Earth Hour

Earth Hour has come and gone, but the war lives on. On almost all the blogs and online news sites the comment wars rage on about whether global warming is real or a hoax, and whether or not events like Earth Hour are useful to save energy, raise awareness or are organized by rich corporate organizations whose real agenda is far from saving the planet. I think everyone is so busy fighting for their cause and trying to prove their point that they are missing the real point and the big picture.

I have always known that the truth usually lies somewhere in between what two opposing sides are saying. The reality of the matter is that in the global warming debate - the two sides are arguing so much about who is right, they fail to realize that they are actually both right and if stood together instead of selfishly trying to prove how right each side is, we might actually manage to do something good.

Are the motives of some people and organizations not always primarily for the overall good of the Earth, but about the bottom line or making sure that resources are protected for a few at the expense of others? No question about it in my mind.

Is Global Warming a natural cycle that we have little or no power to stop? Probably.

Do humans contribute to making Global Warming much more of a crisis than it would be without us. No question.

The real problem that people fail to realize is that over the past 100 years - maybe even less, our western society has rapidly become a materialistic, resource consuming monster that both individually and in organizations is selfish to the point where the 'monster' analogy is true. We don't even realize what we have become. We are bombarded by the media. Technology has become a parasite on humanity, not the labor saving saviour that was promised to us. The deadly combination of our rich society, the constant bombardment of images and expectations in media that we need better and more 'stuff', that we need to keep 'fixing' ourselves because we don't look like the people on TV or in the movies or in magazines, does nothing but lead us like sheep in a constantly downward spiral of disappointment, depression and dissatisfaction with ourselves and our society.

So at this point, devoid of our spiritual compass in many cases, and part of a society where 'anything goes' and everyone can do 'what they want', and where nothing is really wrong anymore, people have little choice but to 'check out', hang on for dear life, or to turn into themselves as selfish people who only care about living the good life before any government or other country starts to use 'our' resources.

Oh, most of us do our token 'guilt' giving or conserving so that we don't feel like we are evil. We really have no idea of what is going on outside of our little sphere of influence. We think we do, because we watch TV and read newspapers and are educated. But do we really have any idea of how people live in Africa, or Mexico, or South America, or even in our own country?

We are the lucky ones. We have it all, yet want more. We blame the poor and sick and say they just don't try and don't deserve handouts. We justify what we do saying we have worked hard for what we have and demand more.

We complain when we are asked to turn our lights off for an hour, saying nobody can tell me what to do. I have earned the right to suck the resources of this planet and throw them in the garbage if that's what I want to do.

Wow. Have we really come this far? I'm afraid we have.

So what do we do? Do the people that care continue to work to conserve our precious natural resources while others waste them? At what point do we throw our hands up and say why are we doing this?

The reality of our situation is that no matter what we do to conserve non-renewable resources, they are going to get less and less and then run out. The price of oil will keep going up until there is no more oil. Global Warming will likely keep causing the wet areas of the Earth to get wetter and the dry areas to get drier. Areas of the world WILL experience terrible drought and people may have to leave areas of the southwest that will not be able to support growing populations. Storms will get worse, flooding will happen more and more to coastal areas. I know, people will deny it, but it does not matter which side of Global Warming you are on - the 'humans caused it' side or the 'it's just a cycle' side. If you can't understand the trends either way, then you are an ostrich with your head in the sand.

We need to adapt to our Earth and understand it, not to insist that we can abuse it and deplete it of resources and poison it. The native people understood that. We could have learned from their understanding, but as soon as we invaded North America, we started the systematic rape of the land and its resources.

It is said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So for those who insist on their right, (no longer God-given in most cases) to consume resources and waste without regard for others, the time will come when their ride is over. That time may come sooner than we think and for those people, it will be a great shock. Think of those countries where a rich few ruled over the poor and how in the end when the people were so desperate that they had nothing more to lose, how they rose up and the once rich and mighty fell at the hands of the majority. Do we learn nothing from history? Why do people always think that it will never happen to them?

For the people who do care, do not be discouraged by what you see or hear. Keep true to what you know is right in your heart. Stay true to your spiritual self and understand that we are all one. Opposing one another in wars of words and deeds is opposing ourselves. Discard arguing to prove you are right and someone else is wrong. Show people what is right by your deeds, not your words. Do what is right in the face of scorn and mockery. Hold your head up high and teach your children to lead by example. Find ways to understand this place we call home. Get out in nature and reduce or eliminate the technology monster that is sucking our life away. Don't be influenced by the media's narrow view of life. Get out and see for yourself what is really going on in our world. Give back to others, not out of guilt, but to strengthen us as a whole.

Above all, be thankful for what you have, not disappointed that you do not have more. Spread your thankfulness to others, rather than complain to them. Only in this way, will a grass roots movement begin to grow that is a positive, unifying light in the darkness of our world.

You know, I think the people who turned their lights off for Earth Hour had 60 minutes without distractions to ponder some of this. Maybe that is what Earth Hour was really about.

Globespotter is now on Facebook!

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Help Globespotter save the world!

Globespotter.com is pleased to announce that for 2008 we will be donating $1 USD for ever Globespotter product sold through our Merchandise Store to one of our Certified Friends to directly help make our world a better place. We are kicking off this promotion by donating to Rainforest Alliance, which we feel does outstanding work around the world. All products in the Globespotter Merchandise Store are included in this donation promotion. Note that CD's sold through the Globespotter Music Store are NOT included in this promotion.

We are not making any profit on the Globespotter 'Want to save the world?' Bumper Stickers, donating 100% of our markup to Rainforest Alliance, so please order a Bumper Sticker and show how you support Globespotter and Rainforest Alliance.


We will change recipients periodically, depending on sales volumes, and will post when we do.

We are doing this to provide a way for each of you to be able to help out, and although ordering one bumper sticker may seen small, it will add up to a lot of help when we all get involved!

Thanks for your continued support and please remember to tell a friend who cares about Globespotter.com!

Doug @ Globespotter

Earth Hour 2008 - Are you signed up?

It started with a question: How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?

The answer: Ask the people of Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.

On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour.

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.

This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm on the 29 March, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane, Tel Aviv and Manila will unite and switch off for Earth Hour.

For more information or to sign up - visit the official Earth Hour Website at: http://www.earthhour.org/

Politically Incorrect

It is that time of year again when we are all faced with the fear of offending someone by using the word 'Christmas' or some other word that is specific to a certain cultural or religious group. Over the years we have not only managed to lose the real meaning of Christmas, but we have managed to twist it into some kind of economic, materialistic shopping spree, and the time of the year that we end up getting so stressed with rushing around trying to find parking at the mall, and worrying about increasing debt to pay for the things we think we 'need' to buy, that most people dread the season.

It was bad enough that we lost the original meaning of Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all Mankind, but now local and regional governments, stores and others are working to erase the name and replace it with 'Holiday Tree' or 'Seasons Greetings'. A task force in Colorado recently recommended not using red and green lights, and removing ribbons from wreaths and stars from trees.

I know that most of these initiatives are germinated with the good intentions of embracing our multicultural backgrounds and to try to make things more fair for all cultures and religious beliefs (or lack thereof), but the end result is that none of us get the opportunity to enjoy the season, and end up uptight, stressed and certainly not closer to those whose beliefs are different from our own.

So - what should we do about it? Sit back and let this time of year slowly vanish along with message of goodwill that started over 2000 years ago?

I'm not ashamed to say that I am a Christian. I don't think you should be ashamed to say you are a Muslim, or a Jew, or a Buddhist either.

I know many people with lots of different beliefs - specifically Muslim and Jewish, and they don't have a problem with wishing me a Merry Christmas, any more than I enjoy learning about their culture and beliefs. In fact, we end up having meaningful dialog about what we believe, and while sometimes we may agree to disagree, more times than not, we are surprised that our core beliefs are not really that different.

I know there are fanatical Christians, Jews or Muslims who expound their beliefs as the only truth to the point of aggression toward others. I also know that 2000 years ago, Christianity started based on teaching tolerance and not judging others for how they act or what they believe.

I am being politically incorrect, and I think we need to be. If not, we all risk losing the real meaning of what we believe and the opportunity to influence others not by aggression or arguing, but by our own behaviour in helping others and being compassionate.

There will always be some people who are not happy because their own beliefs are not fairly represented by a store, or by their town. We should not try to 'be fair' to everyone, but rather let people express their own beliefs without fear of being 'politically incorrect'.

If a store owner really does not believe in Christmas, then don't sell Christmas trees at all - but please don't call them 'Holiday Trees' or 'Family Trees' just so you think you will please everyone and sell more.

If you want to make a difference this year, why not find someone with different beliefs and talk to them and share and learn about your differences and similiarities?

Why not expand both your understanding and your sphere of influence in a positive way?

Take the time to be thankful for what we have instead of complaining about the stress of rushing around. Take the time to do something for someone less fortunate, whether it be visiting someone in the hospital or old age home, or helping someone living on the street to get a hot meal or a warm blanket.

Stop being politically correct and start really getting to know your neighbours. Christmas is not about convincing people that you are right and they are wrong. It should be about sharing the good news that there is hope for Peace on Earth and Goodwill to ALL mankind.

A Thousand Hills

I had the opportunity this week to be at the premier of an independent film that was filmed around my community. Figuring it was a low budget local film, I was expecting the quality of acting and cinematography to reflect that.

I was pleasantly surprised (blown away is probably a better definition) by the outstanding quality of "A Thousand Hills", the story of a young boy who struggles to try to save his family farm.

It is rare today to find a movie that all of the family can enjoy, and rarer still that it is a touching story and of outstanding quality. "A Thousand Hills" is all of these and more. With cinematography, score and acting that rivals big budget Hollywood films, it charms as an independent film while easily making you forget that it is not a Hollywood production. It makes you laugh and it makes you cry, and in the end just makes you feel good.

With crisp directing by Allison Wilmarth and a tight musical score that captures the ups and downs of this story perfectly, it was a pleasure to watch from start to finish.

The film is not in cinemas, but is available on DVD, and would make a great gift for all ages.

You can buy the DVD online here.

Blogger Play

The internet is full of stuff - from the worst dregs of our society to the coolest. Blogger Play is in my opinion one of the coolest. It is an application by Blogger that displays real-time photos that people all over the world are uploading to their blogs. Check it out - it is neat to see what people are uploading.