“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman
Brendan and I watched an interesting documentary last night called No Impact Man. You might have heard of this family as there was quite a media blitz around them. Colin Beaven, a New York City writer, set out to spend an entire year making as little impact on the environment as possible, even spending six months without electricity. Making the experiment all the more interesting is Colin’s wife, who participates with trepidacious support, and their young daughter.
The doc has many revelations including the often nasty reaction from the public. It’s ironic that the very means by which Colin is able to get his message out to the world, the internet, is also a playground for people to express opinions, often vile, in a cloak of anonymity. You’ll even see this here on WatermarkOnline, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I digress…
Check out the movie and learn more about Colin’s ongoing efforts to make the world a better place at NoImpactProject.org.
Here we are on Monday, and you know what that means, right? Monday Ripples. Each Monday I try to give you links to things I hope will inspire you to do some good in the week ahead. That’s every Monday, without fail, because you can count on me. Oh, alright, I missed last Monday, you got me. No excuse, just laziness. I apologize. Can we move on now?
Reuse the Rig
Seaventures Dive Resort
As we continue to learn of the destruction caused by BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster and try to repair it, your thoughts may have gone to imagining the end of the drilling for oil. I admit mine have. So what should we do with these monstrosities out in the middle of our waters? Will the Deepwater Horizon just sit there, a monument to man’s hubris? Well, I don’t have the answer to that, but here’s a company that has taken an old oil rig and given it a second, more positive life as a diving resort.
One Man’s Trash
Throwplace
Ever go to throw something out and wonder if it might be useful to someone? You’re sure someone could use that old lawnmower that you’re tired of fixing, but how do you find these people? This handy website will match your garbage to a non-profit out there that can use it. Or, maybe you are a non-profit looking for something, you can browse here and hopefully find it. Remember: reduce, reuse, recycle…and in that order.
No Ifs, Ands, or Butts
But out for the planet
You must develop a tough skin as a smoker. People are always making comments about how you’re shortening your life, how your smoke is making their clothes smell disgusting, or getting pissed off because you always have an excuse to take a break at work. It must be rough, and I’ll admit I’m one of those people making the comments. I have people missing in my life because of the stupid things, so it is doubtful I’ll be quiet any time soon.
Let’s put all that aside for a moment and concentrate on one thing: cigarette butts. What is it with smokers tossing these things wherever they feel like it? I had a party at my house one time and one of my friends tossed her cigarette butts in my yard, despite an ashtray sitting right next to her. Do you think because it’s small it isn’t making a difference? When there are several trillion of the butts being tossed like that every year? It adds up.
I once volunteered with the Hard Rock Ambassadors to clean up a section of highway they adopted on Orange Blossom Trail. (For those of you who aren’t from Orlando, large parts of OBT are seedy and that seedy spills over onto the rest, so you’ll see unusual things like a prostitute loitering outside a Burger King. It mad the task much more fun.) As we worked out way up and down the sidewalk, there were thousands – thousands – of cigarette butts, so many that the cigarette butts weren’t even part of our cleanup.
This piece from the David Suzuki Foundation website, is by Lindsay Coulter aka Queen of Green (apparently the Coulters are nicer in Canada). Lindsay tells us about September’s Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, an event during which 367,000 cigarette butts were picked up during 2009.
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Movember is Upon Us!
Scottie Saves the World Movember Team
Remember when I grew a big bushy moustache last year to help raise awareness and funds to fight men’s cancers? Well, I’m gearing up for it again and this time I’ve decided to step it up a hair and form the Scottie Saves the World team. We’re already three members strong and collecting donations! Care to join us? Being a Mo Bro or Mo Sista is the most fun you’ll ever have making the world a better place, I guarantee it.
