360 Blog

It’s a weird holiday for a month, but think about it—how many times do you see stray shopping carts littering up the parking lot? Not only does it make it harder for YOU to park, it makes it a much tougher job on the poor guy (and it could be a girl, but I’ve only seen guys doing it) who has to lug all of those carts back inside. Sure, it’s his job, but that doesn’t give any of us the right to make it harder on him—especially in the freezing weather many of us are experiencing right now.

It’s also Random Acts of Kindness Month, so why not combine the two and return your cart back to where it belongs? It only takes a couple of seconds, and you could prevent an accident from happening. And while you’re at it, here are a few more ideas for the month. Feel free to add your own! Read more

From February 15 to February 19, 2010 ENOUGH’s Raise Hope for Congo project will be sponsoring a week of action, or Advocacy Days. These will be in support of the Conflict Minerals Trade Act (CMTA). The timing is perfect to meet local representatives to talk about the act and the conflict in Congo, as Congress will be in recess during this time.

The Act, if passed, will help identify minerals acquired from conflicts, helping the United States to cease trade with such areas and stop supporting the human rights abuses occurring in Congo today. The bill is sponsored by Representatives Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Jim McDermott (D-WA). Read more

I don’t know about you, but when I hear about species extinctions or endangerment, I get pretty sick to my stomach. I’ve heard plenty of people wave these very real, very permanent losses off as a work of nature, of natural selection; after all, extinction has been happening since the dawn of time, right?

In a word, yes, but that’s not a complete answer; we know that the number of species becoming extinct today are largely due to the actions of humans. The main causes of endangerment and extinction are the introduction of nonnative species, disease, pollution, loss of habitat, and overhunting. Most of these are directly caused by humans, and those that are not are still somewhat due to human involvement. Read more

CongressI recently wrote (a little angrily) about a writer on Gawker who complained about the uselessness of using social media for Internet campaigns. A few days later, I got a status report regarding Burma and legislation in particular that would ensure that the US government would have a more watchful eye towards Burma.

I dutifully followed the link in the status report to “Write my congressman”- all I had to do was type in my address, sign my name, and specify the type of legislation I was writing about and voila, the message was sent. Today, I got a message back from my congressman, telling me that my message was received (happily) and that if I wanted to follow a specific piece of legislation, I could check out this web site for the bill number.
Read more

With the kiddos at home today, you might be wondering what to do with them so soon after holiday break. Sure, you could let them sit in their PJs and watch cartoons or play video games, but what’s the fun in that? Instead of another boring day off school, why not make it a fun day by celebrating the reason they’re off—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sometimes it’s hard to celebrate people—it’s not exactly the same as celebrating a cartoon character or commercial holiday where plenty of activities and decorations are readily available. How can you make Dr. King and his message accessible to your kids? Here are a few ideas to get you started. Read more

Haiti EarthquakeI haven’t watched much of the footage from Haiti, not because I don’t care, but because I don’t have cable tv. This hasn’t stopped me from reading about it, thinking about it, and wondering what responsibility we in the West have for preventing these kinds of disasters or what we can do now to help.

The two most straightforward ways remain the same for every type of disaster. They need donations of either your time or your money. I chose money, but only a little bit and then felt bad about my donation and its usefulness or lack thereof after reading an article on Gawker criticizing the “netiquette” of using social media to promote your cause.
Read more

Humanitarian Day is a holiday that honors the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by promoting unity, remembrance, and respect. Here are a few ways you might wish to celebrate.

Light a candle in your home for all of the freedom fighters who have passed on—Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Miep Gies, Mother Theresa, Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Gandhi—any of your heroes who have fought for freedom. You could also light one for all of the victims who have suffered and died due to slavery, sexual slavery, and violence both in the past as well as those who suffer today.

Vow to be a humanitarian. Talk about what it means to be one with your family. Decide together how you’ll do this—by volunteering, spreading a message of peace, acceptance, and love, traveling to other areas to volunteer as well as expand your global awareness, etc. Read more

Estimates of 100,000 people killed and countless damages are in from the tragic earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday. If you are looking for a way to help, there are plenty of organizations open for donations and aid. Here are a few you may want to consider.

Ask Obama for Leniency: If you have no money to donate, consider asking the president to grant Haitians temporary protected status and stop deporting people back to the country in this dire hour. There’s no reason to be sending immigrants back to a destroyed and dangerous area where their safety will be in peril. You can write to President Obama here. Read more

ChinaThe one child-only policy in China has had some detrimental conseuquences to the population of China in terms of gender. Read more

As much as we think we’ve got it bad, there’s always someone who has it worse. Yes, we might be behind on some bills, or we might have to live off tea and toast or ramen noodles for a little while, or give homemade gifts for Christmas—but if you’re reading this, we both have Internet connections, which says something. There are plenty of people who starve throughout the day—who would gladly eat the leftovers we throw out or even compost, who would be so grateful to simply sleep in the beds that we have.

January is Poverty Awareness Month, so be sure to take a few moments this month to reflect on how much luckier your family is than some other families out there and be grateful for what you have. There’s no need to be sanctimonious or even grim; just give a heartfelt moment of gratitude. Read more