"We Must Resist"

Today is Peace Day but they don't talk about it in France. Nothing on the news. They talk about some sort of war: terrorism. The country is at high risk...

Because I am stubborn and idealist, I still bother my friends or my colleagues about how important it is to be a self-conscious citizen of the world. So, for today, Peace Day, I have asked my friend Alex Ness to share a poem with us. Alex is a poet, a writer and a great friend.

Here is to you...

WE MUST RESIST

Ares, Deimos and Phobos
Have called us too many times
To enter into a place
Where devastation exists
Where death is embraced
We must linger in our hopes
Instead of acting upon our fears
We must stand and resist
Embracing love and building up
Reaching together
Instead of the wars
And causes of the tears
Our world will last
Far longer than we
If we keep sending troops
Marching endless
Unto eternity
We must resist the tribal urge
To send our children to war
For there can never be unity
If we give in endlessly
To our bestial philosophies
Let us linger in the dreams
That give us reasons to live
Let us be more than we are
Let us decide our own legacies
Or upon fields of battle
Our children will go
And they will fall
Our seed will live in a distant place
Elysium
Where they will sleep
Forever
All in peaceful embrace
In final peace

To read Alex's beautiful poetry, it's here: Alex Ness Poetry
To know more about Alex and his writing, it's here: Alex Ness Poet & Writer

International Day of Peace 2010

La Fille à la Fleur. Marc Riboud

The International Day of Peace 2010 is tomorrow, the 21st of September.

It is a global call for ceasefire and non-violence. This year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on young people around the world to take a stand for peace under the theme, Youth and Peace for Development.

Think about it, speak about it, to your colleagues, to your friends, to your family, to your children. Write a poem, say a poem, sing a song, light a candle, go to an event...

Men have always been fighting but I have a dream it can be different. Do you?

An Afghan youth puts up a poster for the International Day of Peace

A Butterfly Effect

When buying a steak in a plastic packaging, I often consider whether I should become a vegetarian or not. When I have it served on the plate, cooked, juicy, spiced and smelling good it is another story though. But seeing the red flesh makes me wonder...


First, it is an animal and it was killed because of me, the cow did not die from a natural death. Me, who cannot bear animal cruelty, how can I just forget and bury my head in the sand?


Then, it makes me think about leather. The shoes I wear like everybody else and I realize it comes from the same dead cow. Should I switch to non-leather shoes made of cotton, linen and often rubber for the soles? Rubber can be recycled but not always. Also, I've heard a vegetarian saying it was OK to wear leather because the animals were already dead and burning the skins would produce a massive amount of carbon dioxide but it is only an excuse, don't you think?


And the carbon dioxide leads to greenhouse gases and all the methane emitted by cows. "Do cows pollute as much as cars? Well, apparently they do!

Do you ask yourself the same questions? I want to do my best but it is so complicated sometimes. What if I started by reducing my meat consumption? Weakness or strength?

Aaaargh, enough questions for today, it is dinner time and I am having radishes.


Organic Shoes on Mahalo.com
How to Recycle rubber? on eHow.com
Do cows pollute as much as cars by Jacob Silverman on HowStuffWorks.com

Paris Bio Grocery Stores Google Map

View Paris Bio in a larger map

I am currently working on a Google Map showing all Bio grocery stores of Paris.

At the moment, only stores names and addresses are available, except the 24 Naturalia stores I still have to mark, but I would like to add more details in French and in English. I hope I can keep on the good work and update it once or twice a year.

One of my colleague, the other day: "Well, they say Bio products are not that good for us, only for the Earth". Yes, that's THE point, dummy!

Like Picking Up Trash In Dresses

The amount of trash we gather in such a short time is enormous. I am lazy and three big trash bags to take down from my 5th floor is annoying. There is one bag for the recyclable containers, paper etc., another one for my cat litter and the last one for the "regular" garbage. So I have decided, within reason, to avoid the more containers I can. Plastic ones come first!

A girlfriend of mine took me to "Lush", a store that sells soap by weight. It is made from fresh organic fruits and vegetables, using little or no preservatives and not tested on animals, only on humans - God bless them.

The store soaps are huge round slabs which you can have cut down to the size and weight you desire or you can chose one of the pre cut slices on top of the slab which are covered in paper with a label stating the weight and price.

I bought a bar of Sultana Of The Soap soap, it smells so good that it fills the bathroom air with a soft fruity scent.

But I also got myself a bar of Aromarant deo, yes deo. I was a bit skeptical when I left home to go to work last Monday but it all went well, pheew! Scents are lemon and sandalwood and with a sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) base to help absorb body odours. Though it is not an antiperspirant, I have adopted it.

No more liquid soap plastic dispensers or plastic refillers, no more plastic containers for the deo either!

And, I've saved the paper wraps for next time I go there. Hey, I realize we have to think about everything.

Going Green is a process. It should be obvious, natural, but it is really a way of life.

Lyrics "Like Picking Up Trash In Dresses" from A Beautiful Mess by Jason Mraz

Let's Whistle In The Wind

"Listen to the wind and hear our elders as they speak. As long as the wind blows we are all one connected under this blue bowl of the sky" Chief Plenty Horses

There are millions of ways to make this world a better place but I sometimes wonder: what if I do this or that but let's say ten of my neighbours don't? OK, one hundred is more accurate unfortunately. Am I just whistling in the wind?

Well, I guess if I can help save only one child, one animal, one tree, it is worth it. I really don't care about whistling in the wind. Because younger generations will go on doing their best and when I go, my soul will be at peace.

Go, whistle, save water, recycle, go veggie, give to charity, give a smile, share your stories... Anything will do :-)

If you ask yourself if it is worth it, listen to the beautiful Change by Carrie Underwood.

Artwork "Mystical Maiden Wind" by David Penfound

Wear Your Support Green (It Can Be Blue Though)

Do you like red, blue, yellow, Green? Do you know the secret Fringe glyph code? Or maybe you just cannot wait for Crystal Bowersox to perform on American Idol? Whatever your favourite colour, tv serie or talent is, choose to wear your support on organic tees!


Here are some examples I like, sure you can find yours on the web. From top to bottom:

• The Naked Hippie - cotton grown without chemicals, water based earth-friendly inks, inspired by a life of spirituality (top picture - Ghandi TShirt)

• Cafe Press - not all the tees are made of organic cotton but quite a lot (2nd and 3rd pictures - Crystal Bowersox and Fringe Glyphs TShirts)

• Northern Sun - peace and love, antiwar oriented (bottom picture - Zen Cat Box TShirt)

Wear it Green, wear it proud and spread the love!

Stop Feeling Guilty About Drinking Coffee

I love coffee and, by that, I mean real espresso, not just brownish water. So I choose the Nespresso machine for home. Oh! I just remember we also have it at work.

But the capsules are made of aluminium foil which could be recycled but only if you open the capsule and dump the grounds around your garden plants. I am way too lazy and I do not have a garden either.

That is why I feel guilty in the morning, I feel guilty again after lunch and after dinner depending on whether I have a decaffeinato or not. Yes, three times a day.

Good News:
By mid-May, Ethical Coffee Co. 's compatible coffee capsules will be sold in the French stores by Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA, which runs the Casino and Monoprix supermarkets.

The capsules will be biodegradable and 20 percent less than the price of Nespresso...

To celebrate, I am now going to treat myself with a decaffeinato, What Else?

Earth Day 2010 - Where will you be? Hawai'i?

I was feeling guilty because of all the flights I took the last two years. Especially last summer with the transatlantic flight from Europe to Hawai'i and back.

Well, here is a relieving article with some green tips for all travellers. Mahalo!

How to celebrate Earth Day in paradise
by Jeanne Cooper, Special to SFGate