Your Questions About Green Living

What environmental justice organizations can I join to help support bringing fresh water to African villages?

I have an assignment for my sociology class that requires me to get involved with an environmental justice organization of my choice. I would like to help out the people in Africa somehow. After seeing how their water has been privatized by big companies leaving the poor without clean fresh water this is an issue that I am pretty passionate about. Are there any EJO’s that directly help out these poor people in dire need of H2O?
Preferably a non-profit organization with no ties to any religion.
Wow, MG. that was REALLY helpful.

Why do Enviornmentalists ignore the fundamental problem of overpopulation?

The media, social welfare types , humans in general but especially , enviornmentalists, seem to gloss over this issue and vehemently fight the effects of overpopulation like dwindiling wildlife areas and wildlife populations, increased pollution, globalwarming/cooling/climate change/whatever, deforestation and dwindling resources and completely overlook the fact that the human population is expanding, people are living much longer infant mortality rates are much lower even in regions that they are traditionally high.

The human population is getting exponentially larger , millions upon millions ahead of the death rate every year. Each one of these surplus people I guess you can call them for now, will consume a lifetime of resources, food, gas, electricity, plastics, paper, everything. And generate a lifetime of waste. Each person will demand a certain amount of space to live as well. You cant tell some poor guy in Africa hey don’t build your tiny family sustaining farm there, we need to preserve the environment. Or maybe you can but for how long?

Its very obvious to me that looking forward there will come a point where the struggle to prevent poverty and conserve the environment will become useless because the rate of conservation and poverty reduction will be surpassed by the growth of the human population. Any gains made will be cancelled out by new people generating more waste and demanding more resources and space. Trying to reduce the effects of overpopulation can only at the very most slow the inevitable fate of total environmental destruction and a Catastrophic loss of human life from famine, war, starvation disease.

Let me create a picture to illustrate my point

Imagine the world with twice as many people as there are today?( this is coming by the end of this century). I see a place where everything costs much more, more waste much less resources to go around starvation war animal extinction, habitat elimination.

Now imagine the world with only half as many people as there are now? Everything is cheaper resources are abundant poverty is miniscule because everyone has jobs and education is affordable, plenty of room to live for wildlife and humans, waste is manageable and can realistically be eliminated etc, etc…

I know some might say we can eventually populate other planets but to that I say who will go? Who will want to live on Mars in a bubble where there’s only 1/3 of earths gravity?? or on the moon? or on some giant space ship where you know you will die long before you reach a new world . The human race will of destroyed ourselves by the time we figure out some way to get to other stars quickly. That’s if a way even exists.

So I ask why is this fact ignored and instead everybody chases global warming or climate change or whatever it is now. And the other effects of overpopulation??

Help with World History?

I have upcoming exams and i had a few question from my study guide. sorry its so long. (this is not my homework)
Foundations Unit:
1.Definitions of basic economic systems:
Agricultural, Pastoral, and foraging societies and their demographic characteristics
Basic characteristics of economic structures including technological patterns
2.Key Cultural and social systems
Basic features of major belief systems prior to 1000 and where each belief system applied by 1000
Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Daoism, Hellenism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Polytheism,
Major developments in arts
Basic characteristics of social structures as they developed by 1000
The Caste system
The Nature and location of major slave systems
Confucian social hierarchy
Patriarchal family structures and trends
3.Principle international connections that had developed between 700 and 1000
a.Leading international trading patterns – Middle Eastern, Chinese, Eastern European, Trans-Saharan
b.The role of nomadic groups in Central Asia
c.The impact of Bantu migrations in Africa
4.What are the issues involved in using “civilization” as an organizing principle in World History?
What is the most common source of change: connection or diffusion versus independent invention?

1000 – 1450
1.Nature and causes of changes in the world history framework leading up to 1000 – 1450 as a period
2.Nature and philosophy of knowledge
3.China’s internal and external expansion
The importance of the Song economic revolution
Chinese influence on Japan and its limits
5. The role of Islam as a unifying cultural force in Eurasia and Africa;
Islamic impact on the Sudanic kingdoms and East Africa; the Delhi Sultanate
The impact of migrations and religious reform movements in expanding Islamic society
The impact of Islam on the arts and sciences
6. Restructuring of European society, including the growth of central monarchies in the West
Role of Arab thought in the 12th century “Renaissance” in the west
The division of Christendom into Eastern and Western Christian cultures
5.Great Zimbabwe
6.Impact of the nomadic migrations on Afro-Eurasia (Mongols, Turks, and Arabs)
Migration of agricultural peoples (e.g. European peoples to east/central Europe)
7. What are the issues involved in using cultural areas rather than states as units of analysis?
What are the sources of change: nomadic migration versus urban growth?
Was there a world economic network in this period, and how does it compare with the world economic system that emerges in the next period?

1450 –1750
1.Continuities and breaks, causes of changes from the previous period and within the period
2.Changes in global interactions, trade, and technology
3.Knowledge of major empires and other political units and social systems
Aztec, Inca, Portugal, Spain, Russia, France, England in general but knowing one as illustrative)
Territorial and commercial aspects of the above
Gender and empire (gender systems at the elite level, alliances, women and households in politics)
Slave systems and slave trade
4.Demographic and environmental changes: disease, animals, new crops and comparative population trends
5.Cultural and intellectual developments
Scientific Revolution
The Enlightenment
Comparative global causes and impacts of cultural change
Neoconfucianism
Major developments and exchanges in the arts (e.g. Mughal)
6. What are the debates about the timing and extent of European predominance in the world economy?

Major Comparisons and Snapshots
Comparisons of the major religious and philosophical systems including some underlying similarities in cementing a social hierarchy, e.g., Hinduism contrasted with Confucianism;
Christianity compared with Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism
Trace and explain the diffusion of major religious and philosophical belief systems by 1000
Role of nomadic groups in collapse of Empires
Compare the caste system to other systems of social inequality devised by early and classical civilizations, including slavery
Compare early societies and cultures that include cities with those without cities
Compare the development of political systems in major early civilizations, e.g. Indian compared with Chinese political traditions and institutions: Caliphate with Roman Empire
Compare international trading systems, e.g., the Trans-Saharan trading system with the Silk Road trading system

Major comparisons and snapshots
Japanese and European feudalism
Western Europe or one of the major European monarchies and one of the African empires
Contrast the economic, social, and political role of cities such as Canton, Samarkand, Timbuktu, Cairo and Venice
Gender systems and changes
Imperial systems: European monarchy compared Latin American Empires

My friends view on Islam and Pakistan!!!!!?

This is my debate with a friend.
Check it out!!!

Views on Islam and Pakistan – 1

I think your analysis of Islam and Pakistan is extremely naïve and simplistic. Most of them time you seem to be parroting views of some highly prejudiced groups without any forethought. In fact, parts of your post are so stupid, I am not even sure whether to waste my time in responding. Just reflect on some of your statements! (1) “Based upon my understanding the kaafir world vs. Islam is the biggest issue today”. Really? Global warming, environmental degradation, and population increase are not civilizational threats? According to various UN estimates, the impact of impending environmental change on Africa (via weather pattern-induced famines and consequent social and economic breakdown) is going to be well over a hundred times worse than a major nuclear strike. What about the role of US policies in the Middle East – to maintain access to petroleum reserves – in fueling Islamic terrorism?

(2) “.The real true Muslims do not discriminate on the basis of nationality.” Really? Then why does the Muslim world consist of nation states? If that is a consequence of European colonialism, why does public not annul it in favor of an all-encompassing Islamic state? Have you any idea of the factionalism, regionalism, ethno-centrism, and sub-nationalims that existed even during the times of various Islamic empires? Have you ever visited any Muslim countries to get a feel for their national distinctiveness? You don’t need to be a genius to know that Indian, Turkish, Arab, Persian, and Indonesian Islams are completely different. Moreover, you can see tremendous variation in Muslim states within one supposedly monolithic region, such as (Arab) Middle East and North Africa.

(3) You want to test Pakistani nationalism? Try invading the country. I guarantee you 100% that all ethnic, cultural, religious, and socio-economic differences will disappear overnight and people will fight the invader. To give a feel of Pak nationalism, as a Pakistani I cannot dare say publicly on national TV that Pak suffers from an identity crisis and expect to live safely in the country. (4) “And most fundamentally sound Muslims think the same!” Oh, yeah? I thought not even two human beings thought the same and that even twins are different. Surely, your insight that 1.5 billion muslims “think the same” turns conventional wisdom about human behavior completely on its head. Nobel Prize, anyone?

(5) Have you looked at the rest of the third world? Forget about comparing Pakistan to India – a shining exception of stable, pluralistic, participatory, and representative democracy in the developing world. Do you have any clues about political cultures of Africa, Central Asia, Middle East, and Southeast Asia? Or until very recently, about political cultures of Central and South America or Eastern Europe before 1990? What happened to Russia under Putin? Seems like it is well on its way to reverting to a dictatorship in all but name.

(6) The tragedy of Partition of India as well as the falsehood of the “two-nation [Hindu-Muslim] theory” notwithstanding, do you actually know anything about Jinnah’s character, ability, integrity, or principles? Had he lived for even half the duration that Nehru lived after the country’s creation, Pak would have turned out very differently. Today’s Pakistan bears absolutely no resemblance to the secular, liberal, progressive, and democratic one envisioned by Jinnah. In short, he imagined (maybe, erroneously) a “Westernized” country where Muslims would not have to fear Hindu domination.

(7)Jinnah famously remarked to Pakistan’s first constituent assembly: “You may belong to any religion caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business of the state. In due course of time, Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state.” Had that statement been implemented by future Pak leadership, or had Jinnah had time to implement it himself, do you think Pak would have been “destined to be a joke.” (8) “Whenever the Baloch and the Pathans intend to separate, they should do it peacefully.” Really? What do you know of Baloch and Pathan separatist movements?

Is Danny Jordaan taking drugs?

I receive a weekly newsletter and this was in this weeks:

VIOLENCE COULD DAMAGE TOURISM
The outburst of xenophobic violence in the country could cause serious damage to South Africa‘s tourism industry, Environmental and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Tuesday. This came as the German Foreign Ministry issued a warning to travellers to South Africa on Tuesday to avoid central Johannesburg and the outlying black townships.

2010 SAFE FROM XENOPHOBIA
The international football fraternity understands that the xenophobic attacks in South Africa are as a result of the conduct of some “disgruntled” individuals, the 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) said on Monday. Chief executive Danny Jordaan said the attacks would not deter people from coming to the world cup as they understood the context in which the attacks were happening.
So, since people are so understanding about the attacks, why has Germany issued a warning for people travelling to SA. I know of some lodges that have had bookings cancelled because of the attacks. If this violence continues, surely the Exec Committee has to admit that this could affect people travelling to SA for the world cup?