Monthly Archives: January 2016

National Bird Day

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“Birds are a miracle because they prove to us
there is a finer, simpler state of being
which we may strive to attain.”
Douglas Coupland

National Bird Day

Yesterday was the 14th National Bird Day. Why do we have a National Bird Day? To celebrate the beauty, songs, and flight of birds, because birds have long been a source of human inspiration.

Sadly, today nearly 12 percent of the world’s 9,800 bird species may face extinction within the next century, including nearly one-third of the world’s 330 parrot species. Birds serve as our barometer of ecosystem health and alert system for detecting global environmental ills.

In fact, many of the world’s parrots and songbirds are threatened with extinction due to illegal pet trade, disease, and habitat loss.

We all need to be aware of the physical and behavioral needs of all birds to improve the welfare of the millions of birds kept in captivity. The survival and well-being of the world’s birds depends upon public education and support for conservation.

This is why we celebrate National Bird Day.

Shine On

Gene Pool

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“The problem with the gene pool is that there’s no lifeguard.”
David Gerrold

Gene Pool

The human race never ceases to amaze me. Especially when it comes to doing stupid things. In fact, there is even an award honoring individuals who died in exceptionally stupid ways. The annual Darwin Award honors those who improve the species… by accidentally removing themselves from the gene pool.

For example, in 1999 the Darwin Award went to a group of Palestinians who attempted to synchronize the detonation of two car bombs in the city. But the timers had been set on Palestinian time while the drivers were running on Israeli time. The bombs exploded an hour early, killing both.

The 2009 Darwin Award went to a man in South Carolina who spray-painted his face to disguise himself during a robbery. Despite clear labels which said it should not be allowed to contact the skin or the eyes, he spray-painted his face gold. Some time after the robbery he stopped breathing.

I pride myself in having common sense, but let’s face it, we all at some time or another find ourselves in precarious situations. Hopefully, these situations are few and far between. But most importantly, whatever mistake you make let’s hope it doesn’t become a Darwin Award moment and remove you from the gene pool.

Shine On

Clean Up Our Oceans

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“If we were logical, the future would be bleak, indeed.
But we are more than logical. We are human beings,
and we have faith, and we have hope, and we can work.”
Jacques Yves Cousteau

Ocean Clean Up

Boyan Slat stands before thousands of pounds of ocean garbage.

There’s an amazing 20-year-old Dutch by the name of Boyan Slat who is on a mission. He’s had this mission since he was 16-years old when he first was exposed to ocean garbage during a diving vacation in Greece. The teenager was stunned to see that there was more plastic on the beaches than fishes in the sea.

He was in college on his way to becoming an Aerospace Engineer, but he could never erase the images of the plastic debris from his mind. Slat dropped out of college and established The Ocean Cleanup Foundation. Its mission is to create an environmentally friendly large-scale and efficient way to remove the trillions of pieces of plastic polluting aquatic ecosystems and killing our marine life. Plastic debris that kills about a million seabirds and over one hundred thousand marine animals each year.

The way the Foundation plans to clean up the oceans is by using a system of strategically placed floating barriers that will collect the plastic brought in by the ocean currents, similar to how the waves bring garbage to shore. Since the system does not require nets, there is no chance of harming wildlife in the process.

He even has plans for all the collected plastic. It will be recycled into oil, which can be sold to help offset some of the costs associated with the project.

When most 20-year-olds don’t even know what they plan to do with their life, this young passionate entrepreneur is already making his impact on the world. What started as an outlandish dream by one determined teenage, may actually come to fruition. A dream to successfully clean up our oceans.

Shine On

 

Kryptonite

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“It may sound absurd but don’t be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed.”
John Ondrasik
That's My Kryptonite

I don’t care who you are. You can be the smartest person in the Universe. You can be the wealthiest person on the planet. It doesn’t matter who you are. There is always going to be something or someone who can hurt you.

Let’s face it, we all have our weaknesses. It could be someone or something that you are attracted to. Your weakness could even be substance abuse. Whatever it may be, you know it’s bad for you and you must stay away from it because it will hurt you and may even kill you.

Sometimes we feel as though we are unable to live up to others’ expectations. We feel as though we are missing something important about life, about ourself. That’s when we need to do some soul searching in order to find what we are looking for.

Sometimes we feel as though we are stuck in a situation that cannot change because we feel we have to please others. We all have disappointments and frustrations, and we all have to learn to deal with them. We all can’t be Superman. Even Superman has his Kryptonite.

Shine On