Our friends in advocacy, the Natural Resources Defense Council, just posted a video (and letter, below) from Robert Redford on the importance of taking action NOW on acrtic drilling. 

Dear Friend,
    With the U.S. Senate heading for a showdown vote on the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge, I wish I could sit down with you and explain just how
much is at stake in this fight for America's greatest birthing ground
for wolves, caribou and polar bears.
    Since I can't do that, I've done the next best thing and recorded a
short video message about the critical situation at hand.
    After watching the video, I hope you'll be moved to speak out in defense
of the Arctic Refuge by sending a message from our website to your two
U.S. Senators.
    Click here to view the video and send a message to your Senators:
    We've got no time to lose.
    President Bush and Congressional leaders are exploiting rising gas
prices to rush through legislation that would industrialize the Refuge
for the sake of oil company profits.
    They're doing their damnedest to convince Americans that sacrificing our
nation's premiere wildlife sanctuary will solve our problems at the gas
pump.
    It's a lie. The Bush Administration's own Energy Department says that
drilling in the Arctic Refuge will save consumers only one penny per
gallon at the pump -- and that's 20 years from now!
    Meanwhile, the oil companies would stuff their already bloated coffers
with billions more in profits. The oil companies win, everyone else
loses.
    The House of Representatives has already voted to turn the Arctic Refuge
over to the oil companies. And a version of this Arctic wildlife
destruction bill is heading for a make-or-break vote in the U.S. Senate.
Please raise your voice in opposition right now.
    http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/redfordarctic/action.asp?step=2&item=52387
    Tell your Senators you will not surrender America's greatest wildlife
refuge to save one penny at the pump. Tell them to get to work on
kicking our nation's oil habit by promoting renewable energy and better
fuel economy for our gas-guzzling cars.
    Thank you for joining with me to keep America's Arctic wild and free!

Sincerely,
Robert Redford
NRDC Action Fund

August 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Here's an interesting list of "Ten Stories the World Should Hear More About" for 2006, courtesy of the United Nations. 

August 28, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Something that AID's Allynn Lodge and I have often spoken about is how incredible it would be if there were a women's magazine that combined some serious, globally-focused substance with the frivolous content that we also love.  Well, thank you to AID's Kira Christie for letting me know that this magazine already seems to exist 

If you haven't checked out Marie Claire recently, you should -- in addition to articles about the best way to wear this fall's leggings and ankle boots, it also has great features about global women's issues, shopping for charity and how women live (and shop!) in different countries around the world.  The online site is decent, but in person it's much better for enjoying the lively articles and photospreads on everyone from celebrities to Washington movers and shakers to everyday women around the world.  Check it out!

August 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Each year, the Center on Global Development and Foreign Policy Magazine put together a fascinating list that ranks the commitment of the world's richest nations to the poorest ones  The list evaluates the twenty-one wealthiest countries on our planet according to a number of different measures, including foreign aid, migration, trade, investment and the environment.

This past year, dubbed the "Year of Development" after the high-profile G8 Summit in Scotland, Live 8 Concerts and ONE Campaign, the United States came in at #13 -- roughly in the middle.  If you click on the image below, you can see how we stack up against other countries.

Among the other interesting graphics and charts, there is one that depicts Europe and North America's wealthy cows and one that shows how differently gas is priced, taxed and consumed among wealthy countries. 

Although rich countries are doing a marginally better job of committing to the world's poorest people in terms of their overall ratings, it sounds like things aren't improving fast enough.  Foreign Policy sums it up: "In large part, the deeds of the last year did not live up to the talk. In most policy areas that matter for poor countries, a majority of rich-country governments either failed to follow words with meaningful action—or they simply remained silent."

August 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack

We received this call for internship applications and it looks like a great opportunity that may be of interest to AID members:

The 21st Century Schools Program is a bold and exciting program whose primary goal is to help improve and expand the learning opportunities for students in select schools in Louisiana and Mississippi that were affected by Hurricane Katrina, one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States.  Cisco Systems and Digital Opportunity Trust invite technology-savvy 21+ year olds to participate as interns in the 21st Century Schools program.  Not only will you play an integral role in using technology to help transform schools and communities, but you will receive invaluable training, experience and career coaching while doing so.  To learn more or apply, please contact internship@21CSchools.org.

August 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

This seems like a pretty good start.

August 18, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I just received this announcement for a Summer New Orleans volunteer opportunity: We're looking for student volunteers to work on housing projects for one week -- September 2-10 -- in St. Bernard Parish, New Orleans, a neighborhood that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Volunteers would work with the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH) on gutting and rebuilding houses. (No construction experience is required.) This opportunity allows students to see firsthand the status of New Orleans, become involved in a major national event and help make a small difference for the affected communities.

Lauren Stone is the trip coordinator. She is a recent graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism ('05) and now lives in a Chicago where she is an editor of a journal on foreign policy and national security issues. Please contact Ms. Stone at stone.lauren@gmail.com or 847-830-1778 for additional information or to sign-up for the trip!

August 16, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

At Saturday's young global leaders summit in Omaha, Climate Change and Oil Dependence: We DO Have a Choice, keynote speaker John Cavanaugh spoke about "actors" and "reflectors" of change.  While businesses are the reflectors of change, he commented, we as consumers and voters are the real actors of change.  And when we show businesses that we want environmentally sound products, the reflections of change can be quite interesting.

Everybody's least favorite big box store, Wal-Mart, has recently embarked on an initiative to transform its company to run entirely on renewable energy, sell sustainable goods and produce no net waste.  It remains to be seen whether or not the ambitious policies laid out by CEO H. Lee Scott will be implemented.  But current indications are promising enough that Grist has begrudgingly tipped its hat to the store in an entertaining article about Al Gore's recent visit to the company's Arkansas headquarters.

While we can still argue about whether or not Wal-Mart is a force for good or for evil overall (and I assure you that we will, at least among the AID staff!), it gives me hope that even the world's most powerful store does appear to reflect change when it comes to the environment.  If consumers demonstrate that being green is not just being good, but being good for business, that is what the stores will give us. 

As Scott himself says, "The benefits of the strategy are undeniable, whether you look through the lens of greenhouse-gas reduction or the lens of cost savings. What has become so obvious is that [a green strategy] provides better value for our customers."

August 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

As ever, the Economist is covering parts of the world in depth that you rarely even see in the news briefs section elsewhere.  This time it's the Horn of Africa, which the Economist says is on "the path to ruin" in an article that illustrates how a devastating humanitarian crisis has descended into an even more dire situation that is worrisome on all sorts of levels.

The Horn of Africa, consisting of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia in East Africa, is on the edge of a precipice right now that results from a combination of political instability, extreme hunger and uncontrolled population increases (over half the population is under 15).  As if that wasn't bad enough, the hungry region has been experiencing a severe drought.  Indeed, the environmental situation is dire: Only 5% of the natural habitat remains and experts predict that the Horn will become wholly unsustainable if temperatures rise one or two degrees as predicted due to global warming.  And now, enter al Qaeda, who seeks to exploit the Horn's fragility by encouraging radicalism and imposing its own order.

The combination of humanitarian, environmental and security concerns that have mixed together in the Horn of Africa is horrifying, but no coincidence.  Reading this article reminds me of why the United States must not miss opportunities to promote sustainable development, especially in unstable parts of the world, by providing aid, supporting population control and stopping environmental degredation.  Otherwise, we may be faced with situations that are not only morally outrageous but also threatening to our security.

August 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

I just noticed that my previous post inadvertently stole part of its title from a recent op-ed in the Washington Post, "How Will The Poor Trade Up?"  It's an interesting piece from the anti-penny Republican Congressman from Arizona, Jim Kolbe, about how he sees the relationship between U.S. foreign aid and trade policy.

August 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack