Globalization

Globalization. I heard that word in class and I thought "what the heck does that mean" luckily my professor explained, and so shall I confused reader! Globalization is making products throughout the world, since thats my own definition and very vague here is how wikipedia defines it: Globalization is the increasing interconnectedness of people and places as a result of advances in transport, communication, and information technologies that causes political, economical, and cultural convergence
(sounds much more honkey dory!). Anyways, companies like Nike are big players in globalization. That is, they don't actually make any products, rather they hire contractors in other countries to get their stuff made at a cheap price. Those contractors may choose to hire other contractors who can make the stuff cheaper and so forth. In the end Nike ends up with a finished product and slaps their logo on it. The consumer then pays ridiculous amounts of money on said product. My main problem with this scenario is the labor costs. Its obvious that the energy and materials needed to make these products is going to come at a set price. The only way to cut costs then would be in the labor. In order for companies like Nike to keep costs down they have to find the cheapest labor (or the cheapest contractor) so who really gets hurt in the end is the worker. The other side of the coin is that this is good for countries and that it provides jobs and boosts the economy. I disagree. Companies like Nike are not trying to better economies or providing employment. They are looking for the cheapest most docile work force. Forget unions and fair wages, these workers are treated much like slaves. Nike is certainly not the only company guilty of this, most companies are. The next time you are out shopping look at the label. Where are these products coming from? How does it make you feel to purchase products that were made under sweat-shop like conditions? I am currently at a crossroad with myself on how I can shop with a peace of mind. I do not want to buy products made under these conditions, and yet where do I shop? If you've read my previous posts you'll know I have recently decided to go green (you know, leave a smaller footprint on the earth) and that is no easy transition. I am still learning new things everyday. Knowledge truly is power.

New ways to save the earth and other mumbles

In-between classes I like to cruise the news to see what’s happening to save the world. It is simply amazing to see the inventions that human beings are capable of. It is also equally amazing to hear about simple solutions to save the world. One interesting thing I read today was how coffee grounds make wonderful composting material. This is pretty neat since coffee is the second largest import after oil. I am a huge fan of coffee. I drink at least 2 cups a day and I work for one of the biggest coffee chain companies in the world (which I imagine is similar to working for Satan). My question would be what to do with those coffee grounds since I do not as of yet compost (I live in an apartment!!!). I wonder if I should put an ad up on craigslist offering free coffee grounds for composting.
Anyways, on to more important environmental issues, the proposed wind dam in Russia. This gigantic wind dam, designed by the British architectural firm Chetwood Associates, measures 75 meters wide and 25 meters high and will cost approximately 5 million dollars. What is not known as of yet is how much energy this dam will harvest, nor what the impacts such a large structure will have on the surrounding areas. One can only imagine how this will immediately effect the bird populations. However, this is a first step of many in leading the way towards solutions to the inevitable energy crisis. As long as we keep thinking forward and keep funding projects, alternative energy sources will be found.
Lastly for today, lets talk about the strike happening in Paris, France. Rail workers went on strike on Tuesday over the issue of pension reforms. What this strike means for people is loss of access to the rail train to get around. This also means that a lot of people are walking and riding bikes (Paris has a newly introduced rent-a-bike service) and ride-sharing to work (hooray for that!) but it’s sad to see such a widely used public transportation system down. I am not a fan of unions (I blame my girlfriend for that) because it just seems like people are getting greedier and greedier. If your hired to do a job you should get it done, who are you to make demands? I agree that unions used to be necessary because of working conditions, but it seems that they need to be phased out. Especially in a place like France where unions go on strike so often that it is considered a joke. As I am typing there is a strike going on at my campus (UMASS Amherst) but its clearly ineffective because everyone is still here attending classes. There just doesn’t seem to be a common cause that we can all relate to. That’s why it is so hard to decide which candidate to vote for in the upcoming election (don’t be crazy…vote for Hillary!!!!!) but anyways I digress.

Questions to ponder: Why aren’t there more effective public transportation systems in the U.S.

Interesting History Tidbit: What were GM, Firestone and Standard Oil convicted of in the early 20th century? The great American streetcar scandal! What is this you ask? These companies acquired almost all the streetcar operations throughout the United States and dismantled them, only to replace them with busses. This forced people to drive, as this was also the time when people were moving out of the city and into the suburbs. Busses couldn’t do the job that the streetcar systems could and so people were forced to buy automobiles, which in turn made GM, Firestone, and Standard Oil very rich.

"Peak-Oil" and other fun stuff I learned today...

Today I had to catch up on my communications class. This meant watching several online lectures about how we as American's over consume. What I had never fully realized was the impact that oil has on our consumption. Oil is used to create virtually everything we consume, with almost no exceptions. I had no idea that every product in my home was directly linked to oil. I thought that with the loss of oil it would mean the loss of cars and planes. I did not realize it meant the end of convience and plastic bags and mass food production and most importantly jobs. I can't ever imagine a day when there will be no energy to zap up my computer or heat my home. We have grown accustomed to our lifestyle of convenience and we have not been careful about it in any way. There seems to be no clear answers as to oil alternatives either, which makes the future look somewhat bleak. I try and stay optomisitc (mainly because I have an awesome girlfriend who keeps me on track) but the whole world needs to come together and realize that we are destroying this earth and we need to stop. There is absolutely no reason why we cannot reduce our consumption considerably. Now is the time to invest in alternate energy sources. It is not about today anymore, we must now collectively look towards tomorrow. After all, what is the point of having children if there will be no earth for them to live on?

Peak-Oil = is the point or timeframe at which the maximum global petroleum production rate is reached (we reached this in 1971) after achieving this maximum petroleum production rate we can never attain it again, however our petroleum needs increase by large amounts every year, this is kinda scary. Well, if you have a lot of money its not that scary (yet). It is not as if there will come a day when the world has no oil, its more like a slow drip of what we have left, and only the rich are going to be able to afford it.

Important things to consider: What will happen to the suburbs? How will this effect giants like Wal-mart? Why are we really at war with Iraq?

The Stress of Going Green

Recently me and my partner–in-crime decided to start leaving a smaller footprint on this earth. We quickly realized that it was easier said than done. We vowed never to shop at the evil Stop & Shop (our local supermarket) and decided to give Whole Foods and Trader Joes 1/4 of our paychecks instead. There are many pros to this switch such as free samples. Who doesn't like going into a supermarket and having a little snack as you walk around? The free samples are different from places like BJ's (whole sale markets) in that the people have a little more class in how they approach the free sample, almost as if by accident. At BJ's its like a herd of elephants going for the freebie and you can see fear in the sample ladies eyes, and those people aren't afraid to knock your ass out of the way. Another pro is that you feel good about yourself as you’re picking fresh wholesome products (errr ignore the cookies in the cart) and that you are also supporting local businesses. Now the cons are the price difference. Some will argue that it’s almost the same price to live greener, but I would say no way! For instances a "green" shaver is about $8 with an additional cartridge. A non "green" shaver is about $4 and you get 4 in the package. This is the same for toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, etc. The food is also a lot pricier but the selection is greater and you can really taste the difference. I just thought of another pro! The nylon shopping bags! I feel hella hip walking out of the store (and to my apartment) carrying a nylon shopping bag. The con is that I have to buy garbage bags :( because I used to re-use my shopping bags for trash. Anyways, this is the first blog of many about going green. Were still kinda new at it, but we are learning as we go.


-A question to ponder: Why aren’t most organic products and/or environmentally friendly products packaged in recyclable packages?

Cafe Blues

So my lovely and intelligent girlfriend had an engineering thing in Boston so I tagged along. I didn’t feel particularly comfortable surrounded by engineers (being that I am a history major, lol!) so I opted out and headed to the coffee shop to do some homework (and blog!!!). Imagine my surprise when I am prompted to pay up if I want to use the shop's Internet! Now I am no cheapy but paying $3.95 an hour just seems comcast-ish to me, being that it is overpriced and slow as hell. Course I immediately went digging for my wallet to use the snail service. I feel that Internet usage should be free in places of business simply because you have to (or should at least) purchase products (i.e. coffee/snacks/etc). I remember this particular coffee shop having free Internet two years ago, wonder what happened? Either way I paid so I guess I can’t really complain anymore...

The Change Game

So today I decided to go out for coffee and brekkers with my girlfriend. We adore this cute little cafe downtown called Woodstar, but it’s a cash only place (boo!) These days I am getting a little annoyed with cash only places, mainly because its 2007 but also because I hate ATM fees. Anyways, that means a stop at the bank, but this time I had some rolled up change that I was going to trade in for cash. The bank teller is all nasty about it, giving me the hairy eyeball as if I was purposely trying to make her life miserable. Its bad enough when I buy a coffee using change and the server rolls her eyes at me, but when the bank teller gets upset that I am trading my change for cash something’s up. I am tired of apologizing for using change! I have so much of it that I am going to use it, and yes if its $1.07 I will say I have the change even if I have to dig around for it because I don’t want MORE change! What’s up with the change taboo anyways??!!!? Why do people have to be sorry they are using change? I notice this everywhere! Hell if I want to pay in change I will!!