“Peace is the paramount interest of everybody.” February 28, 2007

Written in 1967, these comments by Bertrand Russell ring true today:

“The powers must learn that peace is the paramount interest of everybody. To cause this to be realized by governments should be the supreme aim.”

“What can private persons do meanwhile? They can agitate, by pointing out the effects of modern war and the danger of the extinction of Man. They can teach men not to hate peoples other than their own, or to cause themselves to be hated. They can value, and cause others to value, what Man has achieved in art and science. They can emphasize the superiority of co-operation to competition.”

“Consider for a moment what our planet is and what it might be. At present, for most, there is toil and hunger, constant danger, more hatred than love. There could be a happy world, where co-operation was more in evidence than competition, and monotonous work is done by machines, where what is lovely in nature is not destroyed to make room for hideous machines whose sole business is to kill, and where to promote joy is more respected than to produce mountains of corpses. Do not say this is impossible: it is not. It waits only for men to desire it more than the infliction of torture.”

“There is an artist imprisoned in each one of us. Let him loose to spread joy everywhere.”

From Bertrand Russell’s last essay “1967″

Visit www.nrdc.org and add your voice to protect the environment October 17, 2006

One of the great organizations out there fighting the good fight for the environment is the NRDC.

“NRDC is the nation’s most effective environmental action organization. We use law, science and the support of 1.2 million members and online activists to protect the planet’s wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things. (See our mission statement here.)

Worth Magazine has named NRDC one of America’s 100 best charities, and the Wise Giving Alliance of the Better Business Bureau reports that NRDC meets its highest standards for accountability and use of donor funds. More expert opinions about NRDC.”

The NRDC has another site, http://www.savebiogems.org/ whose mission is “to mobilize concerned individuals in defense of exceptional and imperiled ecosystems. The initiative matches NRDC’s courtroom and advocacy expertise with the passion and determination of citizen activists. These BioGems Defenders now number more than 550,000 and have sent more than 7 million messages to corporations and government officials calling for wildland protections.”

Take a few minutes to look at the “BioGems” and send emails to decision makers around the world.  Add your voice!