TakePart Social Action Network™

Climate Change Threatens China’s Yangtze River Basin

blair@takepart.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:40:30 +0000

paulmannix's Flickr photostream/Creative Commons

Climate change threatens to unleash severe storms, droughts, floods across China’s Yangtze River Basin in the coming decades, unless proper mitigation measures are taken to protect the region from catastrophe, according to a new study from the WWF.

While we should continue to push for global emission cuts in Copenhagen this December, the consequences of warming temperatures are already apparent along the Yangtze, proving that it’s imperative that action is taken now to protect the region. Adaptation measures will be critical and according to The Guardian:

The authors urged the authorities to ease the impact on people and the environment by developing hardier crop strains, shifting from corn to rice, improving the management of the river and dams, and by reinforcing dykes and power supply systems.

The study is the most comprehensive analysis of the impact of climate change on a major river basin, and reveals the vulnerability of the regions ecosystems as well as the one third of China’s population that lives along the area. Combating climate change must be a two-pronged effort, with efforts devoted to curbing greenhouse gas emissions running simultaneously with strategies to address negative impacts already in motion. The clock is ticking, find out how you can get involved using the action link below.

Fort Hood & The Holocaust: How Scare Tactics Incite Violence

blair@takepart.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:34:08 +0000

This Torah was rescued from a burning synagogue during the oppression of the Jews in Nazi Germany.

Yesterday was a sick day for me–a day of rest, a self-instituted sabbath of sorts. Coincidentally, it was also my birthday, which I share with famed astronomer and guide of the Cosmos Carl Sagan. It was also the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. These three momentous occasions, all on November 9–what a treat, aside from my illness, of course.

That said, November 9 has always carried a somber tone for me. It’s the anniversary of the start of Kristallnacht or the “Night of Shattered Glass”–a three day pogrom which took place in Germany and Austria. Many consider it to be the official start of the Holocaust, which infamously stole the lives of six million innocent Jews amongst teems of other blameless victims. Kristallnacht’s harrowing moniker refers to the broken glass of synagogues, homes and Jewish places of business that were accosted by various Nazi forces. Most significantly, this date also marks the beginning of the roundups which eventually brought millions to their deaths in the concentration and later, death camps.As I lay, succumbed to illness, pondering the plight of my forefathers, I scoured the Internet for stories: what I came upon scared me. Many sites were filled with reports on the Fort Hood tragedy from a few days ago, which saw a soldier, on the brink of deployment, open fire on several of his counterparts, wounding several and killing too many. This soldier also happened to be Muslim. (I suppose to an extent, he might not just have “happened” to be Muslim, as there is evidence surfacing that he had some connection to terrorist groups.) As a result, the reactionary media are raising questions as to whether or not Muslim soldiers and Muslim-Americans need be scrutinized extra carefully as “Islamic Extremism” isn’t something that went away with our former president abdicating his oft-misused power.

This case may very well peel back to show that in his unstable condition, the shooter in the Fort Hood incident did, in fact, commit an act that one could classify as terrorism–or he was simply a lone, disturbed individual. I would venture to say that either could be the case–obviously the ongoing investigation will shed light on the answer to that question. That said, it’s important to quell the specter of prejudice and xenophobia before the two begin rearing their ugly heads back into the political debate in such a vicious way. To read such hate-inciting scare tactics boiling beneath the surface of political and media mouthpieces rings scary for me; lest one forget that Hitler rose to power on the back of prejudice and xenophobia, following a massive, politically motivated attack. Granted, I don’t foresee the Obama administration rounding up Muslim-Americans and transporting them to internment camps, but such rhetoric is the sort that could certainly fuel reactions and, sadly, actions on the part of private individuals against the purveyors of one of the world’s most followed faiths.

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Photo courtesy of rubberpaw/Creative Commons

14th Annual Webby Awards Call For Entries

blair@takepart.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:33:04 +0000

The Annual Webby Awards is now accepting entries for it’s 14th year of honors. The Webby Awards recognizes excellence on the Internet. The Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities. And new for this year are Green and Media categories.

Green awards will go to sites that focus on “green” issues including concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the state of the environment. Specific examples include recycling or energy blogs, websites announcing “green” corporate initiatives, conservation-focused blogging or environmentally friendly computer recycling websites.

Media awards include categories such as Best Use of Online Media, Best Use of Social Media, and more.

Go to webbyawards.com to enter your most accomplished online work by December 18th, 2009 and/or to nominate your favorite sites (like, oh I don’t know…Takepart.com).

The Best News is SuperNews!

blair@takepart.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:23:44 +0000

Many thanks to my sister for introducing me to my new favorite thing: Current TV’s SuperNews! As explained on their site “SuperNews! is a comedy series where the absurdities of everyday life are pushed beyond reality in a hilarious universe of animated characters. Its a world that dares you to see everything - from politics and cable news, to hipsters, TMZ and Google - from a brand new perspective. This isnt just a cartoon, its a revolution.” The video below takes a look at our relationship with social networking and it’s absolutely hilarious.

Brilliant, right?
See more SuperNews at www.current.com/supernews or check out episodes on Current Thursday 11/10c.

The People Speak College Tour: Boston University

blair@takepart.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:06:28 +0000

Editor’s Note: This post is by Antonia Lassar, a student at Boston University who attended The People Speak College tour event on her campus last week.

To my right is a boy in the most vivid red denim shirt I have ever seen. (Confession: I have never actually seen a red denim shirt before, regardless of the color saturation.) In front of me is a man with spectacularly gray hair wearing a t-shirt with a tiny green stoplight on the upper right shoulder. Next to me is a woman wearing a headscarf singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The whole situation seems bizarrely symbolic.

The night hasn’t even started yet, but there is a haphazard air - a frenetic buzz- to the Tsai Performance Center and looks are exchanged between strangers all acknowledging our common purpose. I grew up in Newton, Mass- a city so homogenously white and Jewish we have nicknamed it Jewton. This room is one of the most culturally diverse rooms I’ve ever been in. While there are many academics, there are also low-income high school students, wealthy entrepreneurs, impoverished veterans, and giggly Matt Damon fans; those were just the people I spoke with after the show. That being said, we’re kind of a choir. As in, one to preach to. We all love Howard Zinn, and we all agree with him. Prediction: we will all leave here feeling just as socially conscious as we did when we entered.

We start with a video clip, and the woman next to me is still humming. I learn to measure her response to things by the amount of time she is silent. By the time Howard Zinn climbs on stage, the battle march is dwindling. By the end of his raucous applause, either the war is over or her side has lost. While simultaneously listening to her and cheering far too loudly for Howard Zinn, I notice an interesting coincidence. Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States is widely touted as one of those few books that increases in popularity as times progresses. Like the book, the audience’s applause grows, building in intensity like some ritual only familiar to cave men and college students. Zinn has an elusive quality that makes people fall more and more in love with him as time goes on.

Following Zinn and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, David Strathairn performs John Brown’s “Last Speech” to a captive audience. Here is where my actor self started to get very excited. A brief biography: I am a Theatre Arts major and am soon to be an International Relations minor; this event is one of those rare occasions where I can be equally excited about both. So I have to give an enormous shoutout to Strathairn. The pensive and sustained actor became sharp and birdlike. He didn’t pace the stage or gesture wildly; every outrage and injustice was contained in his left hand. The fingers clenched and twisted: years of hatred had found no other release. It was impressive.

I didn’t stop being impressed for another two hours. John Legend’s rendition of “Strange Fruit” prompted so many murmurs from the audience it was hard to tell when the song ended. Producer Chris Moore’s explanation of how the film is meant to take these events from the intellectual to the emotional struck me as brilliant. Like most of the audience I felt very inspired. As an actor I was buzzing with the need to create new art, inspired by stories of dissent from today. I was not the only one. It was evident from the audience’s question and answer session that the whole room had been affected. Person after person asked potent questions, but more striking was the personalization of the questions. No question was asked just to be asked; they related directly back to the questioner’s life. The veteran talked about veterans, the LGBTQ activist talked about LGBTQ issues, the high school student asked about the future for children his age. Though some of these questions baffled the panel, I was excited. The movie didn’t just make people think; it made them think about their own lives.

I struggle as an artist to create art that has a purpose. My personal aesthetic includes social change as a premier tenet. As I walked down Commonwealth Avenue that night, my hand never stopped moving. Filled with the urge to scream history from the top of the CITGO sign, my hands darted back and forth, painting the air. Much like David Strathairn. But I was confused: how do I even start to choose what I want to say? I was glowing: if only Susan B. Anthony’s contemporaries could have heard her speech like it was read tonight! I was determined to wear the movie’s t-shirt every day. But something much larger than myself changed. Zinn may have been preaching to a choir that night, but even a choir can do much more than sing. An entire auditorium was inspired to start making their own history. We came in berating the state of the world. We left with the notion that we had to stop talking and start doing. There was only one Martin Luther King Jr., only one Gandhi, only one John Brown. But we were hundreds. One step towards change is exciting, imagine what we can do if we take three hundred steps at a time.

H1N1 Flu and Pork Production Connection Raised By Jonathan Safran Foer

blair@takepart.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:52:27 +0000

kevinhutchinson's Flickr photostream/Creative Commons

The vaccine for the H1N1 virus has received quite a bit of attention lately, however, important questions remain unattended about the origins of the vicious strain and the likely possibility that it spread from unsanitary conditions on factory pig farms. Jonathan Safran Foer, on the other hand, is not shying away from examining the connection between what was originally known as swine flu and large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

I’m glad that Foer is attempting to bring the health risks posed by CAFOs to the attention of the mainstream media, as he did during his recent appearance on Ellen, and hopefully we will begin to see a more thorough investigation of origins of H1N1. Earlier this year I discussed the concerns that H1N1 may have spread from a hog farm in Mexico, and a lawsuit that was filed against the pork producer Smithfield Foods, but Foer has his sights set on a pig farm in North Carolina as the original source of the virus.

Ultimately, it has become abundantly clear that the current industrial model used to produce meat, which is rife with poor hygiene, waste management, overcrowding and overall unsanitary conditions, poses too great of a risk to our health and the environment and need to be done away with. Watch Foer’s appearance on Ellen below and use the act link to find out how you can get involved.

Sesame Street Gets a Real Street

blair@takepart.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:33:11 +0000

In celebration of Sesame Street’s 40th Birthday the gang got their own corner in New York City! Now the corner of 64th and Broadway reads 123 Sesame Street and 11/10 is officially Sesame Street Day.

This makes me happy for so many reasons but the main one is that Sesame Street’s new corner is right by my favorite movie theater in New York City, The Walter Reade. This means every time I go see a movie there (they have an awesome Italian Neo-Realist series happening now) that I’ll be able to pass by a piece of my favorite television show of all time.

If you live in New York City check it out when you can and if be sure to catch up on our latest Sesame Street posts:

40 Years of Sesame Street: Happy Birthday!
Honoring Sesame Street at the Daytime Emmy Awards
Top Ten Sesame Street Special Guests
The View Discusses Cookie Monsters New Healthy Eating PSA
Michelle Obama Plants A Garden On Sesame Street (Video)
Mad Men + Sesame Street = Wonderful

*photo by Kelly Samardak (Creative Commons)

The Future of Support for Gay Marriage

blair@takepart.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:16:49 +0000

One of the more hopeful things I’ve read on the internet today (esp. considering what happened in Maine last week) comes courtesy of Andrew Sullivan’s The Daily Dish. This morning they posted an interesting chart that looked at different age groups and explicit support for gay marriage in different states. And while the majority of older age groups in the majority of states don’t support it, what is hopeful and what I think counts is that in the 18 -29 year old age group the majority in almost all of the states DO support gay marriage.

One can only assume that as time goes on support will grow with each coming generation and while that makes things frustrating in the here and now it certainly bodes well for the future.

Go below for the chart and then go to the “act” section of this post to support gay marriage while we wait for times to change.

*photo by dbking (CC)

Help Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” This Veteran’s Day

blair@takepart.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:09:33 +0000

sidewalk_flying's Flickr photostream/Creative Commons

Efforts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, the law that mandates the discharge of openly gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) service members, has gained serious traction over the past year, and as we celebrate Veteran’s Day tomorrow, you can help bring an end to the discriminatory policy. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network’s Honor Every Veteran campaign is a great place to start.

We must honor the service and dedication of everyone who has served in the armed forces, regardless of their sexual orientation. And while an estimated one million LGBT Americans have served in every conflict since the American Revolution, and at least 65,000 currently serve, the government continues to call for the discharge of brave individuals, treating them as second-class citizens. The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1283) would repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the armed services.

Discriminating against service members based on sexual orientation is not only a violation of human rights and the respect owed to those who have served and currently serve, but studies have shown that the ban also hurts military recruitment, retention, and readiness and poses a threat to national security. The time has come to put an end to this discriminatory policy and offer due respect and rights to all those who serve in the armed forces.

Two Bills Introduced to Stop Cruise Ship Sewage Dumping

blair@takepart.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:25:21 +0000

Cruise ships are often referred to as “floating cities” and for good reason. Large cruise ships can match small cities in terms of how much waste they produce. Last month, I blogged about the Cruise Ship Environmental Report Card, recently released by Friends of the Earth.

Take for example waste water alone: The average cruise ship produces over 1.2 million gallons of waste water every week. When combined with the number of cruise ships operating around the world today–230 of them–that equals hundreds of millions of gallons of waste water.

While they may be thought of as “cities,” cruise ships are not subject to the same strict environmental regulations of land-based facilities in a city. So where does all of the dirty water go? Well, if the ships are three nautical miles away from the U.S. coast, they are lawfully able to dump untreated sewage into the ocean.

While the ocean is vast and expansive beyond the human imagination, cruise ship sewage dumping remains a threat to public health, marine ecosystems and fisheries and, in some cases, coastal tourism. And an EPA report at the end of 2008 revealed that the marine sanitation devices which ships are required to use in order to dump toilet waste three nautical miles from shore were not working.

Late last month, Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Congressman Sam Farr (D-California) both introduced bills into Congress to change the way ships dump their water. The bills are both titled The Clean Cruise Ship Act, introduced into the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively.

Both of the bills seek to prohibit the discharge of sewage, graywater, and oily bilge water within 12 nautical miles of the U.S. coast. Once beyond 12 miles, ships would need to treat their water to decrease pollution levels at least to those currently attained by wastewater treatment plants.

The acts also prohibit the dumping of sewage sludge, hazardous waste and incinerator ash in U.S. waters, and create inspection and sampling programs on ships as well as an onboard program to observe and ensure the enforcement of the acts’ provisions.

To find out how you can help to end cruise ship pollution, click on the “Act” link below.