make about $9 per hour."
AALV recently launched two neat new programs to provide opportunities for its members:
New Farms for New Americans and a new welding program. Providing economic opportunity is key to building a stable life for new Americans.
Please visit
AALV online to learn more and to watch a video that brings to life the challenges Africans in Vermont are facing.
To find out more about refugees nationwide and how you could help, check out the
Office of Refugee Resettlement as a start.
posted by Alexandra at 5/15/2008 11:21:00 AM 
