Category Archives: Education

Apr26

VOX Populi With Sean Astin Launches Season 2 On TradioV

Posted on by
VOX Populi With Sean Astin Launches Season 2 On TradioV

VoxPopuli - Promotional Graphic

Disclosure: This post was written in partnership with Sean Astin to promote his radio show. I received a Thank You gift in return for doing so, as always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Back when I worked in film production I worked for a while on some political TV commercials. I had never been very political, but after that job, I actually became apolitical for a period of time. I was totally turned off by the negative way in which the campaigns had being conducted and became entirely disenchanted by politics.

Something funny happened when I became a parent though. I found I had strong opinions on some matters, especially when they impacted my children, and I began to tune into politics again a tiny bit.  Concerned with global health, one of the issues that broke my heart was the thought that mothers in developing countries were losing their babies to vaccine preventable diseases.  I became a United Nations Foundation Shot@Life Champion due to that empathy for other mothers and children around the world.   During my first Shot@Life Summit I found myself, quite by surprise, on Capitol hill visiting my state representatives, advocating for global vaccines. I had somehow become an accidental advocate.  It was that process that really engaged me, and taught me that my representatives want to hear from their constituents, and if I had an issue that I cared about they would listen.  I still am not a fan when politics get heated, I prefer reasonable open-minded discussions, and that is why I was happy to help promote Sean Astin’s second season of his political radio show Vox Populi on TradioV.Sean Astin Radio

The name Sean Astin may ring a bell, though it might seem out of context to think of the actor from The Goonies, Lord of the Rings, and Rudy in the political arena, but this is the second season of his political radio show for “the occasionally interested people” and it launches on May 1st on a new network, TradioV.   Sean’s interest in politics and representing the people’s voice comes from his genuine desire for people to understand what is happening with the government, even when it seems too complicated. Whether you are or aren’t interested in politics, he offers an intellectual discussion and doesn’t just want to be heard, he wants to hear the people and their concerns, all while keeping it civil.

If you are like me, wanting to stay informed and engaged in what’s going on, but out of the fray, then this may just be the exact type of political discourse you have been looking for. You can check out  Sean’s site ,  and listen to the broadcast premier on May 1st. Follow Sean on Twitter, at #RaiseYourVox,  Facebook , YouTube, and catch the broadcast every Thursday from 12-2 PT on TradioV.

ENMNetwork disclosure

Apr4

USAID Launches Global Development Lab

Posted on by
USAID Launches Global Development Lab

As we close in on 2015 the Millennium Development Goals will hit their deadline. USAID has just launched the Global Development Lab, which takes MDG # 8, to  Develop A Global Partnership For Development, into the next set of goals to be reached by 2030. USAID has partnered with 32 companies and organizations to reach the mission:

To discover, test, and scale breakthrough development innovations to solve development challenges faster and cheaper in support of U.S. foreign policy and development goals and to accelerate the transformation of USAID as the world’s premier development agency.-USAID Global Development Lab Mission Statement

I am excited to see the amazing partners involved, including my neighbors Plan, and Nike, as well as some of my other favorites, Save The Children, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Johns Hopkins University (my husband’s an alum). The lab launched Thursday April 3rd,  and I can’t wait to see the breakthroughs a collaboration of this magnitude is sure to bring! Watch the video below to find out what it’s all about.

Mar26

Our Chance To Eliminate Toxic Chemicals From Everyday Products

Posted on by
Our Chance To Eliminate Toxic Chemicals From Everyday Products

 seventh generation

Sign this petition to #FightToxins in our products!

This is a sponsored post written in conjunction with a Seventh Generation awareness campaign about toxins in our everyday products, and how we can change that.  As always all opinions are my own.

I rummaged through my cabinets the other day grabbed all of the plastic cups my kids drink out of and all of those plastic take out food containers I was saving to re-use, and threw them into the recycling bin. In the car I had been listening to a report on NPR about the BPA safety controversy. First it was supposed to be dangerous, now “they” are saying it’s safe…..Any plastics I had purchased were supposedly BPA free to begin with, but on the radio experts said any plastic food containers may still contain harmful elements. One quote from the story impacted me in particular. The show host, referring to plastics, had said something like ” We speculate about what is causing the rise in cancer, and I wonder if the answer has not been right in front of us all along.”  I realized I had been following the various reports that BPA is harmful or not, but that comment on the radio made me re-think who I am counting to deliver the data. As a mom I decided it’s not worth the risk. These are my children, to companies they are just a statistic. It should not be that way, and we should be able to count on our government agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency, to keep products on the market safe.

I have always been careful about the cleaning products that I use in my home, we have four kids, a dog, well water, and a septic tank. This puts us in delicate balance with our environment and it’s impact on our health.  Seventh Generation products are some of the ones I’ve been using for years to safely keep things clean. I’ve always liked the idea reflected in the company name, that what we do today lays the path for the next seven generations to come.  I am thrilled to support the companies’ efforts to help pass new reform on the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA, that would help the Environmental Protection Agency to take regulatory action against dangerous chemicals present in our everyday products currently on the market.  One of the problems is that the TSCA has not been changed since 1976. This has allowed companies to add chemicals to our products that are known to cause cancer or cause serious health side-effects.  Even worse there are more than 80,000 chemicals available in the United States that have never been fully tested for their toxic effects on our health and environment!

toxins copy

Do you remember hearing about the toxic water contamination in Charleston, West Virginia not too long ago? One of the scariest things about the coverage on that story was that I kept hearing them say..”such and such chemical was also found but it’s safety has never been tested before so we can’t say if it is safe or not.” Yeesh, I thought, It would take me a long time to trust that water again! Exposure to toxic chemicals, even in small amounts has been scientifically linked to health risks like cancer, asthma, learning disabilities, and reproductive problems. Don’t you think that true meaningful chemical reform should be put in place to protect the most vulnerable among us; the kids, pregnant mothers, and communities directly exposed to these toxic chemicals? It should also require that the public has access to all information regarding chemical safety levels, allow states to protect their residents, and have the EPA take swift action within specific timetables. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“For the 22,000 chemicals introduced since 1976, chemical manufacturers have provided little or no information to the EPA regarding their potential health or environmental impacts.

These chemicals are found in toys and other children’s products, cleaning and personal care items, furniture, electronics, food and beverage containers, building materials, fabrics, and car interiors.

Since 1976 scientists have linked exposure to toxic chemicals to many health risks. There is growing recognition in the scientific community that exposure to even low doses of certain chemicals, particularly in the womb or during early childhood, can disturb our hormonal, reproductive, and immune systems, and that multiple chemicals can act together to harm human health. Some toxic chemicals can even persist in the environment, for decades sometimes, building up in the food chain and in our bodies. Cancer, learning disabilities, asthma, birth defects, and other reproductive problems are all associated, to some degree, with exposure to toxic chemicals in animals or humans.”–Natural Resources Defense Council

I don’t think we should sit by and wait for others to do the right thing for our families, we need to demand that Congress reevaluate the Toxic Substances Control Act for the first time since 1976.

We can help make a change! Seventh Generation is working to push a reform on TSCA which would have all of these chemicals studied and evaluated. Join the movement to protect our kids and future generations to come.

visit www.fighttoxins.com to sign the petition that will be presented to congress on April, 30th 2014.

You can follow the hashtag #FightToxins to stay up to date in the campaign.

Photo provided by Seventh Generation

Photo provided by Seventh Generation

All information on the TSCA and images provided by Seventh Generation

Mar14

Happy Pi Day

Posted on by
Happy Pi Day

 Happy Pi Day

When our son was in 3rd grade my husband taught him an easy way to remember the number for Pi.  Our son proudly went to school with his knowledge on Pi day, and when the teacher asked if anyone knew the number for Pi he raised his hand. She called on him and he said “How I Need A Drink”. She said, “well, then go to the water fountain.” And, being the obliging little fellow that he was, he went to the water fountain and got a drink, without ever bothering to explain that he was trying to tell her the mnemonic to remember Pi.

To remember the number Pi memorize the mnemonic  “How I need a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics,” The number  Pi correlates to the number of letters in each of the words in that sentence.

3.141 592 653 589 79…

(Instead of the word “alcoholic”, for the kids you can substitute “pepsicola”. Trust me from experience, it will save school teachers confusion.)

Pi day is celebrated on Einstein’s birthday because of the date and the meaning of the number. Pi is roughly the ratio of a circles circumference to its diameter, also representing the curvature of space/time to energy sources which is a basis in Einstein’s principal of relativity.

To learn more about Pi Day or Albert Einstein read the guest posts my father-in-law, a physics professor wrote  for Documama the past couple of Pi days.

 

Mar8

Global Impact’s Women And Girls Fund On #InternationalWomen’sDay

Posted on by
Global Impact’s Women And Girls Fund On #InternationalWomen’sDay
Woman in Long Ampung, Borneo taken by Elizabeth Atalay

Woman in Long Ampung, Borneo taken by Elizabeth Atalay

I was trying not to stare at her earlobe, but finally I had to ask. Not in English mind you because she spoke the local dialect of her village in Kalimantan. I asked her in that international pantomime us travelers learn to speak. One earlobe hung to her chin weighted with gold rings like most of the women. It was the inverted crescent of the other ear that had caught my attention, where the decorative lobe had been cut off.  She stood and sliced the air with two hands holding an invisible scythe. Bending over she then grasped at the shorn earlobe.  Chuckles came from the other village women with whom I sat on the floor of the longhouse as she did this, and I nodded that I understood.

According to Global Impact, two-thirds of the labor to produce more than half the world’s food is done by women. Meanwhile women control less than 10 percent of the world’s assets. I had seen the women working in the fields, carrying thatched backpacks full of grain back to the village, and then pounding it into fine powder.  The missing earlobe was merely an occupational hazard. In turn she motioned to her belly in a sweeping outward gesture unmistakable as pregnancy, and then clasped her arms to her breast. I shook my head “no” and smiled.  I had no children yet, knowing as their faces flooded with pity that being in my mid twenties this would be shocking to them. Still, despite our cultural differences and our language barriers, I remember being amazed at the feeling of sisterhood I felt as their guest. I was a stranger from a faraway land, but as women we connected and understood each other on some very basic level.

This type of experience would repeat itself for me all round the world, fortifying my sense of global sisterhood as I went. The feeling was bolstered even more so after having my own children, knowing for women the experiences that go along with that are universal.  As is the love we feel for our children, and our hopes and dreams for their futures.  That sisterhood stays with me, as does the knowledge that the population most affected by global poverty is women and girls. Women and girls are integral in overcoming poverty, for a family, a community or a nation.

 togetherforwomen copy

This International Women’s Day, Global Impact has launched the Women and Girls Fund which harnesses four of the most respected charities working to help women and girls, CARE, World Vision, Plan International, and the International Center for Research on Women.  These charities work to provide education, health care, protection from violence, protection from sexual exploitation, and job training to women and girls around the world.

We women need to stick together in this world, it is unacceptable that 1 in 9 girls will be forced into marriage before her 15th birthday, or that nearly 300,000 women will die from preventable childbirth related causes.  Girls in the developing world face overwhelming odds from the day they are born.  By educating girls we give them the chance to rise out of poverty, earn a living, and send their own children to school one day.  With proper health care and nutrition we can ensure that they grow to contribute fully to their communities.  Together we can help change the world by simply investing in women and girls. I think about the women I met along my travels who fed me and housed me despite their meager means, and that stranger from a strange land that I was to them, and I want to give back.  I still appreciate the camaraderie we shared so many years and miles away from my here and now, and it calls me to action.

Global Impact’s Women and Girls Fund has the goal of helping women and girls everywhere to live healthy lives, protected, educated, respected, and empowered to reach their full potential. Through this fund you can join millions of people working to help women and girls. All contributions go directly to supporting programs to improve the lives of women and girls around the world.  Please visit www.togetherforwomen.org to learn more about this great opportunity to make a difference.

This post is a part of a sponsored awareness program that seeks to help women and girls everywhere live healthy lives wherein they are protected, respected, educated and empowered to reach their potential. Visit www.togetherforwomen.org.

global teamI wrote this post as part of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health. Our Motto: Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.