good: Love fish but worried about the overfishing that threatens aquatic animal populations around the world? Bamboo Sushi in Portland, Oregon, agrees, which is why they’ve taken a radical approach to remaining sustainable: For every ounce of tuna they sell, they plan to contribute two ounces back to the sea by buying and maintaining protected fish habitats. Is this the most sustainable sushi restaurant in America? He can’t build more oceans, but he can protect more of what we have, and in the process boost fish populations. Oceans make up over 70 percent of our planet, yet only 1 percent of them are Marine Protected Areas, Lofgren says. “We are going to take a portion of every dollar spent at Bamboo Sushi, and work with the Nature Conservancy, WWF, Monterey Bay Aquarium… [and others] to buy those areas of ocean, turning them into ‘fish banks’ for research.” And eventually breeding. Read more on GOOD → This is a great idea. I’m going to figure out what Orpheum can do to help undo the greenhouse gases we no doubt create by powering and cooling our servers.
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good:

Love fish but worried about the overfishing that threatens aquatic animal populations around the world? Bamboo Sushi in Portland, Oregon, agrees, which is why they’ve taken a radical approach to remaining sustainable: For every ounce of tuna they sell, they plan to contribute two ounces back to the sea by buying and maintaining protected fish habitats. Is this the most sustainable sushi restaurant in America?

He can’t build more oceans, but he can protect more of what we have, and in the process boost fish populations. Oceans make up over 70 percent of our planet, yet only 1 percent of them are Marine Protected Areas, Lofgren says. “We are going to take a portion of every dollar spent at Bamboo Sushi, and work with the Nature Conservancy, WWF, Monterey Bay Aquarium… [and others] to buy those areas of ocean, turning them into ‘fish banks’ for research.” And eventually breeding.

Read more on GOOD →

This is a great idea. I’m going to figure out what Orpheum can do to help undo the greenhouse gases we no doubt create by powering and cooling our servers.

good:

Be forewarned that this video is extremely graphic, but also, in context, extremely important:

Though we just ended our month-long challenge to go vegetarian, an increasingly common piece of proposed legislation has us diving back into the meat-eating debate today. In a piece from yesterday called “Banned From the Barn,” New York Times food writer Mark Bittman covers several recent bills proposed in Florida, New York, Iowa and Minnesota whose core purpose was always the same: To make it illegal for people to take photos or video footage of agricultural facilities. In other words, our farmers don’t want us to see what they’re doing.

Why so secretive? Just watch the above (and very graphic) video for the answer. It was filmed at the Iowa Select Farms pig facility in Kamrar, and it depicts conscious piglets having their genitals and tails removed without anesthetic and conscious pigs being smashed headfirst into the concrete by sadistic handlers. This is how meat is made on factory farms in America, and it makes sense that meat producers don’t want you to see this stuff—would you want your bacon coming from a hellish nightmare like Iowa Select, or the dozens of other factory farms that commit similar abuses day after day?

Read more on GOOD →

Trip Canceled

It is with great sadness that I announce that I must remove myself from the trip to the Dominican Republic. I don’t have the funding or the time to take off work and still enjoy the life I have here in any sort of comfort.

I will, however, continue to do what I can to help end worldsuck worldwide. My efforts through Kiva.org will continue to be documented, especially since my first loan should be re-paid in the next 2 or 3 months. I will also be adding another $50 or $75 to my Kiva account so that I can help support other entrepreneurs in impoverished countries.

You can bet that an entrepreneur from DR will be on there to help make up for the fact I won’t be going there in-person.

Fundraising Update

Last week I secured an additional $50 from a co-worker of mine. I just e-mailed Hero Holiday to confirm the amount of funds I’ve raised so far.

And of course, if you would like to donate to the cause, you can do so here.

Locked In

I was able to secure $100 of funding for my trip to the Dominican Republic today. I also spoke to another person who is going to assist in funding, I just don’t know how much yet.

Hopefully this weekend I find a few more donors!

Fundraising

I’ve just begun kicking my fundraising into high gear. Tomorrow I will be going before my director and the regional director at my office to ask them to support my medical outreach trip to the Dominican Republic.

That being said, anyone wishing to support my efforts to help decrease WorldSuck, that is poverty and social injustice, can do so via PayPal by clicking HERE.

Note: Any Canadian citizen who donates $10 or more can request, and will be issued, a donation receipt for income tax purposes.

A bit of background information would probably be of great help to you, and I will provide that for you now.

In January a friend of mine (a nursing student at UWO) invited me to join her and a group of nursing students on a medical outreach trip to the Dominican Republic. I jumped at the opportunity to travel to the Dominican and help out in Sosua province, but so far my fundraising efforts have come up short (and I don’t have the sufficient cash on-hand at the moment either).

The trip is being organized by another student, Rossana (first name only since I don’t know if she’d appreciate me blasting her full name out on the net). She went on a medical outreach trip, also to Dominican Republic, last summer organized by Hero Holiday. She felt so strongly about the efforts there and the experience that she decided to organize her own, special trip.

I’m willing to bet you can confirm all this by contacting Hero Holiday and asking if Danica’s Dreams Medical Outreach Team is indeed traveling to the Dominican in August.

That being said, I’m requesting your assistance. At this moment I don’t have enough of my own cash on-hand to fund the trip. I’m working on that, and indeed speaking to friends & family members about them helping out, but I would certainly appreciate any support possible.

I’m linking the PDF version of a letter Hero Holiday has provided me as proof of registration for the trip - this is the same letter I’m using to show other local groups that I am indeed traveling with the team.

If you can support me, I’d greatly appreciate it and will do everything I can to make sure the support you’ve provided me is documented in a meaningful way and later available to you.