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http://www.detnews.com/article/20101021/AUTO01/10210360/1001/biz.

We Are Silent

We are silent. This past year the French have organized. Thousands have gathered. Million have have stood-up and said NO.  Both young and old in France have gathered to protest/strike  against government plans to raise the pension age from 60 to 62. Garbage is piling up. Cars have no gas because the gasoline was never delivered. The economy has been taken hostage. We are silent. High school students abandon classes to  join people twice their age in protest.  We remain silent. I hear so many complaints today by my peers, by my elders  that America is not the country it should be, that  government actions are unjust and wrong, that the system is wrong.  Yet we remain silent. What will it take America to make you stand up? How much more injustice must be suffered before we pull ourselves  together, before we speak out? How can we complain and gripe and expect anything to change if we do nothing about it ? In France, High school students are protesting. Ask an American student to fight for something that will not affect them for 40 years and your answer will probably be " It's not my problem." It is our problem and we must face this.  The future of our country's economy, social equity, education and civil justice, and our environment is our responsibility. Michigan is our state. The future of Michigan is ours to fight for.  So we must ask ourselves what are we willing to fight for ? I know what I'm am will to fight for  and that is a future of sustainability. Not just  an environmentally sustainable, but a sustainable community where there is adequate employment , education and health-care,  a community with social equity. This is what I am willing to stand up and fight for and if you are too, come to the Greenation summit this weekend. Find your voice. Break the silence. Speak.

By Emanuele Berry

Michigan State University RCAH  and Journalism student.

MSU Student Rebecca Zantjer Explains Why You Should Join the Greenation movement

I'm pretty sure I'm not qualified to write about sustainability and green living. I come from a rural town in south-west Michigan where talk about hunting, fishing, and Friday night football carry far more importance than talking about place, community, civic engagement, sustainable living, green technology, social empowerment, and the like. In fact, before coming to Michigan State University a year or so ago, I had never even heard of these terms, much less tried to apply them in my life.
That's why you can believe me when I say that I'm not an expert, and that I'm not going to stand here and say that I have all the answers and all the tools and all the ideas worked out perfectly. Because I don't. Not even close. I'm still trying to learn what all these things mean, how they work in the world, and why we should care. I'm still learning about how green living and social inequity are linked, and how saving the environment could be a huge step towards ensuring human rights. I'm still learning what it means to fight for a Greenation.
But I am trying, and if you want to try too, then I say let's do it together. The more I study these issues, the more I understand that any progressive change will not be the effort of one man's struggle, or one man's vision, or one man's passion. If this is going to work, it's going to take a group. And we can be that group: me and you.
I'm writing to offer you an invitation to Greenation's Greater Capitol Area Sustainability Summit on the 22nd-23rd of October. I'm going to learn, experience, and sort out some ideas; and it would be great if you could join me. I'm not saying that this Summit will solve the world's problems, but it may just be a start.

Go Veg, Go Green: MSU student Ariel shares her opnion about how to Go Green

The livestock industry is responsible for 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.  That's more than all of the world's cars, trucks, trains, planes, and boats combined.

A third of the world's land suitable for growing crops is used to produce feed for farmed animals.  An acre of land can produce 250lbs of beef, or 30,000lbs of carrots, or 50,000lbs of tomatoes.

In the last 3 years, 70,000 sq km of Amazonia has been destroyed to graze hamburger cattle or grow animal feed.

The best solution [to the climate change crisis] would be for us all to become vegetarians." - Yvo De Boar (Executive Secretary of the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change)

 

Green Living: What Home Upgrades Are Really Worth the Money?

Green Living: What Home Upgrades Are Really Worth the Money?.