Join Earth Hour 2009 – Saturday, 28 March, from 8:30 to 9:30pm

Switch off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28, 8:30-9:30pm.

VOTE EARTH
YOUR LIGHT SWITCH IS YOUR VOTE

This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming.

For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

San Francisco Rally for Tibetan Freedom

8 April 2008

Rally and Vigil at UN Plaza in Downtown San Francisco

Handmade “Free Tibet” Poster

“No Torch in Tibet”

Equating Beijing 2008 with Berlin 1936

“Free Burma”

“Where are the monks?

“Freedom in Tibet; Understanding in China”

“Compassion for All”

Urging dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Dalai Lama

Desmond Tutu urging world leaders not to go to the Opening Ceremonies

Richard Gere joining an impromptu prayer

Mandala

Public Transportation in the Bay Area – Who Can Afford It?

The devil on my right shoulder always manages to sneak in the temptation to drive to San Francisco from Oakland.  (On which shoulder do devils usually sit?) “It would be so easy.  And take less than half the time” says the devil.  And for a second, I think about the two cars at my disposal, parked just outside the front door.  (I don’t even have to open the garage door to get to one of them.)

But at the last minute, I type transit.511.org in a browser tab, enter my starting address and ending address and <click>.

Last November, Kaki and Tib gave me an incredibly generous gift certificate at Kabuki Springs & Spa so I booked a deluxe (80 minutes) massage for today, at 11am.  Mark is in Salt Lake City, testing his snow-boarding legs, and Betsy and Zing are painting New York City some outrageous color.  So, I’m on my own – no possibilities of a ride share, which might justify (a little) driving.

I leave the house at 9:20am, a little earlier than necessary (definitely don’t want to be late for a massage!) and walk to the Rockridge BART station.  It costs $3.45 one way to 16th and Mission, where I am to catch the #22 Union Street Muni bus.  The train comes within 2 minutes of my reaching the platform – around 9:35am.  I get out of the 16th and Mission BART station at 10:04am.  I just miss a #22 bus, so I stand at the stop until I see a bus on the other side of the street going in the direction I want.  I realize I’ve been standing on the wrong side of the street in a flashback to India.  I cross the street and wait for the next bus, which, according to the flashing LED screen at the stop, is 2 minutes away.  I pay $1.25 (a $0.25 discount with my “BART to Bus” transfer that I picked up on leaving the BART station).  I get a transfer, which I won’t be able to use, since I will not be getting on the bus within an hour and a half.  I reach my destination – Fillmore and Geary – around 10:40am – an hour and a half after I left home.  OK – if I hadn’t spaced, it would have taken me about an hour and 15 minutes.

My return bus fare costs me $1.50; return BART $3.45.  A total of $9.65.  Almost $10 for a round trip on public transportation from Oakland to San Francisco!

If I had driven, it would have taken me less than half an hour, one way.  Toll on the Bay Bridge:  $4.  Gas?  Let’s say $5, given the distance of about 29 miles (assuming 20 miles/gallon and gas at $3.50/gallon).  A total round trip cost of $9 (assuming no cost for parking and no parking ticket!).

Yes, there is the tailpipe emissions from driving, but I’m told that it is way less than the gases released from a single burp of a grain-fed cow.

The Situation in Burma – What Can We Do?

Those of you following the situation in Burma know that the military junta has cut off access to the Internet; is confiscating video and cell phone cameras; and is now in the process of hunting down and jailing individual protesters based on photographs.  No one knows the status of thousands of monks who were rounded up and taken from their monasteries.  Human rights organizations fear that the death toll is far higher than the 10 officially listed by the military junta.

What can we do?

• Add your signature to a petition on Avaaz.org calling on China and the U.N. security council to oppose the violent crackdown on the demonstrators and to support reconciliation and democracy.
• Post a message of support to the brave people of Burma on the Ethical Traveler site.
• Join prayer vigils, peace marches, and protests in a location near you.  For those in the San Francisco Bay Area, join the Burmese American Democratic Alliance this Friday, 5 October, for a rally at the Chinese Consulate from 2-5pm, a peace march from the Chinese Consulate to UN Plaza from 5-6pm, and a prayer vigil at UN Plaza from 6-8pm. For others, 6 October is a Global Day of Action.  Avaaz.org has a full list of calls to action around the world.
• Donate to a group of young people living in Thailand who can get funds to the protesters in Burma.  For tax deductible donations, visit the Youth Solidarity of Burma site set up by Mad Nomad (our good friend Gregg Butensky).  If you don’t care about tax deductions, you can PayPal or wire the money through Give To Burma.
• Stay informed.  News portals: The Irrawaddy and Mizzima News.  Human Rights Watch, Burma. Facebook: Voices of Burma, and many others…

Street Businesses, Pune

Non-food businesses along a half-block pathway (sidewalk) near the Pune Junction railway station.

Haircut and shave 

Shoe shine

Bicycle tube repair

Shoe repair

Weigh scale

Ice delivery

2006 Brower Youth Awards

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” Goethe

These words capture one of David Brower’s guiding principles and are embodied by the 6 winners of the Earth Island Institute’s Seventh Annual Brower Youth Awards.

Earth Island Institute established the Brower Youth Awards in 2000 to honor David Brower and to call forth a new generation of leaders. This annual national award recognizes six young people for their outstanding activism and achievements in the fields of environmental and social justice advocacy. Each winner is awarded $3000 in cash and flown to San Francisco for the award week and a backcountry camping trip. The Awards not only promote the accomplishments of these new leaders but also invest in their continued success by providing ongoing access to resources, mentors, and opportunities to develop their leadership skills through Earth Island Institute’s New Leaders Initiative.

The Awards ceremony, held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on 27 October, 2006, featured Adrienne Maree Brown, of the Ruckus Society, as MC, a performance by GRRRL Brigade on taiko drums in a tribute to Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the Green Belt Movement, a short film about David Brower, video presentations of the 6 award winners, and a short speech by each winner. (The videos were produced by Max Harper, 2002 Brower Youth Award recipient and will be posted on YouTube shortly.)

The winners, ranging in age from 16 to 22 are working on safe cosmetics, clean cars, habitat restoration, saving a sacred peak, climate change, and youth leadership training:

• Jessica Assaf, age 16, San Rafael, California. Teens for Safe Cosmetics Campaign.
• May Boeve, age 21, Middlebury, Vermont. The Road to Detroit.
• Karoline Evin McMullen, age 16, Chesterland, Ohio. Save our Streams – SOS.
• Alberta Nihbaa’ Nells, age 16, Flagstaff, Arizona. Youth of the Peaks.
• Elissa Smith, age 21, Vancouver, Canada. Climate change activist.
• Ruben Vogt, age 22, El Paso, Texas. CYnergy Fellowship (Civic.Youth.Energy).