Whatever you do will seem insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. Gandhi
On 12/4/11 1:06 PM, "Steve Young" <[email protected]> wrote: > Lawren et al., > Unfortunately, I think you may be preaching to the choir. I'm not trying > to be pessimistic, but if every ESA member were to follow through and > commit to the 'doing something', instead of just 'talking more', what > would that accomplish? Just going by the numbers, conservatively speaking, > ESA membership is around 10,000 and according to the Census Bureau, the > current population in the US is 312,718,825 ( > http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html) So, what do we do > about the other 312,708,000? > I'm in the education arena and it is a question that I've been trying to > figure out how to answer for a long time. I know advocacy is one way and > something I work on all the time. Maybe this should be part of the focus > of the 'doing something' approach. > Steve > > ___________________ > Stephen L. Young, PhD > Weed Ecologist > University of Nebraska-Lincoln > West Central Research & Extension Center > 402 West State Farm Road > North Platte, NE 69101 > > [email protected] > 308-696-6712 > > Website: http://ipscourse.unl.edu > Facebook: > http://www.facebook.com/pages/North-American-Invasive-Plant-Short-Course/18195 > 5048542937 > > Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/NAIPSC > > > > From: > Lawren Sack <[email protected]> > To: > [email protected] > Date: > 12/02/2011 09:09 PM > Subject: > [ECOLOG-L] What Can I DO?? Re: [ECOLOG-L] Message from Paul Ehrlich > > > > Dear Paul and others > > I appreciate the sermon, and those movies look really interesting, > and I can't wait to see them. Still it would be super-wasteful to buy > copies of DVDs and distribute them as Christmas presents. I just read > that more than 30 billion compact discs are sold annually, generating > enormous waste in manufacture, distribution and disposal. Anyhow, we > now can download movies and software now! The film "Mother" can be > streamed, but the other two recommended movies cannot yet. I just > phoned the distributors to ask and I got the definite impression that > if a number of people were to write to them, they could be motivated > to update their web sites to allow downloads sooner rather than later. > > Even more importantly, sending and watching movies and talking about > them might not be enough. For those people who are past > conversational, and have reached the "What can we do?" stage, we > might be working toward practical solutions. I just read on the > website for Paul's MAHB organization that, "It's too late for talk, > the only hope is ACTION! The crisis is NOW! If we act TODAY, we > can sustain the future...". But, haven't found any recommendations > for practical action listed on the MAHB web site. (Under "Ideas for > Actions", there is advice on generating more conversation: > http://mahb.stanford.edu/what-can-i-do/ideas-for-actions/ ) > > For practical actions, here are some other web sites with information. > > http://www.50waystohelp.com/ > http://www.worldwatch.org/resources/go_green_save_green > http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/save-earth-top-te > n.htm > > http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/environment/0,28757,1602354,00.html > > In fact, there must be many great web resources with latest solutions > and best practices toward environmental and social > sustainability. If you have some that you especially like, please > send to me and I'll send it out to the list in the New Year, in time > for resolutions. It would be great to see what the ideas are! When > such lists are compiled they could be posted on the MAHB web site and > elsewhere. > > Very best wishes > > Lawren > > > At 10:26 AM 12/2/2011, David Inouye wrote: >>> From: "Paul R. Ehrlich" <[email protected]> >>> >>> Subject: GLOBAL EMERGENCY: WHAT CAN I DO?? >>> >>> Dear Friends, >>> >>> Anne and I were recently at a meeting of scientists, politicians, and >>> media people in Sydney. Everyone was in agreement that humanity is >>> in the midst of a largely unrecognized global emergency -- one that >>> puts the persistence of civilization seriously in doubt. And there >>> was no agreement on the burning question "what can I do about >>> it?" That is a question that is central to the MAHB and various >>> social movements, all of which are searching for >>> answers. Occasionally I'll pester those on my list with things I >>> think you can do -- this is the first of such pestering. >>> >>> There are three important films available on topics dear to MAHB's >>> heart: the impossibility of perpetual economic growth >>> (GROWTHBUSTERS), the population problem (MOTHER), and the lethal loss >>> of biodiversity (CALL OF LIFE). You can find more about them on the >>> MAHB web site at >>> http://mahb.stanford.edu/media-bar/mahb-goes-to-the-movies/. Or you >>> can go to their respective web sites: >>> >>> http://www.growthbusters.org/ >>> http://www.motherthefilm.com/ >>> http://calloflife.org/ >>> >>> What can you do? You could buy copies and send them as Christmas >>> presents, arrange showings at local high schools and colleges, pester >>> school boards and deans to get them included in curricula, write to >>> TV stations and ask them to show them, write newspapers and ask them >>> to review them, arrange showings for your neighbors/friends. The >>> Ecology-Evolution group of the Biology department at Stanford will be >>> showing all three in teach-ins next week, focusing on the inequity >>> issues that pervade all three areas. We're doing it in support of >>> the "Occupy the Future" movement on campus. I will also be >>> integrating them into my courses. Let's use some of the energy >>> generated by frustration with our broken government and corrupt >>> financial system to actually DO something. End of sermon......P >>> >>> Paul R. Ehrlich >>> Bing Professor of Population Studies >>> President, Center for Conservation Biology >>> Department of Biology, 371 Serra Mall >>> Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020 >>> Ph 650-723-3171 >>> Fx 650-723-5920 >>> https://www.stanford.edu/group/CCB/cgi-bin/ccb/content/paul-r-ehrlich >>> >>> -------------------------------------------------------------- >>> This e-mail was sent from my e-mail list. If you would like to >>> unsubscribe, send an e-mail to >>> [email protected], do not write anything >>> in the subject or body of the message. Please follow the >>> instructions in the incoming email. >>> If you would like to subscribe, send an e-mail to >>> [email protected], do not write anything in >>> the subject or body of the message. >> >> >> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Lawren Sack >> Professor, Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology >> University of California, Los Angeles >> 621 Charles E. Young Drive South >> Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606 USA >> >> Tel: 310-825-6525 >> Fax: 310-825-9433 >> Email: [email protected] >> http://www.eeb.ucla.edu/Faculty/Sack
