June 2009

The United Auto Works Local 2300, which comprises the dining, grounds, and custodial workers for Cornell University, aren’t very happy right now. Would you be if a university, who cites “budget concerns” as the reason why they won’t pay you enough to live on, actually has an endowment that’s $4 billion higher than many Fortune 500 companies?

I’d be protesting with my hand out.

These workers make 20% less than the annual living wage for their county, and Cornell has a history of paying its service workers less than other comparable colleges, such as Dartmouth and Syracuse University, pay theirs—even though these universities have lower costs of living.

Now, you and I both know that this university has some dinero. The fact that they have it and they’re not giving it to their workers is disrespectful and unethical.

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The word “traffick” conjures images of bumper-to-bumper taxi cabs, women applying lipstick in smudgy lines, and men screaming obscenities at whatever unfortunate creatures that happen to be deadlocked in front of them. After the award-winning fillm Traffick hit theaters, the public may have become more aware of what the word can really mean. But human trafficking, the most heinous form of the word, is the third largest industry on earth, just behind the arms and drug trades. (Hopefully Liam Neeson's latest hit movie Taken will alert the public as Traffic previously did.)

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TSAWhen I fly, I take my shoes and belt off. I have had my face cream confiscated in the name of safety. I should count my blessings that I have never (yet) been interrogated for nothing more than following the law of the land.

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droughtThe United Nations General Assembly declared this day in 1992 to be a day of awareness and action against drought and desertification.

From water crisis to land erosion and all of the other issues that affect land desertification and drought, you can keep up to speed with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’s website.

Since global warming is one of the main causes of drought, its solvency is integral in stopping worldwide drought and desertification. In order to take part in today’s observance and act to stop desertification and drought, here are some activities you may wish to do to help curb global warming, reduce your own carbon footprint and conserve water.

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OK, pals of pachyderms everywhere, mark your calendars because this Saturday, June 20 is the day to take action for our ele-friends in zoos worldwide. In Defense of Animals is holding its first-ever International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos (IDAEZ) to help raise awareness about elephants who languish in zoos—and to help stop their suffering.

Have you ever watched an elephant at the zoo? It’s absolutely pitiful. Since they’re pack animals, they hate being alone—but I know when we visited the St. Louis zoo, we saw one of the elephants moping around outside alone because there just isn’t enough room for them all to be out at once together.

These awesome mammoth-sized creatures are used to roaming tens of miles of open plains a day—it’s heartbreaking to see them forced to such a small, confined area. It would be like us humans being forced to live in our bathrooms!

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Matt DamonBeing a part of the developed world, we pretty much take clean water for granted. We use it in everything from daily showers to cooking to even washing our pets—but how much of that would we cut out of our routine if we had to lug water jugs for two miles before using it?

Matt Damon recently took a trip to Mekele, Ethiopia with ONEXONE and H2O Africa/WaterPartners to see progress made since the organizations’ set up wells and boreholes there over a year ago. You can watch his videos, see photos and donate to the project here.

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Personally, I think condoms should be free—or at least dirt cheap, and definitely covered as a type of health cost. I know that some gynecologists and clinics give them out for free, but with so many doctor’s offices distributing free samples of Claritin and other drugs, why don’t they all give out condoms? After all, not everyone needs allergy medication—but most people could use a condom sometime in their lives.  

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AftermathAs you more than likely will recall, China's Sichuan province was home to a devastating earthquake last year with an 8.0 magnitude and a death toll of 69,227 confirmed deaths with 17,923 people still unaccounted for. Of the confirmed deaths, 5,335 were school children, many of whom died while trapped underneath the rubble.

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