Your option to get a new cell phone may be causing violent rape in the Congo?

We consumers have options. We can opt for a new cell phone with the latest fad features or keep using our old one (that probably still works really well). This goes for computers and ipods and several other electric devices that require coltan, a metal that predominantly comes from the Republic of Congo, and in its pursuit rape, war, and famine ensue. For an excellent though disturbing documentary on the topic, I encourage you to watch The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo. Or at least check out this CBS newstory.

Recycling

this isn't about gville per se, but the issues are just as relevant here... Mother Jones invites us to consider the implications and the culture of recycling.

florida_land of the wildflowers

coming back from ichnetucknee springs, picked some flowers from the side of the road...

Wealth of info

I am learning that there is soooo much on the web, and I am beginning to organize certain relevant aspects on this site. I am also trying to create a website as well as learn how best to make this information available and accessible to community. hmmmmmm..... biofuels in Africa:sustainability or corporate colonialism at play, UF's platinum LEED certified stadium renovations, Green Drinks each 1st Wednesday of the month at Ti Amo, and our Local Food Challenge hosted by Hogtown Homegrown Newsletter, which is even more obvious to take part in when you see this slideshow on the top 12 vegetables with the most pesticides.

And some of the remains of our consumptive lifestyles floating at sea...

Next, i will work with subheadings to make scannability easier...

About this blog

Hello,

I am creating this site so that people can learn about Gainesville's enchanting humans and nature. I would like to help build sustainable community through this site. The above photo is of several of our local farmers, honey makers, candlemakers, and vendors at the downtown Farmers' Market (every Wednesday from 4-7). This event was of all of us getting together to celebrate our market and to watch a film that the FlaVA (Florida Visual Anthropologists) created (mainly Marcos and me with lots of help throughout the process) that explores the collapse of the dominant economic model through evaluating and expressing alternatives like the locally-based, sometimes barter-based, hopefully non- exploitative farmers market. I look forward to creating another blog to follow this theme more directly. How do we create an alternative economic system that integrates the needs of humans and nature into the model?

For now though I hope this blog can serve as a catalyst and a space for cohesion so that our community can coalesce and create positive change. I envision this through photos, videos, and experiences with our natural areas to understand our local ecosystems, learning about our local political and economic systems, as well as participating in local social events. I look forward to posts of activism, activity and art within our incredibly rich Gville experiences...

Experimentation 2

This post is not translated to Hindi. Though I wonder how to make it available to translate to French and Spanish.

I would like to start having Gaineville events and activities on a calendar that people can interactively contribute to... I will add Google calendar soon.

Introduction

इ aइ ऍम लीर्निंग हाउ तो राइट अ ब्लॉग पोस्ट॥ बुत थिस सीम्स तो ट्रांस्लाते आईटी तो हिन्दी। वैरी इन्तेर्स्तिंग।