grljduplisea's blog

Ever since the first time I went abroad, I've watched the currency tables in the newspaper. I've seen the pound at $1.80 and the euro at $1.20. Now, the pound is at $2, which is unfortunate for me, since I will be studying in the UK next semester. Even the Canadian dollar is just about on par with the American. I don't know much about economics, so I'd like to open discussion regarding why the exchange rate for the dollar is so poor and what, if anything, we can do as consumers to combat this.  Read More »

"I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there."--Mother Theresa  Read More »

A friend and I have just started a project called Caveat Emptor. It's a wiki with the purpose of informing the public about more conscientious consumption--reducing it as a whole, but also focusing on socially aware and green living.  Read More »

Maybe you've heard or read about this since it's older news, but I wanted to share anyway. Pope Benedict XVI is having photovoltaic solar panels installed on the roof of the Paul VI auditorium. The roofing needs replacing anyway, and so next year solar panels will be installed.  Read More »

Yesterday I found out from Oxfam International, a world relief organization, that Starbucks has signed a fair trade licensing agreement with Ethiopian coffee farmers to give the farmers greater control in their trade relationship. Oxfam has been pushing for this since November, and apparently 96,000 people have signed petitions supporting this agreement.  Read More »

I caught some of the film The F Word today.  It is a fictional film shot like a documentary about a New York DJ whose show is shut down by the FCC for obscenity.  For his last show, he takes to the streets to check out the protests of the Republican National Convention in 2004.  I didn't realize it wasn't real until I saw the  Read More »

Lately I have been really frustrated by the blind insistence of people who deny the existence of global warming. I just spent an entire semester studying the environmental physics of global warming. It exists! (See David Archer's Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast.) Global warming is based in science and agreed upon in the scientific community.  Read More »

If you're like me, then you love getting mail. You love poring over return addresses and ripping open envelopes. You are dismayed when it's just another credit card offer. You don't want another credit card. You have one and that suits you just fine. You are not going to use it enough to accrue frequent flyer miles and go to Singapore. Et cetera.  Read More »