Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty

Today I am one of about 10,000 bloggers participating in Blog Action Day. This year we are focusing on poverty. What do I mean by focusing? I am talking about reconsidering your priorities, if only for a day.

Every time someone talks about poverty, it seems like the word is a signifier for an abstract concept that not many of my readers have experienced first hand. This is the reason I am asking YOU, today, to make a difference. I have no answers to the problem, but I am positive that everyone can do something, even if it seems like it is too little to make a difference. Just think, my little action plus your little action, plus your friend's little action, plus her friend's and family's and you have a movement!

Following is a list of the actions I take, you can use them as inspiration, join, or just help spread the word. You can also visit the Blog Action Day homepage for other ideas.

The ONE campaign. I have been involved since its beginning and I take action whenever I can. I add my voice to the thousands of others out there. Right now, ONE is asking the European Union to support a proposal to give € 1 billion left over from the 2008 budget - lots of it unspent agricultural subsidy money, to African farmers. You can take action here.

Donate to causes you care about. We support The Girl Effect. An organization helping girls living in poverty to get education and with it, a way to raise the standard of living for themselves and their families. Simple, right? Donate here.

We invest our money in ethical funds. You know, your 401K, your 529, etc. I feel much better knowing that our investment is going into funds that balance social responsibility with financial return - showing businesses that social responsibility is profitable. Now more than ever we need to tell the market that ethics are important to us.

We buy local, we support small business, and we buy Fairtrade whenever possible. You might think that this has nothing to do with poverty, but everything is connected. Your actions today, what you use and CONSUME today, have repercussions all over. I am adding a link to the Story of Stuff video, take some time to watch it, with the kids, with your friends, with anyone who is willing to listen.


Thank you for reading, and now, get busy following some of these links!

100th post giveaway and blog action in one!

Here at Suitcase Contents we are celebrating the big ONE O O. Please, come on in, have a glass of wine, eat some "salatine," get comfortable, and let's start the conversation and the gift giving.

As far as the conversation goes, I am going to get a little serious first, but I promise we will carry on with the party. Some of you might remember my post about the problem that is electronic waste. When I wrote about it, I mentioned that I was going to design a button that we could post on our blogs, which will be a reminder and a pledge to safely recycle our own computers. It took me a while to figure it all out, but I did it! This is the image:



Now, if you click on it, it will take you to the information page, where you can learn a lot about the solutions to e-waste, AND get the code for the button.

When thinking of a giveaway for this post I decided that I wanted a computer related gift, as I am celebrating the joy of blogging and its community. Bloggers not only use computers, you know, for blogging, work, and keeping in touch with family and friends, but we LOVE the silly things. We take them everywhere we go, and we personalize them as much as we can. (We love them so much, we won't let them end up in a landfill.)
So, what to give? I definitely think that a Unique Skin will be a fantastic addition to any laptop, don't you? I first saw this product at Design Sponge and I decided I had to make one of my own. OK, what if you do not own a laptop? The creative minds behind Unique Skins have created all kinds of products, from skins for your cell phone to your MP3 player and beyond. These skins (adhesive-backed vinyl pieces pre-cut to fit your electronic device) are as original as you want them to be. If you are the creative type, you can design your OWN skin, upload the image to the site, and truly personalize your gadget! They also have a fantastic library full of images ranging from nature shots, to patterns, to flags and solid colors for those of you who focus your creativity in your writing. These folks are so nice, that they have donated a custom laptop skin, shipped anywhere in the world, to one of my readers.

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post. I will choose one winner from all comments on Friday, June 6, at 8:00 AM (Italian time GMT+2), comments will be open until then.

Before I let you go, I want to share with you one gift that I got recently from the wonderful Nonizamboni at Peacock blue. If you have a moment, take a break and enjoy the wonderful world that Noni creates at her blog, with its eclectic mix of great writing, beautiful images, and random thoughts.

Now it's time for the party favors, and I am more than happy to award the excellence in blogging award to:

The creative Amaretto Girl, a fellow artist, and wonderful spirit. You will be inspired, I promise.

Bethany, excellent writer and fellow expat that brings a smile to my face every time I visit her, while making me think about big and little things.

And my new discovered blog pal Becca and her well written blog, full of insight into everyday life. Worth a visit!

Recycle your computer

Welcome to this little corner of the blogosphere where you can get informed about e-waste, the problem, and its possible solutions.
First you need to know that e-waste is a growing problem. Advances in the electronic industry make our computers, televisions, phones and other gadgets obsolete in a short period of time. So, what happens to all the gadgets that are no longer useful? The large majority of them (up to 87%) ends up in landfills and incinerators (these are US figures.) Most e-waste ends up being exported to developing countries with lax health and safety laws. Other "recycling" programs use plants operating in some federal prisons. E-waste contains materials harmful to humans and to our environment. If you want to find out more about this, please read this brief book on the subject.
So what can we do about it? There are many ways to get involved, and you can do so by clicking in some of the links at the bottom of this post.
I propose that we take responsibility for the electronics that we use. We should make an informed decision when disposing our electronics. By posting the button that I have created on your blog or website, you are taking a pledge to recycle your computer (TV, cell phone, you name it) in a safe, environmentally sound manner. Here is the button and its code:



<a href="http://suitcase-contents.blogspot.com/2008/05/ready-set-action.html"><img border="0" width="150" height="200" alt="recycle your computer" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3129/2538187748_9394d29bc3_m.jpg"/></a>

Here are some of the resources that I have found, so that you can fulfill your promise:

Computer Takeback Campaign A U.S. based site full of resources from statistical information to legislation and policy, and information about responsible recycling.
Greener choices U.S. based Consumer Reports' Electronics Reuse & Recycling Center, with the latest on your options as a consumer, and news about what the government and the industry are doing about e-waste.
Staple's recycling program U.S. based Stapples recycling program latest news.
Earth 911 U.S. based delivers actionable local information on recycling and product stewardship that empowers consumers to act locally, live responsibly and contribute to sustainability. Ideas that can be implemented anywhere in the world.
WEEE Directive for the European union A European Union directive that has been enacted into law. It imposes the responsibility for the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) on the manufacturers of such equipment. Also, the companies are compelled to use the collected waste in an ecological-friendly manner, either by ecological disposal or by reuse/refurbishment of the collected WEEE.
Take back my TV A U.S. site focusing on TV e-waste, which is getting out of control with the imminent change to digital television. Many opportunities to take action beyond recycling.

Please leave comments with additional information, and any feedback that you think will make this work better. Thank you for stopping by, and please do not forget to take your button/badge with you. If you will like to contact me directly, please send me an e-mail at: beatrymacias at yahoo dot com. Thanks.