Cyber Monday :: Buy Less

Today is Cyber Monday. It will likely be the biggest online shopping day ever. Cyber Monday was created by the National Retail Federation in 2005 to focus media and public attention on online shopping. But Cyber Monday, and the culture of consumption it reflects, puts the economy of natural systems that support all life firmly in the red. We're now using the resources of one-and-a-half planets on our one and only planet.

Because Patagonia wants to be in business for a good long time – and leave a world inhabitable for our kids – we want to do the opposite of every other business today. We ask you to buy less and to reflect before you spend a dime on this jacket or anything else.

Environmental bankruptcy, as with corporate bankruptcy, can happen very slowly, then all of a sudden. This is what we face unless we slow down, then reverse the damage. We're running short on fresh water, topsoil, fisheries, wetlands – all our planet's natural systems and resources that support business, and life, including our own.

The environmental cost of everything we make is astonishing. Consider the R2® Jacket shown, one of our best sellers. To make it required 135 liters of water, enough to meet the daily needs (three glasses a day) of 45 people. Its journey from its origin as 60% recycled polyester to our Reno warehouse generated nearly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, 24 times the weight of the finished product. This jacket left behind, on its way to Reno, two-thirds its weight in waste.

And this is a 60% recycled polyester jacket, knit and sewn to a high standard; it is exceptionally durable, so you won't have to replace it as often. And when it comes to the end of its useful life we'll take it back to recycle into a product of equal value. But, as is true of all the things we can make and you can buy, this jacket comes with an environmental cost higher than its price.

There is much to be done and plenty for us all to do. Don't buy what you don't need. Think twice before you buy anything. Go to patagonia.com/CommonThreads, take the Common Threads Initiative pledge and join us in the fifth “R,” to reimagine a world where we take only what nature can replace.

Take the pledge

-Patagonia

Eleven. Eleven. Eleven.

Where can you go from there? Where?...Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?...Eleven. Exactly. One louder.

Celebrating 50 Years of US Foreign Aid

Thank you JFK.

Here’s To The Crazy Ones

"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, 

are the ones who do." 

-Apple

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being.  Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. 

Via Apple.com

Fight The Famine

Sign the petition to fight the famine at ONE.org

Stories From Haiti :: After The Quake

Frontline | The Economy of a Tent City

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Frontline | Solving The Tap-Tap Puzzle

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Frontline | The Aid Dilemma

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Via PBS | Frontline & NPR | Planet Money
Reporter | David Davidson

The End of R.E.M.

Amnesty International believes that human right abuses anywhere are the concern of people everywhere. 


R.E.M. announced today that have broken up after 31 years together.  R.E.M. is best know for pioneering american alternative music and rock social activism.  Who can forget the 1991 MTV Music Video Award when Michael Stipe wore a half a dozen different T-shirts with slogan including "rainforest", "love knows no colors", and "handgun control now".  Stipe believed that he could use his rock status to raise the world awareness to social and political injustice.  



"A wise man once said, ‘The skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave,’ " - Michael Stipe 


The End of R.E.M. and they feel fine.

Think Equal

To find out more visit The World Bank. 

Phish Phundraises 4 Vermont

Phish will play a special benefit concert for Vermont's flood recovery efforts. In the wake of Hurricane Irene, Vermont experienced its worst flooding in a century, which devastated communities throughout the state.  Many of us remember Conventry but this year's flood is way worse. 

Show your support for Vermont's flood recovery by purchasing a live webcast of the benefit concert.  

Proceeds from the concert and merchandise sales will be directed to The WaterWheel Foundation and The Vermont Community Foundation to aid in the recovery of the Green Mountain State.
The WaterWheel Foundation was created by Phish in 1997 to oversee the band's various charitable activities. Fans can donate to The WaterWheel Foundation by clicking here. You should specify that you would like your contribution to go to Vermont flood recovery efforts.


The Vermont Community Foundation was founded in 1986 and is Vermont's largest homegrown philanthropic foundation, managing a collection of over 600 charitable funds that invest more than $18 million annually in Vermont through grants, loans and other investments. In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, the Foundation worked with donors and other partners to facilitate donations for relief and recovery efforts, including the establishment of a fund to benefit Vermont farmers affected by the storm. Visit vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355 for more information.

World Humanitarian Day :: People Helping People

If you have an idea about how to change the world, the UN Secretary-General wants to know about it.

Reinventing The Toilet

Bill & Melinda Gates wants us to get our shit together and reinvent the toilet.

2.6 billion people—40 percent of the world’s population—
use unsafe toilets or practice open defecation.

Fecal-oral contamination is an underlying factor in more
than 50 percent of child deaths in the developing world.

Every year, food and water tainted with fecal matter
cause up to 2.5 billion cases of diarrhea among children,
resulting in 1.5 million child deaths.

Chronic diarrhea can hinder child development by
impeding the uptake of essential nutrients that are critical
to the development of children’s minds, bodies, and
immune systems.

Learn more at about the global need for water, sanitation and hygiene at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

MOVE | LEARN | EAT = A Tip Of A Life Time

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

= A TRIP OF A LIFE TIME

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films.....

= a trip of a lifetime.

move, eat, learn

Rick Mereki : Director, producer, additional camera and editing
Tim White : DOP, producer, primary editing, sound
Andrew Lees : Actor, mover, groover

H 2 The B MTV!

Thanks for 30 years of cool.

Make Aid Transparent

Make Aid Transparent from Make Aid Transparent on Vimeo.

The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) will help donor countries stop redundant spending. It will help eliminate corruption and waste and it will improve the impact of aid dollars.

Sign the petition to Make Aid Transparent

http://www.makeaidtransparent.org/

Failure: A Catalyst For Re-Invention

We all fail. Life is not easy and we all must deal with misfortunes. The true test of success is how you handle your failure and where that failure takes you.

The World On The Move

Climate change is expected to bring about significant changes in migration patterns throughout the developing world. Rising sea levels, more frequent and severe natural disasters, pandemics, heat waves and widespread drought will lead to extensive migrations within countries and across borders resulting in further strains on scarce water, energy and food resources.

What is the world’s responsibilities to the millions of people likely to be displaced by climate change?

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Find out how you can get involved with UNHCR's efforts. http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c344.html

Doctors Without Borders- Medicine On The Edge

Tonight On Current TV: Doctors Without Borders Working In The Congo

Monday 23rd May, 10pm - Monday 30th May.
Only on Current TV
Sky 183
Virgin Media 155

http://current.com/shows/doctors-without-borders/

It's The End of The World

Beyoncé & Michelle Partner To Battle Fat Kids

Beyoncé is helping Michelle Obama with the Let's Move! campaign to fight childhood obesity. The campaign is promoting the benefits of healthy eating and exercise. The Let's Move! campaign partners with government, doctors, public health officials, business leaders, nonprofit groups and schools who are pledging to work together to get kids off the couch and into a healthier lifestyle.

This is not going to be an easy battle to fight but this comprehensive initiative has the potential of putting kids on the right path to a healthier future. Strategies include working with the food industry to advertise healthier food options rather than marketing sugary snacks, installing sidewalks to encourage walking to school, putting in greengrocers in inner cities to make access to better food decisions readily available.

Sure, Let's Move! has an ambitious goal but American children are fat and it is time we take a holistic approach to this problem - and make it cool for the kids.

Nerd Prom 2011

Seth Meyers White House Correspondents'Dinner Roast