Global Health, Gates Foundation, and Giving a Dang

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It is the beginning of a new year and a new decade, making it a good opportunity to look over the past year or so that this blog has been in existence. This continues to be a personal experiment in how to use Web 2.0 for positive affect both personally and globally. This is not where I expected to end up when I started.

My first post was on 24 July 2008 End Poverty 2015 - Millennium Development Goals. This effort grew from what I was doing with My Pathways to New Paradigms blog. Initially, I was only thinking of ways to organize websites solely for my personal use (I had no idea about del.icio.us or diigo). The power of collaborative endeavors made possible by the the Internet not only applied to Web 2.0 but also to the efforts of change-agent (a term borrowed from Seth Godin, an important source of my looking at new paradigms) organizations doing their part to change the world for the better. Back on December 30, 2007, I was posting on a Los Angeles Times article on the Gates Foundation's Best Intentions Unintended Consequences (it was also the post that provided the inspiration to create this blog, due to a comment form Aditi). A couple of months later another post announced that Now, LA Times Recognizes That Africa's Anti-malaria Campaign Is Showing Results.

Recently, I received an even more positive update from fellow ONE member Melinda French Gates, who had visited Tsion, a hard-working young woman in the Ethiopia government's Health Extension Program.

Trained to tend to pregnant mothers, who otherwise would rely on traditional attendants unable to stop internal bleeding or resuscitate newborns, Tsion helped take the terror and fear of death out of childbirth for hundreds of women.

Bill and Melinda Gates are self-declared "Impatient Optimists" and their message was to celebrate successes in global health and especially when it comes to U.S.-funded global health initiatives through their online presentation titled "Living Proof: Why we are Impatient Optimists."

Thanks to 30,000 trained health extension workers like Tsion, access to health care in rural areas is rapidly expanding. And the health of Ethiopian children and women is improving.

That's why, when it comes to global health, Bill and I are optimists—but we're impatient optimists. We need to build on this success now, by expanding it to even more women in Ethiopia and helping families in other countries benefit from what Ethiopia has learned.

Sharing success stories is one of the most important things we can do to motivate and inspire others in the fight against global poverty and disease.

That is what this blog is all about. While the intent was to create something that sought to be transformative in promoting the Millennium Development Goals, its greatest impact has undoubtedly been on myself.

The Better of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Climate Change

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What is really better is that bloggers whether large institutional or small voice can help by doing what they are already doing, getting the word out and back again. In some cases, they can partner.

Jacklyn G. Rodney of the Fratelli Group recently sent me a hello, on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund and its "Act For Our Future" an integrated online and broadcast TV campaign to encourage the U.S. Senate to act on climate legislation.

Like Milestones for a New Millennium, we are also participating in Blog Action Day and we would like to join forces with you to spur Senate action on a climate bill this year. Your blog could help us reach more people and have a greater impact. In return WWF would like to draw our vast network of 1.5 million U.S. members to your site by cross-posting some of your content and links on our ActForOurFuture.org campaign site, as well as posting material on our campaign Facebook and Twitter pages.

I, of course, think that this great. The whole point of this blog is, beyond learning for myself, is trying to pass what I learn to whomever is interested. Apparently thousands are interested.

The “Act For Our Future” campaign strongly emphasizes the importance of reaching out to local Senators and asking them to vote “yes” on climate legislation. I strongly suggest that you take advantage and Act For Our Future. I was Supporting the Boxer-Kerry Climate Bill through Care2 before I knew about this opportunity.

For my efforts through Care2, I received the following reply from Senator Boxer's Office.

Dear Mr. Dowling:

Thank you for writing to me in support of clean energy legislation to fight climate change. I appreciate hearing from you.

I want to share with you the statement I made when Senator John Kerry and I introduced the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S.1733).

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer

United States Senator

Senator Boxer's statement on the introduction of "The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act" on September 30, 2009:

I am very pleased to stand with my colleagues, national security leaders, veterans, business leaders, workers, environmental organizations, religious leaders, wildlife protectors, energy companies, state and local officials and so many others as we introduce the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. This bill addresses major challenges of our generation:

protecting our children and the earth from dangerous pollution;putting America back in control of our energy future;

creating the policies that will lead to millions of new jobs; and through our example, inspiring similar actions around the world to avoid an unstable and dangerous future. As Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I want to thank so many of my colleagues and their staffs, on and off the committee.

Senator Kerry's staff and my office have been a team, working together for weeks and weeks, and often late into the night. Colleagues and staff on the EPW Committee have been very important in this effort and their work is reflected. We built on the successful House effort. Our bill has stronger targets in the short term and we have expanded our coalition in the business community.

In our bill, the basic promise to consumers has been kept. The promise to regions that rely heavily on fossil fuels has been kept as well. The first major part of the bill includes authorizations, all of which would be eligible for appropriations and some which are eligible for both appropriations and allowances. Some of these are enhanced from the Waxman bill; some are new. Here are some examples of these authorizations: Investments in clean natural gas, new transmission infrastructure, nuclear R&D and worker training, and green economic development;Agricultural and forestry offset opportunities; Provisions to speed the transition to cleaner transportation, including investments in our transit systems, and incentives for efficient hybrid and electric cars;Adaptation authorizations that include wildfire prevention, flood control, water infrastructure, and investments in coastal communities and wildlife protection.

Our bill gives a much stronger role to mayors and local governments. The second major part of our bill sets up the Pollution Reduction and Investment incentives.

In this section we have strong principles laid out for market transparency and oversight and we set up an Office of Offsets Integrity.Allowances in this section will be detailed in the chairman's mark. We have put into this section a soft collar to address cost containment and limit speculation while maintaining the environmental integrity of the pollution cap.

And our bill does not add one penny to the deficit. In closing, let me say that my state of California is going through hard times right now and it weighs on me every day. But there is one bright spot. And that is clean energy jobs and businesses. The Pew Charitable Trusts reports that 10,000 new clean energy businesses were launched in California from 1998 to 2007. During that period, clean energy investments created more than 125,000 jobs and generated jobs 15 percent faster than the California economy as a whole.

The latest economic study predicts up to 1.9 million new jobs in America if we pass our bill.

We know clean energy is the ticket to strong, stable economic growth ...it's right here in front of us...in the ingenuity of our workers and the vision of our entrepreneurs. And in studies and models.

The global clean energy market is estimated to reach two and a half times the size of the global personal computer market by the year 2020.

We know from venture capitalists that billions of dollars from the private sector will flow into this market.

Others will move ahead if we don't seize this opportunity.

If we do, we will be a leader in the world as we protect the earth and all who dwell here from a future that the world's most respected scientists agree is threatened if we do not act.

No one knows what challenges will face them in their time.

No one chooses their time. But you know what? This is our time.

Global warming is our challenge.

Economic recovery is our challenge.

American leadership is our challenge.

Let's step up right now.

Let's not quit until we have fulfilled our responsibility to our children and our grandchildren.

Barbara Boxer

United States Senator

Related Posts:

• The Good of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Climate Change
• The Bad of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Climate Change
• The Ugly of the Good, the Bad and The Ugly of Climate Change

The Ugly of the Good, the Bad and The Ugly of Climate Change

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The Ugly of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Climate Change is the impact that a lack of action is having on those least able to deal with the negative affects of global warming. This has been discussed before at No Leadership or Consensus Regarding Climate Change as Nations Meet, more from different perspectives along the economic and political continuum.

Christian Science Monitor, The/Bright Green Blog (9/30) cited a Study: Climate change will lead to increase in number of malnourished.

Climate change is likely to affect crop yields negatively by 2050, an International Food Policy Research Institute study found. And, as the price of wheat, rice and maize increases, the study predicts, 25 million more children will be malnourished.
“Agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate changes,” notes a new study from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) that looks at how climate change will affect food production around the world by 2050.

“Developing countries are likely to be hardest hit by climate change and will suffer bigger declines in crop yields,” said Gerald Nelson, lead author of the study and an IFPRI research fellow, in a conference call with journalists on Tuesday.

The Economist also wrote that the Developing world bears brunt of climate change's effects

Developing countries account for more than half of carbon emissions, but climate change still hurts those countries in an outsized manner. The housing, health and health care problems that the poor face leave them more vulnerable to natural disasters, and poor countries are more prone to flooding.

There is not yet a real sense of urgency. One Hundred Months, a blog about the effects of climate change, has a clock ticking away and says that we are running out of time.

We have 100 months to save our climate. When the clock stops ticking, we could be beyond our climate's tipping point, the point of no return.

Related Posts:

• The Good of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Climate Change
• The Bad of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Climate Change
• The Better of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Climate Change

Change.org Launches Blog Action Day 2009

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Change.org has taken the reins of Blog Action Day, the annual event uniting the voices of the world's bloggers, both large and small, in posting about the same issue on the same day.

This year's event is in support the gravest threat to world as a whole today: climate change.

October 15th is Blog Action Day this year, there is still time to sign up at www.blogactionday.org

If you have a blog - either personal or professional - click here to find out more information and register your blog now to be part of the largest social change event on the web.

Checklist for Stand Up Organizers - an online version

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As of the writing of this post there are 5 day 16 hours and some minutes and seconds left until the Stand Up Take Action event.

This blog is leading a registered Online Stand Up event through BloggersUnite for Stand Up Take Action End Poverty Now!! There are, according to the organizers, over 135 events registered in Canada and the United States, with more being planned every day throughout the world. That makes this blog a small voice in a global movement to raise our collective voice against hunger and poverty -- and break another Guinness World Record for the event (October 16, 17 and 18). Even though this is an online event, I still checked out the advice on planning the event.

PLANNING YOUR EVENT: As my main connection with this effort is through this blog, it made sense to start my own online event and see if I could get people to participate virtually. One piece of advice was to promote your event across your networks and encourage others to participate. I have done this through my Facebook page, my Ning account at United Actions Global Network, and the Orkut page which I help moderate and which recently got changed to Let's Facebhookh (a globally inspired play on words). It also suggested that I find materials at the "Event Center" at www.standagainstpoverty.org and provide their brochure for study, translation and make it available for print. The Google translator connected with this blog makes translation easy.

DURING COUNT AND CAPTURE YOUR EVENT: Counting should be easy as so far 7 people are participating in this online event. In my case it is more symbolic than physical bringing up issues of slacktivism, but as people could participate by simply clicking the widget and I have basically accepted my slacktivistic status, I won't worry about that. The organizers also want to ensure that we have a witness who is independent to verify the event. In my case, that should not be a problem as this is online and therefore easily verifiable and part of BloggersUnite.

They also want to make special NOTE that Stand Up and Take Action events or in our case blog posts should only happen from October 16 to October 18 to count towards the Guinness World Record challenge. Now comes the part were bloggers should shine. Tell us your stories! No matter how large or small your event is, we want to hear from you. Tell us how Stand Up is making a difference in your life (e.g., how you met new community members; what motivates you to work on poverty issues, etc.). The want us to document our stories at: http://standagainstpoverty.org/stories

AFTER REPORT YOUR EVENT: They want the numbers reported at www.standagainstpoverty.org as soon as possible, actually immediately, but as this is online blog posts or widget clicks (the height of slacktivism, but they still count) are due in by Monday 5:00 am Pacific time, which is where I live.

Here is a bonus that they provided Get the Stand Up iPhone App!

The Stand Up iPhone application is now available for FREE. It allows iPhone users to see a countdown to the event and take part in our online Stand Up. See: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=330103926&mt=8

New MDG blog links and resources from Millennium Promise

Sphere: Related Content I recently had the following exchange with Nicholas Chang of Millennium Promise.

Hi Brian,

I found your blog the other day after it was including in my google alert. I love what you are doing spreading the word about the MDGs! I work for Millennium Promise as the Social Media Specialist, and we are the NGO partner organization founded by Raymond Chambers and Jeffrey Sachs that works to achieve the MDGs with the UNDP and the Earth Institute. I was wondering if you could add us as links in your blog? For example, can you add a link to our blog under your "Millennium Bloggers" section and a link to our website in your "Supporting Millennium Development Goals In the Trenches" section? And can you add our facebook fan page to your facebook links section? We also have a twitter and myspace account that are all very new re-launches.

Well, if you can do this, I would appreciate it greatly. Great job on your blogging, and hope to hear from you. Please become a fan of Millennium Promise on facebook when you get a chance! Here are the links to the blog and social media profiles that I was talking about earlier:

Blog
http://blogs.millenniumpromise.org/

Website
http://www.millenniumpromise.org/

Facebook fan page
http://www.facebook.com/MillenniumPromise

twitter
http://twitter.com/EndOfPoverty

myspace
http://www.myspace.com/millenniumpromise


Nicholas Chang
Millennium Promise
432 Park Avenue South, 13th Floor
New York, NY 10016
(917) 771-3147
nicholas.chang@millenniumpromise.org
http://www.millenniumpromise.org/

Follow us on twitter, facebook, and myspace!

http://twitter.com/EndOfPoverty
http://www.facebook.com/MillenniumPromise
http://www.myspace.com/millenniumpromise
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My response

Hi Nicholas,

First off thanks for visiting my blog and your kind words. Your blog is now under the "Millennium Bloggers" section your webpage is under "Supporting Millennium Development Goals In the Trenches" section and your facebook fan page has been added to the facebook links section of my blog.

I also have a wiki from PBworks Milestones For A New Millennium and have added these resources there as well.

One section that may be of particular interest is Jeffery Sachs and the Millennium Villages

It is only suppose to be a simple explanation, but if one is going to explain the Millennium Development Goals then it seems necessary.

Thanks again for the encouragement and the chance to help.

Brian Dowling
BrianDRPM

Other Blogging Efforts For the Same Cause Ending Poverty

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Now that the Millennium Milestones Wiki is finished, I am going to start to focus on another project related to this effort and that is working with

I have participated in their blogging events before, but this is the first time that I have tried to promote a BloggersUnite event myself in support of the Stand Up Take Action End Poverty Now! campaign. I have to admit that so far the participation is limited to only two other bloggers (who are greatly appreciated).

Part of the problem may be competition. Seems that October is the month of actions against poverty and hunger. Below are other BloggersUnite actions taking place in October of this year. I have decided to take "the-more-the-merry" approach to this, figuring we are all supporting the same basic cause and have joined up with each. I have also included them on the calendar at the Milestones for a New Millennium wiki. My hope is that people participating in each of the events will take the same approach.

• World Food Day

• World Food Day is annually held on Oct. 16 to commemorate the founding of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

• Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated.

• Up Against Corruption and Poverty

• To Support the Millennium Development Goals

Of course another part of the problem is that I have not done a good enough job of promoting the event on BloggersUnite or other venues. That will be one the the next things on my to-do list to support the Millennium Development Goals.

Related (Somewhat) Posts:

• Making Hope Last Longer Than Hunger
• Refugees Across the Globe - A Millennium Problem
• FAO not Schwartz part 1 - Global Plan of Action Addresses a Global Challenge Hunger
• FAO not Schwartz part 2- Opposing Pathways to Ending World Hunger and Malnutrition
• FAO not Schwartz part 3 - A World Tragedy Too Long

Getting Educated about Millennium Development Goal No. 2

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This is a guest post on the Universal Education Millenium Development Goal written by BlogCatalog colleague Claus Thorsson, a freelance writer who specializes in *free college admission essays* (link to: ) and *time management tips for college students*.

MDG 2: Giving Children and the World a Better Future

The *MDGs or Millennium Development Goals* are a set of objectives committed to by the nation members of the UN to address global problems in education, poverty, gender equality, and environmental degradation by 2015. The *MDG No. 2* (pdf) aims to provide universal primary education for all children of primary school age, regardless of gender and nationality, all over the world. The goal not only focuses on enrollment, but also in ensuring the completion of primary school and the high quality of education.

MDG 2 as a necessary action

In today's world, education is the key to gaining quality life. By forwarding the cause of universal primary school education, especially in developing nations ravaged by poverty, wars, and civil unrest, children can be better equipped when dealing with these issues and when rebuilding their nation in the future.

The benefit for humanity in general

One of the main causes of poverty is *lack of education* (see page 16). By addressing education problems, one is not only helping children make a better life for themselves and their families, but one is also combating poverty as one of its roots. Through education, developing nations have a better chance of improving their situation and creating a better future for their countries. This results in narrowing the gap between developed and developing nations, which then ensures that each nation is truly sovereign in the sense that it can stand equally amongst all the nations in the world economically and financially.

MDG Goal 2 challenges

The main obstacle to the initiatives of MDG Goal 2 is getting the resources that it needs to achieve the goals by the set time of 2015. Though the MDG Goal 2 did obtain *significant results* (link to:) for the past years as can be seen in the examples in Africa and Haiti, it is still short of the $11 billion needed annually to be on track for its 2015 target. Another challenge to MDG 2's initiatives is the willingness of the governments to allot a significant part of their *budgets to education*. The MDG is working towards having governments allot 15% to 20% of their national budget for education. Part of the drive is to provide free primary education for children, and if not, to waive the educational fees for the poorest families.

Gender equality

As education is provided regardless of gender, nationality, or culture, this will help lessen gender inequality and provide better opportunities for women to get a better life (MDG No. 3 Gender Equity). *Statistics* (see page 18) show that there is still disparity between the number of girls and boys with access to primary education. The Millennium Development Goals strives to close that gap.

Working with different nations and governments organizations

Another one of the challenges that the MDG faces is getting the full support of UN member nations towards achieving its goals. Apart from getting the full commitment of governments about allotting their domestic budgets for education, there are also the cultural walls that have to be broken, especially about women's rights. But anything can be accomplished through dialog, and with the *proper coordination with developed nations* and local NGOs, breaking through these challenges can be managed.

Related Posts:

• Educational Pathways - for People - for Nations

• Reaping from Yesterday's Efforts Planting for the Future

• Learning how kids teach themselves, then get out of the way

• Talking about the Girl Effect at Davos on YouTube

Making Hope Last Longer Than Hunger

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Tomorrow is the day to Unite For Hunger and Hope but I will be at work so I am writing tonight. This is a natural for this blog as it involves the first of the Millennium Development Goals 1. End Hunger and on a global level it will involve 8. Global Partnership. While I fully support charitable efforts such as that being put on here by Heifer International, it will be a collective, collaborative, sustained effort by governments, NGOs, change-agent organizations, of us to bring about a lasting change. It cannot be just through well meaning donations during particular times of the year, we have to change how we do things both locally and globally. Others will be able to write far more eloquently about the suffering wrought by hunger than I will. I look for change that can be made manifest.

It is of particular concern to the UN MILLENNIUM CAMPAIGN's to get the G20 to address this need in the current economic crisis, despite the valiant $42.6 million, three-year immediate plan of action by the FAO last year. The FAO or Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, is one of the primary global organizations addressing this issue.

I have written about World Hunger Notes before and will provide a link to the post below, so here are some bullet points.

• The world produces enough food to feed everyone.
  
• Poverty is the principal cause of hunger.
• An estimated 982 million poor people in developing countries who live on $1 a day or less (World Bank, Understanding Poverty, Chen 2004).
  
• Conflict as a cause of hunger and poverty.
  
• Hunger is also a cause of poverty.
  

Another global agency address hunger is the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), which provided a plan of actionable objectives in its Challenge of Hunger 2008

Combating the food crisis will require

1. More food aid for poor people;
2. Much greater investments in agriculture - especially the small farm sector;
3. More investment in social protection programs and social sectors - education & health;
4. Reforms to create a fair world trading system;
5. Changes to biofuel policies;
6. Measures to calm global food markets;
7. Better data collection and improved monitoring of the food and nutrition situation;
8. More support for nongovernmental organizations that work on behalf of poor people in developing countries.

All of this has been talked of before and will be talked about again and again. Often repetitive actions are necessary to bring about change. Each time we talk or write maybe one more person listens, but if a thousand small voices speak up that is a thousand more added to the effort to change the world.

What more can be done in the future? Starting on October 16, which is also World Food Day, people will once again be Standing Up To End Poverty. You can join that effort now and start organizing now to make a difference to bring real hope and stamp out hunger for the next millennium and beyond. The growth of the Stand Up Campaign is exponential. From 2006 to 2007 it achieve 46% growth, from 2007 to 2008 62% growth, and now 2008 to 2009 depends upon what happens in 2009. Could we hope for even greater growth of 75% or 80%? That could be 170,000,000 or 190,000,000 or even break 200,000,000. Maybe it is a bit unfair to use this forum to promote another event, but those are inconsequential details of who and when, the important thing is the what - ending hunger.

Related Posts:
FAO not Schwartz part 1 - Global Plan of Action Addresses a Global Challenge Hunger
FAO not Schwartz part 2- Opposing Pathways to Ending World Hunger and Malnutrition
FAO not Schwartz part 3 - A World Tragedy Too Long
Financial Fears * Global Challenges * Some Potential Answers
Blog Action Day Is Today The Struggle Continues
Taking the Measure of Chronic Poverty

The People of the United States Stand Up Speak Out

Bloggers Unite For Refugees Aftermath

Sphere: Related Content Bloggers Unite For Refugees

On Monday November 10th, the BlogCatalog community came together like never before. According to BlogPulse, blog posts about refugees nearly doubled. According to Google search, more than 12,000 bloggers wrote about Bloggers Unite For Refugees. More than 2,500 included our program partner Refugees United (refunite.org), which provides refugees with an anonymous forum to reconnect with missing family.

This was my first time participating with this group. They are now featured as a permanent widget on the right-hand column. Aira of the blog It'll be alright organized the majority of the posts under one thread and tied the whole affair together rather nicely in her own post.

It seems a small thing, I know. But the net itself is made of small pages, like mine and like the web pages of the over 10 thousand bloggers part of the Bloggers Unite. Ten thousand stories and thoughts for giving voice to 40 million refugees, for making known an association that help people for real. And to put in practice an expression I read on the Refugees United’s page and – with its simplicity – seemed to me such fundamental: spread the world.

I have signed up both with the current group and for an invitation to be part of the launching of Bloggers Unite as it's own social cause event site where bloggers and social cause organizers will be able to communicate and rally around causes. These efforts do have an impact.

With the average contributing blogger reaching 200 readers, the plight of refugees may have reached as many 2.5 million readers, many of whom took action on Monday by writing letters to government officials and making donations to several worthwhile nonprofit organizations. The volume of posts also attracted the attention from Ode Magazine in California to the blog of Raju Nrisettiof, who writes for the The Wall Street Journal in India. This excludes the ongoing coverage of refugees by traditional media, which has been covering the estimated 100,000 refugees currently trapped in the Congo.

Reaping from Yesterday's Efforts Planting for the Future

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Both Blog Action Day - Poverty and Stand Up Take Action are now in the past. You can see the results of the Blog Action Day here. Stand Up Take Action will be holding their press conference tomorrow to talk about the results. I already provided input to both the folks at Blog Action Day about an idea for next year's Blog Action Day and my views to the Orkut group I belong to supporting EndPoverty2015.

I had two basic messages to the Orkut group. One was to send in what they had done as stories, pictures or links. This is actually a bit self-serving because I get so many useful and interesting resources this way. The other was to register online as having Stood Up Against Poverty Online if they couldn't make it to an actual event.

The idea of pushing Universal Education as a means of promoting the Millennium Development Goals has been running around my head for awhile. I did see one local event at a near by Long Beach magnet school on Understanding Global Poverty, then I realized that it was 6th to 8th graders. Now I am very happy that they are studying global issues, but it wasn't something I would want to attend unless I still had my own eighth grader. So I participated online with the the Australian Council for International Development Make Poverty History Campaign.

Looking over some of the other posts at Blog Action Day I found Lucy Barrow's EduBlog post on Blog Action Day - What does the world think about poverty? | ICT and TLC. I did not know what an ICT trainer was until now. Lucy's post lead me to a more interesting resources such as Edublogger, and the polling site Ask 500 People. The pertinent question was “Do you believe it is possible to make poverty history?” That led me back to to Make Poverty History.

Another new and interesting find was Blog Action Day posts by "association" bloggers courtesy of Lisa Junker via Acronym by on 10/17/08. I have to admit that I am not familiar with the use of the term Association as a profession, but it seems like they do great work and that there is a great deal to learn from them. The Bamboo Project seems to have a good deal to offer.

I particularly liked the insight from Kristin Clarke the day after October 15th “Blog Action Day”.

Can one day’s worth of blog posts fundamentally shift public discourse on a major social issue? All I can say is that issues definitely won’t be addressed if no one is talking about them.

Next Year's Blogging Action Day - Getting an early start

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I left Collis of Blogging Action Day the following message by e-mail (sans some typos).

I am getting my "vote" in early about next year's Blog Action Day - Universal Education. Not too long ago I got interested in the UN Millennium Development Goals. I joined an Orkut group supporting Stand Up Take Action and the thought came to my mind wouldn't it be cool if the Blog Action folks had poverty as their focus this year, lo and behold you did. Trouble is despite the online success of Blog Action and the participation of people around the world in Stand Up Take Action these issues are still not mainstream which can be seen by the lack of 1st level mass media attention. Yes, I know that they are owned by corporations, but if this was understood and appreciated by the average person in the Western World there would be more main stream stories on it. So then Blog Action Day 2009 focuses on supporting Universal Education and then we can use it as a means of increasing awareness of all the related issues. Get Junior High School students on board and by 2015 they are or just about ready to vote. People are likely to be more willing to provide education for others when they are educating their own kids. Kids are more likely to be comfortable with the net having grown up with it. Lastly, this came to me because of the recent work of TED and Dave Eggers Once Upon a School, seems like there is something there that could be built upon.

Blog Action Day Is Today The Struggle Continues

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This is my Blog Action Day post against poverty. It's a workday and I am doing this on my lunch hour. This is where I am suppose to make a statement against poverty, for a cause, on some worldwide solution. The truth is that I am not that good of a writer. Obstinately, it appears to be one day to add one small voices to over 10,000 others.

Not that I haven't been dealing with the subject of poverty or promoting this event. The last few days have been spent doing that, leading up to this with a number of posts; all inspired by Easton Ellsworth's post on How to Make Blog Action Day 2008 Unforgettable which appeared at Blog Action Day 2008 on 9/22/08. Here are my takes on these themes.

1. Ponder. Think about poverty.

2. Believe: Blog Action Day 2008 Reminder!

3. Dream

4. Act.

5. Share - Across The Globe

6. Change For Today - For Oct 15th - For the World

Easton has done it again with his post on 88 Ways to DO something about Poverty. Easton has done what many of us do and that is take ideas from across the World Wide Web and shared them with others. We, in turn, do the same again. That may be the essence of Blog Action Day.

It is not one day to add one small voices to over 10,000 others. It is 2,500 and more days following today to add my voice to growing millions. It may be small, often simple, but like water it can be made a persistent, unyielding force, especially en mass.

Today, of all days, I was given the opportunity to become of a moderator on the Orkut group End POVERTY by 2015 United Nations Millennium Campaign Stand UP Take ACTION 17-19 Oct 2008.

One Small action (from Easton's list) Visit The Hunger Site every day and click the link to feed the hungry. It’s fast and it’s free and there’s absolutely NO excuse not to do it every day you’re online!

Buddhist Thought of the Day

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills. - Buddha ...

It's Blog Action Day TODAY!

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Like it says below, today is Blog Action Day. This is not my post for the effort. It is about half an hour before the work day and I am just putting this up to get the word out to a few more people who may not already been signed up.

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. It's Blog Action Day Today! Hello Bloggers! The day is finally here and it's already rockin! Thousands of posts have been going up in the last few hours as countries wake up to Blog Action Day. Follow the action over at http://blogactionday.org Posts, Press and More ... There are so MANY amazing posts, ideas and articles going up, here's just a small taste: Use Your Business Success To Help Eliminate Poverty How To Make Yourself Happier During the Economic Crisis On Footy and Poverty 30 Simple Ways to Battle Poverty With Technology 15 Volunteers with 200 Lunches hit the streets of San Antonio Instantiate Podcast- How Technology Companies are Contributing to Fighting Poverty It's all happening people! Find TONS more articles through Google's Blogsearch Start a Kiva Lending Team! Mobilize your blog audience into a Kiva Lending Team. Starting a lending team is easy and you can invite your readers to join getting them involved too! Anyone can lend money to entrepreneurs, allowing them to build sustainable businesses in their areas to help lift the community! Visit Kiva.org Mobilize your Audience to Microfinance at Microplace Kiva is filling loans very fast! Fortunately you can also mobilize your audience to microfinance action with MicroPlace. MicroPlace lets you invest in microfinance to enable loans to hard-working entrepreneurs in developing nations. Visit MicroPlace Kiva B4B Donates $10k The KivaB4B Project has committed $10,000.00 USD to Blog Action Day 2008 to help us encourage conversation about and solutions for alleviating poverty. Got an idea on how we should spend the $10,000? Tell us now. 12hr BAD08 BlogTalkRadio Broadcast BlogTalkRadio will host a special 12-hour live radio show from noon to midnight Eastern (New York) time on Wednesday, October 15. Get call-in and prize info here (yes, there are prizes for good listeners!). $1700 and Counting - Donate to the Global Fund The Global Fund combats AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria which have a crippling effect on the fight against poverty. You can donate to the Global Fund via: Change.org/Blogactionday Shop for Poverty with aGoodCause As a part of Blog Action Day 2008 we've teamed up with aGoodCause.com who offer a revolutionary shopping concept to fight poverty. Now it is possible to fight poverty through shopping! Grab their software and when you purchase from more than 5,000 online shops you'll be automatically making a donation to a charity of your choice. http://www.agoodcause.com/content/view/429/146/ Vote for BAD08 on Digg & Reddit Help get the word out about Blog Action Day through Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon and ... well any way you can think of! Voting buttons for Digg and Reddit are on the Blog Action Day homepage! Poverty Buttons - Proceeds to Charity Buy one of these nifty Blog Action Day "Solving Poverty" buttons from CafePress and all profits go to Kiva.org entrepreneurs. Designs from PSDTUTS and VECTORTUTS artists. Visit the CafePress Store or Buttons of Hope Get Social with Change.org and Causecast It's always better doing things with friends, so get social and join one of these two awesome social networks for people interested in a better world! Better yet, get your readers to join with you! Visit Change.org | Visit Causecast Organise a Stand Up Against Poverty Event! The United Nations Stand Up Against Poverty event is happening just two days after Blog Action Day. Last year 43 million people participated and organisers are aiming to smash that record this year. Why not organise a Stand Up event with your readers and help tell our leaders that poverty is an issue we care about passionately! Visit StandAgainstPoverty Heifer - Charitable Gift Giving We are thrilled to have the support of Heifer International as well. Heifer Intl is a nonprofit charitable organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas, dedicated to relieving global hunger and poverty. It provides gifts of livestock and plants, as well as education in sustainable agriculture, to financially-disadvantaged families around the world. Visit Heifer What Can One Person Do? Looking for ideas on how regular people can make a difference? We've got lots of ideas - from advocacy to professional contribution, find out how you can get involved in the fight against poverty, and how you can get your readers involved too! What can one person do? ... more updates on the Action Blog and Twitter Feed! Not enough Blog Action Day updates for you? Tune into Easton's barrage of news and awesome links on the Blog Action Day Twitter Feed or the Action Blog And from all the team ... Happy Blog Action Day! Unsubscribe Here

Change For Today - For Oct 15th - For the World

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The last of of the 6 different ways to make Blogging Day unforgettable that Easton Ellsworth provided in his Action Blog post, is 6. Change.

Decide to care a little more about poverty from now on. When it comes up in conversation, take it seriously. Changing the conversation is the first step toward changing the people in it. Please join us in making Blog Action Day 2008 an unforgettable experience for thousands - maybe millions - of people across the world.

Change for me is taking place through a number of different avenues that I have been exploring over the last year. This blog and my original one have started me thinking more globally than I had before. This blog and my other have also begun exploring the world of social-enterprise, though I have done little on that subject here beyond listing a few at the right-hand column. Both are tools for educating myself, and hopefully benefiting others, and exploring different avenues to bringing about change. That will be a discussion that will go beyond October 15th.

Here are a couple done today:

Using the Web to take action is Change

Adding your voice to a cause is Change

Using the Web to take action is Change

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The outreach of the web as a tool for change is undeniable. What could be questioned is its effectiveness. What seems to insure effectiveness is, like any other political action, is the number who participate. Worrying if my particular post is going to change the world is not useful, but participating even with a small voice in a greater cause does have efficacy.

Being relatively new to this endeavor, I continue to find new resources for engagement. The latest is Avaaz.

Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Sydney and Geneva.

My first action with them was to sign the petition The Poverty Promise Breakers.

This week world leaders gather at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Here, all focus is on a multi billion dollar bailouts of financial institutions and the real untold scandal -- global poverty -- risks being forgotten. France, Canada, and Italy are threatening to slash their development aid budgets and break their promise to assign a mere 0.7 % of national income to the world's poorest. If these countries retract on commitments, others may follow --

Petition to President Sarkozy, Prime Minister Berlusconi and Prime Minister Harper:

As concerned global citizens, we urge you to honour your pledge to deliver 0.7% of GDP to development aid. This aid is vital to lift the world’s most vulnerable people out of extreme poverty. Keep your promise so that the potential of the world’s poorest communities can be unleashed and our common future can be built.

They are looking to reach 150,000 signatures. They were at 136,726 when I wrote this. I grabbed to petition off of the Avaaz site under the belief that people are more likely to sign if they see it immediately as opposed to going to another window. I am taking it for granted that Avaaz won't mind.

clipped from www.avaaz.org

Sign the Petition

Already Avaaz member? Enter your email address and hit "Send".

First time here? Please fill out the form below.

Name:
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Country:	AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCongo, The Democratic Republic ofCongo, The Republic ofCook IslandsCosta RicaCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, NorthKorea, SouthKuwaitKyrgistanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacauMacedonia (FYROM)MadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorthern IrelandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanOtherPakistanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRomaniaRussiaRwandaSamoaSan MarinoSão Tomé and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaScotlandSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSt. HelenaSt. Kitts-NevisSt. LuciaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesSudanSurinameSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited States of AmericaUruguayUS Virgin IslandsUzbekistanVanuatuVaticanVenezuelaVietnamWalesWallis and FortunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe
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Second action with Avaaz.

Adding your voice to a cause is Change

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I have added my voice to the campaign for buy-ins and a global public rescue plan, instead of bailouts which benefit reckless financiers most. The petition will be delivered to Finance Ministers of the G7 countries in Washington by the end of the week, and to a Global Crisis Summit including many heads of state in November.

I have never been a Milton Friedman-type freemarketer, but I do believe in the Free Enterprise system as the most effective tool to bringing beneficial change to the world. That is a seemingly tenuous statement to make in these times. There are many who will deride me for having too much or not enough faith in the capitalistic system. My argument is not with the system, but with those who have abused the system and those who have institutionalized the means of abuse.

Yesterday MARK LANDLER of the New York Time BUSINESS reported on Rich Nations Pushing for Joint Financial Rescue

The United States and six other nations agreed to a plan to rescue the financial industry, but fell short of offering concrete steps to backstop bank lending.

My action was signing the petition supporting a "buy-in" rescue package instead of a bail-out. I am not in favor of nationalizing banks, but my action or the collective action, will not lead to that. It will endeavor though, I believe, to put greater controls on those institutions. I signed the Avaaz petition because I believe they made a viable argument for doing so.

Leading economists now agree that citizens and our governments are the only force powerful enough to solve this crisis -- only the public can mobilise the investment and oversight needed to fix the financiers' failings, get the economy moving and revive things on a sounder basis. The Great Depression of the 1930s teaches us that we cannot address this crisis with each acting alone -- only by acting together can countries head off disaster.

According to Calculated Risk, "This would essentially be the plan supported by most economists":

VOX cites 18 leading economists from across the political spectrum and around the world -- "Rescuing our jobs and savings: what G7/G8 leaders can do":

How we respond to this crisis will shape our lives for years to come. We're still a long way from tackling the fundamental problems of the global economy, but the tide is moving in our direction. So let's take control of our future in the interests of people not financiers, and raise a worldwide voice across borders for a global public rescue. 3.4 million of us in every nation of the world will get this email -- that's a start. Click below to sign, forward this email to all your friends and family, and let's raise a voice our leaders can't ignore:

clipped from www.avaaz.org

Sign the Petition

Already Avaaz member? Enter your email address and hit "Send".

First time here? Please fill out the form below.

Name:
Email:
Cell/Mobile (optional):
Country:	AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCongo, The Democratic Republic ofCongo, The Republic ofCook IslandsCosta RicaCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, NorthKorea, SouthKuwaitKyrgistanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacauMacedonia (FYROM)MadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorthern IrelandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanOtherPakistanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRomaniaRussiaRwandaSamoaSan MarinoSão Tomé and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaScotlandSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSt. HelenaSt. Kitts-NevisSt. LuciaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesSudanSurinameSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited States of AmericaUruguayUS Virgin IslandsUzbekistanVanuatuVaticanVenezuelaVietnamWalesWallis and FortunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe
Postcode:
Avaaz.org will protect your privacy and keep you posted about this and similar campaigns.