Member of the Animal Charities of America, Neads was established in 1976 to train and rehabilitate puppies and dogs rescued from all over. Their main goal is to get these dogs, raise them, and then train them as aids to deaf and disabled people who need independence. The rising cost of medical care and care of animals has strained many charitable organizations that rely totally on the goodwill of people who provide donations in monetary and kind. Located in Central Massachusetts, the organization has trained and awarded dogs to many of America’s disabled and deaf. They have allowed people with disabilities to live normal lives without much reliance on other people boosting their self-confidence making them more productive members of society.
Dogs undergo a six-month training cycle where they learn the ropes of becoming a hearing-eye dog becoming the ears for the deaf and eyes for the blind. People who are candidates to receive NEADS trained dogs are houses for two weeks in fully furnished housing units where they work together with the trainers in getting to know better their animals and learning about proper treatment and care of their special animals. Being a charitable institution with little financial might, all candidates have to pay for all the equipment and training costs for their animals. But many who have received animals do earn a lifetime of memories for their dogs become more than guide dogs but members of their family. Often times we hear stories of people getting saved by these magnificent animals who would otherwise have been euthanized, given a second life as aides to the disabled.
Categories: Activities, Animals, Campaigns, Charities, Families, Organizations, Programs | Tags: Charities, Hearing dogs, Seeing eye dogs
The Day is barely in and preparations have already begun in preparation for Earth Day 2008 when the world celebrates old Mother Earth as the promotion of environmental awareness expands into our lives. Similar to Earth Hour which happened a few months ago, the move is to promote an earth-friendly approach in all of us. The amount of damage we have done to this earth has amounted to so much damage that we have changed it, literally. The Earth Day Network is committed to enacting change which is to be done in order to halt further degradation of our planet which if not controlled, would end up in us in the losing end. TV networks have been showcasing the day for a week with most search engines doing the same. Earth Day is the time to think, talk and enact change in our daily lives where simple things can have bigger impacts. Lowering your carbon footprint is one way of helping the earth and many have taken up the call. In the US and other major Western nations, the switch to Biodiesel opposed to more traditional types of fuels is one of many alternative fuel technologies that have been in effect. True to this, in the far off land of Africa, one of the first commercial Biodiesel generation plants has been put up to cater to biodiesel needs that has been growing steadily. Alternative fuel cars for private and commercial use have also been growing in their numbers as more and more people shift towards the earth friendly approach to driving in their everyday forays into the urban concrete jungle.
Much has been gained by the raising of awareness but the areas which would have the most impact are also the hardest to reach, the parts of the earth where environmental awareness takes second seat to existence. Much of the world which belongs to the under developed world are the ones who have heavy reliance on earth-impacting technology, technology that came from the developed world and have been making money on. Developed countries can afford to tax their people for using plastic bags but in other countries that would be like telling people to bring home their grocery in their clothes. That is why much has to be done to get these people on the same level as those who live in developed countries so they can focus more on protecting the earth rather than using it for their short-term needs – existence.
Categories: Activities, Campaigns, Environmental, Events, Organizations, Programs, Websites, Wildlife | Tags: earth Day 2008, Environmental Awareness
Get your whole family involved in reducing your family’s garbage output. Re-use as much of the stuff as possible. Get stuff from the store in re-usable containers so you don’t have to buy those heavily plasticized stuff that end up in landfills. Old Consumer electronics and appliances eat more electricity than newer more efficient ones. Throw out that old fridge and AC and replace them with newer less energy consuming ones.
Most electrical devices have stand-by modes that unbeknownst to all of us still consume electricity. Un-plug and save a ton on your electricity consumption. It also lessens the energy demand for coal-powered power plants. You can also save on heating and cooling by using sweaters and other warm clothes indoors during winter and lighter cooler ones in the summer to lessen the use of heaters and AC units. Insulation in the proper places saves you a ton in heating and cooling costs so have it installed on your roof, water heaters and other appliances that will perform better when insulated. Warm day, dry clothes naturally and skip the dryer and get sun-dried clothes that smell crisp and better that chemically treated ones (fabric softeners).
There are more tips and energy saving measures you can find in the many conservation sites which all have the same goal, which is to save the earth. We have to do our share so we get the earth to last us longer. If not for you, then for the future generations that will thank us a lot for the green and clean earth we worked together for them.
Categories: Campaigns, Environmental, Ideas, Programs, Tips | Tags: carbon footprint, Energy Star, Environmentally friendly Living
The move started out as a local civic move in Sydney, Australia, to raise awareness about global warming and climate change by enjoining people to turn off the lights to their homes for a full hour. The program was started by the WWF in Australia as a move to bring the attention of the world to one of the greatest polluters in the world over, coal fired power generators. The move is expected to lessen the demand for power which comes from these dirty powerhouses that if accumulated, would amount to a sizeable amount of lost revenue from these power generation firms.
This year, the event went global and people, businesses, civic groups and governments observed a full hour of darkness which is spreading like wildfire lowering the demand on a global scale. The pollution these coal-fired electricity plants produce is one of the greatest sources of greenhouse gasses that have already caused the formation of a hole on the earth’s ozone layer. The ozone layer is responsible for the screening out of the more harmful UV-C rays which is known to be the most damaging form of UV. The hole allows the harmful radiation to get through thus making the earth warm up to the point that the ice caps on the poles are melting which can lead to rising seas.
Glaciers and mountains that used to be covered with snow are now bare rock void of their white crowns. If current trends continue, the seas will rise and most of the ice in the poles would melt. If that happens, low lying areas like Manhattan and LA can become submerged disrupting life as we know it. Scientific research also indicates that this cycle of warming may give rise to a new ice-age which would devastate many countries who’s citizens are not adapted to deal with such climate changes. Do your part, support the Earth Hour movement and send a statement that you care for mother earth, even for an hour this March 29th, 2008 at 8:00pm. Reduce your carbon footprint for a better earth and tomorrow.
Categories: Activities, Campaigns, Environmental, Events, Organizations, Programs | Tags: Global Movement, WWF Earth Hour
Various industries and environmental groups have been pushing for the investment of government’s and other organizations such as oil firms who other people blame as the primary culprits in the war on nature to find better ways of generating power for our daily needs. In the Philippines, the Japanese and US government’s have long been engaged in the development of geothermal energy which is an alternative energy source that is non-polluting and sustainable. Wind farms are beginning to pop out on places which get optimal wind conditions all year round having several giant towers with blades that spin massive generators to create electricity./ The commitment to providing such investments in alternative energy technology does not come cheap and companies live Chevron-Texaco have been trying to provide these facilities to help the environment.
Out at sea, on hilltops that lay barren, wind farms are being put up with each one costing millions if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some people love it some don’t, arguing that why should they pay for facilities they wanted no part of in the first place. These people should learn to accept the fact that they are obligated to accept and help promote environmental measures that affects their very dragonball z survival for tomorrow. Only a small percentage of power is generated by alternative power sources but as people begin to accept the fact that we all have to do our own little parts, the more they become amiable to such ideas. Even small-scale power production through building mounted wind farms that use small dinner-plate sized impellers tied together to create the necessary force to generate electricity have been tried and are currently in use in India. Public schools have their laboratories powered by such green tech and they are beginning to get notice from the experts for it truly is clean and green.
Categories: Campaigns, Environmental, Ideas, Organizations, Products, Programs, Science & Tech | Tags: green technology, wind power
Member of the Animal Charities of America, Neads was established in 1976 to train and rehabilitate puppies and dogs rescued from all over. Their main goal is to get these dogs, raise them, and then train them as aids to deaf and disabled people who need independence. The rising cost of medical care and care of animals has strained many charitable organizations that rely totally on the goodwill of people who provide donations in monetary and kind. Located in Central Massachusetts, the organization has trained and awarded dogs to many of America’s disabled and deaf. They have allowed people with disabilities to live normal lives without much reliance on other people boosting their self-confidence making them more productive members of society.
