1411 Tigers left in India.

There are just 1411 tigers left in India... More, there can be just about 3200 tigers left in the wilderness all around the world. I am one of many who haven't yet seen a tiger in wilderness, only in zoo's. And that's not a place for a tiger to be. Our greatest cat must survive! The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has called to arms all the bloggers around the world, in hope that maybe, with our help, tigers will be saved. I posted some links below which show the atrocities tigers are going through. Please, take a look and try to do something, either by donating a small amount to WWF, or by telling your friends about this, or by writing...Anything can contribute to this worthy cause... Just do something!

The power of VIP

I was just thinking about the power of being a famous person, when thinking of how much good you can do... Let's look at Leonardo DiCaprio for example. He started the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation to foster awareness of environmental issues through participation with many outstanding organizations, ranging from the National Resources Defense Council (USA) to National Geographic Kids. DiCaprio also has lobbied hard for universal access to clean water and for reducing fossil fuel emissions and other greenhouse gases worldwide. Another good example would be Bono, of U2. There are few people in the music industry who have the presence of Bono. The Irish frontman of U2 knows no limitations when it comes to fighting poverty and hunger, and is constantly in direct contact with world leaders and policy makers in his quest to make the world a better place. Bono has been a leader in the fight against poverty, and has helped to create the ONE Campaign, DATA, (RED) and EDUN, a clothing company which is striving to stimulate trade with poverty stricken countries. Bono has received 3 nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, and was knighted in 2007. And many more examples can come up...
When you take into account their international status, then you realize that their influence upon others can be tremendous! Thus, fans can identify with their icons, by contributing to worthy causes. Fans, in their thousands, can really put a stop to many illegal practices, can really join hands in fighting poverty, famine, war and issues concerning wildlife and environment. It's good to watch these celebrities in action, because, by doing so, you realize that, in fact, you can become a partner to these people, in helping them accomplish their mission, which, in fact, is our mission, all the people's mission. That is, to make a better world.

Back and able!

During the short life of this blog, most if it was a pause. I know, that's not too encouraging, nor is it efficient, but I've given it some thought, and, due to the precarious balance situation between eco-friendly/eco-distructive, I've decided to get back in the game!
So, tonight I'm shortly gonna tackle an issue if true importance to me: trees. It seems that, in our frenzy hunt for money, we're putting aside the one aspect we cannot live without: oxygen! So, trees produce oxygen. I don't even take the time to think what would happen to lief on Earth, without oxygen. But, like me, a lot of people don't. But, not like me, they destroy trees. That's the problem. Motives like space for crops, roads, development, are invoked. But is that really what's it all about? Or, the fact that they do see green... But not the kind trees have. It's more like a $ green. And they don't even care about the life that's in the forest, animal and human! So, for now, I'm going to post a link to an article of true revelance, and I'll be back in a short time.

http://www.economist.com/node/17062651?story_id=17062651

Think of the needy...

When I was a little boy, I used to watch Cartoon Network, probably like everyone my age...But besides the funny classical cartoons, Cartoon Network used to promote a an aid campaign of Oxfam International (http://www.oxfam.org/) which related to malnourished children in Africa. I sort of understood what tose children were facing, but i did not have the required power to do something about it. I don't quite have it now, but what I can do is to write about it, in hope that people who read this article may choose to do themselves something about it.
In 2005, 15 countries committed to give a minimum of 0.51% of their national income in 2010 to developing nations. Total aid will be $107bn (£68bn) in 2010 against 2005 pledges of $128bn, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has forecast. So that's $21 bn less.The missing $21bn could pay for every child [in the world] to go to school and could save the lives of two million of the poorest mothers and children.
When you live confortably somwhere far (in distance) from all of those problems, you forget that, in fact, those people and you share the same world. And you cannot imagine yourself being in their situation. But never forget that in any moment, faith can turn the tables upside down. In a great earthquake situation, given our country's power to respond, we would all be in a very dramatic situation, maybe similar to that of Haitians right now.
I'm not trying to sound apocalyptic, but the truth is that we all live on the same planet, and we should try to think of the needy from time to time and do something to help them. And we should do that without any thought of reward for our goo deeds. The reward will come, but maybe in another form that we expect.

Vorbind despre trecut

Vorbe despre trecut...istorie transformata in prezent. Tendinta este de a readuce trecutul in prezent, a-i da o conotatie de valabilitate continuua. Cata importanta are trecutul in prezentul fiecaruia? Indiscutabil, trecutul este unealta modelatoare a persoanei noastre prezente... Insa ce se intampla atunci cand rememorezi trecutul, odata si inca odata si tot asa? Trecutul e trecut. Exista un indemn britanic ce spune "Let bygons be bygons". Intr-adevar, "bygons", am trecut prin sau pe langa ceva ce e de domeniul trecutului... Trecutul e determinant, dar nu esential in prezent. Privesc catre trecutul meu, cu bune, cu rele..stiu ca exista un viitor...daca Frank Sinatra spunea "I did it my way", eu pot spune "I'm gonna do it my way". Poate ca "my way" nu e cea mai usoara cale, dar nu pot spune ca am fost vreodata atras de calea mai usoara, cu toate ca cea mai dificila e plina de piedici...Exista un film, "The big fish",in care, personajul principal, la un moment dat, e pus sa aleaga intre doua drumuri, unul cunoscut, iar celalalt printr-o padure, neumblat..El decide sa aleaga al doilea drum, fapt decisiv in viata sa, care capata o turnura epica. Ei bine, poate ca drumul meu e tot printr-o padure plina de pericole...Insa ma astept ca la capatul acelei paduri sa ma astepte ceva special....Revenind la problema rememorarii trecutului, gandesc ca trecutul e bun in urma, iar nu in fata. Zambesc acum, deoarece ascult o piesa a lui Frank Sinatra, al carei titlu e "The best is yet to come"...Inchei cu o fraza proprie: "Indiferent cat de plin de nori mi-a fost trecutul, intotdeauna dupa ploaie vine soarele".

What's left to eat?

Recently, I watched an eye-opening documentary, intitled Food Inc. Although it wasn't the first I've watched concerning food and health issues, it was surely the one with the strongest effect. It even made one of my friends tell me, after he had watched it, that he doesn't know anymore what to eat...Well, i've gotta say that what this documentary reveals is terrifying, at least. First of all, have you ever wondered how pigs are killed in mass production? Well, I would have never guessed (although I knew that they had to be killed somehow) that they are squashed! This is what horrified me the most. Another aspect is that of cattle which never see the smallest patch of grass..They only eat corn...And they're also killed by the thousands daily..No mercy whatsoever. I should mention about chickens that are fed contiunously and end up suffocating under their own weight.Vegetables which are fully gennetically modified...And the list goes on.
Just like everybody else, I try to live a healthy life...But it's quite difficult, when almost everything is in someway modified, rich in chemicals, preservatives and other harmful stuff..So, what should I eat? Should I turn to the BIO department? Hmm, it's not quite that easy, when you take into consideration the costs of these products. So, the cost of health is rising. Of course, versus the cost of a bad diet...And if I take into account the saying "My body is my temple", well, then, I surely don't want my temple to be full of shit!
I like to go now and then through the market place, and check out what the local farmers have to offer. For example, I buy honey from an old man, with who I like to engage in short discussions in regard with the current situation of honey in Romania and abroad. I've gotta tell you that it's not happy whatsoever. Throughout the world, bees are suffering because of the proliferation of singular crops, which occupy land which was earlier home to various species of flowers. This harms the bees because they need to feed of more types of flowers to produce antybodies. Due to the lack of these antybodies, bees die. I consider the "poliflora" honey to be the best. And, if you take into consoideration the ammount of vitamins it contains, it's surely on top! But how will I be able to buy my favourite honey in, let's say, 10 years from now, if bees will go extinct? Another aspect is that of "counterfeit" honey...Yes, honey too can be counterfieted. I don't know exactly how, I just know that many jars of honey found in supermarkets are not genuine...Especially chinese ones...So, I suggest you buy your honey from the local market place farmer, thus encouraging the local agriculture (apiculture).
I recently read in an article that one of the most notorious fast-food company uses, in it's fish hamburger, a species of fish found in low depths, which is considered to be in danger of extinction...So, besides the fact that I don't want to eat artificial products, I surely don't want to cause the extinction of any animal!
Should I become a vegetarian? Well, since soy beans seeme to take over the world (Check the labels of most of the food found in stores, surely most of them contain some "traces" of soy), and, besides the fact that soy is harmful for the male body, it's also almost entirely genetically modified. Should I eat vegetables? Most of them are also modified. Should I go out and hunt my own food and catch my own fish? Chances are they contain all sorts of chemicals, due to what "friendly" multinationals throw in the oceans...Well, there's a lot more to be said on this subject, but I'll leave it for now...

What about the people?

I'll make this short, because it's a very sought after and discussed issue...The invasion of Iraq. Well, we all know the alleged stories behind the reason of the invasion - mainly, the erradication of terrorism...Well, that really makes me laugh! To date, 1.05 trillion dollars have been allocated to the wars in iraq and afghanistan, out of which, 747,3 billion to the war in Iraq. Just think on it: we're passing through a so called "unexpected crisis", although there were plenty of renown economists who foresaw and warned about what was going to happen..Coming back to Irak, if it were for me to take a hunch, i'd say that the main reason behind this groosome war which has made a lot of casualties, especially when you think about the innocent civilians ( approx. 104097, according to Iraq Body Count-http://www.iraqbodycount.org/). Iraq owns the world's 3rd largest proven petroleum reserves after Saudi Arabia and Canada.Just a fraction of Iraq’s known fields are in development, and Iraq may be one of the few places left where vast reserves, proven and unknown, have barely been exploited. OK, so it's all about the oil...but when you think about the costs behind the war and those of extraction and processing of the oil, a big question arises: Is it worth it? Furthermore, no matter how large those petroleum reserves would be, are all the human lives worth it?

Polar cannibalism...

Last December, many environmental-linked magazines showed pictures of an adult male polar bear which was devouring a young cub...and this is not a solitary case, since there have been a number of such events recorded in the last years. I've read some comments from various people which made refference to this behaviour as beeing normal.Well, in a way it is, since other species act the same, for example male lions.But, and this is a big but, this happens solely for mating purposes, in order to get the female back in mating state. If after the killing starts the feast, that's when something terribly wrong occurs.
I have read many articles which attentioned people to the environmental changes taking place in the arctic area, and many of them listed problems like the melting of the ice, which forces bears to spend more time on land, making it difficult for them to hunt seals (their no.1 meal), or shrinking numbers in plancton, another example, which is a very important link in the food chain.Nevertheless, these articles seem to have but little effect on the readers, since the practice of reading and ignoring is very common.
Have you ever seen video footage of a polar bear swimming itself to death because of the lack of ice on which to rest? Well, I have, and it's heartbreaking...It's not too late to take action! It's not too late to get involved. It doesn't matter that the Arctic circle is far away...we've only got one planet and it's painful to see such beautiful animals act against their nature, trying to survive and left to die because of human ignorance. Here's a link where you can see for yourselves what's really happening. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/12/03/mb-polar-bear-cannibalism-churchill-manitoba.html

Asta e o padure?

Am decis sa imi incep activitatea prin impartasirea unei intrebari simple si, totusi, atat de plina de inteles...Mergand cu autobusul, anul trecut, in spatele meu se aflau un baietel si tatal sau. La un moment dat, trecand printr-un sens giratoriu, in care se afla un parculet mic in care exista cativa braduti si cateva tufisuri, copilul isi intreaba tatal "tati, asta e o padure..?" Raspunsul a fost evident nu, insa intrebarea m-a stupefiat, trimitandu-ma cu gandul la situtatia dezastruoasa spre care se indreapta Romania, in urma defrisarilor masive, necontrolate, mare parte fiind ilegale. In lume, procesul de desertificare rezultat in urma defrisarilor nesabuite este extraordinar de rapid...In fiecare an, approximativ 32000 km patrati se transforma in desert, iar defrisarile joaca un rol important.Ca fapt divers, acum 5000 de ani, Sahara era acoperit de iarba si tufisuri. Dar, revenind la taramul nostru, problema defrisarilor s-a vazut si in 2005, odata cu o serie de inundatii devastatoare, dar si in anii urmatori, la fiecare ploaie mai serioasa si iesire din matca a unor rauri sau, uneori, parauri. Pe langa problema desertificarii si a inundatiilor, mai apare si problema regenerarii, care, cu totii stim, e o chestiune de decenii, in ceea ce priveste copacii..Stand in fata caminului din Cluj in care locuiesc acum si in care am locuit in ultimii 4 ani, zilnic, seara de seara puteam vedea camioane incarcate cu busteni, grosi, impresionanti, trimisi spre macelarire. Stiintific s-a demonstrat ca in padure exista campuri energetice foarte puternice, generate de copaci.Studiile arata ca acestea se modifica in functie de atitudinea pe care o are o persoana aflata in preajma copacilor. Exista, deasemenea, studii care sustin efectul benefic de revitalizare psihica pe care il are, spre exemplu, o plimbare prin padure. Imi aduc aminte de basmele pe care le citeam in copilarie si in care se vorbea de "codrii mandri".Acum, acestia sunt rapusi de interese meschine. Ma intreb: Oare cat timp va mai dura ignoranta pe care o avem fata de aceasta situatie, doar una dintre numeroasele dezastruoase de la noi? Imi doresc ca aceasta sa ia sfarsit cu mult inainte ca dialogul dintre tata si fiu sa devina: "Tati, aceasta e o padure?" - "Acum da, fiule"