Pictures from Occupy Raid

Here are a few pictures from the Occupy Portland raid.

Save Money and the Environment

Saving money and energy? Yes please! The holiday season is upon us, which means we could all use a little extra savings. The fact is that many of the small choices that we make on a daily basis contribute to our environmental impact that we leave behind. The “on the go” lifestyle has many of us making small decisions that can end up making large impacts. Here are some helpful tips that can directly keep money in your credit union or buried in your backyard.

1. Run your dishwasher with only a full load and when applicable use the energy-saving settings for drying. (Don’t use heat)
2. Wash Clothes in warm or cold water, not hot water.
3. Turn down your water heater thermostat; 120 degrees is recommended.
4. Replace and clean air filters as recommended. The less energy needed, the more you save.
5. Energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs can save money when you do need to use the lights.
6. Wrap your water heater in an insulating jacket if your water heater is over 5 years old and doesn’t have internal insulation.
7. Install low flow shower heads in order to use less hot water.
8. Caulk and weather-strip around doors and windows to make sure you plug those cold air leaks! If you rent, call your land lord.
9. Ask your utility company to conduct an energy audit to find out where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient, making sure you know the ins and outs of your home could make a big difference.

New Pictures from Occupy Portland Part 2

Last night the Portland Police attempted to remove occupiers from the three parks in Portland. Nearly 5,000 protesters gathered to witness, and eventually forced the Portland Police to retreat. Here are the pictures of the ordeal as I witnessed it.

New Pictures from Occupy Portland Part 1

Last night the Portland Police attempted to remove occupiers from the three parks in Portland. Nearly 5,000 protesters gathered to witness, and eventually forced the Portland Police to retreat. Here are the pictures of the ordeal as I witnessed it.

Live coverage occupy Portland

I will be tweeting live and documenting the raid at Occupy Portland tonight, tomorrow I’ll post a recap of today’s monumental events.

Occupy Instant Run Off Voting!

 

 

In 1990 the Globescope Pacific Assembly gathered in Los Angeles and featured former US president Jimmy Carter, Ted Turner and many prominent speakers to inform policy makers about environmental issues and exponential growth.

In 1992 at the First Earth Summit, known as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, world leaders met to approve Agenda 21 a “blueprint for survival” which was put together by environmental policy makers. In the same year, 1700 renowned scientists released a statement called the “‘World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity” about the state of the planet and future of the environment.

In 1996 2500 US economists, including 8 Nobel prize winners endorsed the scientific warnings about climate change and called for economic measures to address the problem.

World leaders met in 1997 for the Kyoto Protocol conference and former vice president Al Gore spoke prophetically of the “profound alteration in the relationship between our species and our planet”.

In 1998, esteemed British Scientist James Lovelock published a piece called A Book For All Seasons in the journal Science to “encapsulate the essential information that is the basis of our civilization for preservation. He claimed that it should be done on paper because it is proven to last hundreds of years, computers haven’t held up to the challenge. Considering this is a mainstream journal, should we be concerned that they were willing to publish this article?

In 2007 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its Fourth Assessment Report (won a Nobel Prize) the world gathering in Copenhagen in 2009 but, like all the other conferences any agreement has yet to implement serious law, has been largely ignored by policy makers and much of the public.

A growing number of scientists, groups of scientists, government panels are coming to the conclusion that we need to act. This is exactly why we must get our money out of politics. For example, the Koch brothers are planning on spending upwards of 200 million for the 2012 election alone in an attempt to purchase the presidential election. They have already spent millions on spreading disinformation and funding false scientific studies in order to influence cuts to the EPA.

Science tells our politicians that action is needed, that climate change is happening, and our politicians fail to act time and time again because they are not looking out for the public, they are looking out for corporate interests.

Alan AtKisson, CEO of The AtKisson Group, an international sustainability consulting group and author of Believing Cassandra put it perfectly “When growing numbers of serious people, in serious venues, are saying serious things about the possibility of civilization collapse, it behoves people of all cultural perspectives to reflect on what they are actually saying But it also behoves us to do everything in our power to demonstrate…”

This is exactly why the success of the OccupyWallStreet Movement will depend on the sole ability to get money out of our politics, ending corporate greed, corruption and lack of democracy. If a demand for campaign finance reform is met, it could open the door to fixing the broken beyond repair two-party system and introduce an ideal democracy.

A Democracy that could allow multiple parties. This is why I call for the implementation of Instant Run-Off Voting. A system which allows every eligible voter to select a primary vote, and a secondary vote. If the primary voted candidate doesn’t receive enough votes to be considered, the secondary choice would count instead. Just imagine a democracy which allowed for an open invitation for new ideas and solutions to the worlds problems that allow multiple platforms for people to vote on.

 

The best part, instant run off voting has already been implemented in some states, and has proven to be successful, and it could be what paves the road to ending the corruption in the political system by giving the power back to the voters, and perhaps even getting rid of the electoral college.

So Please, Occupy Instant Run off Voting…. End the corporate greed and give the power back to the 99%.

Pictures from Occupy Portland

Occupy Movements have surpassed over one thousand cities worldwide, but one that is setting the Bar for Occupy Movements worldwide is right here in Portland, Oregon. Here are some pictures from OccupyPortland that I have taken since October 6th, 2011.