Do you know how many zeroes there are in a trillion? You’ll probably pause to count, too. Various sites say that “we could wrap the earth about 4700 times with 1-trillion one-dollar bills laid end to end around the globe.” Mind-boggling, isn’t it? Do you know how much was spent on war weapons in the entire world last year? A staggering $1.464 trillion, 42% of which was spent by the United States. Has that huge amount bought peace? Far from it. Wars continue across the globe – casualties keep piling up, millions more are widowed, orphaned, and displaced from their homes and livelihood. Read the rest of this entry »

There is sustained interest in moringa (malunggay), particularly its health benefits, judging from the search terms that lead surfers to this site. Moringa powder in capsules is already being distributed commercially. It won’t be long before it goes into the mainstream market of health supplements, which tend to be expensive. Sales pitch rests on the many nutrients of moringa which you may read here. Read the rest of this entry »

The current global economic crisis is prompting many of us to rethink our consumption-driven lifestyles, what we value most, what we really need, and what we can do without and still live meaningful and happy lives. The emergence of new measures proposed to complement quantitative national income accounts – Gross National/Domestic Product and per capita income, which only reflect an economy’s health but not its people’s – is therefore timely. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been hearing talks about Monsanto offering some deals to local farmers here in town and having read some bad press about this multinational, I dug deeper for more information. What I found is a very informative hour-long documentary entitled “Life running out of control” dealing with the effects of genetically-engineered seeds on natural plant life. Read the rest of this entry »

Today, we see another post-it note in our Earth Watch calendar, a reminder to take care of our planet. Earth Day is turning 39 this year; it began in 1970 (actually the idea was hatched in 1962), as a campaign to draw attention to environment issues and to campaign for activism for Mother Earth. Almost 40 years of celebrating Earth Day, and yet, the problems that prompted the Earth Day pioneers have become even more dire today. We need to catch up with environmental degradation now before it completely beats us to the finish line. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s one more proof that what you see is not all that you get. Susan Boyle is all over the Internet now, after her amazing performance on Britain’s Got Talent.

I had goosebumps while watching the video, and I’ve watched it many times since the other day. From reactions on the Web, many found inspiration in her, and many more were moved to tears. Let’s all vote for her. Go, Susan!

Kailian Ben Padua sent me something to post at this site but since it is also on his blog, you may visit it here instead. Reading about the abduction of James Balao reminded me of the case of Jonas Burgos, son of the late kailian Jose Burgos, Jr., press freedom icon and once a governor of Ilocos Sur in 1986. Jonas, an agriculturist and an advocate of organic farming working with peasants in Bulacan, was kidnapped in 2007 and has not been seen since. It is widely believed that the military had a hand in his kidnapping, Read the rest of this entry »

Tomorrow is the day to VOTE FOR EARTH by turning off lights (and all other electronic gadgets) for one full hour. The opposing candidate is, of course, global warming. The exact benefit of this worldwide action is difficult to quantify. The WWF admits it cannot measure the resulting decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. And whether it will SIGNIFICANTLY reduce global warming is debatable. Read the rest of this entry »