WOMBATS?!?
Is anyone concerned over the plight of the critically endangered Australian Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat besides the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Geneva Switzerland? Probably, but first let's take a closer look at the lowly wombat.
Wombats appear rather insignificant: small burrowing bearlike marsupials, mammals who nurse their young in pouches, like kangaroo and opposum. They're not social or popular, rather reclusive, nocturnal, weigh 55 lbs, measure 40 inches, nor cute and cuddly like the photogenic koala. The rarest of all the common wombats is the Northern Hairy Nosed variety; only a 150 or so remain. It's relegated to a 3 square kilometer patch in the east-central Queensland. Less than two hundred people have ever seen one as none exist in captivity.
The IUCN, founded in 1948 is the oldest and largest global environmental and sustainable development network. Operating in 160 countries, it has tallied 5,487 mammalian species on earth, sky and sea. Of those, 1,141 are said to be seriously threatened. As there is insufficient evidence on 800, the figure could be significantly higher. Grim news indeed.
But true grimness is IUCN's Red List, a report of the species with the bleakest of futures: critically endangered, possibly extinct, yet not confirmed. The current report lists 29 species that are close to or near extinction. Besides Northern Hairy Nosed Wombats, the Red List also includes the Caspian Seal, Iberian Lynx, Tasmanian Devil and Cuba's Little Earth Hutia, a rodent not seen in over forty years.
So the shy little reclusive nocturnal Northern Hairy Nosed wombat is now a rather significant litmus test. We can sit and wait or we can see and do. It's our choice.
Please visit IUCN.org to see what you can do today.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
POST MASTER GENERAL RAISES RATES
WRITE LETTERS, USE STAMPS, SAVE JOBS
The US Post Master General John E. Potter announced effective Tuesday May 12th first class postage stamps increase a cent to 42 cents.
What’s a penny worth these days. Let’s put it in perspective. The US Treasury is thinking of discontinuing the penny because it’s no longer profitable. It costs two cents to mint one. To the US Postal Service and it’s 786,000 employees, one cent is huge. The Post Office sends 9.5 billion pieces of mail a year. You do the math.
The common perception is the penny has little to no value. They’re more annoying than helpful. To the average consumer who mails a few monthly bills it’s small change. There used to be a saying. “See a penny pick it up, now you’ll have good luck”. Now even kids pass them by.
Will some use a penny as an excuse? Will this increase deter people from taking pen to paper? Will writing become a quaint custom from a by-gone era? In 2009 I vowed somewhat nostalgically to keep in touch in a more traditional way by writing more often in manuscript form. I’m not shilling for Hallmark or American Greetings but the surprise of getting a note in the post can make someone’s day. I like letters because one’s scroll and script illustrates a bit of one's personality.
I have a friend, Richard Raleigh, a professor of literature at St. Thomas University my alma mater who began teaching there 47 years ago in 1966, a remakable feat in itself. During that time he’s probably shared his insights on Whitmann and Hemingway with 50,000 students. And ever since I have been provileged to have been the recepient of his thoughtful poetry, Christmas wishes and amusing post cards penned from Spain and beyond. Certainly as prolific as he is, many others were beneficiaries of his hand written missives. I believe I’ve kept them all.
The next time you spy a cent on the sidewalk, pick it up. Put it in a jar marked Stamps. In this way, they’ll be re-introduced into circulation. Write your friends and family personalized letters in long hand. Reserve your bill paying for the internet.
As Master Card might put it: Buying 15 first class stamps: $6.30; Buying a birthday card: $2.99. Making someone smile, priceless.
The US Post Master General John E. Potter announced effective Tuesday May 12th first class postage stamps increase a cent to 42 cents.
What’s a penny worth these days. Let’s put it in perspective. The US Treasury is thinking of discontinuing the penny because it’s no longer profitable. It costs two cents to mint one. To the US Postal Service and it’s 786,000 employees, one cent is huge. The Post Office sends 9.5 billion pieces of mail a year. You do the math.
The common perception is the penny has little to no value. They’re more annoying than helpful. To the average consumer who mails a few monthly bills it’s small change. There used to be a saying. “See a penny pick it up, now you’ll have good luck”. Now even kids pass them by.
Will some use a penny as an excuse? Will this increase deter people from taking pen to paper? Will writing become a quaint custom from a by-gone era? In 2009 I vowed somewhat nostalgically to keep in touch in a more traditional way by writing more often in manuscript form. I’m not shilling for Hallmark or American Greetings but the surprise of getting a note in the post can make someone’s day. I like letters because one’s scroll and script illustrates a bit of one's personality.
I have a friend, Richard Raleigh, a professor of literature at St. Thomas University my alma mater who began teaching there 47 years ago in 1966, a remakable feat in itself. During that time he’s probably shared his insights on Whitmann and Hemingway with 50,000 students. And ever since I have been provileged to have been the recepient of his thoughtful poetry, Christmas wishes and amusing post cards penned from Spain and beyond. Certainly as prolific as he is, many others were beneficiaries of his hand written missives. I believe I’ve kept them all.
The next time you spy a cent on the sidewalk, pick it up. Put it in a jar marked Stamps. In this way, they’ll be re-introduced into circulation. Write your friends and family personalized letters in long hand. Reserve your bill paying for the internet.
As Master Card might put it: Buying 15 first class stamps: $6.30; Buying a birthday card: $2.99. Making someone smile, priceless.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Sunday, May 03, 2009
BLOCKBUSTER BUSTED.
From: The MIAMI NEW TIMES http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2009/05/reader_busts_blockbuster_for_s.php
I telephoned Mr. Jim Keyes, CEO at Blockbuster Headquarters in Dallas Wednesday April 22nd. What I witnessed that day outside one of their stores was occurring at 4,000 Blockbuster’s around the country simultaneously. I had to know why.After work I ran some errands, picked up groceries, dry-cleaning, stoppped at Blockbuster to return a DVD. Borrowing and renting are good things. Like a book from the public library, DVD’s can be enjoyed (or not) by others. It was an unusual day in Miami. Mother earth had blessed us with one of those rare near-zero humidity- free evenings with a clear cloudless deep blue sky. Aptly enough, it was Earthday.So I’m walking from the parking lot towards Blockbuster and exiting is a 20-something year old employee. Blue and gold uniform shirt with a nametag. I’ll call him Bill.Bill’s got a hand truck with twin trash bins filled with DVD’s, at least 250-300. He was on a clear path to the big green dumpster marked Waste Management at the edge of the parking lot.As he passed I raised the DVD in greeting. “You throwing those out?” My tone feigned surprise as if to imply such a treasure trove would make my day. “Yeah’ Bill said matter of factly. I turned and followed him.“You know it’s Earth day, right?” Over his shoulder, almost sheepishly, “Yeah” and I believe he was remorseful. I pressed for an explanation. “We’re doing inventory, we only send back discs.” Apparently recycling’s too expensive; it’s cheaper to haul them, dump them and burn new ones.I watched for a minute as he threw handfuls into the dumpster. I thought of the millions of years they would sit in landfills until they would reunite with the earth in a useful way.I thought maybe if the board of directors, and shareholders knew about this, they’d do something to change the process. I decided to call headquarters.So I telephoned Jim Keyes for his reaction. Jim’s personal assistant Loretta listened politely and recommended Karen Raskopf, SVP Corporate Communications and transferred me to her extension. Her PA apologized saying she was away from the office. I asked if she’d connect me to Randy Hargrove, Sr. Director of Corporate Communications. He was in a meeting; I left a message with his PA; he returned my call within the hour.“ Hi Randy, thanks for the call back.” I introduced myself, recounted what I had seen and heard. ‘Is it true, that it’s too costly to recycle the DVD cases?”Randy was helpful. “The cases, we call them Amaray’s, it’s an industry term.” “Amaray’s, okay, uh, how do you spell that? "In their defense, he did say that since they no longer hand out the little carry-out plastic bags so they’ve reduced CO2 emissions by 73,000 tons since 2004 and recycling the plastic carpet equals saving 66,000 trees, and the new lighting saves the equivalent of 12,000 thermal degrees. Yada yada and and a lot of other good stuff.I knew the answer to my next question was a big yes. " Didn't Wayne Huisenga spawn BlockBuster and Waste Management?" I don't think I said spawn. No comment from Randy. Hmmmmmmmm.I know he wanted to learn Bill’s identity. No, I didn’t give Bill up. He was only doing his job. You know how that works.
I telephoned Mr. Jim Keyes, CEO at Blockbuster Headquarters in Dallas Wednesday April 22nd. What I witnessed that day outside one of their stores was occurring at 4,000 Blockbuster’s around the country simultaneously. I had to know why.After work I ran some errands, picked up groceries, dry-cleaning, stoppped at Blockbuster to return a DVD. Borrowing and renting are good things. Like a book from the public library, DVD’s can be enjoyed (or not) by others. It was an unusual day in Miami. Mother earth had blessed us with one of those rare near-zero humidity- free evenings with a clear cloudless deep blue sky. Aptly enough, it was Earthday.So I’m walking from the parking lot towards Blockbuster and exiting is a 20-something year old employee. Blue and gold uniform shirt with a nametag. I’ll call him Bill.Bill’s got a hand truck with twin trash bins filled with DVD’s, at least 250-300. He was on a clear path to the big green dumpster marked Waste Management at the edge of the parking lot.As he passed I raised the DVD in greeting. “You throwing those out?” My tone feigned surprise as if to imply such a treasure trove would make my day. “Yeah’ Bill said matter of factly. I turned and followed him.“You know it’s Earth day, right?” Over his shoulder, almost sheepishly, “Yeah” and I believe he was remorseful. I pressed for an explanation. “We’re doing inventory, we only send back discs.” Apparently recycling’s too expensive; it’s cheaper to haul them, dump them and burn new ones.I watched for a minute as he threw handfuls into the dumpster. I thought of the millions of years they would sit in landfills until they would reunite with the earth in a useful way.I thought maybe if the board of directors, and shareholders knew about this, they’d do something to change the process. I decided to call headquarters.So I telephoned Jim Keyes for his reaction. Jim’s personal assistant Loretta listened politely and recommended Karen Raskopf, SVP Corporate Communications and transferred me to her extension. Her PA apologized saying she was away from the office. I asked if she’d connect me to Randy Hargrove, Sr. Director of Corporate Communications. He was in a meeting; I left a message with his PA; he returned my call within the hour.“ Hi Randy, thanks for the call back.” I introduced myself, recounted what I had seen and heard. ‘Is it true, that it’s too costly to recycle the DVD cases?”Randy was helpful. “The cases, we call them Amaray’s, it’s an industry term.” “Amaray’s, okay, uh, how do you spell that? "In their defense, he did say that since they no longer hand out the little carry-out plastic bags so they’ve reduced CO2 emissions by 73,000 tons since 2004 and recycling the plastic carpet equals saving 66,000 trees, and the new lighting saves the equivalent of 12,000 thermal degrees. Yada yada and and a lot of other good stuff.I knew the answer to my next question was a big yes. " Didn't Wayne Huisenga spawn BlockBuster and Waste Management?" I don't think I said spawn. No comment from Randy. Hmmmmmmmm.I know he wanted to learn Bill’s identity. No, I didn’t give Bill up. He was only doing his job. You know how that works.
SIGNS LEAD NO-WHERE
SIGN, SIGN, everywhere a SIGN, blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind. Do this, don't do that, can't you read the SIGN.---Five Man Electrical Band, 1970
Signs generally fall into three categories. Those that serve in the public interest, those that sell products and services and the most ancient and interesting, those identified with youth culture, political dissent and pure art, graffito aka graffiti. Between the constant escalating infusion of traffic signals, commercial billboards and the marking turf boundaries slash urban doodling variety, we're at a breaking point.I concede advertising is clever and entertaining but there is nary a public space left where you won't find a catchy message. No place is sacred. No nook or cranny overlooked. In some Miami neighborhoods the messages appear in three languages, English, Spanish and Creole aka Kreyol. Portuguese can't be far behind.Graffiti sometimes makes us stop and wonder. Think and ponder. For that alone it's better than the others combined but when it's sloppy and uninspired, more of an eye sore than anything else. Use chalk please. The worst offender is the Department of Public Works and Transportation who can't place new signs fast enough. Most we can live without. One place that has escaped the sign madness seems to be cemetaries. I guess Dead End says it all. Can't believe they missed this opportunity.The classic sign is still big, red and reads STOP. I just wish they'd heed their own dictate. Stop with the signs already!
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