Independent Media Center
The Independent Media Center (http://www.indymedia.org) has emerged as one of the most cutting edge news systems on the web. A network of metropolitan areas throughout the world provides news on social issues such as globalization and environment. The by-line reads, "Indymedia is a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage. Indymedia is a democratic media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth." Due to the non-commercially sponsored nature of these sites, the types of news reported are often more pertinent to the working class people of the world trying to make their way past the economic, social and environmental destruction propagated by consumer culture and it allies in government, corporations and media.
East Bay Critical Mass Bicycle Ride
Berkeley, California - On the second Friday of each month, bicyclists of all ages happen to converge at the Berkeley, California BART station around 5:30pm and flow into the streets. Come and join your East Bay neighbors for a wonderful time. The ride is a gentle one, in merry spirits. San Francisco also has a Critical Mass ride. Did you ever notice how cars stink? Well, here's your chance to show those poor folks trapped in their two-ton rolling prisons that there's a better way to smell the roses; check it out!
Ban Leaf Blowers for Quiet Neighborhoods
A new organization has been formed as a national group opposing the summer use of gas-powered leaf blowers. It is made up of citizens groups from White Plains, Pelham, Larchmont, Scarsdale, New Rochelle, Katonah NY, Mt. Clair New Jersey and Greenwich Connecticut. Quiet Yards USA is fighting manufacturers who send paid lobbyists to de-rail grassroots movements at local level. Fax: 203-637-0463.
International News Browsing Reveals a Radically Different Picture of the World
With the advent of the web, one's perspective change easily change based on browsing patterns, and in static routines of browsing, we find only what we come to expect. Adventurous seekers take new paths and discover facets of this jeweled world never dreamed of. As we discover our global connections and common dreams
Victory for Micropower Community Broadcasting
Berkeley, California - December 30, 2002 - Berkeley Liberation Radio (104.1 FM) had it's equipment confiscated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in another attempt to quell free speech community radio. They have recovered and and continue to broadcast community programming with local and non-local news and historical documentaries not available on larger corporate-sponsored stations. More information can be found at their web site (http://www.freeradio.org). Berkeley Liberation Radio and the Free Communications Coalition offer information and kits for constructing low power radio stations. Free Radio Berkeley can be contacted at 1442 A Walnut St. #406, Berkeley, CA 94709, (510) 464-3041.
Wood Smoke Deaths on the Rise
Contrary to the idea of rustic woodstoves in the home for heating, cooking and style, modern woodstoves and fireplaces are being revealed as deadly machines. The facts are piling up, and its just a matter of time before the general public becomes aware of the dangers. Being in a neighborhood with a woodstove user is about as safe as smoking 40 cigarettes a night. Air inversions at night cause wood smoke to stay around and in the neighboring homes, and wood smoke is found to have many carcinogenic compounds. Many are in the form of particulate pollution, particles smaller than the diameter of a human hair, and once lodged in the human lungs, never come out. Despite increased lobbying and advertising by woodstove manufacturers, the stoves themselves are still spewing out dangerous amounts of particulates. A recent article in the New York Times reports 60,000 deaths linked to smoke. Burning Issues, a private San Francisco Bay Area organization, has been doing more detailed research than even the Bay Area Air Quality Management District on the levels of wood smoke pollution. Their studies show that wood smoke is even more prevelant in some South Bay areas than the pollution caused by rush-hour traffic on nearby major highways.