Guest Bloggers

I’m freshly returned from the holiday break and find a lot of stuff waiting in my in-box. First up: a post from our latest inspiring guest blogger, Dharma Dog, a.k.a. Bruce Weaver. Bruce is a cinematic nomad traveling the world in search of wisdom wherever it’s found and capturing his discoveries on film. Currently in production of an independent feature documentary, Dance with Destiny, he’s a kindred spirit in every sense of every of those words. Here’s what he has to say today…

The wind whipped through both my microphone and bone marrow at something like 50 miles-an-hour north of Taos, New Mexico. July in the Southwest is better known for melanoma-causing sunshine, not bone-chilling wind. Naturally I packed light that time of year, but not without my Panasonic DVX100 which I wear like an appendage, nor the one-pointed focus of a bloodhound for which I am guilty, intent on capturing footage from the permaculture gathering held at the Lama Foundation, former home of Ram Das and birthplace of “Be Here Now,” the gig hosted by its land manager, Rico Zook.

Clearly unequipped for the windy conditions that weekend, as my footage would later reveal, yet despite the wind, the footage would remain faithful to the heart of both the message, and messenger. Rico proved to be a focal point of the story that weekend. A man of rare humility, straight-up earth steward, and indeed kin to my own heart: earth-conscious, and practicing the dharma of voluntarily living simply, while cultivating a recognition of his own intrinsic dignity and the dignity of all others.

It’s with much pleasure that I’d like to introduce an inspired new guest blogger to one and all. Ladies and gentlemen, please meet Eban Goodstein, Project Director for the global warming initiative Focus the Nation and Professor of Economics at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Eban has done a lot of important work in the field of eco-nomics and written many vital words in many major publications about this critical subject. You can find out all about him here, but for now let’s let him do the talking …

True story. Central Wisconsin, July 2006. The first six months of the year were the hottest on record in the United States, and this was the hottest day of the summer. Three teens were seeking relief in the city pool.

Teen 1: “Do you think this is global warming?”
Teen 2: “Naah. Government says it isn’t happening.”
Teen 3: “Well I don’t care what the government says. I think it is global warming!”

Another story from last summer, now in Oregon. The fuel line on my pick-up has busted, and the tow-truck driver has been sweating all day in the extreme heat. “Damn global warming” he says, climbing into the cab. And then he adds, “You know, the tsunami last year knocked the planet off its orbit—that’s why its heating up.”

Some sort of US mental dam has broken, perhaps swept away with the levees in New Orleans, and suddenly there is growing awareness that we are doing something weird to the weather. It’s getting hot, and people know it.

Hey all... GlobalGiving's John Heckinger dropped the Inspired Protagonist a line this morning to let us know who won his organization's GlobalGiving Olympics. John writes:

Thanks again for the guest blog spot. India took the gold in a landslide, and all the results are on our home page. The "100 Slum Children of Sex Workers" were the big winners. During the competition, we had a visit from a legend, Inderjit Khurana, featured in the New Heroes Documentary, and her amazingly motivated son, Anoop. Inderjit's project came in second, but Anoop used the occasion to mobilize the extensive Indian diaspora community in California.

Our next big thing will be gift certificates. Just in time for the holidays! They're a great viral tool for folks who want to spread the good around.

Thanks to all who voted, all who helped, and all who are keeping Earth's needful many in their hearts and at the center of their deeds this holiday season. You're making the world spin in a good direction.

We're big fans of the people at GlobalGiving. We love the work they're doing and the results its producing for those in need around the world. So we’ve invited GlobalGiving's own John Heckinger to be a guest blogger. Welcome, John!

Hi, everyone. I wanted to drop in and let everyone here know about our special GlobalGiving Olympics, an event that’s bringing people together to lend a hand to some people who could use the help.

Between October 9, 2006 and October 31, 2006, all projects on GlobalGiving are competing for $75,000 in prizes. In the places where we spend our funds, this is a large and powerful sum.

It could create access to clean water for 250,000 rural villagers in India, where poor water quality is the leading cause of death for children under 5. Or it could save 10,000 people from treatable illnesses at health clinics across Sub-Saharan Africa, where 25,000 die each day from such diseases. Or it could lift 250 families out of poverty in Kenya, where 13 million people live on less than $1/day.

The big question is who gets to decide who gets the prizes and what good gets done. The answer is everybody in the world. That’s because anyone anywhere can come to the GlobalGiving Olympics and vote by making a donation. The GlobalGiving project that generates the most donations will receive the $50,000 grand prize. The choice is in everybody’s hands.

Here's a guest post from Hunter, our summer intern from Stanford Business School...

So I’d heard of Seventh Generation, and I’d used some of the products, but when I saw their summer internship posted on the Net Impact website, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me. Luckily the powers that be agreed, and at the end of an interview that was more of a comedy routine by Duke, Courtney and Chrystie, they offered me the internship, and I accepted.

Hi there, my name is Dr. Jacques, Ph. D. and I am an esteemed member
of the Sweet River University faculty in Sweet River, Esperanza. I
care about climate change and I want to help bring clean energy to
Sweet River University....

Actually, I'm a student member of the Seventh Generation/ Greenpeace
Change It seminar, but I really do care about climate change. For the
past several days most of our engaging discussions and debates
have been focusing on our pseudo campaign we have started regarding
climate change and clean energy at fictional Sweet River University