President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

In 2005, Sirleaf is the first woman of an African nation to be democratically elected to head of the nation. The 72-year-old is still the current President of Liberia. She helped bring stability to a region rocked by civil war, which lasted from 1989 to 2003. Her award was criticized by her political opponents but praised by a previous winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. “She deserves it many times over,” he declared to the press. Sirleaf claims that her award shows “that Liberians should be proud.”

Leyma Gebowee

Fellow countrywoman Gebowee, amother of five, is credited with getting Christian and Muslim women to cooperate in order to fight the powerful drug warlords in Liberia. Gebowee has also won the 2009 Profiles in Courage Award and a 2007 Blue Ribbon Award gien by Harvard University. Currently, Gebowee is director of Women Peace and Security Network Africa. Gebowee was so overwhelmed by the news of her award that she has yet to make a public statement about it.

Tawakkul Karman

Karman, 23, a journalist and mother of three, has been dubbed “Mother of the Revolution” and “Iron Woman” during the Arab Spring of 2011. In January, she helped to organize demonastrations against Yemen’s ruler, President Ali Abdullah Selah. She was arrested for her efforts but was soon released. It is a peculiar honor for a Yemeni woman to be arrested, since it happens so rarely. She is currently chairwoman of the pro-democracy group Women Journalists Without Chains. The Nobel Prize committee has received criticism for awarding Kaman because she is a member of the Islamic party Islah, which reportedly has links to the Muslim Brotherhood. The Chairman of the Nobel Committee stated that Muslim Brotherhood is not seen as anti-West, as it has painted in the popular Western Press.

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This film is full of statistics, which makes it a reliable piece of information for people that care about what they are consuming. It will shock some viewers to see the way that food production has changed over decades; from chickens taking three months to be raise, to them only taking a few weeks to be ready for slaughter. The meat is bigger. The hormones and antibiotics being used to grow them bigger may be changing the people consuming this meat. Could the food industry have something to do with the growing rates of obesity in the world? Food, Inc goes into this too.

Foods that are available all year around, even when locally they are only grown during one season of the year, are coming from all over the country and sometimes shipped over seas. They bring with them new diseases and new insects. There are no longer seasons when it comes to grocery shopping. This is one of the reasons many people try to promote local farmer’s markets, where food is fresh and only available when it is in season. Be aware, watching this film just may make you change the way you eat; for the better.

Conditions in Somalia have not always been so bad. This is the first time in 19 years that this country in the Horn of Africa has seen such conditions, the result of a perfect storm of bad circumstances. Violent activity by al-Shabab, an Islamist organization, has terrorized a people already reduced to poverty. This horrific situation has been worsened by the drought which has sent thousands of desperate refugees across the border into Ethiopia and Kenya.

Attempts to get humanitarian aid into the region have been greatly hampered by the political situation. Al-Shabab fighters have prevented much of it from entering the country, and have only recently begun allowing limited amounts of aid to come in.

The state of armed conflict in Somalia is the culmination of 20 years of political upheaval. The regime of Mohamed Siad Barre fell in 1991 to be replaced by a weak, corrupt government lacking the ability or the will to help its own people in this crisis. Instead, the regime is locked in the conflict with al-Shabab and is expending all its resources on an effort to prevent them from taking the capital, Mogadishu.

The US is backing the government, and recently announced that it would give $28 million to it, in addition to some $431 million for humanitarian aid. Even with this, there is a need for $800 million more to save the country from sliding into an even deeper crisis.

Officials of the UN, Oxfam and Save the Children are all decrying the slow and tepid response of the world community to this disaster. Fran Equiza, Oxfam’s director in the region, made a statement recently that the response had been inadequate and complacent. “There has been a catastrophic breakdown of the world’s collective responsibility to act,” he concluded.

The Fisker Karma has no gears, thus no shifting is needed to reach the 125 miles per hour that the company is projecting. Front seat passengers can peek at the electric battery pack through a center plexiglass window. The electric battery pack has a range of about 50 miles. The Karma also comes equipped with special 22 inch wheel covers that are custom-designed. The Innovative Fisker Karma also has solar panels on the roof that supply power to the climate control system and the lithium-Ion battery.

The Fisker Automotive company has had a few production delays, but deliveries have begun and public unveiling is scheduled for the fall of 2011. Fisker has contracted with EV Connect to install a 220 Volt charging station at the home or workplace of the buyer. The high price of the Fisker Karma may make for a limited amount of buyers, but Fisker Automotive Group is planning a larger and more affordable model lineup. A retractable hardtop convertible version of the Karma is also being planned, and an SUV that is derived from the Karma is expected to be on sale in 2012.

Although the Fisker Automotive Group is based in Anaheim, California, the Fisker Karma is made in Finland.

Although I do feel that someone should be held accountable for the spill, the boycott seems to hurt the local BP station owners more than it hurts the corporate giant. Enough people are suffering financially in the Gulf communities and the country as a whole. These local BP station owners have families, mortgages, and other bills. Putting them out of business will not hurt BP in the long run, but it will hurt these individuals for a long time.

Our main focus now should be preventing anymore offshore drilling. This oil spill in the Gulf has taught us that accidents at the offshore drills cause far more damage than one generation can remedy. As the repair and clean-up of the BP gulf oil spill has shown, there is a lot of uncertainty when dealing with equipment so deep in the water.

BP is not the only company that engages in offshore drilling, and we don’t know how close other companies are to having a disaster as catastrophic as the current one we are experiencing right now. Boycotting the individual gas stations is not the answer. As Thoreau wrote, “For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root.” We should work at correcting the bigger problem by letting our legislatures know how upset we are with the Gulf Oil Spill. We need to let them know that we need stronger laws and regulations so that this never happens again.

Online Resources for Creating Rain Barrels

Southwest Florida Water Management District Water Barrel

Online tutorial on creating a water barrel.  Written step-by-step instructions on how to create a rain barrel.  An online tutorial video is also provided.

HGTV Rain Barrel Tutorial Video

Another detailed video on how to create and install a rain barrel

If those instructions and videos seem a little difficult you can also purchase rain barrel from home care centers in your area or online stores.  If you do not have rain barrels at your local store, you can check the online store and see if it can shipped for free to one of their local stores.

Resulting Oil Leaks

Initial reports said that the pipes were leaking oil at around 1,000 bbl per day. The oil is currently pooling off of the Gulf of Louisiana, but wind and water currents may push it into the coast within the next few days. The potential biological hazard increases exponentially as the oil slick moves into waters closer to the coast where wildlife tends to live and breed. A large section of the oil slick has drifted within 16 miles of the Mississippi River Delta, where it could also do a great deal of damage.

A new leak was discovered within the last 24 hours that is spilling almost five times as much oil as the first leaks. It is now estimated that the rig, which is resting on the floor of the Gulf, is spilling an average of 5 bbl of oil every day. At this rate, the recent disaster could become one of the worst oil spills in the history of offshore drilling.

Oil Spill Containment Efforts Intensify

Cleanup crews have begun performing in-situ burning to try to eliminate the oil that is on top of the water. The burns are carefully controlled, and is expected to dissipate a fraction of the spill. The majority of the spill is still floating in the Gulf of Mexico unimpeded. Officials on the coast of Louisiana have begun firing cannons to frighten away birds and other wildlife that may be in the path of the oil slick. Fishermen are running booms across large areas of the coast to stop the slick from coming too close in to the shore.

President Barack Obama has stated that the National Guard will be available to help in cleanup efforts if needed. The White House is monitoring the situation very closely, and intends to do whatever necessary to protect as much of the coastline as possible. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has declared a state of emergency as the slick continues to move toward the coastline.

The Leaf runs on state-of-the-art, 480-pound lithium ion (Li-Ion) batteries. They are charged using an 110v, 220v, 240v or 480v charger. With an 110v charger (U.S. household standard), the Leaf takes an interminable 16 hours to recuperate, but that lessens to a decent eight with the 220v and approximately 30 minutes with the 480v charger. The latter is planned for use in public fueling stations.

The Leaf promises a 100-mile range on a single charge. Nissan notes this meets 70% of the world’s mileage requirements and that 80% of drivers travel fewer than 62 miles per day. Nissan expects the batteries to retain 80% of their storage capacity after five years and stabilize thereafter. These incredible achievements warranted the Leaf the Green Car of the Year accolade by Green Car Journal in 2010.

Nissan does not skimp on interior amenities. Standard features include A/C, cruise control with steering-wheel mounted controls, auto-dimming rearview mirror, variable intermittent wipers, trip computer, tilt-steering column, 12v DC power outlet, adjustable driver and passenger seats, 60/40-split rear seats, full power accessories and a navigation system. Blast some bass from the M/FM/CD/MP3/WMA audio system, equipped with optional XM radio, auxiliary audio jack and USB port. The high-end SL trim adds fog lights, automatic headlamps and a rear spoiler.

The exterior exhibits its own aplomb. Rolling on 16-inch wheels, the Leaf sports LED headlamps (using only 10% power of regular headlamps), dual-power exterior mirrors and chrome accents.

Nissan has affixed its own technological legerdemain. Mobile phones can be used to adjust A/C, heating, and charging functions, even when the vehicle is turned off. The Leaf sports traction control, a security system, and airbags protecting every occupant.

New toys tend to be expensive. However, the U.S. Leaf will cost $32,780, and with tax incentives it may lessen to $25,000. It costs only $3 “fill up.” Nissan predicts an average five-year “real” cost of $28,180, lower than a Toyota Prius or Honda Civic.

The Nissan Leaf debuts soon. Watch the street corners.