Thursday, October 30, 2014

A few random posts, even on vacation:

•Can/must carbon capture work? Via MIT Here

•The last big cat listed, wtf. Hard to believe.
Will listing the African Lion endangered in the US help it? Here
Listed as threatened, the populations in Africa vary by country.
Who wants to be shooting a lion or importing lion parts anyway?
As an already threatened population that should be ultra-illegal here already.

•Current protection plan will not save the Great Barrier Reef, via BBC Here
Will coal exports kill the Great Barrier Reef Here

•Controlling population by 2100 won't solve environmental woes (even though we have to plateau population and decrease soon) Here

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Colby is on vacation

In a beautiful part of the world, not far from home, where things don't seem as fucked up.
Will post a bit about that when I'm back.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Battery technology advancements

New technology allows for 70% faster battery charging time.
Keep it coming kids and smart folk... love it.
Here

Natl Geo: One-Third of Food Is Lost or Wasted: What Can Be Done

Food waste, and loss, differentiated. Feeding America, excess food to poor, or animals, partial solutions.
Do your part. Here

Monday, October 13, 2014

UN Needs to Step Up to ISIS, ASAP

http://usun.state.gov/about/contact/index.htm   Samantha Power
http://www.state.gov/contact/   John Kerry 

Help out and tell them above.

Dear Honorable Ambassador Samantha Power, please see below, and to forward to Honorable Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, thank you.

Subject: RE: ISIS
From: Colby Allerton
To: inquiries@un.org, letters@latimes.com,
        "letters@nytimes.com" <letters@nytimes.com>


Dear Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and US Secretary of State John Kerry
(via Webform),

It is past time for the UN to create a coalition and stop the expansion of
ISIS.
This is particularly why the charter of the U.N. was established: "...To
maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take
effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to
the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches
of the peace...."
ISIS has traveled and expanded far enough.
Innocent people in several countries face extermination, and this is not
acceptable in modern eyes, when collectively we can prevent these
atrocities and re-establish the rightful sovereignty and peace of the
trampled cities that people deserve.
Please work immediately to intervene, with as many varied nations
contributing as soon as possible.
Days and weeks ahead is too long.
ISIS needs multi-nationally to be first contained and then sent back --
immediately.
Thank you and please hurry up.

G. Colby Allerton

Friday, October 10, 2014

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Love, Not Fear, Will Help Us Fix Climate Change

Great piece in Time magazine. Let's hope those that love the world most outnumber and lead stronger than those who hate more.

Here

The Desctruction of Mecca

Via the New York Times. Heartbreaking. There is much hand-wringing about the violence from extremist Muslims, rightly so.
But the disdain of modern Muslims in Mecca, dishonoring their ancient sites, is hard to believe.
There is something sacred in the sites, and much is lost when that physical connection to the roots of their religion is broken. This is hurtful to know about.
Here

Sunset, Venice 12/20/2012

Sunset, Venice 12/20/2012
I've been thinking some about the Winter Solstice, the Mayan end of the 30,000-year-cycle on 12/21/12.

What if in fact the world did end? Even though this probably will not happen, to live consciously it is honest for us to take a bit of an inventory.

Am I happy with how I've lived my life? (Yesterday, I thought mostly yes, with some areas for improvement, as below.) Are there changes I would make?
Would I have tried to forgive those that were hostile or disappointing to me?
Would I spend more time with those I loved the most, telling them that, feeling that more?
Would I be happier, grateful for what I have, what I've experienced, the joy, the beauty in this world?

Maybe the answer is yes to all of the above.
So this time can serve as a point of rebirth for all of us. If we think about it.

Because somewhere along the line I realized I think maybe mankind deserves it. !
The way we are killing each other, killing the planet.
How selfish we are, and snotty to those around us. Petty, competitive. Why is this? Do we have to behave this way? (I say no, it greatly detracts and misdirects energy from the full-time celebration in which we could engage, the great multi-cultural, multi-rhythmic dance we can sustain here.)

Maybe God or the Great Universe is fed up, and will pull the rug out from under us.
Don't think I can say we could blame Him/Her/It.

But it probably won't happen. (Probably not! This time.)

Still we are finite on this ride.

It is a time to think, am I happy with how I've lived my life?
Hopefully most of us can say yes.

For the part of us that have a little worry, a little sadness....
This is the time to be present.
This is the time to be the person you want to be, that can die at peace, that can hope to every day be able to look yourself and the Universe in the eye and say, how beautiful, smiling, and thank you. Let's do that.

Antidotes to Violence, a.k.a., Take Charge of Where Your Head's At - here

Tell Congress to Strengthen Gun Control Laws NOW - here

Good News & Brain Food News -
Christians & Muslims Gather, for Peace here
Good News - Top RIO+20 Summit Posts here
The 'Busy' Trap - NYTimes.com
here