Ahviahn's Blog - July 2008
While listening to P.O.D and working on projects at NMYO I had a thought... The work that I do is like this music. Even though there is a quality of calming about the music the lyrics are strong and thought provoking. They talk about war and many not caring, poverty and destruction, corruption and sadness, children dying for greed, "today i heard what them people say, they want to live free greedy... You play under the sun while others fight under skies of gray."
It all hit me that something needs to be done. Yes, there are groups and people who are doing their parts but it's not nearly enough to make a difference fast enough. One stanza that stands out right now is, "You portray selfishness and hate while some prepare to die today. Stand up, defend, or lay down and die" because it is so true. Many people I know would rather pretend that nothing is happening, all the while feeling safe in their homes complaining if their parents don't buy them a new car because they crashed the last. As if what happens outside doesn't matter, "suffocation within because of what you are saying, to understand is to begin again, and to believe is live again." I really can't understand how this can be such an abundant "trait" in the world. Even in the countries where poverty and disease, and hunger are so obvious. "I tried living my life through your eyes, smothering me with your ways, to death, no breath you're choking what little faith I have left", trying to understand how someone could be so willingly oblivious to these glaring facts is horrendous to me. It really irks me how people have the attitude of 'I don't care', so while I'm "waiting on today, tell me it's okay, so I won't run away."
The things we do aren't outrageous and silly but we are working towards something. Our work is important because we are making a difference and letting the public know about issues concerning the community, state and even some world stuff. Spreading the word and doing what little we can to raise public awareness, even if it's just doing accountability projects and letting young people know what they can do to make a difference is big. So I'm going to continue letting people know, and doing my part, hoping for more, and getting thinking of personal ways to get things out there.
"This is how I feel, and I just wanted to, I really thought I could. Why, oh, why do we do the things we do? I try to make you see these things the way I do" in the words of P.O.D. from The Mind of a Girl.
It all hit me that something needs to be done. Yes, there are groups and people who are doing their parts but it's not nearly enough to make a difference fast enough. One stanza that stands out right now is, "You portray selfishness and hate while some prepare to die today. Stand up, defend, or lay down and die" because it is so true. Many people I know would rather pretend that nothing is happening, all the while feeling safe in their homes complaining if their parents don't buy them a new car because they crashed the last. As if what happens outside doesn't matter, "suffocation within because of what you are saying, to understand is to begin again, and to believe is live again." I really can't understand how this can be such an abundant "trait" in the world. Even in the countries where poverty and disease, and hunger are so obvious. "I tried living my life through your eyes, smothering me with your ways, to death, no breath you're choking what little faith I have left", trying to understand how someone could be so willingly oblivious to these glaring facts is horrendous to me. It really irks me how people have the attitude of 'I don't care', so while I'm "waiting on today, tell me it's okay, so I won't run away."
The things we do aren't outrageous and silly but we are working towards something. Our work is important because we are making a difference and letting the public know about issues concerning the community, state and even some world stuff. Spreading the word and doing what little we can to raise public awareness, even if it's just doing accountability projects and letting young people know what they can do to make a difference is big. So I'm going to continue letting people know, and doing my part, hoping for more, and getting thinking of personal ways to get things out there.
"This is how I feel, and I just wanted to, I really thought I could. Why, oh, why do we do the things we do? I try to make you see these things the way I do" in the words of P.O.D. from The Mind of a Girl.
Many Americans feel that offshore drilling is going to solve the horrible issue of gas prices. While there is a need for something to change this problem, offshore drilling is not the answer. Even though offshore drilling will reduce the price of gas, it is in a manner that is ridiculous and unreasonable. The cons just out-weigh the pros.
1) It will be at LEAST 10 years from the start of drilling to make a difference. When drilling finally does make a change the actual difference will be a mere 1% or so which will lead to a wonderful 4 cents or so!
2) Negligence and/or severe weather (like hurricanes for example?) could cause major spills that take YEARS to clean up. These spills unfortunately can not be entirely cleaned therefore wash up onto shore. Spills lead to the contamination of wildlife including fish. In turn these "bad" fish can not be eaten and so deplete the coastal economy and cause food prices to rise.
3) Massive natural damage is caused not only to the wildlife but also to the ecosystems. Many may not know it but coral reefs that get affected by oil spills affect our health and air supply. Coral reefs supply not only life for a plethora of sea creatures but also medicinal resources, and help support the organisms that give off most of the oxygen in our atmosphere. Not to mention an abundance of other problems.
4) Even if there are NO spills other contaminates from the drilling process it's self are going to be released, including barium, chromium and arsenic. Over time these contaminates are going to really change otherwise pristine waters. [Revisit points 2 and 3 if you will.]
Even though these are only a few of the cons they are some of the most important. As Dianne Feinstein (the senior US Senator from California) said, "We need to promote conservation and develop clean technologies and clean fuels - like cellulosic ethanol. We need to continue to raise fuel economy standards for vehicles and improve the energy efficiency of our buildings by 50 percent."
And those are only a few of the things Americans can work towards.
All of these have the better chance of providing long term, safer jobs, and a cleaner Earth, all the while reducing our appalling dependence on oil. It's time that we start living up to our banner of Independence and reach the potential in leading everyone to a cleaner world.
1) It will be at LEAST 10 years from the start of drilling to make a difference. When drilling finally does make a change the actual difference will be a mere 1% or so which will lead to a wonderful 4 cents or so!
2) Negligence and/or severe weather (like hurricanes for example?) could cause major spills that take YEARS to clean up. These spills unfortunately can not be entirely cleaned therefore wash up onto shore. Spills lead to the contamination of wildlife including fish. In turn these "bad" fish can not be eaten and so deplete the coastal economy and cause food prices to rise.
3) Massive natural damage is caused not only to the wildlife but also to the ecosystems. Many may not know it but coral reefs that get affected by oil spills affect our health and air supply. Coral reefs supply not only life for a plethora of sea creatures but also medicinal resources, and help support the organisms that give off most of the oxygen in our atmosphere. Not to mention an abundance of other problems.
4) Even if there are NO spills other contaminates from the drilling process it's self are going to be released, including barium, chromium and arsenic. Over time these contaminates are going to really change otherwise pristine waters. [Revisit points 2 and 3 if you will.]
Even though these are only a few of the cons they are some of the most important. As Dianne Feinstein (the senior US Senator from California) said, "We need to promote conservation and develop clean technologies and clean fuels - like cellulosic ethanol. We need to continue to raise fuel economy standards for vehicles and improve the energy efficiency of our buildings by 50 percent."
And those are only a few of the things Americans can work towards.
All of these have the better chance of providing long term, safer jobs, and a cleaner Earth, all the while reducing our appalling dependence on oil. It's time that we start living up to our banner of Independence and reach the potential in leading everyone to a cleaner world.
We all know that gas prices are skyrocketing into oblivion right? But not many people realize how much these prices are affecting them on a broader scale and how much prices are tied into the cost of oil. Places like grocery stores and chain companies, not to mention the consumer, are forced to deal with higher prices on necessities, like food and supplies, and especially on luxurious items. Oil prices are affecting everyone in some way, (not including travel costs) if not directly.
The ones most affected by soaring gas prices are small business owners, who are the treasure of their local communities, as well as the backbone of the economy.
As oil prices continue to rise so does the cost of transportation, shipping, supplies, and employee compensation. As a result these small businesses see a decreased profit and are forced to raise the prices of their products. Therefore, costumers are less willing to travel to a location and even more unwilling to pay the increased prices. Because of this small business owners are going to see a further decrease of profit and might be forced to cut employees or struggle to stay afloat.
Ed Silva, of Albuquerque's Duke City Graphics, said that gas prices are, "most definitely" affecting how he does business and that he has seen a 10-15% decrease in sales. Ed has owned his screen printing business for 25 years and although it is usually a fairly low cost system since gas prices have gone up, "quite a bit of people are reluctant to pay" for something like custom t-shirts for which Ed has to pay an extra .25-.45 cents each shirt. Ed says that he first noticed the effect of gas prices in February of 2008. Because of the nature of his business Ed travels around town throughout the day making various pick-ups and drop-offs of supplies and merchandise. Now, because of gas prices he needs to plan ahead for errands and pick-up everything in one run. This takes time out of his other tasks and if something is forgotten the extra trip will cost him extra time and money.
Read More »
The ones most affected by soaring gas prices are small business owners, who are the treasure of their local communities, as well as the backbone of the economy.
As oil prices continue to rise so does the cost of transportation, shipping, supplies, and employee compensation. As a result these small businesses see a decreased profit and are forced to raise the prices of their products. Therefore, costumers are less willing to travel to a location and even more unwilling to pay the increased prices. Because of this small business owners are going to see a further decrease of profit and might be forced to cut employees or struggle to stay afloat.
Ed Silva, of Albuquerque's Duke City Graphics, said that gas prices are, "most definitely" affecting how he does business and that he has seen a 10-15% decrease in sales. Ed has owned his screen printing business for 25 years and although it is usually a fairly low cost system since gas prices have gone up, "quite a bit of people are reluctant to pay" for something like custom t-shirts for which Ed has to pay an extra .25-.45 cents each shirt. Ed says that he first noticed the effect of gas prices in February of 2008. Because of the nature of his business Ed travels around town throughout the day making various pick-ups and drop-offs of supplies and merchandise. Now, because of gas prices he needs to plan ahead for errands and pick-up everything in one run. This takes time out of his other tasks and if something is forgotten the extra trip will cost him extra time and money.
Read More »
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