The Power of We

This post is part of Blog Action Day
I'd like to comment on an aspect of The Power of We which has been expanding rapidly over the last number of years, and that is the Support Group.

Addiction
Most of us will have heard of Alcoholics Anonymous which has been on the go since early in the last century. Many will be familiar with Al-Anon which is a support group for relatives of alcoholics and even Al-Ateen which is for the children. These groups have provided support to people whose lives and heads and even their bodies are in a mess from contact with addiction.

These groups were followed by similar groups for support in drug dependency and gambling.

For a long time this sort of support activity was limited to a few areas like these.

Medical
But lots of people have lots of other problems which would benefit from mutual support and so support groups have grown up focussing on different diseases and medical complaints. There are even groups dealing with specific medications. That might sound a little odd to those who haven't come across them. But when you realise that all medication has side effects and that the pharmaceutical companies go out of their way to hide these you will see the value of such groups. Members not only offer each other badly needed phychological support and information, but by their very coming together often expose what Big Pharma has striven to conceal.

And they give members the ability to deal with their doctors/consultants from a base of confidence, something that can be vital to recovery, even if it can sometimes land you in trouble with medical practitioners who have gotten too big for their boots and have forgotten that you are the paying customer.

Media
Another area where "groupings" can offer serious value-added is in communications. Much if not all of the Main Stream Media (MSM) has got lazy or feeble or has been captured by big business or public administrations. Alternative media are now doing what the mainstream should be doing and their audience is usually on the internet. Commenters on such posts effectively form "support" groups, sharing information and experience. In that way, they contribute to a more open and freer press outside the MSM. Further interaction "social" media such as blogs and Twitter enhances this enormously.

The Future
So The Power of We is healthy and growing, at least in the areas I have touched on above.

Food

Just a few passing thoughts on food today.

Seasonality has gone by the board. Because we could afford it, partly due to an inadequate and distortionate pricing system, we have now got fresh food being flown all round the world so we can have it all the year round. This is obscene decadance and must be reversed.

Greedy Big Pharma is messing with our food (GMO). Their greed will end up poisoning us all and destroying the capacity for growing edible food. Signs are already on it in the developing world. Nature is not copyrightable. They must be stopped.

We are also being poisoned with additives, designed either to make food last, or look nice, or be addictive. This has to stop.

Strict standards are needed for the origin and ingredients in all food. And the testing of ingredients needs to be genuine. At present we often haven't a clue where stuff comes from or what is in it. We need a regular feedback analysis of products at the level of the retail outlets.

And so on, and so on. Where do you stop. There is at least half a century of abuse which has been tolerated by oblivious consumers who have been systematically manipulated by commercial interests.

In fact, looking closely enough at food as a case study would lead you to the conclusion that political structures purporting to be "democratic" actually need complete revamping.

Blog Action Day Homepage

Water

While it is clear that there are huge benefits from purifying water in the developing world, we should not forget that systems in the old world, and particularly in the cities, need constant renewal.

The photo below was taken today, showing that Dublin city, at least at the Leeson St. bridge over the Grand Canal, is almost two years into the current phase of renewal.



Participating in Blog Action Day 2010

Change.org|Start Petition

Blog Action Day - Wrap

Below is a list of the blogs which gave Ireland as their country when registering for:
Blog Action Day

Irishlibertarian
Style By Numbers
Miralize Design
Jean O'Brien: Design Portfolio
CheapEats
Oxjam Ireland - the DIY Music Festival
Donagh Mc Sweeney
Blog action day – climate change and elearning
Blather
Human Rights in Ireland
Arusha Fair Trade
Pedreschi Electrical & Alarms Ltd
Complete lack of morals
Sara In Le Petit Village
Petticoat Rebellion - The Anna Parnell Story
Eamonn Fitzgerald
Trocaire - Working for a Just World
StyleByNumbers
The Political Environment
A Life in Northern Ireland
the mortgage blog
Crisp Apple...
olgafromthevolga
Whoopsadaisy!
chrismehigan.tumblr.com
davidkelly.ie
rising to the challenge
Stony River
SLUA
Scary Ideas
Brens Shorts!
Morrígan Reborn
pienso luego critico
class inequality in ireland
Human Rights World
Concern Blog
Organic Yum Yum
Arusha Fairly Traded Gifts
Climate Change Blog
Shanes World Wide Blog
Holistic Interior Designs Blog
Stitch and Bear
Unix Tutorial
okgetreal
An Cnagaire
Photopol

Climate Change

[Please excuse lack of images. I should have nicked them rather than using the ones on the Blogactionday site as that accounted has been suspended. I suspect it is only resurrected/hosted during the campaign's active life (around October each year)]

This year's theme for Blog Action Day is Climate Change. Previous themes have been Poverty and Environment and my previous posts on these are also relevant to Climate Change: poverty; environment.

As far as climate change itself is concerned, I can do no better than direct your attention to a number of tools for understanding the issue which are cited on the Blog Action Day site.

1. Google has built a site where you “explore the potential impacts of climate change on our planet Earth and find out about possible solutions for adaptation and mitigation, ahead of the UN’s climate conference in Copenhagen in December.” They’ve got a Google Earth mashup, a introductory video featuring Al Gore, and more. Visit: Climate change in Google Earth

2. Climate change is a human issue. It isn’t just about saving the planet and communities around the world face serious threats from the climate crisis. The TckTckTck campaign has created a great tool for learning the stories behind the human face of climate change. It’s called the Climate Orb and it is an animated interactive tool housing first-hand stories searchable by country, keyword and timeframe. Explore the Climate Orb. If this does not load properly you may need to update your Flash Player from here. I must admit, however, that I just can't get this link to work no matter what I do.



3. There’s a lot more to solving the climate crisis than just sitting back and leaving it to world leaders and policy wonks to figure everything out. Need inspiration? Meet Alec Loorz, the creator of Kids vs. Global Warming. He describes it as “group of kids that educate other kids about the science of global warming and empower them to take action.” The site shows that everyone really can play a role in tackling climate change.

4. Just the facts, that’s what some people want—as long as there are lots of cool charts, graphs and clear explanations of course. That’s what’s great about the Pew Center for Global Climate Change’s “Facts and Figures” site, it is filled with all the charts and graphs you need to get a much clearer picture of what causes climate change and what effects it has. If you want even more information you can also check out their entire Climate Change 101 series.





5. At this point you’ve probably heard of “carbon footprints” and you might have even used an online calculator to figure out what yours is (and thus what your impact is on climate change). The problem is that there are just so many calculators out there now it can be hard to figure out which one to use. Thankfully you can learn about your options from MNN’s 15 Best Carbon Calulators survey.

6. OK, but how will climate change affect you? What are the consquences that are mostly likely to impact your day-to-day life? Take a look at this list of The Top 100 Effects of Climate Change. From “Say Goodbye to Pinot Noir” to “More Bear Attacks” to “Malaria Spreading in South America” to “More Stray Kitties” it seems like climate change is going to have a lot of consequences, some big, some not so big.



7. On the other side of the coin, you might want to be a little more optimistic and review the science behind “10 Solutions for Climate Change” which details what we can actually do to solve these problems personally and as a larger society.

8. Finally, don’t forget that people all around the world are getting involved and taking action. Next week, on October 24, 350.org is organizing the International Day of Climate Action. You can visit their site and see what people all around the world are planning to do next week to demonstrate their commitment to stopping climate change.

Blogging against Poverty

Last year we were blogging for the environment. This year it is against poverty. I would still take as my starting point my post of last year.

There I concentrated on the perverse incentives that were built into our economic system which needed to be corrected in order to protect the environment in the long term.

This year we have seen that similar perverse incentives are built into our financial system and are likely to lead to increased poverty for many all over the world. And these incentives have left a hoard of "top layer" financiers walking away with the family jewels while others sink into poverty, or deeper into poverty.

In the longer term, the distiction between the policies required to ensure the elimination, or minimisation, of poverty, the protection of the environment, and the pursuit of happiness all merge. The world is a seamless garment.

JFK hinted at this in his acceptance speech and the world forgot. As long as "I'm alright Jack" nobody wants to, or has the courage, to tackle the downside.

The net effect is a complete loss of confidence in the current economic and political system. Citizen loyalty is taken for granted and abused until it is too late and it is finally realised that this loyalty is an essential element in the system.

The motto of Dublin City Council (Corporation) has long echoed this sentiment: Obedientia civium urbis felicitas; which roughly translates as "the joy of a city is the obedience of its citizens". You could take this cynically, but at your peril. All systems of governance ultimately depend on the endorsement of a majority of those subject to them.

This implies that the system should be fair to all (or most) and not allow plunder by a few opportunists. This has been lost sight of, not only at national, but at world level.

A recent example would be the USA when the Iron Curtain fell. A form of capitalism was then exported from the USA to the USSR, for which it was unprepared, and vast numbers of citizens suffered while resources were looted by the oligarchs.

A more immediate example would be the current financial system meltdown, where a few of the pirates managed to abandon ship with the loot, while the rest of the crew stared into a watery grave.

There is now an unanswerable case for more democratic control of world systems, greater transparency and more rigorous regulation.

It's back to the often despised "social market economy".