Here are some of the findings about LGBT families that come from a research study authored by the Movement Advancement Project, Family Equality Council, Center for American Progress, COLAGE, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, and the National Association of Social Workers in October, 2011.

1. Roughly 2 million children are being raised in Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT) families.
2. Children raised by same-gender couples are twice as likely to live in poverty.
3. Same-gender parents raising children are more racially and ethnically diverse than mixed gender couples. 59% of same-gender parents are white versus 73% for mixed-gender parents.
4. Same-gender couples in the South are more likely to raise children than same-gender couples elsewhere in the county. (Interestingly, the same states with the most restrictive laws against LGBT people also seem to have the most number of same-gender couples raising kids.)
5. Children raised by same-gender parents are just as happy, healthy and well-adjusted as children raised by mixed-gender parents. 30 years of research in this area come from authorities including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Child Welfare League of America.
6. 14,000 foster children are being raised by Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual foster parents. (Transgender was not tracked in this number)
7. A child living with two parents of the same gender can be assured that his/her relationship with both of his/her parents will be recognized by the law in fewer than half of the United States. A LGBT parent not legally recognized as a parent can lose (or never have) custody or visitation rights.
8. LGBT families are largely excluded from tax credits and deductions designed to help ease the financial costs of raising children. In one case study, a same-gender family of five (two parents and three kids) paid $1,490 more in federal taxes than a mixed-gender family of five.
9. Even for legally married same-gender parents, a surviving parent is not eligible for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance which is administered by the Social Security Administration. This is interesting in that the United States government ordinarily relies on a state’s determination of parental and marital status in providing benefits.
10. On a positive note, LGBT families (with both parents being U.S. citizens) have equal access to federal food assistance programs and public housing assistance due to a more inclusive definition of “family” for these programs.

Please consider reading and signing The Defense of All Families Pledge.

How many of these money saving applications do you already know about ways to use ordinary baking soda?

1. Causes dough to rise in recipes (making it lighter and more porous)
2. Deodorize a wastebasket, garbage can, or sink
3. Make a homemade modeling clay (with addition of corn starch, water, and food coloring)
4. Use as a fabric softener
5. Make your own water color paints (with addition of flour, sugar, dry drink mix, and water)
6. Clean greasy dishes
7. Make your laundry detergent go farther and clean better
8. Polish silver
9. Use as a fruit and vegetable scrub
10. Freshen upholstery
11. Use as a personal deodorant
12. Freshen your breath
13. Relieve heartburn
14. Deskunk a dog (with addition of hydrogen peroxide and dish soap) [Editor note: we have much personal experience with this one!]
15. Take care of a carpet spill

FYI: There is a difference between baking soda, washing soda, and baking powder. Baking Soda is made of 100% Sodium Bicarbonate. Washing soda is made of 100% Sodium Carbonate. Baking powder is around 30% baking soda with the addition of an acidifying agent (usually Cream of Tartar) and a drying agent (usually starch)

To file under “Promises, Promises”, here is a list of the top ten New Year’s Resolutions made and broken according to Time Magazine.

1. Lose Weight and Get Fit
2. Quit Smoking
3. Learn Something New
4. Eat Healthier and Diet
5. Get Out of Debt and Save Money
6. Spend More Time with Family
7. Travel to New Places
8. Be Less Stressed
9. Volunteer
10. Drink Less

And from Time Magazine, 1/3/2012 here’s a list to help you beat the odds…

5 Tricks To Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick

Based on an article by Gary Belsky & Tom Gilovich

1. Limit your promises
   Although it’s tempting to pursue several related goals at the same time (losing weight, quitting smoking, exercising more), it’s likely more productive to stagger resolutions.

2. Write them out
   Research suggests that it helps when we put pen to paper before embarking on projects.

3. Involve a friend
   Teaming up with others is particularly powerful given our social natures and reluctance to let other folks down.

4. Get out of your own way
   If you want to cut late-night snacking, throw out your snack food. If you want to stop abusing credit cards, close your accounts. If you want to save more, use direct deposit rather than asking yourself to write a check or transfer funds every month. Removing Y-O-U from a New Year’s resolution is a great way to achieve it.

5. Expect missteps
   Research suggests that contemplating unpleasant or surprising future outcomes will make you less likely to overreact to them. There’s no guarantee, but encountering a problem you’ve even briefly anticipated might just give you that small boost of comfort or self-esteem that will translate into useful self-control.

Forbes.com

(ref: Forbes 400, forbes.com. GDP data from 2010 CIA Factbook)

The total worth of the 400 wealthiest in the United States rose to $1.53 trillion.  Numbers in [brackets] are countries with the closest approximate GDP.

1. Bill Gates ($59.0 bil; 55 yo; Medina, Washington;   Microsoft) [Lebanon, Tanzania]
2. Warren Buffett ($39.0 bil; 81 yo;  Omaha, Nebraska; Berkshire Hathaway) [North Korea]
3. Larry Ellison ($33.0 bil; 67 yo; Woodside, California; Oracle) [Paraguay]
4. Charles Koch ($25.0 bil; 75 yo; Wichita, Kansas; diversified) [Trinidad, Estonia]
5. David Koch ($25.0 bil; 71 yo; New York, New York;  diversified) [Trinidad, Estonia]
6. Christy Walton ($24.5 bil; 56 yo; Jackson, Wyoming; Wal-Mart) [Estonia]
7. George Soros ($22.0 bil; 81 yo; Katonah, New York; hedge funds) [Georgia]
8. Sheldon Adelson ($21.5 bil; 78 yo;  Las Vegas, Nevada; casinos) [Mozambique]
9. Jim Walton ($21.1 bil; 63 yo; Bentonville, Arkansas; Wal-Mart) [Mozambique]
10. Alice Walton ($20.9 bil; 61 yo; Fort Worth, Texas; Wal-Mart) [Zambia, Macedonia]
11. S. Robson Walton ($20.5 bil; 67 yo; Bentonville, Arkansas; Wal-Mart) [Zambia, Macedonia]
12. Michael Bloomberg ($19.5 bil; 69 yo; New York, New York; Bloomberg LP) [Madagascar]
13. Jeff Bezos ($19.1 bil; 47 yo; Seattle, Washington; Amazon.com) [Madagascar]
14. Mark Zuckerberg ($17.5 bil; 27 yo; Palo Alto, California; Facebook) [Nicaragua, Chad]
15. Sergey Brin ($16.7 bil; 38 yo; Los Altos, California; Google) [Mali]
16. Larry Page  ($16.7 bil; 38 yo;  Palo Alto, California; Google) [Mali]
17. John Paulson ($15.5 bil; 55 yo; New York, New York; hedge funds) [Papua New Guinea]
18. Michael Dell ($15.0 bil; 46 yo; Austin, Texas; Dell) [Papua New Guinea]
19. Steve Ballmer ($13.9 bil; 55 yo; Hunts Point, Washington; Microsoft) [Benin, Malawi]
20. Forrest Mars ($13.8 bil; 80 yo; Big Horn, Wyoming; candy) [Benin, Malawi]

Net worth of the 20 wealthiest Americans for 2011: $459.2 billion [Pakistan].The net worth of the 400 wealthiest Americans was $1.53 trillion [the GDP of Mexico or the combined total GDP of Chile, Ghana, Ethiopia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia] or 10.4% of the $14.66 trillion GDP of the United States .

Check out Teaching Economics as if People Mattered – Born on Third Base for an interesting lesson plan about wealth and the Forbes 400.

Here’s a link to the 2009 list of the 20 Richest People in the US.

The Clean Air Act is making the news due to a proposed amendment by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. This would effectively block President Barack Obama and the EPA from holding the nation’s biggest polluters accountable for the carbon dioxide they produce and a major step backwards in addressing climate change.

Current legal authority for federal programs and particularly the Environmental Protection Agency regarding air pollution control is based on the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments which is usually referred to as the Clean Air Act of 1990. This legislation modified and extended federal legal authority provided by the earlier Clean Air Acts of 1963 and 1970. The EPA describes the following milestones in the evolution of the Clean Air Act as it exists today.

1. The Air Pollution Control Act of 1955

• First federal air pollution legislation
• Funded research for scope and sources of air pollution

The Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 was the first federal legislation involving air pollution. This Act provided funds ($5 million dollars/year for 5 years) for federal research in air pollution but despite the word “control” in the name of the legislation it had no regulation component.

2. Clean Air Act of 1963

• Authorized the development of a national program to address air pollution related environmental problems
• Authorized research into techniques to minimize air pollution

The Clean Air Act of 1963 was the first federal legislation regarding air pollution control. It established a federal program within the U.S. Public Health Service and authorized research into techniques for monitoring and controlling air pollution.

3. Air Quality Act of 1967

• Authorized enforcement procedures for air pollution problems involving interstate transport of pollutants
• Authorized expanded research activities

The Air Quality Act of 1967 was enacted in order to expand federal government activities. Under this law, the federal government started to regulate interstate air pollution transport. For the first time, the federal government also conducted extensive ambient monitoring studies and stationary source inspections.

4. Clean Air Act 1970

• Authorized the establishment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards
• Established requirements for State Implementation Plans to achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
• Authorized the establishment of New Source Performance Standards for new and modified stationary sources
• Authorized the establishment of National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
• Increased enforcement authority
• Authorized requirements for control of motor vehicle emissions

The enactment of the Clean Air Act of 1970 resulted in a major shift in the federal government’s role in air pollution control. This legislation authorized the development of comprehensive federal and state regulations to limit emissions from both stationary (industrial) sources and mobile sources. Four major regulatory programs affecting stationary sources were initiated: the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS, pronounced “knacks”), State Implementation Plans (SIPs), New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs). Furthermore, the enforcement authority was substantially expanded.

The adoption of this very important legislation occurred at approximately the same time as the National Environmental Policy Act that established the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On December 4th, 1970, President Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by Executive Order to implement the various requirements included in the Clean Air Act.

5. 1977 Amendments to the Clean Air Act of 1970

• Authorized provisions related to the Prevention of Significant Deterioration
• Authorized provisions relating to areas which are non-attainment with respect to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards

The 1977 CAA amendments set more rigorous requirements for reducing emissions in areas that do not meet the NAAQS and established the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations for areas that already meet the NAAQS.  The PSD regulations are designed to prevent any significant deterioration in air quality above an established baseline level.

6. 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act of 1970

• Authorized programs for Acid Deposition Control
• Authorized a program to control 189 toxic pollutants, including those previously regulated by the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
• Established permit program requirements
• Expanded and modified provisions concerning the attainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards
• Expanded and modified enforcement authority

The 1990 amendments to the CAA in large part were intended to meet unaddressed or insufficiently addressed problems such as acid rain, ground-level ozone, stratospheric ozone depletion, visibility, and air toxics.

• 10 Photos Showing Evidence of Climate Change on Alaskan Glaciers
• 7 Fascinating Ways We Know What We Know About Climate Change
• 17 Ways You Can Help End Global Warming
• 24 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and perennial agricultural systems that mimics the relationships found in natural ecologies. It was first developed practically by Austrian farmer Sepp Holzer on his own farm in the early 1960s and then theoretically developed by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren and their associates during the 1970s in a series of publications. — wikipedia.org

Central to permaculture are the three ethics: care for the earth, care for people, and fair share. They form the foundation for permaculture design and are also found in most traditional societies. Here are the 12 principles of permaculture as described by David Holmgren.

1. Observe and Interact – “Beauty is in the mind of the beholder”
   By taking the time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation.
2. Catch and Store Energy – “Make hay while the sun shines”
   By developing systems that collect resources when they are abundant, we can use them in times of need.
3. Obtain a yield – “You can’t work on an empty stomach”
   Ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the working you are doing.
4. Apply Self Regulation and Accept Feedback – “The sins of the fathers are visited on the children of the seventh generation”
   We need to discourage inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well. Negative feedback is often slow to emerge.
5. Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services – “Let nature take its course”
   Make the best use of nature’s abundance to reduce our consumptive behavior and dependence on non-renewable resources.
6. Produce No Waste – “Waste not, want not” or “A stitch in time saves nine”
   By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us, nothing goes to waste.
7. Design From Patterns to Details – “Can’t see the forest for the trees”
   By stepping back, we can observe patterns in nature and society. These can form the backbone of our designs, with the details filled in as we go.
8. Integrate Rather Than Segregate – “Many hands make light work”
   By putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop between those things and they work together to support each other.
9. Use Small and Slow Solutions – “Slow and steady wins the race” or “The bigger they are, the harder they fall”
   Small and slow systems are easier to maintain than big ones, making better use of local resources and produce more sustainable outcomes.
10. Use and Value Diversity – “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”
    Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which it resides.
11. Use Edges and Value the Marginal – “Don’t think you are on the right track just because it’s a well-beaten path”
    The interface between things is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the most valuable, diverse and productive elements in the system.
12. Creatively Use and Respond to Change – “Vision is not seeing things as they are but as they will be”
    We can have a positive impact on inevitable change by carefully observing and then intervening at the right time.

The United Nations established December 1st as World AIDS Day in 1988 following the lead of the World Health Organization that also established this day of remembrance and action that same year. The theme for 2009 is “Universal Access and Human Rights“. Understanding HIV and AIDS from a human rights perspective can be difficult.  Human rights are often misunderstood – and can sometimes be seen as abstract ideals with not much practical relevance for real people.

• I am accepted.
• I am safe.
• I am getting treatment.
• I am well.
• I am living my rights.
• Everyone deserves to live their rights.
• Everyone has the Right to Live.
• Everyone has the Right to Health.
• Access for all to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support is a critical part of human rights.

Here are some current statistics concerning the global AIDS epidemic:

• Since the beginning of the epidemic, almost 60 million people have been infected with HIV and 25 million people have died of HIV-related causes.
• In 2008, some 33.4 million people are living with HIV, 2.7 million new infections and 2 million AIDS-related deaths.
• In 2008, around 430,000 children were born with HIV, bringing the total number of children under 15 living with HIV to 2.1 million.
• Young people account for around 40% of all new adult (15+) HIV infections worldwide.
• Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most affected and is home to 67% of all people living with HIV worldwide and 91% of all new infections among children. In sub-Saharan Africa the epidemic has orphaned more than 14 million children.

Combating AIDS is part of the 6th goal in the UN Millennium Goals for the year 2015. You can get an update on this and other goals at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/aids.shtml

You can download free posters at http://www.worldaidscampaign.org

What can make a chocolate bar more wonderful than it already is? Answer: Making the bar from cocoa beans where the farmer was paid a fair wage for their product, where no slave labor was used, and where earth-friendly and sustainable growing standards were adhered to.

That’s what you get with a certified FairTrade bar of chocolate. An estimated 14 million people in the developing world depend on cocoa production for their livelihoods. FairTrade helps ensure that they can make a real living and we get a better and safer product. Sweet!

Specifically, FairTrade standards for cocoa ensure the following:

1. Producers are small family farms organized in cooperatives or associations which they own and govern.

2. The FairTrade minimum price is paid directly to the producer organizations. The FairTrade minimum price is currently set at US$1600/metric ton (MT) for conventional cocoa and US$1750/MT for organic cocoa. When the world market price rises above the FairTrade minimum price, the market price is paid plus the FairTrade Premium.

3. A FairTrade Premium of US$150/MT is paid on top of the purchase price and is used by producer organizations for social and economic investments. If the cocoa is organic certified the Premium is US$200/MT.

4. Environmental standards restrict the use of agrochemicals and encourage sustainability.

5. Pre-harvest lines of credit are given to the cooperatives, if requested, of up to 60% of the purchase price.

6. No forced labor of any kind is used, including child labor.

By the way, once a year I make a batch of 80 to 100 home made chocolate truffles for friends and neighbors. My chocolate of choice is  fair trade and organic and comes from Sweet Earth Chocolates in San Luis Obispo, California.

1. MYTH: Older workers are too expensive.
   FACT… In the time-based 20th century, the longer people worked, the more they earned. In the market-driven 21st century, private and public sector businesses have to become efficient low cost providers. People and organizations need to compete in this center and both must break the link between pay and seniority.
2. MYTH: Older workers can’t learn as well as younger workers.
   FACT… The fastest growing group of Internet users is over age 50. According to a recent Harvard University study, the ability to use an accumulated body of knowledge keeps rising throughout the lifetimes of healthy people. It is true that the most effective ways to learn may be different for older workers than others. Experiential learning has proven to be of greatest value with this group.
3. MYTH: Older workers aren’t as productive as younger workers.
   FACT… “Productivity” is a character trait – not a generational trait. Business Week, in researching the aging workforce, states that people can be old, smart and productive assuming they maintain their health and stay abreast of standard technology. Researchers confirm that far from wearing people down, work can actually inspire people to be productive and fit.
4. MYTH: Customers don’t respond well to older sales and service workers.
   FACT… After realizing that half of their customers were over 50, Borders decided that the best way to increase its market share was to stress personal service and to hire employees who could relate better to its customer base. There was an added bonus! Turns out that turnover among their workers over 50 is 10 times less than for those under 30. Reduced turnover costs and consistent service staff naturally led to increased profits. Here’s another plus. Extensive research indicates that verbal communication, a critical customer service skill, actually increases with age.
5. MYTH: Older workers will NOT be able to find healthcare coverage anywhere but in traditional, full-time jobs.
   FACT… OUCH. This myth is far too close to the truth for many. However, once you meet their requirements, temporary staffing firms offer health care benefit participation at greatly reduced rates over the cost of insurance you can buy on your own. Temping is a growing source of opportunity for people seeking regular, long-term employment. It is a door that is open when all other doors of opportunity seem closed.
6. MYTH: Older workers aren’t as creative or as innovative as younger workers.
   FACT… Harvard University, Babson College and other institutions have conducted research on the link between innovation and age. Each study supports the statement that age-diversified work groups enhance innovation. Rich, accumulated knowledge, such as that supplied by experience, is integral to the creative process. Stories of individuals whose creativity has sustained them throughout their lifetimes are legendary. Look a few up and you will soon see that creativity is about the person not the demographic.
7. MYTH: Older women have less financial need to work than men.
   FACT… Women earn less, save less, invest less and live longer than men. Over 60% of adults living in extreme poverty are women. Over 18 million children live in single-parent homes, the majority of which are headed by women. Women earn (Bureau of Labor Statistics average) 82% of of what men earn. Other research claims that women earn about 69 cents for every dollar earned by men. In part-time and temporary positions, reports indicate that older women earn 55 cents for every dollar that men earn. There is simply not enough money earned, saved or invested to take women through their longer lifetimes.
8. MYTH: Older workers can only do what they have always done.
   FACT… The National Study of the Changing Workforce found that workers 50 or older are much more likely than younger cohorts to run a small business. One result of similar studies: the largest and most successful group of new entrepreneurs are over age 50! Free agency (working for yourself) is growing at a fast clip especially for the professional workforce. Temp agencies are among the fastest growing U.S. employers of older workers. “Giving back” through volunteerism is the domain of the older worker. Many embrace new causes much as they did in the Camelot years.
9. MYTH: Once people reach age 65, they really are too old to work!
   FACT… In the United States, 23.2% of people between the ages of 65 and 74 were in the labor force (either working or looking for work) in 2006, according to data by the U.S. Census Bureau. The number is up from 19.6% in 2000. Recent studies of women from age 60 to 90 found that an equal number of women are working, in some capacity, as are retired. Some need the income and others feel that work gives their lives purpose. The lesson? Chronological age is neither the determinant of ability nor the arbitrator of talent for men or women.
10. MYTH: “We plan to work long beyond what was thought of as traditional retirement age.” – 8 out of 10 Boomers surveyed by AARP
    FACT… What the statement should read is: “8 out of 10 Boomers HOPE to continue to work longer.” In terms of sheer numbers, only a handful of people have plans that are specific, time-framed and actionable. The rate of workplace change is accelerating. New technologies are racing in and eliminating jobs that once needed masses of people to perform them, and the global workforce is grabbing careers out from under thousands of others. While all of this is happening, new opportunities are being created. New career options and new technologies are dramatically and drastically changing realities for the better — for those who plan and take action.

"Wishes come true" - a card handmade in Rwanda

NOTE: October 24th is United Nations Day

The United Nations  Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights — civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. On November 20th, 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that adults do not.

The leaders also wanted to make sure that the world recognized that children have human rights too. All UN members except the United States and Somalia have ratified CRC. U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (California) is urging United States ratification.

1. Children have the right to live. Governments should ensure that children survive and develop healthily.
2. All children have the right to a legally registered name, officially recognized by the government. Children have the right to a nationality (to belong to a country). Children also have the right to know and, as far as possible, to be cared for by their parents.
3. Children have the right to an identity – an official record of who they are. Governments should respect children’s right to a name, a nationality and family ties.
4. Children have the right to live with their parent(s), unless it is bad for them. Children whose parents do not live together have the right to stay in contact with both parents, unless this might hurt the child.
5. Families whose members live in different countries should be allowed to move between those countries so that parents and children can stay in contact, or get back together as a family.
6. Governments should take steps to stop children being taken out of their own country illegally. This article is particularly concerned with parental abductions. The Convention’s Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography has a provision that concerns abduction for financial gain.
7. When adults are making decisions that affect children, children have the right to say what they think should happen and have their opinions taken into account.
8. Children have the right to get and share information, as long as the information is not damaging to them or others. In exercising the right to freedom of expression, children have the responsibility to also respect the rights, freedoms and reputations of others. The freedom of expression includes the right to share information in any way they choose, including by talking, drawing or writing.
9. Children have the right to think and believe what they want and to practice their religion, as long as they are not stopping other people from enjoying their rights. Parents should help guide their children in these matters. The Convention respects the rights and duties of parents in providing religious and moral guidance to their children. Religious groups around the world have expressed support for the Convention, which indicates that it in no way prevents parents from bringing their children up within a religious tradition. At the same time, the Convention recognizes that as children mature and are able to form their own views, some may question certain religious practices or cultural traditions. The Convention supports children’s right to examine their beliefs, but it also states that their right to express their beliefs implies respect for the rights and freedoms of others.
10. Children have the right to meet together and to join groups and organizations, as long as it does not stop other people from enjoying their rights. In exercising their rights, children have the responsibility to respect the rights, freedoms and reputations of others.
11. Children have a right to privacy. The law should protect them from attacks against their way of life, their good name, their families and their homes.
12. Children have the right to get information that is important to their health and well-being. Governments should encourage mass media – radio, television, newspapers and Internet content sources – to provide information that children can understand and to not promote materials that could harm children. Mass media should particularly be encouraged to supply information in languages that minority and indigenous children can understand. Children should also have access to children’s books.
13. Both parents share responsibility for bringing up their children, and should always consider what is best for each child. Governments must respect the responsibility of parents for providing appropriate guidance to their children – the Convention does not take responsibility for children away from their parents and give more authority to governments. It places a responsibility on governments to provide support services to parents, especially if both parents work outside the home.
14. Children have the right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated, physically or mentally. Governments should ensure that children are properly cared for and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone else who looks after them. In terms of discipline, the Convention does not specify what forms of punishment parents should use. However any form of discipline involving violence is unacceptable. There are ways to discipline children that are effective in helping children learn about family and social expectations for their behavior– ones that are non-violent, are appropriate to the child’s level of development and take the best interests of the child into consideration. In most countries, laws already define what sorts of punishments are considered excessive or abusive. It is up to each government to review these laws in light of the Convention.
15. Children who cannot be looked after by their own family have a right to special care and must be looked after properly, by people who respect their ethnic group, religion, culture and language.
16. Children have the right to care and protection if they are adopted or in foster care. The first concern must be what is best for them. The same rules should apply whether they are adopted in the country where they were born, or if they are taken to live in another country.
17. Children have the right to special protection and help if they are refugees (if they have been forced to leave their home and live in another country), as well as all the rights in this Convention.
18. Children who have any kind of disability have the right to special care and support, as well as all the rights in the Convention, so that they can live full and independent lives.
19. Children have the right to good quality health care – the best health care possible – to safe drinking water, nutritious food, a clean and safe environment, and information to help them stay healthy. Rich countries should help poorer countries achieve this.
20. Children who are looked after by their local authorities, rather than their parents, have the right to have these living arrangements looked at regularly to see if they are the most appropriate. Their care and treatment should always be based on “the best interests of the child”.
21. Children – either through their guardians or directly – have the right to help from the government if they are poor or in need.
22. Children have the right to a standard of living that is good enough to meet their physical and mental needs. Governments should help families and guardians who cannot afford to provide this, particularly with regard to food, clothing and housing.
23. All children have the right to a primary education, which should be free. Wealthy countries should help poorer countries achieve this right. Discipline in schools should respect children’s dignity. For children to benefit from education, schools must be run in an orderly way – without the use of violence. Any form of school discipline should take into account the child’s human dignity. Therefore, governments must ensure that school administrators review their discipline policies and eliminate any discipline practices involving physical or mental violence, abuse or neglect. The Convention places a high value on education. Young people should be encouraged to reach the highest level of education of which they are capable.
24. Children’s education should develop each child’s personality, talents and abilities to the fullest. It should encourage children to respect others, human rights and their own and other cultures. It should also help them learn to live peacefully, protect the environment and respect other people. Children have a particular responsibility to respect the rights their parents, and education should aim to develop respect for the values and culture of their parents. The Convention does not address such issues as school uniforms, dress codes, the singing of the national anthem or prayer in schools. It is up to governments and school officials in each country to determine whether, in the context of their society and existing laws, such matters infringe upon other rights protected by the Convention.
25. Minority or indigenous children have the right to learn about and practice their own culture, language and religion. The right to practice one’s own culture, language and religion applies to everyone; the Convention here highlights this right in instances where the practices are not shared by the majority of people in the country.
26. Children have the right to relax and play, and to join in a wide range of cultural, artistic and other recreational activities.
27. The government should protect children from work that is dangerous or might harm their health or their education. While the Convention protects children from harmful and exploitative work, there is nothing in it that prohibits parents from expecting their children to help out at home in ways that are safe and appropriate to their age. If children help out in a family farm or business, the tasks they do be safe and suited to their level of development and comply with national lab our laws. Children’s work should not jeopardize any of their other rights, including the right to education, or the right to relaxation and play.
28. Governments should use all means possible to protect children from the use of harmful drugs and from being used in the drug trade.
29. Governments should protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse. This provision in the Convention is augmented by the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
30. The government should take all measures possible to make sure that children are not abducted, sold or trafficked. This provision in the Convention is augmented by the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
31. Children should be protected from any activity that takes advantage of them or could harm their welfare and development.
32. No one is allowed to punish children in a cruel or harmful way. Children who break the law should not be treated cruelly. They should not be put in prison with adults, should be able to keep in contact with their families, and should not be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without possibility of release.
33. Governments must do everything they can to protect and care for children affected by war. Children under 15 should not be forced or recruited to take part in a war or join the armed forces. The Convention’s Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict further develops this right, raising the age for direct participation in armed conflict to 18 and establishing a ban on compulsory recruitment for children under 18.
34. Children who have been neglected, abused or exploited should receive special help to physically and psychologically recover and reintegrate into society. Particular attention should be paid to restoring the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.
35. Children who are accused of breaking the law have the right to legal help and fair treatment in a justice system that respects their rights. Governments are required to set a minimum age below which children cannot be held criminally responsible and to provide minimum guarantees for the fairness and quick resolution of judicial or alternative proceedings.
36. If the laws of a country provide better protection of children’s rights than the articles in this Convention, those laws should apply.
37. Governments should make the Convention known to adults and children. Adults should help children learn about their rights, too.

In addition, there are two optional protocols that are part of this convention. To help stem the growing abuse and exploitation of children worldwide, the United Nations General Assembly in 2000 adopted two Optional Protocols to the Convention to increase the protection of children from involvement in armed conflicts and from sexual exploitation.

The Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict establishes 18 as the minimum age for compulsory recruitment and requires States to do everything they can to prevent individuals under the age of 18 from taking a direct part in hostilities.

The Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography draws special attention to the criminalization of these serious violations of children’s rights and emphasizes the importance of fostering increased public awareness and international cooperation in efforts to combat them.

Bill Moyer, a United States social change activist, developed a strategic model for waging successful nonviolent social movements in the late 1970s. This model is called the Movement Action Plan (MAP). Here is a summary of this model as described by George Lakey, the founder and retired executive director of Training for Change.

Stage One: Business as Usual
In this stage, relatively few people care about the issue. Small groups are formed to support each other. The objective is to get people to start thinking about the issue and start spreading the word. Small action projects may be taken on in this stage.

Stage Two: Failure of Established Channels
The general public is unaware of the injustice and largely uninterested in learning about the issue. The public is thinking (or hoping) that established structures are taking care of the problem. “Surely the government is watching out for the safety of our ground water.” “Surely, corporations know which chemicals are safe and unsafe and are already ensuring that workers and the public are not being exposed to the unsafe ones.” In this stage, small groups research the issue and the victims of the injustice. They may sue government agencies or corporations and will usually lose. Nevertheless, these actions are a necessary exercise in building public awareness.  Stage Two polls will show 15% to 20% of public opinion leaning towards the change.

Stage Three: Ripening Conditions/Education and Organizing
People who were not listening (and did not want to listen) in earlier stages are becoming interested. The pace is picking up. New groups are sprouting up to work on the issue largely through providing education. Groups will send speakers out to talk about the issue, organize marches, and hold house meetings and news conferences. Polls are showing 20% to 30% support.

Stage Four: Takeoff
This stage is initiated by a trigger event or a dramatic happening that puts a spotlight on the problem, sparking wide public attention and concern. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. focused on Birmingham, Alabama, in a direct action campaign that filled the jails and highlighted the evils of segregation.  Gandhi used boycotts and personal hunger strikes to focus attention on injustices and discrimination against Indians. Cleve Jones used the AIDS quilt to focus attention on people needlessly dying of AIDS for lack of concern and research into treatment options. Part of the success of this stage depends on relating the demands of the movement to widely held values (like freedom, fairness, and democracy)

Stage Five: Perception of Failure
The adage: “Two steps forward, one step back” applies to this stage. Numbers are down in the demonstrations, media is paying less attention, and policy changes have not yet been won. Those opposing the movement will declare “The movement has failed!”  To recapture the excitement, subgroups may even embark on “Rambo-style” actions of anger and violence. The media focuses on splits and dissent within the movement and will focus particularly on factions of the movement and those activities of subgroups which the public will find particularly offensive. It is the very success and excitement of Stage Four that feeds disillusionment  in Stage Five. Fortunately, a great many activists do not become discouraged or at least accept this stage as part of the process. Creating strategic, achievable, and measurable objectives for the movement is important at this stage.

Stage Six: Winning over the majority
Crisis-based protest is transformed into a long-term struggle with the powerholders. The goal is to win majority opinion and many new groups are formed particularly among a broader public not previously involved. In this stage, 60% to 75% of the public agrees on the need for change and the issue is showing up in electoral campaigns and candidate platforms. Self-interested powerholders will try to discredit and disrupt the movement,  and will insist that there is no positive alternative, promote bogus reforms, and create crisis events designed to scare the public. The powerholders become more split at this stage. The movement needs to beware of: national organizations and staff dominating the movement and reducing grassroots energy; reformers over-compromising on policy changes; delivering the movement into the hands of politicians; a belief that the movement has failed just because it has not yet succeeded.

Stage Seven: Achieving Alternatives
The goal of this stage is to recognize a movement’s success, empower activists and their organizations to act effectively, and to achieve objectives and demands within a new model or way of thinking about the issue. A successful social movement can gain objectives that, although grudgingly yielded by the powerholders, introduce a new and better way of operating and being that benefits all. Each movement needs to develop an endgame which makes sense in terms of its own goals and situation.

Stage Eight: Consolidation and Moving On
Movement leaders need to protect and extend the successes achieved. The successful movement becomes a midwife to other social movements. Not only can the movement celebrate the specific changes it gained but also celebrate the ripple effect it has on other aspects of society and future movements.

A Force More Powerful (also available from Reach and Teach) is a great video game that teaches non-violent organizing principals in a fun and challenging way.

Also check out 10 Elements of an Ideal Organizer (according to Saul Alinsky).

(ref: Forbes 400, forbes.com. GDP data from indexmundi.com based on 2008 CIA Factbook)

In 2009, the net worth of the top 20 wealthiest fell by 13.8% and there are 3 newcomers to the top 20 group (indicated by an asterisk*). The total worth of the 400 wealthiest in the United States fell by $300 billion to $1.27 trillion. Numbers in [brackets] are countries with the closest approximate GDP.

1. William Gates III ($50.0 bil, 53yo, Medina, WA – Microsoft) [Cuba]
2. Warren Buffett ($40.0 bil, 79yo, Omaha, NE – Berkshire Hathaway) [Lebanon, Latvia]
3. Lawrence Ellison ($27.0 bil, 65yo, Redwood City, CA – Oracle) [Paraguay]
4. Christy Walton & family ($21.5 bil, 54yo, Jackson, WY – Wal-Mart inheritance) [Trinidad]
5. Jim Walton ($19.6 bil, 61yo, Bentonville, AR – Wal-Mart) [Georgia]
6. Alice Walton ($19.3 bil, 60 Fort Worth, TX – Wal-Mart) [Georgia]
7. S Robson Walton ($19 bil, 65yo, Bentonville, AR – Wal-Mart) [Dem. Rep. Congo]
8. Michael Bloomberg ($17.5 bil, 67yo, New York, NY – Bloomberg) [Mozambique]
9. Charles Koch ($16.0 bil, 73yo, Wichita, KS – manufacturing, energy) [Chad]
10. David Koch ($16.0 bil, 69yo, New York, NY – manufacturing, energy) [Chad]
11. Sergey Brin ($15.3 bil, 36yo Palo Alto, CA – Google) [Haiti]
12. Larry Page ($15.3 bil, 36yo San Francisco, CA – Google) [Haiti]
13. Michael Dell ($14.5 bil, 44yo, Austin, TX – Dell) [Mauritius]
14. Steven Ballmer ($13.3 bil, 53yo, Seattle, WA – Microsoft) [Jamaica]
15. George Soros ($13.0 bil, 79yo, Westchester, IL – hedge funds)* [Jamaica]
16. Donald Bren ($12.0 bil, 77yo, Newport Beach, CA – real estate) [Benin]
17. Paul Allen ($11.5 bil, 56yo, Seattle, WA – Microsoft, investments) [Iceland, Tajikistan]
18. Abigail Johnson ($11.5 bil, 47yo, Boston, MA – Fidelity) [Iceland, Tajikistan]
19. Forest Edward Mars ($11.0 bil, 78yo, McLean, IL – candy, pet food)* [Iceland, Tajikistan]
20. Jacqueline Mars ($11.0 bil, 70yo, Bedminster, NJ – candy, pet food)* [Iceland, Tajikistan]

Net worth of the 20 wealthiest Americans for 2009: $374.3 billion [Belgium]. Net worth of the 400 wealthiest Americans for 2009: $1.27 trillion [the GDP of Canada or the combined total GDP of Chile, Ghana, Egypt, Saudi Arabia] or 9% of the $14.15 trillion GDP of the United States.

Check out Teaching Economics as if People Mattered – Born on Third Base for an interesting lesson plan about wealth and the Forbes 400.

Here’s a link to the 2008 list of the 20 Richest People in the US.

Mohandas Gandhi’s birthday is October 2nd. In honor of him, the United Nations in 2007 adopted this day to be International Day of Nonviolence. Here are some quotes from leaders in nonviolent resistance that inspire me.

1. Nonviolence is an intensely active force when properly understood and used. – Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)
2. If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children. – Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)
3. The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions. – Thich Nhat Hanh (1926- )
4. If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone, will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work. – Thich Nhat Hanh (1926- )
5. I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving in. – Rosa Parks (1913-2005)
6. As long as people use tactics to oppress or restrict other people from being free, there is work to be done. – Rosa Parks (1913-2005)
7. To make peace with an enemy one must work with that enemy and that enemy becomes one’s partner. – Nelson Mandela (1918- )
8. We fought injustice wherever we found it, no matter how large, or how small, and we fought injustice to preserve our own humanity. – Nelson Mandela (1918- )
9. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)
10. Today we struggle for the soul of our country. – Charles Perkins (1936-2000)
11. If we’re full of hatred, we can’t really do our work. Hatred saps all that strength and energy we need to plan. – Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)
12. I have nothing to lose by standing up and following my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years. – Muhammad Ali (1942- )
13. Our common humanity is more important than all the things that divide us. – Mairead Corrigan (1944- )
14. Nonviolence is the weapon of the strong. – Betty Williams (1943- )
15. You should never let your fears prevent you from doing what you know is right. – Aung San Suu Kyi (1945- )
16. I believe history teaches us a categorical lesson: that once a people are determined to become free, then nothing in the world can stop them reaching their goal. – Bishop Desmond Tutu (1931- )
17. We must not only speak about forgiveness and reconciliation – we must act on these principles. – Bishop Desmond Tutu (1931- )
18. I really do inhabit a system in which words are capable of shaking the entire structure of government, where words can prove mightier than ten military divisions. – Vaclav Havel (1936- )
19. We are called to assist the earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own – indeed, to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty, and wonder. – Wangari Maathai (1940- )
20. We are constantly being astonished these days at the amazing discoveries in the field of violence. But I maintain that far more undreamt of and seemingly impossible discoveries will be made in the field of nonviolence. – Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)

Keep the dialog about nonviolent resistance going! Please contribute your own favorite quote in your comments.

	1869 October 2 – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar in West Bengal, India
	1891 June – After attending Inner Temple Law School in the United Kingdom, Gandhi passes the bar exam and becomes a lawyer. Unknown to him at the time, his mother has passed away while he is at school.
	1893 – Gandhi is thrown off of a train in South Africa for refusing to move from his First Class seat to Third Class (even though he held a valid First Class ticket). Such discrimination against Indians was common practice and this personal experience gives Gandhi resolve to fight racial discrimination.

	1894 – Gandhi founds the Natal Indian Congress to oppose a bill denying Indians the right to vote in South Africa. Although the bill passes, Gandhi successfully focuses a broad range of public attention on injustices against Indians even as far away as India and the UK.
	1897 January – Landing in Durban Harbor, South Africa, Gandhi is beaten up by a mob of white settlers. His life is saved when the wife of the Durban Police Chief stands between Gandhi and his attackers. Because of media attention to the event, the colonial government is forced to arrest members of the mob but Gandhi refuses to press charges. Gandhi gains increased public admiration and support. His attackers offer a public apology.
	1906 – The South African colonial government enacts the “Asian Population Registration Act” where all residents of Asian countries, including India, had to register their name, age, address, job, and other personal information and carry a card with their finger prints. Gandhi develops his principals of non-violent protest “satyagraha” (devotion to the truth or “soul force”).
	1908 August – Gandhi and 2,000 fellow Indians in Johannesburg burn their registration cards in protest. Even as Gandhi and other leaders are repeatedly arrested over 6 years of protest, non-violent rallies continue to grow in size.
	1914 – The Asian Population Registration Act is abolished.
	1919 – The British Government passes the Rowlatt Act which gives authority and power to arrest people and keep them in prisons without any trial if they are suspected with the charge of terrorism. The Indian National Congress starts the Hartal Movement where thousands of Indians stop working and stop selling and buying British goods in protest. Unfortunately, violent riots also occur. At Amritsar, 379 Indians are killed and 1,000 are seriously injured.
	1920 – Gandhi gets people to more intently boycott British products and encourages people to start making their own clothes rather than buying British clothing.
	1930 – The British retaliate by passing the Salt Act which makes it illegal for Indians to make their own salt, punishable by at least three years in jail. On March 12th, Gandhi (now 61 years old) travels 320 km (200 miles) on foot for 24 days to Dandi to make his own salt. Others follow. Gandhi is again imprisoned.
	1942 – Gandhi launches the Quit India campaign declaring India’s independence from British rule. Gandhi is imprisoned.
	1943 – The 73 year old Gandhi starts a hunger strike that lasts for 21 days.
	1944 – Fearful that Gandhi would die in prison due to failing health and become a martyr, he and other leaders are released.
	1946 March – India becomes an independent nation.
	1947 – Tensions between Hindu and Muslim factions resurface and escalate into violence. India is divided into Pakistan and India. The lasting effects of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 still affects the geopolitics of this region.
	1948 January 12 – Attempting to promote peace and asking that homes be restored to Muslims, payment to Pakistan be made (per an agreement made before the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947), and fighting cease, Gandhi (now 77 years old) starts another fast. Five days into the fast, India makes payment to Pakistan and Hindu, Muslim and Sikh community leaders agree to renounce violence and call for peace.
	1948 January 30 – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is killed by a member of a Hindu organization angered by Gandhi’s peacemaking efforts. Gandhi was shot on his way to evening prayers. His memory and teachings live  on in the non-violent peace movements of today.

Also check out 9 Promises Made by Everyone Who Marched with Gandhi in 1921
and 20 Quotes from the Nonviolent Resistance Front.

Here are some comparative photos from the US Geological Survey showing evidence of climate change on glaciers in Alaska. Most startling are the photos of Bear Glacier showing the change over just a 5 year period from 2002 to 2007.  You can view the USGS report at http://www.usgs.gov/global_change/glaciers

1. Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska (1941 – 2004)

Photo: William O. Field

Photo: Bruce F. Molnia

2. Plateau Glacier, Wachusett Inlet, Saint Elias Mountains, Alaska (1961 – 2003)

Photo: M.T. Millet

Photo: R.D. Karpilo

3. Northwestern Glacier, Harris Bay, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kenai Mountains, Alaska (mid 1920s to 1940s – 2005)

Photo: USGS Photo Library

Photo: Bruce F. Molnia

4. Pedersen Glacier, Kenai Mountains, Aialik Bay, Alaska (mid 1920s to 1940s – 2005)
(misspelled caption on the 2nd photo is part of the USGS photo)

Photo: uncredited postcard

Photo: Bruce F. Molnia

5. Bear Glacier (aerial view), Kenai Mountains, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska (2002 – 2007)

Photo: Bruce F. Molnia

Photo: Bruce F. Molnia

How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate (available from Reach and Teach) shows the science behind the headlines – evidence from flowers, butterflies, birds, frogs, trees, glaciers and much more, gathered by scientists from all over the world, sometimes with assistance from young “citizen-scientists.” And here is what young people, and their families and teachers, can do to learn about climate change and take action. Climate change is a critical and timely topic of deep concern, here told in an age-appropriate manner, with clarity and hope.

On September 21st, 2007, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rang the Peace Bell at United Nations Headquarters in New York calling for a 24-hour cessation of hostilities, and for a minute of silence to be observed around the world. The Peace Bell is cast from coins donated by children on all continents, and considered a symbol of global solidarity. It was given as a gift by Japan, and is referred to as a reminder of the human cost of war. The inscription on its side reads: “Long live absolute world peace.” [ref: wikipedia] The first Peace Day was celebrated in 1982.

Here are some ideas of things you can personally (or as a small group) do on Peace Day.

1. Observe a minute of silence at Noon wherever you are.
2. Hold a peace vigil and light a candle with some friends or neighbors.
3. Imagine something you could do to help make for a more peaceful world… and then do it.
4. Learn or retell the story of Sadako Sasaki and her One Thousand Paper Cranes and fold a paper crane in her memory.
5. Read about the UN Millennium Development Goals.
6. Send a donation to an organization that you think is helping in some way to achieve one of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
7. Construct a Peace Pole. A Peace Pole is a monument that displays the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth,” usually in a different language on each side.
8. Find and share a version of the “Golden Rule“ in a faith tradition other than your own
9. Learn about Sister Josetta Walsh and her “World Peace Village“.
10. Spend some time browsing the web to see what other people around the world are doing to work for peace.
11. Learn or retell the origin of the peace flag.
12. Learn to say and write the word for “peace” in another language.
13. Play a video game (like “A Force More Powerful“) and develop your skills in effective and active non-violence.
14. Read about the Global Marshall Plan.
15. Find and put up a poster that helps you imagine a community and world at peace.
16. Find and play a cooperative game with a few friends at peacegames.org
17. Find and play a game at trainingforchange.org.
18. Since this day is also a “day of ceasefire”, try making peace with someone you have a conflict with.
19. Go to internationaldayofpeace.org to find an event happening in your area on Peace Day.
20. Add your own ideas by commenting on this list.

Have you ordered your 2010 Peace Calendars yet? (click)

Also please check out 18 Milestone Events in the Life of Mohandas Gandhi and 20 Quotes from the Nonresistance Front

This is a list of the top 75 countries for highest life expectancy in the world. Those countries offering some form of universal healthcare are noted with an asterisk (*) and the country name is in bold. Healthcare per capita (person) costs are in US Dollars.

Information sources:

[1] CIA World Factbook

http://tinyurl.com/healthcia

[2] Reuters and World Bank
http://tinyurl.com/reutershc / http://tinyurl.com/hnpworldbank

[3] Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_health_care

Also check out…
24 Significant Medical Achievements and Their Country of Origin

Much debate occurs today about whether a country’s chosen health system impedes or encourages discovery and invention in the medical field. The fact is… innovation occurs wherever fertile and creative minds are trying to address real human need. Here is a list of a few significant discoveries/inventions:

1. Adrenaline (epinephrine): Isolated and used to treat asthma by Jokichi Takamine (Japan)
2. Artificial heart: Paul Winchell (USA) holds the original patent for an implantable artificial heart. Oddly enough, he was also an accomplished ventriloquist who was the voice of Tigger in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh
3. Aspirin: Felix Hoffmann (Germany) – he also synthesized heroin
4. Beta blockers: Sir James Black (UK) made a number of contributions to understanding of cardiology for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1988. Among his inventions was the first of a class of beta blocker drugs which among other things offers cardioprotection after a heart attack and reduce high blood pressure.
5. Bone marrow compatibility test: Barbara Bain (Canada)
6. Cardiac pacemaker: The idea for the pacemaker came from J A McWilliam in 1889 (UK). The first external pacemaker was designed and built by John Hopps (Canada). Earl Bakken (USA) developed the first externally wearable pacemaker. The first implantable pacemaker was designed by Rune Elmqvist and Ake Senning (Sweden).
7. CAT scan: Godfrey Hounsfield (UK), Alban Cormac (USA, born in South Africa)
8. Clinical trials: Austin Bradford Hill (UK)
9. Contact lenses: Leonardo Da Vinci (Italy)
10. Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) – Justin Ho (UK). The first portable EKG was developed by Taro Takemi (Japan)
11. Fetal monitor: K. Hammacher (Germany), Hewlett-Packard Co (USA, Germany)
12. Heart lung machine: John Heysham Gibbon (USA)
13. Heart transplant: Christiaan Barnard (South Africa) successfully transplanted the first human heart from one person to another
14. Helicobacter pylori: Barry Marshall and Robin Warren (Australia) discovered this bacterium which causes stomach ulcers
15. Hepatitis B vaccine: Baruch Blumberg, Irving Millman (USA)
16. HIV: Luc Montagnier (France) is credited for discovering HIV as the cause for AIDS
17. In vitro fertilization: John Rock (USA) extracted the first intact fertilized human egg. Carl Wood (Australia) pioneered the use of frozen embryos. Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards (UK) carried out the first successful procedure resulting in the birth of a healthy infant, Louise Brown.
18. Insulin: Isolated by Frederick Banting, Charles Best, J.J.R. Macleod, James Collip (Canada). They also pioneered the process for using insulin to treat diabetes
19. Medical ultrasound: Karl Theodore Dussik (Austria), Ian Donald (Scotland)
20. Nuclear medicine: Taro Tekemi (Japan)
21. Pasteurization: Developed by Louis Pasteur (France) as a method to kill germs. Pasteur also developed the germ theory of infection
22. Penicillin: Alexander Fleming (Scotland)
23. Polio vaccine: Jonas Salk, Albert Sabin (USA)
24. Smallpox vaccine: Although Edward Jenner (UK) is credited with developing the vaccine, his work was based on an existing innoculation technique brought back from Turkey by Lady Mary Montague. It was Jenner, however, that invented the term “vaccination”
25. Spray-on-skin: Fiona Wood (Australia) developed this for burn victims
26. Structure of DNA: Rosalind Franklin (UK), Francis Crick (UK), James Watson (USA)
27. Surgery: Abu Al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Andalusia) is considered the father of modern surgery
28. Tuberculosis vaccine: Albert Calmette, Charles Guerin (France)
29. Viagra: Ian Osterloh (UK) – OK, not that significant, but interesting
30. Xray: Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen (Germany)

Also check out…
75 Countries and Life Expectancy for Living There

The GLAAD Network Responsibility Index evaluates the quantity and quality of images of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people on television. Based on GLAAD’s 2009 report, below is a list of cable and network broadcast stations sorted according to the percentage of programming hours showing LGBT people and themes in a positive light.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 [ADA] was enacted on July 26th, 1990 to provide “a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination” and a “clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing discrimination”. This law was amended through the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which became effective on January 1, 2009. What follows are 8 reasons why the ADA exists, 6 objectives put forth by this act, and 5 facts about why it was amended in 2008.

8 Congressional findings about persons with disabilities…

1. Physical or mental disabilities in no way diminish a person’s right to fully participate in all aspects of society, yet many people with physical or mental disabilities have been precluded from doing so because of discrimination; others who have a record of a disability or are regarded as having a disability also have been subjected to discrimination; [Ed: This is new wording added to ADA in 2008]
2. Historically, society has tended to isolate and segregate individuals with disabilities, and, despite some improvements, such forms of discrimination against individuals with disabilities continue to be a serious and pervasive social problem;
3. Discrimination against individuals with disabilities persists in such critical areas as employment, housing, public accommodations, education, transportation, communication, recreation, institutionalization, health services, voting, and access to public services;
4. Unlike individuals who have experienced discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or age, individuals who have experienced discrimination on the basis of disability have often had no legal recourse to redress such discrimination;
5. Individuals with disabilities continually encounter various forms of discrimination, including outright intentional exclusion, the discriminatory effects of architectural, transportation, and communication barriers, overprotective rules and policies, failure to make modifications to existing facilities and practices, exclusionary qualification standards and criteria, segregation, and relegation to lesser services, programs, activities, benefits, jobs, or other opportunities;
6. Census data, national polls, and other studies have documented that people with disabilities, as a group, occupy an inferior status in our society, and are severely disadvantaged socially, vocationally, economically, and educationally;
7. The Nation’s proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for such individuals; and
8. The continuing existence of unfair and unnecessary discrimination and prejudice denies people with disabilities the opportunity to compete on an equal basis and to pursue those opportunities for which our free society is justifiably famous, and costs the United States billions of dollars in unnecessary expenses resulting from dependency and nonproductivity.

6 Objectives set forth by the ADA…

1. Establishes requirements for businesses of all sizes.
2. Requires any business serving the public to modify policies and practices that discriminate against people with disabilities.
3. Requires compliance with accessible design standards when constructing or altering facilities.
4. Requires removal of barriers in facilities when readily achievable.
5. Requires providing auxiliary aids and services when needed to ensure effective communication with people who have hearing, vision, or speech impairments.
6. Requires that all businesses, even those that do not serve the public, must comply with accessible design standards when constructing or altering facilities.

5 facts about why the ADA was amended in 2008…

1. In 2008, amendments to the ADA were passed as a way to clarify the original intent of the ADA and reject the reasoning of the Supreme Court in two major cases which had subsequently greatly narrowed its protection: Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc. (1999) and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams (2002).
2. In Sutton v. United Airlines, two myopic sisters who were otherwise qualified to be airline pilots were rejected because of a rule that required commercial pilots to have good vision without the aid of corrective lenses. The sisters petitioned a claim of discrimination under the ADA. The Supreme Court sided with United Airlines. This decision in part was based on myopia (near-sightedness) not being explicitly identified as a disability protected under the ADA. In particular, a person with myopia did not experience substantial limits in performing major life activities and so did not have a disability as defined by the ADA.
3. In Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, an employee disabled from job-related carpal tunnel syndrome claimed that Toyota was unwilling to provide reasonable accomodation as required under the ADA. The Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision, siding with Toyota, and claimed that the fact she could still do household chores, brush her teeth, and bathe, suggested that she did not suffer “substantial limits” in performing “major life activities”.
4. The definition of “major life activities” as amended in 2008 now reads, “For purposes of paragraph (1), major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.”
5. A definition of “impairment” was added in 2008 to restore the protection of the ADA with respect to job discrimination and currently reads: “An individual meets the requirement of “being regarded as having such an impairment” if the individual establishes that he or she has been subjected to an action prohibited under this chapter because of an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment whether or not the impairment limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity.”

Pakistan is a country that was born in 1947. Jasmine is its national flower, Islamabad is the capital city, and there are many bustling towns and quiet villages as well as beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, and deserts. Here are 26 things you may not already know about Pakistan.

1. A is for Asslam-U-Alaikum (“Peace be unto you”) which is how people in Pakistan say "Hello".
2. B is for Badshai Mosque where people come to pray and admire its beauty.
3. C is for Charpaye, a traditional village bed with a wooden or metal frame woven with colorful yarns.
4. D is for Dhobi ghat, an open-air laundry near the river bank where dhobis – washermen and women – bring the town’s dirty clothes to wash and spread out to dry.
5. E is for Eid (pronounced: eed), two of the year’s most important Islamic celebrations. Eid-Ul-Fitre marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting, and Eid-Ul-Addha is celebrated after Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.
6. F is for the wonderful Fruits grown throughout Pakistan including mangoes, bananas, watermelons, winter oranges, dates, and guavas.
7. G is for Garh, the family home.
8. H is for Hijaab, meaning to dress modestly. Most Muslim women wear a head scarf to cover their hair, ears, and throat. Others cover their entire body except their eyes.
9. I is for Indus, a large river flowing from the North to South of Pakistan. Some of the earliest cities grew up along its banks 4000 years ago. Because dams have been built to provide electricity, the river has become very dry.
10. J is for Jasmine, the national flower of Pakistan.
11. K is for Kulfi – a special ice-cream that is creamier than ordinary ice-cream.
12. L is for Laddu – sweet balls made from chickpea flour and sugar. They are often given as presents on happy occasions.
13. M is for Mothi – sequins and beads used to embroider scarves.
14. N is for Nihari, a spicy meat curry eaten with Naan (bread).
15. O is for Ointment bought from the herbalist. Herbalists are often more popular than doctors.
16. P is for Pakistan. Pakistan is a country that was born in 1947. Its people speak many languages including English, Punjabi, Pushto, and Sinhi, but Urdu is the official language. Islamabad is the capital city, and there are many bustling towns and quiet villages as well as beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, and deserts.
17. Q is for Qawali, songs of Islam sung by singers often accompanied by a tambourine, a harmonium (reed organ), and a tabla (a small drum).
18. R is for Rickshaw, a taxi that has been converted from a three-wheeled motorbike.
19. S is for Shalwar-Kameez, a three-piece dress suit worn by women made up of a long blouse, trousers, and a scarf or shawl.
20. T is for Truck, brightly decorated and painted with colorful paintings and lively poems.
21. U is for Urdu, the national language of Pakistan. It is written right to left.
22. V is for Volleyball, which is a very popular sport in Pakistan.
23. W is for Water buffaloes. Nearly 5% of the world’s milk comes from them.
24. X is for the eXciting [ok, we cheated a bit] kite festival of Basant which marks the coming of spring.
25. Y is for Yaar, the Urdu word for friends.
26. Z is for Zeewar, the word for jewelry which people like to show off at weddings and parties.

P Is for Pakistan, available from Reach and Teach, teaches the ABCs of Pakistan with beautiful and engaging photography featuring this country’s many wonders.

Also read, 6 Versions of the “Golden Rule” In Different Faith Traditions

Recycled tissue products help protect ancient forests, clean water, and wildlife habitat and it’s easier on the Earth to make tissues from paper instead of trees.

Greenpeace created a product guide ranking various tissue products based on three criteria:

1. 100% recycled content
2. At least 50% post-consumer recycled content
3. Bleached without toxic chlorine compounds

Green Forest, 365, Earth Friendly, April Soft, Atlantic, Cascades, Natural Value, Seventh Generation, Fiesta/Fiesta Green, Trader Joe’s, Marcal Small Steps, and CVS Earth Essentials are companies producing at least one product meeting these three criteria. Here’s the breakdown of these companies by product category.

TOILET PAPER

1. Green Forest
2. 365
3. April Soft
4. Earth Friendly
5. Fiesta and Fiesta Green
6. Natural Value
7. Seventh Generation
8. Trader Joe’s

PAPER TOWELS

1. Green Forest
2. 365
3. Earth Friendly
4. Natural Value
5. Seventh Generation
6. Trader Joe’s
7. Marcal Small Steps
8. CVS Earth Essentials

PAPER NAPKINS

1. 365
2. Atlantic
3. Cascades
4. CVS Earth Essentials
5. Green Forest
6. Marcal Small Steps
7. Natural Value
8. Seventh Generation

FACIAL TISSUES

1. Green Forest
2. 365
3. Natural Value
4. Seventh Generation

Founded in 1971, Greenpeace is the leading independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful direct action and creative communication to expose environmental problems and to promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.

Check out the book Low Carbon Diet: A 30 day program to lose 5000 pounds available at Reach and Teach.

Most educators have heard the term “cultural competence” – but have never received adequate preparation to appropriately respond to the challenges of a diverse classroom. How do teacher and administrator’s own cultural identities influence their interactions with students, parents, and colleagues? Here are some success factors proposed by Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools (BayCES)

1. Knows students well: academically, socially, emotionally
2. Builds relationships with students as people
3. Involved in the cultivation of the relationship beyond the classroom
4. Demonstrates a visible connectedness with each student
5. Immersed into the students’ culture
6. Provides a supportive classroom structure for academic, social, and emotional success
7. Welcomes students into the classroom as a place that is theirs and not just the teacher’s (making it visible in how the classroom is set up)
8. Provides necessary routines that help students become learners and feel safe in the classroom
9. Emotes a "we’re all in this together" affect
10. Encourages a community of learners who are responsible for each other inside and outside the classroom
11. Promotes psychological safety in the classroom
12. Promotes the intellectual leadership of students who are educationally, economically, socially, politically, and culturally disenfranchised
13. Apprentices students into a learning community
14. Has high academic standards and expectations for each student / all students
15. Exudes publicly, positively, enthusiastically belief that each student can achieve those standards
16. Knows very well and loves the subject matter, and conveys that to students (is not cynical about area of content knowledge or enthusiasm about it)
17. Legitimates students’ real life experiences by building those experiences into the curriculum
18. Makes every effort to welcome and celebrate their culture (urban youth culture, African American culture, Latino culture, etc.) as an integral part of the learning environment and process
19. Helps them to code switch, know why, and also values their home culture and language
20. Provides scaffolding into cognitive skills to think deeply about content
21. Differentiates teaching and learning by learning readiness, interests, and learning styles (including culturally sensitive adaptations)
22. Sees teaching as an art and themselves as artists
23. Helps students make connections between their community, national, and global identities
24. Views knowledge (hence curriculum) critically; develops students’ "habits of mind" to enable them to take a critical stance on their learning
25. Helps students develop skills to participate fully in the construction of knowledge
26. Helps students develop what Ladson-Billings calls their "socio-political awareness"
27. Treats students as competent and developing
28. Understands own race and its consequences (personally, historically, systemically)
29. Is calm and non-reactive, but firm, fair, consistent
30. Understands cultural behavior patterns (as a result, does not send more African American boys out for discipline)
31. Does not ‘dis’ students in front of their peers
32. Is not (if White) paralyzed by racial guilt or liberal paternalism
33. Is (if a person of color) aware of the possibility of internalized racism and resulting low expectations or over-protectiveness of students of color
34. Is their own selves with students, honest and human
35. Has high self-esteem and a high regard for others
36. Observes other culturally competent teachers interacting with and teaching students
37. Participates in an equity centered professional learning community so as to be committed to ongoing growth and development in these areas

Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools (BayCES) based in Oakland, CA is working to dramatically improve educational experiences, outcomes, and life options for students and families who have been historically underserved by their schools and districts. Reach and Teach and Design Action are proud to have been involved in creating their organization’s website.

Please check out “My People Are… Youth Pride in Mixed Heritage” an iPride film promoting positive racial & ethnic identity in ALL children and highlighting the multiracial experience.

Desperate times can call for desperate measures and our need to find new ways to meet the demands of our insatiable energy appetite has resulted in some unusual (to say the least) ideas.

1. Tornadoes — Canadian engineer Louis Micahaud has patented a "vortex engine". The plan (on paper anyway) involves creating essentially a controlled tornado 650 ft in diameter and between 1 to 12 miles high. It could power up to 200,000 homes.
2. Beer — Since 2005, California brewer Sierra Nevada has been powering its brewery on a mixture of natural gas and methane (which is a by-product from the water-treatment process that the brewery uses).
3. Miniature nuclear power generators — Hyperion Power Generation markets a nuclear reactor about the size of a hot tub. Designed to be buried underground, Hyperion claims that it can fuel 20,000 homes for up to a decade.
4. Lasers — To get around the problem of solar cells not being very useful when the sun isn’t available (e.g. at night), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Osaka University are planning to build solar collectors 22,000 miles above the Earth and use lasers to beam the energy back to surface stations. The hope is to deploy these by 2030.
5. Trees — In 2006, MIT scientists discovered that there’s a slight pH imbalance between a tree and its surrounding soil which can cause a small amount of electricity to be generated. A company called Voltree is planning to use this as a potential energy source.
6. Japanese commuters — In 2008, the East Japan Railway Corporation tested a power-generating floor at the ticket gates in Tokyo train stations. Basically, the floor contains discs made of piezoelectric material that converts vibrations into electricity. Apparently, through the millions of people who walk through the station each day, enough energy is generated to power the computer displays and ticket machines at the stations.

Learn lots of other stuff you didn’t even realize you needed to know in Uncle John’s Certified Organic Bathroom Reader.

"A lot of people get sticker shock when they look at the price of a new hybrid… the added expense won’t pay itself back very quickly on fuel savings alone… But this quick analysis misses a number of hybrids’ other economic benefits." — Bryan Palmintier, "Rethinking the Cost of Hybrid Cars", blog post.

1. Federal Incentives – New hybrids may entitle their owners to federal tax credits ranging from $250 to $3,400. Check out www.irs.gov for more info.
   
2. State and City Incentives and Perks — Some states offer incentives for hybrid drivers, including tax credits and ability to drive solo in "HOV" (high-occupancy vehicle ‘diamond’) highway lanes and even free or discounted parking privileges.
   
3. Employer Incentives and Perks – A growing number of employers are encouraging their workers to commute in hybrid vehicles… [offering up to] $5,000 for purchasing or leasing a hybrid. See www.hybridcenter.org for a list of companies offering incentives.
   
4. Loan Discounts – Many banks, especially credit unions, offer preferential loan rates for hybrid cars.
   
5. Insurance Discounts – Farmers, Geico, and Travelers are among insurance companies offering discounted insurance rate to hybrid drivers in some states.
   
6. Repair Costs and Brakes — Technology that a hybrid uses to recoup energy during braking can actually result in that hybrid car’s brake pads lasting three times longer than a conventional car.
   
7. Resale Value — Hybrid car owners have been delighted to find that their cars have held their value better than non-hybrid versions of the same model. In California, only a limited number of "Clean Air HOV" stickers were made available. Those are transferable when the car is sold adding to the car’s resale value.
   
8. Gas Savings — Even if gas prices have dropped temporarily, they will be going up again as we continue to reach the limits of our world’s oil supply.
   
9. Benefits Beyond Money – Don’t you feel better driving a more fuel efficient car for those times you need to drive a car? (Along with other things you are hopefully doing to lower your carbon footprint on the planet)
   

Become a member of Green America and learn ways to live healthier, save more, invest wisely, and make a difference. Reach and Teach is proud to be a Green America certified green business.

1. Seeger went to Harvard but left after two years just before final exams in 1938. He made his way to New York, where he eventually landed a job with the Archives of American Folk Music.
    
2. On dropping out of the communist movement: “I was never enthusiastic about being somebody who was supposed to be silent about being a member of something.”
    
3. In 1955 before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Seeger used the First Amendment rather than the Fifth as his reason for refusing to discuss his politics and associations. “Using the Fifth Amendment,” Seeger explained, “is in effect saying, ‘you have no right to ask me this question’; but using the First Amendment means, ‘you have no right to ask any American such questions.’
    
4. Libby Frank, in 1952 insisted on singing “my brothers and my sisters” instead of “all of my brothers” in the Seeger/Lee song “If I had a hammer”. Lee resisted the change at first. “It doesn’t ripple off the tongue as well. How about ‘all of my siblings’?” Lee later acquiesced. (ref: www.mysongbook.de)
    
5. Pete’s famous banjo reads: “This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.” (ref: Yes! Magazine)
    
6. Testimony to his strong faith in his country’s ultimate and necessary commitment to freedom of expression, Seeger wrote the words to “Bring them Home” which includes the line “…one of the great things about America is that we can speak our minds…” during a time he was being regularly blacklisted and his words and songs were heavily censored.
    
7. Seeger popularized “We shall overcome” when he published his version of the gospel song in People’s Songs in 1947. It later became one of the most memorable anthems of the civil rights movement in the 60′s being sung at rallies, vigils, and protests.
    
8. On traveling with Woodie Guthrie, “He taught me how to hitchhike and how to ride freight trains. You don’t get on a freight when it’s in the station—the railroad bulls will kick you off. You go about 100 yards or maybe 200 yards outside to where the train is just picking up speed and you can trot alongside it. You throw your banjo in an empty car, and then you throw yourself in. And you then might go 200 or 300 miles before you stop.”
    
9. “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy”, an allegorical anti-war song written in 1967 during the war in Vietnam was published by Columbia records but deemed too controversial and never sent to retail stores. It was The Smothers Brothers that made it possible for the world to know about the song when they invited Pete Seeger to be a guest on their television show. The song was edited out before air time by TV executives but The Smothers Brothers got the last word when they went to the press saying, “CBS censors our best jokes, they censored Seeger’s best song. It ain’t fair.” (ref: www.peteseeger.net)
    
10. In October, 1994, President Clinton awarded Seeger the National Medal of the Arts praising him as “an inconvenient artist who dared to sing things as he saw them.”
     
11. A Pete Seeger quote, “Learning how to do something in your hometown is the most important thing. … If there’s a world here in a hundred years, it’s going to be saved by tens of millions of little things.”
     
12. Pete Seeger’s birthday is May 3rd. He turns 90 in 2009.
     

Read At 89 Pete Seeger’s Still A Rebel! at Reach and Teach.

One of the particularly exciting ways in which we are able to understand the very real effects of climate change on the Earth is through collaborative research involving students of all ages around the world collecting, sharing, and analyzing data alongside scientists. The Internet is making it possible as never before for these citizen scientists to share observations taken in their own backyard with thousands of others doing the same measurements in different global locations. Here are just a few ongoing projects that you can easily get to and even join on the Web.

1. Thousand Eyes Project – From 1900 to 1923, Dr. Alexander MacKay set up a program in Nova Scotia for students and teachers to observe and record certain natural history events such as plants flowering, birds returning from wintering grounds, frogs peeping, and weather events over time. This data has now been placed on the Internet and the project continues today.
2. Bird Sleuth – Students in 4th through 8th grade can engage in scientific study and real data collection through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s exciting citizen science projects. Data observed and collected is sent directly to research scientists at Cornell.
3. Project Budburst – Changes in when flowers bloom gives clues about our changing climate. Project BudBurst engages thousands of people across the United States in making careful observations of first leafing, first flower, and first fruit ripening of a diversity of trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses in their local area.
4. Journey North – Migration patterns of monarch butterflies, hummingbirds, whales, and other creatures are collected and tracked from citizen scientists across North America.
5. Frogwatch USA and Frogwatch Canada – Around 1,400 volunteers monitor nearly 2,000 sites observing over 79 species of frogs and toads.
6. Bonanza Creek Schoolyard Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) – A project in Fairbanks, Alaska where students extract tree cores and examine the tree rings to see how boreal forests are responding to climate change.
7. Student Partners Project – Unites students, teachers, and scientists in creating opportunities to experience the life of a polar scientist while doing real research.

1. In 1940, Woody Guthrie wrote This Land is Your Land because he was tired of the radio overplaying Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” which he thought was unrealistic and complacent. [wikipedia]
    
2. The tune for the song was taken from a gospel hymn “When the world’s on fire” recorded by the Carter Family in 1930.
    
3. A verse that is normally left out when performed…
   Was a high wall there that tried to stop me
   A sign was painted said: Private Property
   But on the back side it didn’t say nothing
   That side was made for you and me.
    
4. Another verse that is normally not sung…
   One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple
   By the Relief Office I saw my people
   As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering
   If this land was made for you and me?
    
5. Various artists who have performed the song include: Bob Dylan, The Kingston Trio, the Limeliters, Pete Seeger, Peter Paul and Mary, and Bruce Springsteen
    
6. The song was most recently sung by Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger (with the usually omitted verses intact) during President Obama’s Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
    
7. The soundtrack to the movie Hard travelin’ includes an original recording of Woody Guthrie singing the song with his son Arlo Guthrie digitally mixed in to sing the omitted verses as taught to him by his father.
    
8. Guthrie’s original “copyright” on his song reads:
   This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright #154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin’ it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don’t give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that’s all we wanted to do.
    
9. Woody Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma. Guthrie was disabled by and died of Huntington’s disease which ended his life in 1967.
    
10. A Woody Guthrie quote [woodyguthrie.org],
    “A folk song is what’s wrong and how to fix it or it could be
    who’s hungry and where their mouth is or
    who’s out of work and where the job is or
    who’s broke and where the money is or
    who’s carrying a gun and where the peace is.”
     

In the Complete Guide to Service Learning, the author recommends creating a Service Learning Bookshelf with books and stories that can teach and motivate young people to read and become inspired to action. Books can lead students to consider many questions:

1. What do I have in common with these characters?
   
2. How are the characters’ actions changing how the characters think about themselves?
   
3. What actions are making a difference in the lives of others?
   
4. Are any of the problems or conflicts in the story occurring in my life or the lives of people I know or see?
   
5. What questions do I have after reading this book?
   
6. What can we do to address problems in our community that are similar to the ones described in the book?

These questions can deepen a reader’s relationship with the text as well as to stimulate the reader’s thinking and concern for community needs and issues. Included in your bookshelf might be nonfiction, picture book, and fiction titles that:

• describe the service experiences of others
• introduce important social themes
• tell stories from history
• increase student interest in reading
• promote critical thinking and discussion
• prepare students to interact with diverse populations
• enhance the experiences students have in the community
• inspire students to serve

Learn more proven and practical ways to engage students in civic responsibility, learning, and social action in The Complete Guide to Service Learning by Cathryn Berger Kaye. You’ll find some wonderful ideas and a great reading list of books.

Learn more about Service Learning at reachandteach.com

Here are 10 tips from Grassrootsfundraising.org – a really good resource for socially conscious nonprofit organizations looking for ideas and advice for raising more money (and who isn’t these days?)

1. Make it personal and stay in touch with your donors. Call them by
   phone to thank and update them, invite them to tour your building, or have breakfast briefings a few times during the next six months.
    
2. Don’t rely as much on direct mail either for acquiring new donors or for getting relatively new donors to renew their support. Studies show that direct mail donations have been flat or decreasing.
    
3. Expect foundation funding to decrease as foundations’ investment portfolios take a hit. Foundations will be tending to focus more on their existing grantees rather than on new organizations.
    
4. Stay in touch with all your donors more regularly. Create a monthly e-newsletter for all of your donors, friends, and stakeholders that will keep them in touch with what is happening in your organization. Collect as many e-mail addresses as you can.
    
5. Redefine your major donors downward so you have a larger base of “high touch donors.” If you define your major donors now as those who give $500 or more, try to lower the threshold amount to $250 so you will have a larger pool of donors.
    
6. Focus more on a “few major donors” and increase the personal time you spend with them. They may be your lifesavers during tougher economic times.
    
7. Rely less on corporate philanthropy and more on corporate sponsorship and marketing dollars. Corporate philanthropy (small even in good times) will probably decrease. What is likely to increase is sponsorship and underwriting dollars for special events.
    
8. Increase your fundraising capabilities. Invest time and money in your database, attending a workshop or training session. Increase your development staff. Realize your costs may increase a bit during these times.
    
9. Increase opportunities for your donor prospects and your donors to become involved. Donors are looking for increased involvement and less checkbook philanthropy. Look for ways they can be active in volunteering.
    
10. Develop contingency plans that answer all of the “what if” questions in terms of reduced revenue. Can you use volunteers where staff were functioning in good times? Are there opportunities for board members to play more technical roles?
     

Richard Male is a national and international consultant and trainer with nonprofit organizations in the field of capacity building and coaching. Visit him at http://www.richardmale.com