“For some decades now we have been talking about saving the planet; but I’ve come to realize that this is not really the issue. The issue is civilization itself and whether we can save it.” - Lester R. Brown, Founder of the Earth Policy Institute A week ago, I wrote part one of the stupidity of 'saving the planet' and I feel the need to say more. In my first outing, the focus was on the stupidity of assuming we have a choice. The planet clearly needs saving, who would deny that? If you need some help on this, see the links below. But the truth is, the planet needs saving from us - especially the energy-hungry, industrialised ones - who are nothing short of an inflamed eczemic rash on the face of the earth. Yet unlike the eczema...

Sites such as wiki, myspace, facebook and twitter have helped many professionals just as yourselves to meet people in your field that you otherwise would not. I have been enjoying twitter lately, it has been a blast. Also, I have been making post about copperwiki on twitter.  If you are on twitter then add/follow me at http://www.twitter.com/cynthiay29  and if you are not on twitter yet then you should join. http://www.twitter.com Thanks, Cynthia Y. If you like watching CNN then also be sure to follow http://www.twitter.com/ricksanchez

I heard yesterday that Kevala - one of the world's longest established and best loved therapy training schools - has ceased training. I was briefly Principal when the school, that did most of its training by distance learning across a wide range of holistic disciplines, was based in Torquay. It was there too that collaborative song 'The Moon (Kevala Whispers)' was written. It's one thing to hear of lay-offs and closures in the globalised business environment, but another to feel the recessionary pinch closer to home among smaller scale enterprises that I trust in some way are changing the world for the better. And my concern intensified this morning as I heard of the closure of another apparently life-enhancing organisation - The Li...

If you live in the UK you’ll know how very cold it’s been recently with a couple of nights in London being threatened with minus 10. My flat mate is away at the moment and I’m rattling around in a two bedroomed flat with just my cat to appreciate the warmth with me. My gas central heating kept us both cosy and for a couple of days I hardly went out. In fact one morning I was determined to do my lovely walk along the Thames but the wind froze my face and I wimped out. The environment was not high on my list of priorities during that cold snap I’m afraid. I decided I’d work on saving the planet when it got a fraction above freezing. At some point I had an image in my mind of the homeless guy who usually sleeps on a bench on a bend along ...

BBC Radio 4's eco-show Costing the Earth was, in this week's episode, asking the question: "Can 'green greed' save the planet?" I'm not sure greed can save anything, except maybe - and only temporarily - oneself. But what would be the point of that? And anyway, what is it with saving the planet? As someone who's just "quit my job to save the planet", I am aware of the stupidity of the phrase, which I fear has become just another commodity alongside all the other commodities that, by their various processes of production and trade, are killing our planet, whilst causing as yet undefined, though clearly noticeable 'collateral damage' on our hearts and minds. You can see this in the Sunday papers and magazines (or 'Taliban t...

Hero,Peacenik, Super-economist   There is inspiration is theconquest by Sean Lemass of economic conditions much worse than today's economic crisis when his policies more than trebled Ireland's wealth and opened a new avenue to peace,giving rise to: THE CENTURY'S GREATEST SUCCESS STORY IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.  The rise in  Ireland's per capita GDP from 1/3 of the USA level in 1934 when he was elected as economic minister, to 1 and 1/6th  [of the USA] derived directly from his policies. His policies more than trebled his peoples wealth. THE CENTURY'S DEMOCRATIC LEADER LONGEST IN OFFICE.  Only dictators held office for longer.  He was elected 10 times to 28 years of effective control over the Irish economy.  This was longer than a...

I want to wish everyone on Copperstrings and it's sister sites a Happy New Year!  I wish you luck, peace,  riches and great love. My goal for the new year is to work on my second book. :) What is yours? Your Truly, Cynthia Y.

Are our thoughts on some level audible?  I have been thinking about this the past two days. We hear our thoughts in our heads, but how? I mean sometimes when I am thinking my tongue moves slightly as if i am pronouncing what I am thinking, so what if our thoughts are actually spoken outwardly also, and they are just on diff frequency than everyone else. What on our heads other than our ears are used to hear our thoughts. What if our brain has it's own private thoughts. What if our thoughts only exist to help the brain to better run things. I am going to post my question everywhere and see what answers  -Cynthia Yildirim

It's amazing what you find in among the growing membership of CopperStrings: The wonderful Michael Galardi is clearly a cool dude with a very cool idea. Here it is "The Jolly Green Ice Machine (JGIM) has been a developing idea for the past three years. The proposal’s main core is to turn a large school bus into a mobile command center that travels the music and art festival circuit selling unrivaled and choicest flavored shaved Hawaiian ice! The idea has become much larger over time and now the JGIM has been born into a movement...The bike ride would take us through cities and towns across America “searching” for the Great America Jolly Green Ice Machine. We plan to volunteer and work random jobs to pay for food and other necessi...

Here it comes again: the frenzy and anti-climax that we all know as Christmas, Crimbo or - as someone had the foresight to further minimise, way ahead of the SMS age, the to-the-point - 'Xmas'. For years, like many men, I've had my suspicions, which over successive seasons have evolved into dread, panic and occasionally loathing - attenuated only by some of the more positive excesses associated with the festival (that has its roots in the Winter Solstice - a wholly more edifying and real proposition that I can relate to). However, I'll not be going anywhere near any standing stones or eating any coal (or whatever it is that Druids do). This year I'm opting out, and any fear of being perceived as a curmudgeon, have finally been ...