WTO: World Trade Oppression

The world appears as a really messed up place if you explore the immense amount of information available about pressing issues in the world today. This post is dedicated to provide you with information about 2 issues that actually can be changed relatively simple. These are problems that will dissappear if they had the attention in the world community they deserved. In other words, they haven't yet reached their tipping point. You can help speed this process up by spreading the word and create awareness among your friends.

Issue #1: BLACK POWER

Africa accounts for more than 15% of the world's population and more than 20% of the world's total land mass, - yet Africa is only accountable for 1% of the total world trade.

 Despite the long tradition of aid campaigns Africa hasn't been poorer than she is now. The irony is that there's a relative simple solution to this poverty problem and it is these two words: fair trade.

A recent document

ary feature called "Black Gold" is about how fair trade in the coffee production in Africa could easily make foreign aid obsolete.

 The movie is highly recommended to everyone who would like to see where the black beans come from and how they can be used to change the life of millions

 to the better without anyone has to pay extra.

 On the contrary; The bottom line is that fair trade-products, such as coffee, are a little more expensive than the rest, but if buying fair trade makes our governments aid programs obsolete,

 then who's to tell how much money the western societies could save and use on better health care, schools, etc.

To see Black Gold go to www.blackgoldmovie.com. To learn more and/or support fair trade visit Oxfam International. If you like films instead of reading, well, there's a bunch of them on different world subject at Independent Lens - and here you can also see where several of the big coffee brands are made (on the Black Gold site on Independent Lens).

Issue #2: CONsumption or The Urge of Shopping

"There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more.  The other is to desire less." - G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

For those, rightfully, concerned about how our consumption levels are destroying our planet's natural ressources this is fortunately one of the easiest problems to solve. That is, if everybody is in on it... The solution is of course to buy with environmental consideration and thought. The tricky part is to convince your neighbour to do the same. 

In Denmark an anonymous group called "The Indians of the Asphalt Jungle" (Asfaltjunglens indianere) are going around the big cities of Denmark at night searching for big 4x4's, SUV's and other gasoline-gustling cars. Whenever they find one they let out the air rom the tires, making the car unusable for at least one day. I do not believe that this is the right way to do this - I think the people who buy these big cars will think of this as vandalism and maybe that will push them in the opposite direction - but it is an example of how people turn to concrete actions to express their concerns.

The extreme consumption level in the western societies, especially in the United States, have been much debated topic the last decades - at least among grass root movements - and it is starting to spread into the news stream of the mass medias. Try watching The Story of Stuff...

We are currently consuming 1,4 of the natural ressources that this planet produces and there's still a lot of people in Asia and Africa that are looking forward to the day that they can buy as much as people in the western societies.

Everybody help change people's consumer habits by talking to friends and family about it or maybe give a sustainable gift this christmas.

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It could seem like a paradox that #1 is about shopping and #2 is about shopping less, but I think both issues could be resolved be shopping with thought and care. Do yourself a favor and be happy about what you have and when you need to add something to your household buy fair trade and green and buy accordingly to your actual needs...

A Green Apple

by Thor Hampus Bank

Maybe you know Apple's advertising strategy from the last years. A young dude presents himself as a mac and a not so cool middle aged nerd-looking guy presents himself as a PC (using Windows). Apple is the cool, stable, user orientated and creative alternative to the boring and unstable PC with windows:

Now, Apple has changed (at least for a while) the focus in their ads from bashing Microsoft Windows to focusing on the growing popularity of the awakened consumer. This is the green Apple:

There are several possible reasons for this change of focus:

• Apple has becomed a big player in the industry (Apple could buy Dell in cash...)
• The new Macbook has been the first new notebook from Apple with a bigger pricetag than it's predecessor, so where is the extra value? It's in the environment!
• People who are attracted to Apple computers are in general more concerned about the environment, so to sell more what do you do?

There is many more of course, but the fact is that this is a smart move. Nobody likes when the big guy (Apple, not Microsoft) keeps putting the others down (Microsoft). Apple is big and fancy enough, so now they throw in a joker and begin to add environmental consciousness to their brand...

But, what the advertisements say is one thing, how green Apple's products actually is is another. "Green"peace is going to have the last say in this post;