A Movement in the Making

I kayaked with a beluga whale! I saw a beaver in the wild! I climbed a sand dune! I could not have said that until a few weeks ago and the exhilaration of it spilled over to my blog – see posted about a week ago. I was truly awestruck and still am marveling that this was indeed my country – really, came at me from out of the blue. If anything, it’s made me even more eco-conscious and a great advocate for eco-travel and conservation.

Ironically, just as the thrill for the natural world subsides, my mood falls in to an abyss as word of wildlife destruction in the Gulf Coast starts to permeate the headlines. Not just any wildlife, but the whales that I had so fondly become accustomed to. Shockingly, these massive animals that fear none have found their match in deadly oil that slowly is killing everything it touches.  What an awful thought! I’m not surprised then that the tourism industry would be affected, not only on the Gulf Coast, but also in Canada where oil exploration continues throughout northern Alberta.

Prospecting for oil is big business, which regardless of good intentions and taking the necessary precautions, is driven by consumerism and is done at the expense of another reliable industry. Opting for greater investment in green technology and alternative energies just might save tourism, or save just about every other business out there. Business are waking up to the realities that consumers do not want to support products that are damaging to the environment, cause wildlife extinction or cause air qualities to deteriorate and alas, the CSR executives, Green PR Consultants and Tech junkies are finding more and more areas for work.

Most of the world is waking up to this reality and Canadian industry is well poised to lead the way. Bombardier was just awarded to created energy savings high speed trains for Chinese expansion (think China’s version of the TGV), but Canada’s National VIA Rail hasn’t yet upgraded. Is it that our politicians and CEO’s are simply too old to adjust in their ways of thinking? It seems counter productive to support oil exploration in the name of business development when it destroys others, while at the same time destroying our quality of life through the air we breathe, the water we drink, the animals we enjoy…the list goes on.

The contradictions are astounding and in searching out solutions and sharing ideas, I’ve recently started to blog on another site : http://www.greeniters.com where I hope to continue to share my thoughts and also learn something new along the way about all things Green. Feel free to visit!

Parting Ways with my Laptop

Dear  Laptop,

I write to you to thank you for your endless hours of devotion and I know that through it all, you were there for me. Your keys have been a helpful reminder that who I am is partly due to your unfailing support. I’ll not forget the long nights we spent together drudging through research reports, surveys, statistics and the like to come up with the perfect research paper, or the feeling of excitement once you found a lost tune via YouTube. You helped me to grasp all that Facebook, Twitter and WordPress have to offer, and although I’m not as close to Excel as I am with you, I feel we’re much closer because you were around. You are truly one of a kind! But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and it’s with this knowledge that I soon must bid you adieu as your start-up speed, firewall settings and search capabilities – I’m sorry to say it – are falling behind. I don’t consider this a dismissal, but rather a parting of ways that I think will be good for both of us. It might just be time you finally take that trip you finally dreamed of with you wife, Faxie Machine – didn’t you always want to visit Silicon Valley? Think about it. I’ll be looking around for your replacement shortly – perhaps venturing away from PC World altogether, Apple seems to be working wonders for many, and in the meantime, keep you screen up, your keys sharp and look forward to the time when I won’t have to open you up at 5am to check the flight schedule, weather or news. Please know that although our time together may not be as frequent in the future, I consider you more than just a business partner, but a trusted companion and I hope that wherever we may go in the future, that we stay in touch and remain on good terms.

Your friend,

Julie

It’s a Sustainable Life

Sus-TAIN-able!! Whoa, I hear it everywhere – from Oprah to Obama, on the news, in the papers, around town, in the grocery stores and I’m sure it’s one of those words that will be on next year’s Spelling Bee List. So what the heck does it mean? Seriously, it’s only within the last months, maybe a year that it’s been rolling off the tongue of everyone and it’s been evolving into, sustainable development, sustainable living, sustainable business…just throw a sustainable in front of it and all of a sudden my sentence has drama!

I like it because it has speaks to continuity and maintaining that whatever we have right now will last into the future. Maybe that’s why it pairs so nicely with the Green Movement – ensuring that businesses are responsible to the environment where they work, that our household products are friendly to our ecosystem and that economic and international development projects consider conservation, health and environmental concerns.  It’s a great concept and I happily embrace it. But I also think sustainability can go beyond our concern for the earth and can also be applied to our relationships with each other and among communities.

If I’ve learned anything over the last few decades is that things change, priorities change, people change. That’s why circles of friends are always changing and why the value of old friends and family increases over time. I think if you were to ask anyone, family and friends would be at the top of the list of ‘Most Important Things in Life’. But, it’s not easy to keep such a close network of relationships and it takes work, much more than simply switching laundry detergents or getting a hybrid. Adaptation and prioritizing are key and we’ve clearly done it regarding the environment, but for ourselves and those closest to us, I think many of us have fallen short. Do you think that sustainable relationships and communities are giving way to sustainable growth, innovation and paychecks? If our relationships really are the most important aspects of our lives, then the same fervor, passion and energy that many of us felt for green products, living and  technology, should be – if not more – applied to maintaining our network of relationships. If we did, perhaps we’d have more cordial and sustainable communities – after all, it’s the people that build them, not the other way around.

Ideas, Perceptions and Realities

I found an interesting article in the BBC summarizing a study by the PEW Research Center in Washington, DC, which looked at common stereotypes often associated with many African nations.

The results are as follows…

“1. 75% of South Africans think polygamy is “morally wrong” – bad news for their president, as Jacob Zuma took his third wife earlier this year and is engaged to a fourth. However, the survey also revealed some possible double-standards. While only 7% of Rwandans approved of polygamy (although this did include women), a rather higher number – 17% – of men said they had more than one wife.”

Interesting. You would have thought that a President’s actions would be reflective of the people that elected him and his example is far from that. Makes me wonder what happened on election day?

2. An overwhelming majority of respondents disapproved of homosexual behaviour. In three countries – Zambia, Kenya and Cameroon – this was a massive 98%. Interestingly, one of the countries with the highest numbers of people – 11% – accepting homosexuals is Uganda, where an MP is trying to get legislation passed which would punish homosexual acts with life in prison and even death in some cases. The former Portuguese colonies of Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique were also relatively tolerant of homosexuality.

Ironic, no?

3. Africa is probably the world’s most religious continent, with more than 80% saying they believed in God in most countries. At least half of the Christians questioned expect Jesus Christ to return to earth during their lifetimes. In Ethiopia, 74% of Christians say they have experienced or witnessed the devil or evil spirits being driven out of a person and in Ghana, 40% of Christians say they have had a direct revelation from God. About half of all Muslims expect to see the reunification of the Islamic world under a single ruler, or caliph, in their lifetimes.

Think of all the effort Christian and foreign missionaries spent in trying to spread the word of God throughout Africa – it obviously worked!  Interestingly, it seems as though Muslims have just the same conviction to their faiths.

4. Zimbabwe, where the Lemba people say they are the lost tribe of Israel, was not one of the countries surveyed. But 26% of Nigerian Christians said they traced their origins back to Israel or Palestine.

5. Belief in witchcraft is also common – about 40%; a similar percentage also visit traditional healers to cure sickness. Belief in witchcraft is highest in Tanzania with 93% – this is the country where witchdoctors say that magic potions are more effective if they contain body parts of people with albinism. Ethiopia had the lowest levels of belief in witchcraft – at just 17%. Belief that juju or sacred objects can prevent bad things happening was generally lower – between 20 and 30%. In Senegal, however, 75% thought such things worked – far higher than in Tanzania (49%). It may come as a surprise to learn that South Africa had the highest number of people – 52% – saying they took part in ceremonies of traditional religions, or honoured or celebrated their ancestors.

I wonder if witchcraft is like a religion to the people polled? Can witchcraft and Christianity or Islam overlap? I had once written a paper on the Haitian use of witchcraft as a means to maintain their identities during the slave trade and how they disguised it by using the names of Catholic saints and terminology. Historically, it was fascinating; socially, it was remarkable and I’m really not all that surprised that it still exists.

6. Predictably, there was also a religious split concerning alcohol, banned by Islam. Surprisingly, however, more Muslims in Chad (23%) approved of booze, than Ethiopian Christians (5%). This comes as a huge surprise to Ethiopia experts, however, who point out that it is traditional to welcome Orthodox Christian clergy with traditional honey beer when they visit your house. Maybe “alcohol” was only taken to mean spirits by some of the respondents?

This was surprising – isn’t alcohol extremely strict for practicing Muslims?

7. Attitudes to divorce showed a strong divide along religious lines in Nigeria. A massive 79% of Christians thought it was “morally wrong”, while among Muslims, a narrow majority (46-41%) accepted divorce.

Really? I wonder why?

8. In recent years, Islamist hardliners in Somalia and Nigeria have introduced strict punishment based on Sharia law, such as amputating the hands of thieves and even stoning to death for adultery. The majority of people disapproved of such Sharia punishments. In Nigeria, they were backed by about 40% of Muslims and less than 10% of Christians. However, a majority did approve of whippings and amputations in Senegal and Mali. In nearby Guinea-Bissau, even 50% of Christians backed them. This was double the rate among Muslims in Ethiopia (25%) – maybe it feels like a more realistic prospect to them, as they share a border with Somalia and most Muslim Ethiopians are ethnic Somalis.

I wrote about this a few posts ago and I am strongly against the practice.  I think the fact that people, Christians and Muslims, support it, the closer they are in proximity to Somalia and its people is certainly characteristic of the lawlessness of the country. But I’d have to question just how closely the people polled were following their faiths  when they supported such a policy.

9. The survey also asked about material well-being in the world’s poorest continent. Not so long ago, Cameroon regularly topped surveys of champagne consumption per head. However, a shocking 71% of Cameroonians surveyed said there were times in the past year when they did not have enough money to buy food. In Ethiopia, which is commonly seen as a country struggling to feed itself, the rate was far lower – at 30% – the lowest of all countries surveyed.

Remember the famine in Ethiopia during the ’80′s. The media really had a field day with that one; the photo-journalists documenting starving children, Band-Aid released a song, raising funds and OECD countries suddenly woke up and delivered badly needed food aid. I don’t think the world ever forgot. It’s not surprising then to hear that Ethiopia‘s access to food being more than double that than Cameroon. It’s also shocking to hear that Cameroon‘s consumption of champagne!?!?! Is it a french legacy Is champagne more important than food or is there just a handful of Cameroonian’s who are buying up the lion’s share of its imports? Interesting indeed.

10. Ethiopia did, however, have the lowest numbers of people – 7% – who said they regularly used the internet. Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame is striving to turn his country into Africa’s answer to Silicon Valley and is being helped by the arrival of several new fibre optic cables off the east coast of Africa. He will be encouraged by the finding that 30% of his countrymen – the highest number – regularly browsed the web. Mobile phones, were far more common – with 81% of respondents in Botswana owning one. Many countries reported more than 50% having phones but here, Rwanda lagged behind at just 35%.

Wait a minute…Rwanda – the one that suffered from a genocide a while back? I’ve been told that since then, Kigali has become a major international hotspot for non-profit’s, international organizations and the like, who obviously necessitate a need for broadband! I’m shocked that Ethiopia isn’t taking advantage of those fibre optic cables – they could definitely assist in wider communication tools. Mobile phones, on the other hand, signify developing economies and perhaps micro-finance schemes that provide small scale funding for communities to fuel entrepreneurship. I’d want to know those figures, comparing Botswana and Rwanda.

I know it’s geeky to find stats interesting, but they are! How else would we know what is working, what isn’t, what needs work and how the media has manipulated perceptions? I just read a fellow blogger, who was doing just that – using blogosphere to debate North American perceptions of development and through its interaction with theory and reality. Granted it is a bit academic, though good for some brain aerobics.

I’m surprisingly enlightened by this study and appreciate its publishing. I guess it’s more frustrating to realize that stereotypes still exist and its refreshing to get a little dose of reality every now and again.

The Educational Revolution

From as long as I can remember, education has always been highly regarded in my family. My sister is a teacher and it’s been the family business for the last half-century to promptly and safely deliver students from their door to the school’s, twice a day.  And although, I’m not directly involved in the educational system, I’ve spent more time there than anyone else I know :S and support education, in all forms.

“Do the best you can and if it’s the best you can do, then you know you’ve done all you can,” echoes in the back of my head when a math problem gets too daunting or a language is just too complicated. Some would give up, but for me, this phrase just reminds me to just take a break and come back to it.

That’s why I found it so interesting to read this morning of a school bus in Arizona that is connected to Wi-Fi! I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I’m exuberant that kids are able to extend the school hours by working on their laptop from the back of a bus; doing homework, communicating with teachers, which the bus driver reports as being the cause of the decreased level of noise and rowdy behaviour (I guess, that’s one up on the safety scale?)

But on the other hand, do you really want your kids to be so engaged with their laptops, that they stop being kids? Everyone always complains of the one callous-fingered suit in the room who has 3 Blackberries and can’t carry on a conversation – is this the future for those kids who are constantly connected?

It’s a technological paradox and, judging by the ambivalent tone of the article, one that is a success. One that could potentially flow to other buses, school districts and states. I’m wondering if this is the case, how it will impact the kids who don’t have their own personal computers? How it would affect the affluent vs poor neighbourhood academic performance? Or is Wi-Fi in the buses just another reason to move to an area with good educational facilities?

Granted Canada is not the US educational system. So it goes, that all educational facilities in all provinces have proportionally equal budgets and with standardized ciriculums, but often the good teachers transfer out of rural areas that are dotted with broken homes and abusive families who don’t reinforce teacher’s lessons or behavioural concerns.

The Ontario government (last of all provinces) this coming year is implementing an all-day Kindergarten in various neighbourhoods, many of them low-income areas. The motives for it, allows parents to save on day-care funds – stands to reason that these are the areas that could really use some help and  Premier Dalton McGuinty also explains his rationale to the CTV that,

“[e]xpanding junior and senior kindergarten will improve learning skills for the 250,000 four- and five-year-old students across the province…[Kids] perform better when it comes to their math and language skills, and they are also more proficient throughout their school years,” he said of early childhood education. All that starts in the earliest years, and that’s why we are so enthusiastic and excited about moving forward with full-day learning.”

It’s a phenomenal intiative that should have been implemented long ago. And, as my sister points out, the research, tests and evaluation of the kids who have the full-day programs will be compared ‘like crazy,’ to those that don’t have it.  I hope that those results will allow it to be extended to all schools.

I don’t like inequality anywhere and shudder to think that either Wi-Fi in buses or all-day daycare for some and not others may influence their opportunity at a better education, instill greater perseverance or empower a child’s will to succeed.  At this point, baby-steps are what we’ve got to work with and if it has to be baby-steps toward progress rather than nothing, then I’m satisfied.

Entertaining Views

I can’t tell how much time I spend watching TV or reading up on entertainment news. I know it’s a waste of time. I know that watching the Grammy’s or reality shows will not enhance my well-being in any way or even relax me – who hasn’t watched “The Bachelor” and not felt anxiety?! But I do it anyway and I don’t know why?! It’s everywhere! It’s there when I wake up to my favorite morning show, it’s there when I sign into my email and it’s there in the newspaper! I can’t be rid of it and I don’t know how I ever escaped in the first place?

It could have been I spent most of my energy on my school work or out with friends. I had a TV and VCR, but no cable. And when abroad, would catch up with shows via internet when time permitted. Now that I’m back though, out of academia and back in North America, I find a lot of my conversations focus around entertainment in two different ways.

The first revolves around films and TV. My main criticism is just that I (and probably most people around me) spend way too much time parked in front of the tube. It’s a compelling force coming out of this little box, moving people to tears, screaming out of fear and stirring anxious minds for an hour or two out of the day. The second revolves around the people on TV and in movies; What couple is headed for divorce? Who will star in the next reality show? or What the actor said about…? When push comes to shove, who cares?

Perhaps it’s just a by-product of under-employment and boredom, but I find  it shocking how the media is able to suck you in and suddenly, before you know it, daily news isn’t news without some sort of talk about TV characters or inquiries into the latest love child or cover-up. Or is it the same traits that make us slow down at a car wreck to see? A little moment to escape from reality?

Admittedly, I, just like everyone else out there, sometimes need to just sit, unwind and not do anything. TV and movies have certainly filled that void. But I think we (especially in Canada and the US) have been doing it too much, otherwise  we wouldn’t be talking about shows so much, we wouldn’t be striving to look like the girls on TV (*not healthy*) and we wouldn’t be influenced to buy products that are promoted by TV and movie stars.

So, I’ve set myself a reasonable limit – no more than 1 hour a day in front of the TV or more than 1 film a week. I think it’s reasonable and it makes me chose wisely what I’m watching – infomercials and Big Brother, be GONE! It also means that the films I watch are going to be well worth the $15 I pay for them at the theater or $5.99 from Blockbuster.

I might spend more time blogging – is the computer a replacement for TV? or learning a new sport? or language? or hanging out with friends? cooking? Who knows? I just know that my psyche, body and peace of mind may well benefit.

Chinese Fortune Cookies

China, China, China. What can I say, it’s a walking contradiction. How can a society, in some ways, have developed thousands of years in advance of the Western World but fall behind in others – way behind? After all, it was the Chinese who avoided the Plague by implementing hygenic measures; and it was the Chinese who invented gun powder. They should be more economically advanced with the best insitutions and scientific discovery. I guess that’s what a Civil war, a World war and dabbling in Maoist socialism gives you.

I think now though, they’ve finally gotten a hold of capitalism and is taking it for a ride. It’s been reported that China is leading the world in investments in alternative energies – but arent’ they the one of the world’s greatest emitters? Something that the US is aiming for and Canada has feebly given up. It’s ironic too that China would invest so heavily in wind and solar energies, knowing the long history that it’s had in striking up oil deals with auspicious leaders around the globe, notably Sudan , which others wouldn’t touch with a stick.

Democracy however isn’t important to China, money is. Loosening its grip on Tibetans or Taiwanese is unlikely to come any time soon, despite the support that the US may lend to them. At the same time, the tides of democracy are hard to quell in a growing and globalized world. Why else would Google have reported a major cyber attack and “also said hackers had infiltrated the private Gmail accounts of human rights activists, suggesting the effort might have been more than just mischief“. Using the internet to squash opposition, what kind of government does that? Kudos to Google for not packing up shop and leaving, but rather creating Goojje - Google’s little sister.

China has entered the 21st century with a bang, and to the bank I might add, but it hasn’t gone far enough. Coming to terms with the past would be a first step in identifying exactly who they, what their goals are and how they will go about in achieving it. No more claiming to be one thing and doing another. Next, identifying niche markets has worked fantastically and is likely to continue, along with the further development of the provinces, which is sure to reduce the number of poverty stricken families – imagine what a billion productive workers could do for the economy? I don’t dare think that minimum wage would rise soon as it’s cause for heavy investment from abroad. But one can only hope that with greater investment, the spread of web technologies and raising of living standards, a middle class will emerge to threaten the status quo. Something happend like that in 18th Century France, no?

Whatever may happen in the future, China will always be a major player in the world’s economy. But altering attitudes, behaviour and policy of the ruling elites to respect democratic values is another task entirely. We may just have to wait until the elders die out and a younger generation replaces them a la Democratic House. It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t still advocate for change or get rid of sanctions or stop critisizing. It just means patience is necessary.

Technology at a Crossroads

The first thing I hear every morning when I wake up; before the dog, before the water running and before the alarm, is the December Winter Wind – so incredible that I’ve broken the rules of grammar to emphasize its strength!  I’m shocked! Perhaps it’s been my absence from Canadian winters, or perhaps it’s my attuned sense of hearing that shocks me, but being that she’s here to stay for the next couple months, I hunker down into the down comforter and thank God for the woolly socks Grandma gave me last year.

In the meantime though, millions of other people, not as lucky as I am to work from the comforts of home, brave the temperatures of the early morning, depart their houses before dawn and start the long trudge to work.   I’m lucky that for me, work starts from the moment my foot hits the bottom step – no getting ready for work and between you and me…it’s a relief to not have to a) go out in the winter or b) get dressed (it’s been said that working in pajamas can often breed productivity;).

Technology has come a long way – so long that I can’t ever imagine a life when the phone didn’t exist. Internet and web based technologies have revolutionized commerce, communication; cut down on delivery times, increased efficiency and enabled us to do countless number of…for lack of a better word…really cool stuff!

Little gadgets have permeated my lifestyle so much I no longer need talk to anyone.  My life has been transformed from doing business with other people to doing business with a little gray (I prefer gray) electronic thingy that gets groutchy when the batteries are low.  I read blogs, listen to podcasts, communicate via chat and email. I watch YouTube and listen to the latest hits courtesy of iTunes.  I stay connected via the world’s greatest news network websites and webcasts.  I follow interesting people and organizations via Twitter and keep in touch with friends via facebook.  It’s a wonder even that I can remember how to have a conversaion or remember proper etiquette!  Admittedly, I am starting to miss the odd office gossip and the daily interaction with real life walking and talking people.  The dog doesn’t count.

And so, I’m on the fence – technology good vs. technology bad? It’s enough to make my head spin.  As the end of the work day approaches, all I want to do is wrap myself up in a big blanket, away from the howling wind with a nice cup of herbal tea and savour a good book – so simple, so delightful, it is one of life’s little pleasures that is suredly to persist throughout this technological storm, right?  Wrong… just as I’m about to click off my page, sign off my computer and turn back in to the world around me, a pop-up describing the latest e-book starts blinking at me.  Is this really possible?  I know the iPhone has an ap for it, though expanding it into book-a-like contraption is just absurd.  I see the utility in it of course, but also find it difficult to believe that eReaders and eBooks will be able to give me the same sort of pleasure as flipping through a good paperback, despite the many advantages that it may claim to offer.  Sometimes things are good just as they are, without having to tinker with it, improve it, change it’s shape or speed.