Cash Conversion

$299.95 =
Cost of a Pink SUV Pet Stroller from the Beverly Hills Mutt Club

Cost to provide medical supplies to care for 6 shelter animals, from rescue to adoption, at the Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek, Calif.

In Print, On Purpose

I write about the benefits of good neighboring in the current (May) issue of Natural Health Magazine. It's the "Make One Change" feature on the issue's last page. (In March, I wrote a "Make One Change" about donating your old eyeglasses to those in need.) You may want to check it out before it disappears from newsstands.

Promote Peace This Weekend

Monday is Memorial Day in the United States, a day to remember all those who have died in a war. To date, 4079 U.S. troops have lost their lives in Iraq. The number of Iraqi civilians killed isn’t reported by the U.S. government, but the lowest estimates range from some 84,000 to just under 92,000. Numbers like these can be numbing, hard to translate into human suffering. In America, we are prevented from seeing the coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base, the funerals at Arlington Cemetery and small towns all over the country, the weeping mothers and wives, brothers and sisters whose loved ones will never come home.

This weekend, let’s remember each of them, as well as those who have died in other wars around the globe, at the appointed hour of 11 a.m., wherever you live, with a Prayer for Peace. You’ll find one here, and another in a downloadable mp3 file here. (Click on Prayer for Peace MP3.) And if you know someone who has lost someone in the devastation of war, send a note to let them know they aren’t forgotten.

Make a Difference in Myanmar

Eleven days after a cyclone devasted Myanmar, relief efforts are finally beginnng to make a bit of progress. While restrictions on reporters are limiting the amount of photos and video coming out of the country, those images that have emerged depict extraordinary suffering. If you are moved to help, here are some simple options:

Use the press releases and other information at the UN Refugee Agency's Web site to write a letter to the editor of your local paper, asking readers to help.

Buy graduation, wedding or Father's Day gifts at heartof.com or iGive.com and designate Myanmar-involved World Vision, Save the Children or the International Rescue Committee as your chosen charity. A percentage of your purchases from popular retailers will be donated to your designated cause at no extra expense to you.

Tell a teacher about the UN Refugee Agency’s resources for classrooms. Kids can then come up with their own ideas for reaching out to Myanmar's children.

Support the efforts of UNICEF by using Windows Live™ Messenger or Windows Live Hotmail®, Each time you use these free services, Microsoft donates a portion of ad revenue to the organization you choose.

Download a CARE International ringtone; remind yourself and your companions to take meaningful action every time your phone rings.

Cash donations allow relief organizations to purchase more than individuals can, buy locally from survivors, and direct aid to where it's needed most. Here are some reputable aid groups that are accepting donations for their work in Myanmar:

World Food Programme:
CARE International:
UN Refugee Agency:

Are You Turning Green?

"Green" living tips are everywhere these days, which is a good thing. Maybe you've bought energy-efficient lightbulbs and started turning out the lights when you leave a room, or maybe you buy locally grown food and drive a hybrid car. Whatever your shade of green, do you ever wonder how well you're doing? I just discovered a fun Web site that measures how many Planet Earths we would need to sustain us if everyone on the planet lived your or my lifestyle. I think I'm pretty mindful of the choices I make; I recycle, eat few processed foods, and telecommute -- and when I drive, I'm in a fuel-efficient compact car. Some choices aren't mine to make: I can't alter my home, for instance, since I rent. Still, I was surprised to learn that my habits requre 4.5 planets. Ouch! If you'd like to find out how many planets your life requires, go play Consumer Consequences. And if you're brave (or proud) enough, please share your results!

Death at the Derby

Among animal "sports" -- from greyhound racing and dog fighting, to rodeo and bullfighting -- horse racing is surely the most widely accepted, the least questioned. And yet an average of twice a day in the United States, a horse sustains an injury or fatality that ends its racing career, according to an editorial in the Washington Post. A USA Today blog reports that, from 2004 to 2006, at just one race track -- California's Del Mar -- 55 horses died racing. It happened again at this past weekend's Kentucky Derby, when filly Eight Belles crossed the finish line and collapsed on the track, both front ankles broken. Not wishing to offend viewers' sensibilities, NBC turned its cameras away as veterinarians euthanized the animal behind shielding ambulances.

When so much is done to block our view, it's time to insist on a closer look. The fate of Eight Belles, along with 2006 Derby-winner Barbaro and other, less famous equines, has renewed discussions of thoroughbred overbreeding. Genetically designed for speed, these beautiful animals often end up out of balance, with bones that can't support their objectives. Drugs that enhance performance and/or mask injury are still used routinely, despite Congressional hearings intended to regulate them. And you only have to watch the Derby to see more evidence of human insensitivity: jockeys repeatedly whacking their horses with riding crops to get them to go faster, and faster. If horses love racing so much, as owners, trainers and jockeys insist, why do they need a crack to the shoulder or rump to goad them on?

Horse racing isn't going away anytime soon; it's backed by multi-million-dollar commerce and the gambling industry, a powerful blend of money-making machinery. But if you don't see the point of subjecting these magnificent creatures to distress -- or death -- simply for the sake of entertainment, you can take a stand. Write to TV networks that broadcast races and tell them you -- and maybe your friends? -- aren't watching. Write to sponsoring advertisers and tell them you won't buy their brands. Support sanctuaries that provide a safe home for retired race horses. And read more about the issue at the following sites, so you can have meaningful conversations with family, friends and colleagues. It's easy to be lulled into blind acceptance of cruel practices when they're dressed up with parties, tradition and potential winnings, large and small. But if you have a heart for the animals at our mercy, you'll recognize our incalcuable loss.
For more information:

Overview from In Defense of Animals

Drugs in horse racing

More drugs in horse racing

Links to stories

Polls Are Polarizing

I will know we have made real progress in race relations when the media no longer talks about the black vote, the Hispanic vote, the white male vote, etc. Can there be any better way to emphasize our differences than to divide us by ethnicity and report information accordingly? Why is this necessary? Does it advance our understanding of the issues or tell us anything about the candidates that will aid our decision? And how simplistic (and inaccurate) is it to imply that African Americans vote for this person, or women nominate that person, or a certain social class supports one candidate, when we are all individuals with as many reasons for our vote as the qualities and quirks that make each of us unique?

You can slice us up and categorize us any way you wish. If the media needs to fill its airwaves with polling results – another practice I take issue with, and I might, in another post – then why not measure the Viewers of “American Idol” vote, the Pet-Owners’ vote or the People Who Eat Cupcakes vote? It would be so much less divisive and certainly more interesting. As it is, our media coverage announces to the world that we have only three ethnic groups whose vote matters (hear much about the Asian or American Indian vote?) and that the differences among them are assumed and significant. I call that racism. If it bothers you, too, refuse to participate in political polls – unless they ask if you eat cupcakes.