Goal For The Green

It’s always nice to feel like you’ve found a place to call home on the internet.  We search for a common ground or tie that binds, somewhere to create a trust and friendships that creates a strong bond.  No matter what the group is, the more specific the ties and offerings are, the stronger the friendships and bonds between people often become.

Commonalities are the main focus for many social networking and news sites.  They attract millions of users by having a common thread, that makes us feel as if we “belong”.

Disaboom.com was launched almost a year ago.  The results have created a real sense of community.  The common bond is that it is a community for people who are impacted or living with functional limitations or disabilities.  They also acquired their own dating site calledLovebyrd.com for their targeted group.  They offer legal help, chat rooms, blogs and job postings.  They have acquired an impressive partners list that includes Ford, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, RE/MAX and Avis to name a few.

Web Tribes, is another young site (founded in 2006).  They offer a community that supports those who suffer from depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, addiction, and HIV and AIDS.  Visitors are inspired to join a tribe that focuses on each specific condition.  The user then finds a commonality with others who have the same affliction.  The help is found in the inspirational messages the users send to each other.  They realize that they are not “alone” in what they are dealing with.

The Root, is a news site targeting the black community.  The site includes video interviews, blogs and genealogical information.  They pride themselves in being a departure from traditional American journalism.  They have been doing a fine job of raising the profile of black voices in the media, and fostering interest in black culture around the world.  Theses three sites have really grown in the last year and found their common thread in the world wide sea of the web.

Perhaps you have a project, or have been looking for funding to get your business off the ground. Did you know you can raise the capital yourself and not owe anyone? You can start for as little as $5. Go to Fund4Cash.com to find out more.

Relax and enjoy a few minutes of our beautiful planet with me !

Blue Planet…(nature)…

Are we being logical about Global Warming ? Probably not, since we now call it climate change.  It might be a little ridiculous to think that man caused climate change to happen.  Sure, we are a contributing factor, but we all know that the earth undergoes sometimes drastic climate changes-naturally!  Mother Nature has never needed any help in that area.  Even if we would have heeded the warnings 30 plus years ago, after the “gas crisis,” -much of what is happening now, would still be happening.  We have no control over it.  But, we probably have contributed to our crisis by not practicing good conservation.

So, what makes us think that we can change our habits and replace our energy demands with alternative sources, in just ten years?  Today, here in the United States, only 7% of our energy comes from alternative sources.  Hydroelectric power  comprises 36% of our total alternative energy usage.  Another 5% comes from the use of wind energy.  These two sources cannot be tapped into much further, without studies of the damage it causes to already fragile ecosystems.  Fish and wildlife suffer as a paradox of our need for alternative energy sources.  It seems the only time we hear about these unfair tradeoffs, is when people protest (NIMBY) not in my back yard, when it is time to build dams and install wind turbines into already settled communities.

Today, over half of our alternative energy is in the form of biofuels.  Sources such as switchgrass (it needs an enzyme to break it down) and ethanol (corn based) are our hope for renewable energy.  Geothermal and solar power (through photovoltaic cells) offer another 6% of our current alternative energy usage.  While these sources are promising, they supply a very minor amount of our total annual energy needs.

Will we meet the goal in ten years?  Probably not, but we have to start somewhere.  It is estimated that it will cost upwards of $2.5 trillion to achieve approximately half of our home based energy needs through alternative energy sources.   Some feel that the environmental impact of biofuels is worse than that of petroleum souces.  Sure, more information is needed in these areas, but we can’t stop progress.  We must move forward.  We should make more use of resources that we already have here at home.  More use of nuclear energy, natural gas, and ways to safely make use of hydrogen should be looked at more closely.