Sustainability In Words And Pictures
Maira Kalman’s latest installment of “And the Pursuit of Happiness,” a New York Times blog, is a reminder that a “green” city is a beautiful city. In this installment she considers the importance of public engagement and the people who help keep New York clean — from the Commissioner of Sanitation to the mayor,…
Support For Health Care Reform Increasing
“Public support for health reform ended its summer slide, reversed course and moved modestly upwards in September, according to the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll.”
Flipping The Health Care Reform Narrative
The elderly, fearing reduction of their Medicare Advantage coverage, have been pitted against the young in the seemingly endless debate over health care reform. Politicians have historically treasured older voters, but the most recent election demonstrated a marked increase in the number of younger voters. The so-called “young invincibles,” however, appear to be losing out…
Don’t Mess With Health-Care Success!
“Everybody talks about the 50 percent of American bankruptcies that are from health-care costs. But what about the 50 percent that aren’t?”
The Road To Apathy
The road to apathy is paved with post-election disappointment. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Sunday that closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay “has proven more complicated than anticipated.” An Economist blogger mocks him thusly: Really? Figuring out what to do with hundreds of people held for years without charge on often flimsy terrorism allegations—not…
Auto-Tune The Cosmos
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” I promise this will cheer you up.
Beer Or Wine? Drinking To Save The Planet
“Q I’m hosting a dinner party next week, and I’ll be serving both beer and wine alongside the meal. Which has the lower carbon footprint?” The Washington Post‘s “Green Lantern” column delivers a remarkably detailed overview of the the environmental consequences of drinking. Asked to decide whether beer or wine leaves a smaller carbon…
WaterWheel Rewards Community Volunteers At Phish’s Festival 8
Volunteerism has its perks, at least when Phish’s WaterWheel Foundation is encouraging it. Everyone who puts in at least eight hours at a local nonprofit becomes eligible for prizes at Festival 8. So go for it: Join The WaterWheel Foundation in attaining at total of 8,000 hours of volunteer service and be entered to win…
California Coastal Cleanup Day: San Francisco
On Saturday nine HeadCount San Francisco Team volunteers participated in the 25th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day by picking up litter at one of the state’s 800 cleanup locations. We joined the Candlestick Park Cleanup in South San Francisco. According to the California Coastal Commission: When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The…
Who Can Stop Extrajudicial Killings?
I recently attended a talk by New York University professor Philip Alston, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings. While his stories were horrifyingly compelling, and his experiences important, I was left truly disheartened about the inability of the UN (or any other international body for that matter) to stop