PSST: "GO GREEN"

Years ago the story was told of a mother who would whisper in her son's ear each night she put him to bed "Be a dentist", with the fervent hope being that such a repeated subliminal message would become a reality.  Whether true or not is unknown, but the method is one that has been used effectively by advertisers for ages, and is still worthy of applying to other more timely messages. While not whispered, the message I repeatedly received this past week was "Go Green".
First, this past Thursday former President Bill Clinton spoke to the Downtown Little Rock Partnership (http://arkansasonline.com/video) on a variety of subjects but it his remarks about the environment on which I wish to focus.  Since one of his foundation's missions is to address climate change (the subject of a previous blog), he was promoting the concept of going green as not only being good for business but also helping revitalize urban areas.  In fact he cited his own Presidential Library which enjoys a platinum rating under the LEED's design rating system as being a prime example.  In addition he mentioned another initiative between his foundation and the State of Arkansas that will retrofit state buildings to improve their energy efficiency.  His message came within the same week I received a catalog from Office Depot devoted exclusively to GROW GREENER products.  Next, I caught the appearance of Josh Dorfman on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program who was promoting his Lazy Environmentalist movement.  For anyone seriously interested in the environment and learning more about what part he or she can play to protect it, I strongly urge you to go to his website at http://lazyenvironmentalist.com.  I think you will be very impressed with the breadth of topics it covers, as well as the numerous links it contains to other interesting and relevant sites.
For instance you can link to a March 8, 2010 U.S. NEWS article by Maura Judkis entitled "10 Ways to Save by Going Green".  I won't list them all, but three of my favorites were Flip the Switch, Get Paid to Recycle and Conserve Water.  Picking up on the second point, another great link was to http://gazelle.com which specifies what products destined for the dump you can actually sell (e.g. cell phones, printers, etc.), calculates the prices and gives all shipping instructions.   And then there was a totally separate website I stumbled on at http://tightenuparkansas.org that gives a whole host of information about what one can do to make his or her home more energy efficient, and at the same time benefit from some immediate incentives to do so.  Finally, on a personal note, I want to mention a very special website http://brightbuiltbarn.com which chronicles the amazing story of a friend and her husband who joined with a group of other environmentally committed individuals in Maine to construct one of the world's only carbon neutral buildings that produces more energy over time than it consumes.  We all could learn from this cutting edge project, so please visit their site and begin your education now.  In short, it was a very "green" week for me.
Coming full circle, there is a ton of information out there to improve the environment just for the asking, but none of this is going to happen until the awareness level is raised in everyone's mind about the environment and what we can all do individually to make it better.  In other words, consider this week's blog my whisper in your ear:  "GO GREEN".

ARTISTS
Laura Raborn at http://paintingsofhome.com and http://claygifts.com


Jim Johnson at http://yessy.com/jimjohnson/gallery.html

Russ Powell at powellphotos.com 

Linda Flake at http://lindaflake.com

GALLERIES

Local Colour Gallery at localcolourgallery.com 

Chroma Gallery at chromagallery.com 

Cantrell Gallery at cantrellgallery.com 

Greg Thompson Fine Art at gregthompsonfineart.com  

Anger in America

Lest we think that what some currently perceive as anger in America over political divides is something new, Doris Kearns Goodwin reminds us of past congressional  misconduct in her Pulitzer Prize winning biography NO ORDINARY  TIME about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt:   "On a number of occasions, particularly in the nineteenth century, the debates had descended into physical violence as members brandished pistols, smashed one another's heads with tongs, canes, and brass spittoons, and pummeled each other with fists".  At least we have not devolved to that level of behavior which was confined to the House of Representatives at the time.  But what has happened during the last century-plus is the rise in technology (e.g. television, computers, internet, smart phones, text messaging, e-mail, Twitter and, yes, blogs like this one) that permit everyone with access to this technology to exercise his/her rights under the first amendment, and instantaneously spread his/her thoughts and opinions world-wide in a nanosecond, sometimes with little or no thought as to whether or not they are true, or the condition of the people who hear or read them, or what ramifications they might generate.  That is why the tone in which they are expressed is extremely important.  Former President Bill Clinton said it best this past week in remarks before the Center for American Progress Action Fund:  "....the words we use really do matter".  The intent is not to stifle debate on profound public issues, but rather just make everyone engaged in such dialog, including radio and television personalities, aware that inflamed and extreme rhetoric has very serious consequences, in my view.  

Continuing, as well as building on last week's recognition of local artists, I would like to begin adding local galleries to my list of links for readers to access and enjoy just for the pure pleasure of what they offer.  So, please advise of any that you feel should be added, but prior permission of any such recommended artist or gallery will be obtained before posting on this blog.

ARTISTS:
Laura Raborn at http://www.paintingsofhome and http://www.claygifts.com
Jim Johnson at http://www.yessy.com/jimjohnson/gallery.html  
Russ Powell at http://www.powellphotos.com             

GALLERIES: 
Local Colour Gallery at http://www.localcolourgallery.com 
Chroma Gallery at http://www.chromagallery.com
 

Unintended Consequences

Recent publicity about the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery and a personal experience with another college scholarship program which I feared might be affected by our lottery has caused me to once again evaluate the full impact of these Lottery Scholarships on our state.  First, let me disclose that I was never a fan of the lottery for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that there seems to be something basically out of whack to me when an endeavor takes 75% of the proceeds of its operation for administrative, staff, marketing and payout expenses, and then sells the true value of the program on the remaining 25% of the proceeds, even though that minority portion may go for the worthy cause of funding college scholarships.  Then there are the social, economic and moral issues widely publicized that always seem to go with this type of gaming.
Those questions aside, I was always curious as to what effect this new pool of scholarships, which are based strictly on grade point or ACT scores ( go to http://ltgovernor.arkansas.gov/scholarship_lottery_faqs.html for a complete Q and A on these criteria), would have on other existing college scholarships which require an application process that examines a variety of factors including need, superior academic achievement, participation in extracurricular activities, community service, work history, teacher and counselor evaluation, etc., all of which form the basis for judging the whole person before awarding financial assistance to students pursuing a college degree.  Well, I found out.  In the case with which I am familiar, the Lottery Scholarships may well have been a contributing factor in a drastic reduction in the number of applicants this year compared to previous years.  While by no means conclusive, there seemed to have been a prevailing attitude among graduating seniors of one known high school of why bother when I can get more financial assistance by just passing the two thresholds mentioned above.  Is this possible unintended consequence a good thing?  Frankly, I don't know, but a couple of people with whom I have visited who do know about these things think not.  However, I would be interested in knowing what you think, so please offer your comments.
On another note, beginning today I would like to start recognizing some of our great local artists in Little Rock by featuring their websites for you to access and enjoy the fruits of their talent.  As time goes on I would like to add others, so please advise of any known such websites.
First is Laura Raborn's at http://www.paintingsofhome and http://www.claygifts.com
Second is Jim Johnson's at http://www.yessy.com/jimjohnson/gallery.html     

Abundant Life

As we celebrate one of Christendom's most sacred holidays today, it only seems fitting to depart from my secular commentary to wish everyone of all religions, faiths and persuasions a most joyous Easter Sunday regardless of whether or not you share the popular Christian belief in the actual events of that day some 2,000 years ago.  To me it is all about love, forgiveness, renewal, hope, grace and salvation as ordained by God or other higher being, which seems to be a central tenant of all religions, to bring about a more abundant life for us all.  In the early 1950's Bishop Fulton J. Sheen began his famous "Life is Worth Living" television series in which I can still remember him quoting the famous John 10:10 passage - "I have come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly". 

But in our contemporary world, perhaps the best expression of the true meaning of Easter was made by President Obama in his brief weekly address yesterday which I invite you to both read and watch at wcbstv.com/national/Obama.easter.message.2.1609494.html .  Surely, we can all agree with the essence of his message relating to the common purpose of the "family of man" to aspire for a more meaningful life.  In addition we here in Little Rock can carry that Easter spirit of renewal a step further by enjoying and sharing with our family and friends the rebirth of nature blooming all around us during one of the most beautiful times of the year, as seen in the budding azaleas, redbuds, dogwoods, forsythias, jonquils and tulips.  In short, simply pause and take stock of our many blessings and what is truly important in our lives, in my view.