Made you look. (But why did you look?)

I send mass e-mails to friends every now and then with Good deed of the day in the subject line. The good deeds are usually things I’ve blogged about in my Bite-sized Activism category. Things that even people who are really, really busy getting their cars and legs waxed should be able to squeeze into their schedules. The e-mails are rarely acknowledged.

Maybe these people think I’m a pain in the ass (or, as Vincent suggested the other day, maybe my friends just think I’m “an entertaining oddity”). But the thing is, nothing feels as good as doing something good for someone who needs help. Nothing is more enriching.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed these days, with the machine falling apart at the seams. When I send these e-mails, when I bother to collect easy activism options in a category on my blog, I figure I’m doing people a favor. I’m giving them something that will make them feel good (if they do it…).

I read an article called Four things you should do right now on HuffPo today. One of them was perfect for Bite-sized Activism.

Working Assets is a company that has been around for over 20 years. They offer cell phone services, long distance services, and credit cards. A chunk of the money you pay them goes to a number of nonprofit organizations working for peace, human rights, the environment, education, freedom of speech, social justice, and all kinds of good stuff. It comes out of their pockets, not yours.

Here’s their mission statement:

Working Assets was established in 1985 to help busy people make a difference in the world through everyday activities like talking on the phone. Every time a customer uses one of Working Assets’ donation-linked services (Long Distance, Wireless and Credit Card), the company donates a portion of the charges to nonprofit groups working to build a world that is more just, humane, and environmentally sustainable. To date, over $50 million has been raised for progressive causes.

The company also serves as a strong political force, dedicated to giving its customers the opportunity to speak out on critical public issues through its Web site and monthly phone bill.

How hard is it, really, to switch cell phone companies? Long-distance services? To transfer a balance to a new credit card? We’ve all done it. So you have to go online and make a few changes to things like your Amazon profile. Big deal. In the last two and a half years I transferred a credit card balance, moved three times, and changed my name. Trust me, I know exactly what’s involved. It’s doable.

Made you look. (But why did you look?) I send mass e-mails to friends every now and then with Good deed of the day in the subject line. The good deeds are usually things I've blogged about in my Bite-sized Activism category. Things that even people who are really, really busy getting their cars and legs waxed should be able to squeeze into their schedules. The e-mails are rarely acknowledged. Maybe these people think I'm a pain in the ass (or, as Vincent suggested the other day, maybe my friends just think I'm "an entertaining oddity"). But the thing is, nothing feels as good as doing something good for someone who needs help. Nothing is more enriching. It's easy to get overwhelmed these days, with the machine falling apart at the seams. When I send these e-mails, when I bother to collect easy activism options in a category on my blog, I figure I'm doing people a favor. I'm giving them something that will make them feel good (if they do it...). I read an article called Four things you should d

Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.*

One day the little red chicken was scratching around in the dirt and an acorn fell on her head. She got the distinct impression that the sky was falling but, being a chicken, she continued to do her usual dirt-scratching thing and, wonder of wonders, she came across a grain of hope. She started squawking about the falling sky to anybody who’d listen (and even those who wouldn’t). She began frantically sending e-mails and posting blog entries to try to reach the king’s court (the king himself being non compos and not particularly receptive). She asked all the other farm animals, especially the ostriches, to help her plant her grain of hope, grow it, reap it, and turn it into something good they all could share.

“Not I,” said the duck.

Fuck the duck. Check out CODEPINK, a women’s peace movement (boys can play too). They’ve organized the Occupation Project, a campaign of sustained nonviolent civil disobedience to end war funding. Or see the elegantly simple global warming protest that Step It Up has organized for April 14th.

I’ve collected more protest options for Americans on the go at Bite-sized Activism.

And I sent an e-mail to the Speaker of the House yesterday. Did you?

*Orwell, 1984

Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.* One day the little red chicken was scratching around in the dirt and an acorn fell on her head. She got the distinct impression that the sky was falling but, being a chicken, she continued to do her usual dirt-scratching thing and, wonder of wonders, she came across a grain of hope. She started squawking about the falling sky to anybody who'd listen (and even those who wouldn't). She began frantically sending e-mails and posting blog entries to try to reach the king's court (the king himself being non compos and not particularly receptive). She asked all the other farm animals, especially the ostriches, to help her plant her grain of hope, grow it, reap it, and turn it into something good they all could share. "Not I," said the duck. Fuck the duck. Check out CODEPINK, a women's peace movement (boys can play too). They've organized the Occupation Project, a campaign of sustained non

Did you know that the largest single demonstration in the US about climate change consisted of about 1,000 people? That is one thousand. Not a typo.

Pathetic.

Bill McKibben and some pals have started a movement they’re calling Step It Up. Or, rather, they’d like to start a movement. And you can help. They have a brilliant idea that epitomizes bite-sized activism. I hate to use a hackneyed phrase, but this is truly elegant in its simplicity.

You don’t have to march on Washington. In fact, you don’t have to march anywhere. This is all you have to do:

1. On April 14th, gather some friends, as many as you can, anywhere.

2. Make a banner (or get one from Step It Up) that tells Congress you want them to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.

3. Have somebody take a digital picture of the whole crowd. Like this (this group chose the Golden Gate bridge as a backdrop):

4. Send your picture to Step It Up. They’ll create an online collage of all the demonstrations that took place all over the country to show Congress how many people are deeply concerned about global warming.

Could it get any easier than that?

Most of my friends live in San Diego, and I left (part of) my heart there when I moved to Paris. One of the city’s most cherished landmarks is the Hotel del Coronado (where they filmed one of my favorite movies of all time, Some Like it Hot).

Friends, that beautiful historical building will just be plain old history if the ice caps melt. And before I came here, I lived in Ocean Beach, a hippy-dippy beach community where time stopped decades ago. My beloved OB will be underwater too.

Please “march” down to the beach on April 14th with all your fellow citizens, throw a save-the-beach party, and take a picture.

Go to Step It Up and sign up as an organizer. They’ll tell you how to get your picture to them. If you don’t want to organize a demonstration, they’ll tell you how to join one near you.

Did you know that the largest single demonstration in the US about climate change consisted of about 1,000 people? That is one thousand. Not a typo. Pathetic. Bill McKibben and some pals have started a movement they're calling Step It Up. Or, rather, they'd like to start a movement. And you can help. They have a brilliant idea that epitomizes bite-sized activism. I hate to use a hackneyed phrase, but this is truly elegant in its simplicity. You don't have to march on Washington. In fact, you don't have to march anywhere. This is all you have to do: 1. On April 14th, gather some friends, as many as you can, anywhere. 2. Make a banner (or get one from Step It Up) that tells Congress you want them to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. 3. Have somebody take a digital picture of the whole crowd. Like this (this group chose the Golden Gate bridge as a backdrop): 4. Send your picture to Step It Up. They'll create an online collage of all the demonstrations that took place all over the coun

I just have to talk about this. Al Gore and the producers of An Inconvenient Truth decided they would donate 50,000 copies of the movie to schools so that it could be shown in science classes. They made this generous offer to the National Science Teachers Association.

The NSTA said no thank you. Why? Because Exxon Mobil has given the NSTA over 6 million dollars in recent years.

Now, I’m fairly sure this was a calculated move on the part of Al and Co. They could have chosen to go through school districts, boards, state government bodies, or any number of channels to distribute their gift. I have a feeling they knew damn well the NSTA was getting dirty money from oil companies and they wanted to out them. I say good for them. It worked.

Now the big oil donors are erasing the paper trail on this story, which broke a few weeks ago…

If you have kids in school or friends and relatives who do, please contact their science teachers and ask others to do so too. Ask the teachers if they belong to the NSTA. Encourage them to speak up and get involved. Contact the school principals, boards, departments of education and encourage them to go straight to the source and obtain one of those free copies. Write some letters. Time to misbehave again.

It’s the responsibility of government, not special interests, to pay for public education. If our government had its priorities right and allocated more of our tax money to education, maybe our teachers wouldn’t be in a position to have to compromise their principles and take money from special interests. And aren’t there laws that are supposed to prevent special interests from influencing school curricula? There should be.

So is it OK that our kids are being taught in science classes that Adam and Eve are real and global warming isn’t? At what point do people say enough is enough?

• A dozen states, environmental groups, and large cities have asked the Supreme Court to make the US government get its environmental act together.
• Go to the Sierra Club Expose Exxon Mobil campaign.

I just have to talk about this. Al Gore and the producers of An Inconvenient Truth decided they would donate 50,000 copies of the movie to schools so that it could be shown in science classes. They made this generous offer to the National Science Teachers Association. The NSTA said no thank you. Why? Because Exxon Mobil has given the NSTA over 6 million dollars in recent years. Now, I'm fairly sure this was a calculated move on the part of Al and Co. They could have chosen to go through school districts, boards, state government bodies, or any number of channels to distribute their gift. I have a feeling they knew damn well the NSTA was getting dirty money from oil companies and they wanted to out them. I say good for them. It worked. Now the big oil donors are erasing the paper trail on this story, which broke a few weeks ago... If you have kids in school or friends and relatives who do, please contact their science teachers and ask others to do so too. Ask the teachers if they belong to the