Better for Us and our Children

I just finished reading a book called "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man," a true story by a man who played an influential role in building the system and country that we live in today. I have personally felt for a while that our country, society, and the qualities being praised are not moving in the right direction; that people are over-worked and under-paid, that politicians and policies are not reflecting the averages person's perspective, and that a lot of people around the world are suffering. Did you know that 50% of the world live on less than $2 a day?

If you feel at all this way think about reading this book. Even if you don't, it's an interesting read.

But, I personally have had a growing desire to do the right thing for society, and this book and website have given me a few more reasons to do so. Below are some interesting facts and resources pulled from the author's website (www.johnperkins.org/More%20Information.htm).

For ecologically responsible jewelry (for anyone thinking of getting engaged) log into http://www.greenkarat.com.

Drink tap water, not bottled water. Here are some facts:
-According to the United Nations, if we took half of what is currently spent on bottled water (approximately $100 billion annually) and invested it in water infrastructure and treatment, everyone in the world could have access to clean drinking water.
-The U.S. EPA sets more stringent quality standards for tap water than the FDA does for bottled water.
-Approximately 40% of bottled water is actually tap water.
-It takes 1.5 billion barrels of oil to produce the plastic for water bottles.

Buy from local businesses over corporate chains. Buy locally grown, organic, non-genetically modified (GM) food. Agribusiness and supermarket corporations are increasingly gaining control over the world’s food supply. This shift to a centralized model of food production and distribution requires more chemicals, more transportation, and large-scale monocultures, and has had disastrous consequences on local communities, economies and ecosystems. Local food production, on the other hand, has environmental, economic, and health benefits. For the freshest, healthiest, most flavorful organic food that's grown closest to you. Go to http://www.localharvest.org.

Protect our forests from unwanted waste. Stop receiving catalogs and junk mail. Get your mail, magazines, etc. online.

These things above were just a small fraction of the information on the website. Hope you all can find a few things to do to help.

Bet you never thought I'd get on this kick huh? And no, Cate's not holding my boyfriend hostage so that I would write this either. :)