Thursday, 28 December 2006

One World


"To see the Earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the Earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold-brothers who know now that they are truly brothers."
Archibald MacLeish

The population on Planet Earth is expanding and is predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050.
Our Natural resources are diminishing, with some already depleted.

Our world has been created with a certain amount of natural resources and it now falls upon our heads to use it all wisely.
If we want to leave it in its true and beautiful form for our children and their children's children, we have a moral obligation to act now.

What’s the point of all this if our kids future is in danger?
There is no point!…..We all invest our money wisely enough (well I'm a late developer) but why not do the same with our future. Saving money will not help anyone. We will not be able to buy fresh air!!

When you think about it like that, basically this makes us all the same, rich or poor. Kids in the future that are sent to private school will be in exactly the same situation as the street kids I’ve met living on the railway lines of India.
The time for us ALL to come together to solve this problem is now, maintenant, ahora.
If we carry on regardless polluting and adding to the already overflowing landfill therefore adding to the Carbon Dioxide emit ions, by 2050, (that’s only 43 tears time, yes, yes, I went back and got my grade C Maths G.C.S.E!!!!) there will be no ice left in the Arctic Ocean which means the sea level will rise with Catastrophic effect and more than ONE MILLION species World Wide will be forced to EXTINCTION.

Fact:
Over Christmas as much as 83 km2 of wrapping paper ended up in UK rubbish bins, enough to cover an area larger than Guernsey (which is fookin big).
150 MILLION plastic carrier bags are used in the UK EACH WEEK —they can take up to 500 YEARS to decay in landfill.
In the UK every year 3 BILLION nappies are thrown away. 90% of these end up in landfill, where they take hundreds of years to decompose.

What Can we Do?..........Get off your arse and recycle for a start!!!!!!!!!

Making small changes to your daily routine can add up to make a big difference in helping to stop global warming.

Did you know for example?
You can run a TV for SIX hours on the amount of electricity that is saved by recycling ONE aluminum can!
Around 20% of all the household rubbish which most of us mindlessly stick in a bin under the sink is paper and card, and approximately half of this is made up of our daily newspapers and celebrity magazines, all of which could be recycled.

Stop and Think: about the 500 years it takes for a bag to decay before saying ‘yes’ to the shop assistant who wants to put your sandwich or greetings card into a large plastic bag and say 'no' instead.
Don’t: leave your household appliances on standby.
Walk: to the gym, school run or the local shops.
Don’t drive alone: take the bus, cycle, walk or if you have to drive, take it in terns to take a neighbours kids to school too.
Most importantly: Don’t make out its difficult!

If you are unsure how to recycle and live in the UK, Scotland or Wales.
Click here and type your postcode.


And.....if you are still cynical and have seen the same documentary my parents have, tracing the famous 'letter to China' believing all recycling goes there to be buried….click here to dispel the myth.



Let's come together and start making a difference.

"Small Baby Steps for you & I, one giant leap for mankind"

Sunday, 3 December 2006

Making My Mind Up

Currently working Freelance in the Music Video world, my job is to make Pop Stars look good. I help to create a fantastic video to be shown on MTV therefore making them rich and successful! Sounds exciting, yes it is, very exciting and it has kept me creatively challenged and very happy in my work since graduating from Manchester Met. in 1996.

I’ve worked with a whole heep of artists including:
Beautiful South, Charlotte Church, Westlife,
Girls Aloud, Jamiroquai, Keane, James Blunt, Robbie Williams, Scissor Sisters,
Will Young, Smashing Pumpkins, The Darkness, The Magic Numbers & The Streets to name but a few.

But Production Managing Videos, in my opinion, is the perfect job for girls in their 20’s. When life is about going out, networking, enjoying the ride, being part of the show and not minding when the experiences you have are better 're told' than they are in 'Real Life'.

I have been that 20 something girl about town for the last 10 years, happy as Larry catching cabs up to Soho for wine and Sushi with my ‘Industry’ pals. Swishing onto set in my Maharishi’s and stocking up on invites to all the best parties.... you get the picture.

But….. at the grand 'young' age of 33yrs, I'm thinking to myself….
'Was I put on this planet to line Will Young’s pockets?'
(no offence Will I think you’re great).
But there is sooo much to be done out there. We are ruining our beautiful world, we only have one and its slowly becoming more important to me then Latte's and Champagne!

Guatemala's rural population is among the poorest in Central America. This means that day-to-day survival is dependent upon the use of their natural resources. Most have few employment options forcing them to live off the land that surrounds them.

On October 4th, 2005 Hurricane Stan hit the villages of Solola hard. Hundreds died and thousands more were left with nothing more than the clothes on their back.

So, as I am freelance and can take a few months off work, I'm seizing this opportunity with both hands, to do something my Soul is 'itching' to do. Swap video land for the high land……. of San Pedro La Laguna, Solola, Guatemala, Central America.



To start working with ‘Down To Earth’. An organisation set up to teach both the School Kids and locals about the importance of the Enviroment through Art.

An intrinsic part of down 2 earth’s belief is that ‘ecologically sustainable living’ is vital in ensuring every child a future on this earth.

I am hoping, that in some small way, whatever that ends up being, through either Art or my Spanglish, I can help them.
Here I go regardless, onwards and upwards 1600m to begin,

‘Sowing the seeds of positive change’.