Most Youth today have NO IDEA of the power they have. The High School Environmental Summit calls young people to become "Change Leaders" for the creation of sustainable solutions to their environmental challenges. Having now completed two Summits to date, I know that kids can AND DO make a difference. This two-day conference is based on "creative problem solving" strategies as taught at the International Center for Studies in Creativity. Students develop a Plan of Action at the conference and win $200 of "seed money" for their projects after the 60 day coaching period is completed. See www.sustainableearthsolutions.com for more invormation.

Dave Bauer - dbauer102@yahoo.com   Read more...

At the time of writing this, Transfinancial Economics, or TFE for short is a research, and development project dealing with a new "ideology" concerned with money. It claims that non-repayable funding could be responsibly created without democratic governments having to raise taxes. They could be undertaken by an independent public body.

Similarly, NGOs could be financed in full, or in part with non-repayable money. Thus, charities of one sort, or another would be properly financed to ensure the greater good of humanity. Thus, in the main they would no longer have to fundraise, and/or rely on donations from the public, and certain philanthropic organizations.   Read more...

Annie Lennox has started a campaign to help fight HIV AIDS in South Africa called SING.

Saturday December 01 is World AIDS Day. Please take a minute to visit her sight at www.annielennoxsing.com   Read more...

My friend DJ sent this to me. If there was a god up in the sky I'm sure this would be his smile. Send this to everyone who you think needs an extra good day today!   Read more...

There's a special bicycle moving around Belén de los Andaquíes in Caquetá, Colombia. It seats two and carries with it a complete radio broadcasting system, able to send out Wi-max signals and be heard not only through the Andaquí Community Radio, but live through Internet as well.

The bike was built to give the Belén de los Andaquíes community - composed largely by families running away from violence in their hometowns and neighboring regions - its own voice and identity.   Read more...

Dr. Donald Berwick is one of the winners of the 2007 Purpose Prize put on by Civic Ventures.

What can health care learn from politics? Inspired by his son's work on a political campaign, Dr. Donald Berwick, a pediatrician with a master's degree in public policy, decided to find out. In 2004, at the age of 57, Berwick - and his organization, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) - launched a political-style campaign to improve hospital safety and save lives.   Read more...

Last year I founded a rather unique social venture (Impact Makers) based in Richmond, Virginia. I think our model is fairly unique in that it is based on a corporation's mission to maximize profits in order to maximize "community stakeholder value" rather than the traditional "shareholder value" - but the corporation competes in the free market.   Read more...

Gordon Johnson is one of the winners of the 2007 Purpose Prize put on by Civic Ventures.

Gordon Johnson remembers well the day in his teenage years when his father took in two nieces and two nephews whose father couldn't raise them. The upheaval and evident lack of concern by state case workers sparked a lifelong commitment to care for abused and neglected children. For more than 20 years, Johnson led statewide public foster care programs, seeing time and again the trauma of children being taken from their homes, often compounded by the distressing separation of siblings.   Read more...

Traditionally, traveling and health are haven't always been cozy partners," writes Brad Herzog, in his review of my new travel guide, "California Healthy." "But "California Healthy" shows that they certainly can be. This remarkable comprehensive and easy-to-use guide to food, fitness, and the Golden State gives a whole new meaning to 'eat and run'." It helps you stay fit at home and on the road with driving directions to whole food restaurants, markets, delis, plus places nearby to walk it off. You'll love the colorful photos of farms, plants and animals and the people who serve you. There's lots more at www.CaliforniaHealthy.com. It's a new cult favorite with vegetarian, vegan and raw, to promote lifestyles of health and sustainability. Super food recipes by Stanford Executive Chef Bruce Biron and exercise tips by exercise physiologist Janel Willette.   Read more...

We live in a society that is increasingly becoming more violent and racist. Around the world the news show us how minority groups rebel against mainstream politicians who are incompetent in building solid educational platforms. From the French quarters to the inner cities around he United States, xenophobic storms deluge and drown the chance for a positive outlook on cultural diversity and acceptance.

It is our responsibility as transforming educators to address these themes not only in our daily cognitive exchanges with our students, but also through meaningful homework, which can help us to build a strong bridge between the academic knowledge initiated within the schools and the funds of knowledge developed at home.   Read more...

Back in Amsterdam, after a well-deserved holiday in the Andalucian Alpujarras, one memory from Womex still haunts me: Taksim Trio's killer performance during the last night of the festival.

Three giants from the Turkish music scene - all independently wealthy - teamed up for a labor of pure love: to rejuvenate the classical music of the Ottoman empire with new flavors.   Read more...

Gene Jones is one of the winners of the 2007 Purpose Prize put on by Civic Ventures.

Gene Jones, a decorated World War II bomber pilot, built his post-war career by turning failing businesses into profitable corporations. In 1999, at the age of 84, he turned his attention to the next generation. Combining his business savvy and love of music with his passion for education, Jones created Opening Minds through the Arts.   Read more...

If the latest project by a musical hero--kora virtuoso Toumani Diabaté with his La Symphonie de la Kora--was any indication, the future of the traditional music of Mali was looking rather dark. On Diabaté's latest CD, no less than seven koras (21-string harp-lutes) are plucked simultaneously, seemingly without preconceived plan. Had megalomania replaced the subtlety of previous projects such as Songhai, Djelika and In The Heart Of The Moon, those wonderful duets with the late Ali Farka Touré?

So when Diabaté's longtime collaborator Bassekou Kouyate released an album with no less than four ngonis (lutes), I didn't even bother to listen. Granted, four times three to five strings was a far lesser evil than seven times 21, but the prospect was uninviting nevertheless.   Read more...

Wilma Melville is one of the winners of the 2007 Purpose Prize put on by Civic Ventures.

When disaster strikes and people are buried by rubble and possibly unconscious, one trained dog can often find the injured more quickly than 20 human searchers. And yet, in 1995, when Wilma Melville and her Labrador, Murphy, were called to help after the Oklahoma City bombing, there were only 15 FEMA-certified canines in the nation, all handled by volunteers.   Read more...

My unique multi-cultural upbringing exposed me to how, many people live in other major parts of the world. Although I came from a privileged background; I ended up working closely with all kinds of people from diverse classes. I noted similarities in the different classes of human nature. We all crave love and acceptance by our families and friends.

I was motivated to write "Innocence Interrupted" by my own personal childhood experiences. I also wanted to bring attention to the familiar predators that are not identified on the internets or posted in the neighborhoods. My book covers some graphic real life cases and is presented in an effort to inspire parents, care givers and all family members to be aware and pay closer attention to the needs of everyone in our homes.   Read more...

Sharon Rohrbach is one of the winners of the 2007 Purpose Prize put on by Civic Ventures.

After 16 years as a neo-natal nurse in St. Louis watching too many newborns leave the hospital, then return with life-threatening medical conditions, Sharon Rohrbach knew it was time to take action. In 1992, she founded the Nurses for Newborns Foundation to bring experienced nurses into the homes of mothers whose socio-economic, personal or health status put their infants at high risk.   Read more...

Ode has found an amazing group called Civic Ventures. Founded by social entrepreneur Marc Friedman, Civic Ventures is re-framing the debate about aging in America and redefining the second half of life as a source of social and individual renewal. Civic Ventures brings together older adults with a passion for service and helps stimulate opportunities for using their talents to advance the greater good. In these ways, Civic Ventures is helping America realize an "experience dividend."

Every year Civic Ventures recognizes these individuals by awarding The Purpose Prize–– five $100,000 and ten $10,000 investments. These awards go out to Americans over 60 whose creativity, talent and experience is transforming the way our nation addresses critical social problems.   Read more...

I just came across an article in the San Francisco Chronicle on how volunteers near San Francisco Bay are using mats of human hair and oyster mushrooms to help clean up the 58,000 gallons of spilled heavy bunker fuel that's washing ashore.

The hair comes from Bay Area salons that are sent to Georgia to get woven into these mats. These mats work perfectly to clean up the globs of oil that are left in the bay. Once the mats are used, you can layer them with mushrooms (which will absorb the oil) and straw and in 12 weeks it turns into good soil.   Read more...

It's that time of year again in the U.S. when people head out to the grocery store to peruse the food and vegetable isles conjuring up new recipes to make for the coming Thanksgiving feast. However, what most people don't think about is the number of miles it took for that turkey or that squash took to get to their shopping cart.

I just came across this great website called the 100 Mile Diet (100milediet.org) which was started by a couple in Canada who pledged to go a whole year with only eating foods within 100 miles of their home.   Read more...

Georgetown University is currently accepting applications for the Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution. The innovative and academically rigorous program is housed in the Department of Government, with multidisciplinary core and elective course offerings. Students study with leading faculty from across the university, and take courses such as Conflict Resolution Theory and Skills, Intergroup Relations, Cross-Cultural Negotiation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution.   Read more...

For those of you who haven't heard yet...our honeybees are in danger. About a year ago, beekeepers started noticing that their worker bees were disappearing. The cause of this phenomenon, called Colony Collapse Disorder, is still unknown. Some think it might be due to pesticide use, cell phone radiation, habitat destruction or work-related stresses.

Honeybees play a huge role in our ecosystem which is why this is such a concern. Nearly 80% of our world's crop plants require pollination.   Read more...

Womex isn't just a tradefair with showcases, it's also a meeting point for people from all over the globe who are involved with world music. And it's not just booking agents, festival programmers and label owners attending the fair, but also quite a few artists. If you're lucky, you can run into a musician you've been eager to meet for many years.

This year I had the great fortune to talk to a singer whom I've admired ever since I heard Aloukie, her first international release, in 2002. Zulya Kamalova hails from the former Soviet Union but has been living in Australia for many years now. Her work is firmly rooted in the tradition of her ancestors, the legendary Tatars.   Read more...

A friend of mine, Andrew Pieris, former police officer in Netherlands and now doing chartable work after the Tsunami, has worked tirelessly, especially to help children in Sri Lanka.

To raise funds for the tsunami orphans, he has initiated a project to sell Christmas postcards. There are nine different Christmas cards made of drawings done by the children themselves.   Read more...

A few days ago I was woken up at about 5 in the morning with a power cut. The fan stopped circulating the air and the room got really hot. As I could not sleep anymore, I got out of bed and went to the lounge. Then I thought how dependent we have become on electricity, fans and air conditioning to keep us comfortable and how spoild we have become not being able to put up with the inconvenience of a power cut.

Then I pondered on the millions of people who have no electricity at all, but have a good night's sleep anyway without fans and air conditioning in a warm climate. I also thought how difficult it would be for the likes of us who live in first world conditions even in a developing country if and when things go awry with the environment and our comforts are taken away. Imagine how people in the industrialized west would survive if the comforts of electricity, artificial heating and cooling are taken away. An environmental crisis could do just that.   Read more...