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I am working with David Wood materials, and I found his personal blog, and thought this was interesting. I can feel the warming, and I am very concern by it. Take the time to learn about it and do what you can to help our planet!
Relli
MM #90: Global Warming: The Results are IN! (Special Issue by David Wood)
I mostly quote from Time Magazine – as it’s a bit more credible than me 😉 Anything not in quotes is from me.
“Our current respons to global warming is like jumpingout a 20 story window and counting each floor as you go saying’so far, so good’ ….” – Anonymous
Conclusions
The Earth is heating up. Humans are contributing to it. Projections are bad to catastrophic. We’re seeing scary effects already. If we stopped all CO2 emissions today, we’re still probably screwed. Yet we’re making it worse. Any serious debate is largely over. Even in the face of uncertainty, it’s smart for us to take BIG action steps. The U.S. – as the biggest offender – must take action, instead of blocking action.
Is Global Warming really happening?
In 2007 the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has finally stopped hedging: “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal”.
These findings have been endorsed by the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Society (UK), the Russian Academy of Sciences, and a dozen other leading scientific bodies.
But are humans really causing it?
The above U.N. report stated there is “very high confidence” that humans have played a significant role by overloading the atmosphere with carbon dioxide (CO2). The report concluded that while the long-term solution is to reduce CO2 levels, for now we’re going to have to dig in and prepare, building better levees, moving to higher ground and abandoning vulnerable floodplains altogether.
Hang on…don’t ancient examples of global warming suggest that it’s occurrence in our time may be natural as well?
“Although this is certainly possible, it appears unlikely. While the causes…in earlier instances…remain unknown, scientists agree that the current rise in levels of greenhouse gases is largely of human origin.” – Time Magazine
But isn’t there a lot of debate?
“For years, popular skepticism about climatological science stood in the way of addressing the problem, but the naysayers – many of whom were on the payroll of energy companies – have become an increasingly marginalized breed.” – Time Magazine
And again, there are dozens of leading scientific bodies which have finally reached a consensus – not an easy thing in any field!
But if I have any doubt, I shouldn’t do anything yet, right?
As above, there is no serious debate anymore. But even if there was, wouldn’t just the chance that thousands of credible scientists are right, be reason to act – just to be safe? Call it an insurance policy. Here’s an 8 minute argument for acting that has had 3 million views on Youtube!
Well, OK. But will the effects be that bad?
Well let’s see. Floods. Droughts. Fires. Hurricanes. Sea level rising 20 feet. War. Species becoming extinct. More disease. Yes, it looks like they will be that bad.
But won’t it take hundreds of years for it to get serious?
Ummm….Hurricane Katrina?
We’ve been hoping that “the glacial pace of nature would give us decades ore even centuries to sort out the problem. But [nature] can move with surprising speed….global climate systems are booby-trapped with tipping points and feedback loops…..the slow creep of environmental decay gives way to sudden and self-perpetuating collapse.” – Time Magazine
But what if we take a bunch of action, and it turns out thousands of leading scientists were wrong? Or it was a plot by thousands of greenies to make money from scare tactics?
Then we might feel pretty silly. And the economy might take a hit. Oh no! Compare this to the option of not taking action because you’re waiting for everyone to agree, and the entire Greenland ice shelf melts.
Which course of action seems the most responsible to you?
The U.S., Asia, and the Rest of the World
“The U.S. is home to less than 5% of the world’s people,yet it produces 25% of the CO2 emissions on the planet”- Time Magazine
174 nations have ratified the Kyoto treaty to reduce carbon emissions. (And I’m a little teary that the second-last developed nation to hold out, Australia, finally ratified it December 3, 2007).
The U.S. has not ratified the treaty, along with Afghanistan, Iraq, Brunei, and Tajikistan.
The explosive growth in China and India is scary – way scary – and in 50 years they’ll be the ones with the biggest impact. China and India seem willing to make moves, but Time Magazine says “they feel Washington must take the lead.”
“Bush has called for a new international accord to fight climate change to be in place by the end of 2008. But most of the measures he supports involve voluntary , not mandatory, emissions controls, rather than the laws with teeth scientists are calling for. …Bush explicitly rejected mandatory caps on emissions.” – Time Magazine
This breaks his 2000 campaign promise: “We will require all power plants to meet clean-air standards in order to reduce emissions of…carbon dioxide within a reasonable period of time.” George W. Bush
What can you do? 5 easy things:
Change all your light bulbs to energy savers (CFL’s) – you’ll save money over the long run. Order them today.
Move your thermostat down 3° in winter (wear a sweater!) and up 3° in summer.
Call your utility company and ask for a free or low-cost energy audit.
Turn off electronic devices you’re not using them, and unplug devices from the wall (yep – standby power accounts for
Take public transport (and trade your car for a hybrid)
Conclusions
The Earth is heating up. Humans are contributing to it. Projections are bad to catastrophic. We’re seeing scary effects already. If we stopped all CO2 emissions today, we’re still probably screwed. Yet we’re making it worse. Any serious debate is largely over. Even in the face of uncertainty, it’s smart for us to take BIG action steps. The U.S. – as the biggest offender – must take action, instead of blocking action.
ACTION
If you’re not yet convinced that action is required:
Watch ‘The Most Terrifying Video You’ll Ever See‘ (8 min)
Read ‘How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic‘, and The Royal Society’s guide, to get your biggest questions answered.
Post your conclusion (or remaining questions) on the blog here. (Hint: If you like to debate – that’s the place to do it)
All right reserved to :http://www.life-coaching-resource.com/blog/life-business-blog.htm
Few months ago, I participated in a ‘Brown Bag’ evening event. For those who don’t know what a brown bag is, it’s a time when you can come and talk about different subjects, bringing your lunch. The name Brown Bag comes for the all known brown bag which we pack (or at least still get in at Burger king..) our lunch in.
Anyhow, during this evening, which was dedicated to moms, we talked about – what do you do to take care of yourself, and I was given some really helpful notes to inspire me. I would like to share these with you.
“For many women, the key to making time for yourself lies in the balance of flexibility and creativity: The flexibility to know when to give yourself a break and the creativity to know how to keep going. Learning to develop a flexible attitude towards your many responsibilities can help you create time for yourself, and encouraging yourself to use that time creatively will be it own reward”
(ivillage.co.uk)
Questions to ask yourself:
- When was the last time you finished a book you read for pleasure?
- When was the last time you took yourself and your family our for dinner, rather than cooking?
- Do you have a hobby or interest like painting, drawing writing, Reading or crafts that you take the time to pursue?
- How often do you exercise?
- How often during the day do you feel tired?
- How much time per day do you spend on the phone?
- Which are you most likely to regret doing in an average week?
- I regret organizing ever last min of my time
- I regret wasting time because I am disorganized
- I regret watching a TV show that seems like a waste of time
- I regret trying to do too much
Take the time to answer those questions, and pick one, just one you want to change. Decide what small step can you take to move in the direction you want to improve your life.
All my love, Relli
These days, I am challenged by having boys and a girl at the same house.
It is always challenging to raise your kids, but now I am facing the ‘sexual behavior challenge’.
As a mom I know that some behavior are normal and it is part of the kids growing up, but lately I felt I need some help and guideness.
So, I talked to other parents, teachers and my children pediatrician, and I am learning that sexual behavior at some levels are normal for their ages, 5 and 9.
Tonight, learning more about it and looking for information that can help me teach them what is ok and what is not, I stumble on a ‘National Behavior on Sexual Behavior of Youth (ncsby) organization fact sheet’.
this document made a lot of sense, and is organized in a very clear way, helping the parent identify a normal and an abnormal sexual behavior.
So, now I can relax knowing that what I see in my house is normal for those ages.
Hope you can make good use of the information,
Relli
These days I am finishing ‘The tile project’ at my daughter school. about 2 years ago, I took the Self Expression and Leadership course at Landmark education. During this course we were asked to choose a project that we would like to do for and with our community.
After I was fighting with myself do find the ‘perfect project’ my coach asked me: what would make Relli happy? what would you have fun doing? “
I immediately knew it was something with art. After thinking about it for a minute, I knew I wanted to create a tile art with the kids, so there is can be a great art piece as well as a great memory of the time the kids spent at the Nursery school.
Anyhow, I started the project, and because of different things that happened along the way, the project was postpone.
Finally, this year, with a great help from the stuff and wonderful people in the community we pulled it together, and it is here!
We manage to paint more than a 100 tiles, put it together as an art piece for our school, and make a memorable wall for years to enjoy.
This project changes my life, I had to fight with my own limiting beliefs, frustration, confusion, learning from mistakes and more. But I can tell you, when I look at these tiles, and I know how much love is in them (100 x unconditional love of our children + community support ) , I know it was all worth it!
As my amazing mom always tells me” you never regret on something good you do”, I know that taking on this project from Vision to Completion is the best feeling in the world.
Challenge yourself – go out there today and make a difference. It can be a small as saying hello to a homeless person, calling a family member you have not talked to in a long time , or organize a party for your family!
Make something good, and you will be amazed to see the results and feel the impact on your life 🙂
All my love, Relli
how many times you told yourself -“I need a plan” or ” before I do that, I have to finish that” or ” this is not a good time to talk, I have a lot to do”?
I ofter hear the statement “No plan is a plan to fail”, and I learn to accept it and work with it. While I was watching P.S. I love you I had to think about that again, reflecting on my life.
This beautiful story about a young married couple, Holly and Jerry who have very different view of life as far as planning. Jerry really want to have a child and Holly is insisting to wait and “have a plan”: not until they move to a new apartment, what if she looses her job etc etc.
Unfortunately, life is not always working according to our plans, and Jerry died at a very young age, before they had any children.
There is more to the movie that I want to tell you about, but I will leave some to you and your curiosity!
Anyhow, this movie really got me thinking about all the things I am postponing because it is “not the right time” or “when we will have more space” or ” when we we can afford it” and so on.
Those are all good reasons (well, at least that is what I am telling myself), but I know they are just reasons and I can make up about 20 of them in a minute 😉
For those of you who don’t know, I am very much pregnant with my 4th child. I’ve always wanted to have 4 children, but as time pass, I was not sure any more if “it’s a good time” if “I really want to do it again” and so on. This pregnancy was not “in my life plan”. It was suppose to happen when I “was ready”, but here it is! Today, I am so happy I am carrying our 4th child, knowing that sometime surprises (well, nice surprises) are a great gift. I am so excited to have this baby knowing it would change my life for ever in a way nothing and no one else can change.
The joy and happiness in a growing family is one of the greatest one we can have.
There is not plan to “raise a child” – each of us is individual and we have to learn it all over again. Same for plans – sometime we have to change our plans if it does not feel as if it’s the right plan. We have the instincts to feel what is right, but we tend to ignore them and trust our mind instead. Our mind job is to protect us by keeping us in our comfort zone, but where real growth is happening is our of out comfort zone.
I know I am totally out of my comfort zone these days, but I know that there is a reason for my life, there is a reason why things happen the way they do, and I am excited to find out what it is 🙂
Now, a challenge for you:
What have you been wanting for so long, that you keep pushing away telling yourself that is is not part of the plan?
If today was the last day you could do it, and you have not – how would you feel?
I urge you to live your life fully, knowing that the universe will support you and guide you in the right direction. Don’t fight it, flow with it and have fun!
All my love, Relli
this March I spent days and hours organizing my taxes. If you are those who wait for the last minute to collect the data for the tax filing, you can relate to that!
It was HELL ! I was miserable. making myself doing all this work, trying to figure out what did the heck I spent the money on…
Anyhow, at that point I made a promise to myself to NEVER DO IT AGAIN!
Since then, I have been much more organized and entering my data on a weekly and monthly base.
I just received a newsletter from Terry Matzkin, CLU, ChFC, Financial Advisor and I though it was a great article to help you (if you need to get your finance in order), to get back on your fit!
Start Budgeting By Terry Matzkin, CLU, ChFC http://www.financial-topics.com/
Almost no one enjoys the process of analyzing and budgeting expenditures, but inefficient and wasted expenditures can be major impediments to accomplishing your financial goals. It is difficult to manage your money if you don’t know how much you have or where it is going. Consider these steps when developing your budget:
1. Identify how you are spending your income. Review an annual period so you determine regular monthly expenses as well as irregular, periodic expenses, such as insurance premiums, tuition, and gifts. Much of the information can be found by examining canceled checks, credit card receipts, and tax returns. Total expenses in categories that make sense for your lifestyle. If you can’t account for more than 5% of your income, take a closer look at your cash purchases. Keep a journal tracking every penny you spend for at least a month.
2. Evaluate your expenditures. If you find it tough to find money to save, critically review your expenditures. Consider these tips:
Find ways to save at least 10% of your income. Almost all expenditure categories offer potential for savings. With essential expenses with fixed amounts, such as your mortgage, taxes, and insurance, you may be able to refinance your mortgage, find strategies to help reduce taxes, or comparison shop your insurance to reduce premiums. Essential expenses that vary in amount, such as food, medical care, and utilities, can usually be reduced by altering your spending or living habits. For instance, you can actively shop for food with coupons, exercise to get in better health, or put energy saving light bulbs through your house. Discretionary expenses, such as entertainment, dining out, clothing, travel, and charitable contributions, typically offer the most potential for spending reductions. Dining out four times a week? Reduce it to two, go to less expensive restaurants, and save the difference.
Limit the use of your credit cards, especially if you’re not paying the balance in full every month. Not only do credit card balances carry high interest charges, but credit cards tend to encourage impulse spending. Use cash or a debit card, which automatically deducts purchases from your bank account.
Resolve not to purchase impulse items or items over a certain dollar amount on your first shopping trip. Go home, think about it for a couple days, and then go back to purchase the item. Often, you’ll decide you don’t really need it.
Delay the purchase of large items. For example, instead of purchasing a new car every two or three years, keep your car for four or five years.
If you’re really serious about reducing expenses, consider moving to a less expensive house. Not only will you reduce your mortgage payment, but you will save on other costs, such as property taxes, insurance, and utilities.
3. Prepare a budget to guide future spending. You may want to start by setting a budget for a couple months, tracking your expenses closely over that time period. You can then fine tune your budget for an annual period. Some tips to consider when preparing your budget include:
Don’t include income in your budget that is uncertain, such as year-end bonuses, tax refunds, or gains on investments. When you receive that money, just put it aside for saving.
Set up enough expenditure categories to give you a good feel for your spending patterns, but not so many that it becomes difficult and time consuming to monitor your progress.
Make your budget flexible enough to handle unforeseen expenditures. Nothing goes exactly as planned, and your budget should be able to deal with emergencies. Be sure to include large, periodic expenditures, such as insurance premiums or tuition.
Don’t be so rigid that your family is afraid to spend any money. Everyone in the family should have a reasonable allowance that can be spent without accounting for it.
Find ways to make the savings component of your budget happen automatically. Get the money out of your bank account and into an investment account before you have a chance to spend it.
The money you have available for saving is a direct result of your spending habits. Use a budget to control your spending so you can maximize your savings.
Few Days ago, As I was dropping Maya at Preschool, I was asked a very interesting queation –
Why are you blogging?
At first, I wasn’t sure how to answer, but it really got me going to think about : what drive people, (or me to be specific) to write a blog?
I can tell you that for me, blogging was something totally new. when I started blogging, It was a lot about promoting my network marketing business. My thought was that the blog would be a great way for people to know me, and if they like what they see/read, they might be interested to learn about the business too. I just went back and looked at some of my postings from that time, and I realized I was talking a lot abut affirmations and money! Do you remember the song “money makes the world go around, the world go around….”, so I think this is where I was coming from.
I looked at blogging as a marketing tool.
Over time, blogging became my journaling. I would open the computer, sit down, realx and let my thought flow out on the keyboard, sharing my stories. Over time, I find that this process became much more personal as writing was no longer ‘something scary to do’ but a skill and a process that brings great pleasure bysharing who I am. Some time I would think to myself :” oh, this is too personal, you should not post it”, but at that point I would ask myself :” what if someone else had the same experience and need to read it to feel better?”.
This question keeps me going – How can I serve you? How can I help you look at your life in a different way that will make things better for you?
Today, blogging is about sharing my gift, teaching and making my part in making a differnce.
Today, I want to blog, I want to write, because this is a great SIMPLE way for me to be me, to share my life with so many amzing people. It is one of my biggest joy and a great way for me to relax,
So, if you are thinking of blogging, what is the reason you want to blog? I would love to hear from you and learn new things.
Blogging for life, Relli
Relli Siege 