TED Talk: The True Cost of Oil by Garth Lenz

GAO: Climate Change is Bankrupting America.

"Limiting the federal government's fiscal exposure to climate change is one of the new areas we have on the list," Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, the head of the GAO, told reporters at a Capitol Hill press conference. "The federal government is terribly exposed to this change," he added, noting that the government owns hundreds of thousands of buildings, operates defense installations, picks up the tab to help local governments with disasters, and runs crop and flood insurance programs. "The government doesn't budget for disaster," Dodaro said, "and the record number of disasters hit above 90 in 2012." (link)

I've often said that Americans won't do anything about climate change until it starts to hit their wallets. Unfortunately, we never seem to act in this country until we feel financial pain. As a passionate defender of the environment, it's frustrating to watch our political leaders waste their time while our planet withers and dies. It's like helplessly watching your mother slowly die in the hospital bed because the doctors are to busy arguing about who should have the bigger salary!!

It's true, we have been in an economic downturn and it's important to focus on increasing job prospects but there are no jobs on a dead planet. The conservatives constantly say how the next generation is going to be saddled with federal debt but that's all non-sense if these young people inherit a planet too toxic to inhabit. A lot of Republicans block environmental regulations and investments in "green jobs" because they claim it hurts the economy. There are being short-sighted because we can grow the economy through increasing renewable energy jobs--someone will have to make all those high-tech machines. It could revitalize our crumbling manufacturing industries, which increases profits while making the technology needed to slow climate change.

There are some conservatives who say that we have already invested in "green jobs" only to see those companies fail but that's only because the government barely invests in those industries. Essentially they set them up to fail. If we don't invest in the technology then we shouldn't be surprised when the industry struggles to get off the ground. Invest in these companies, and their technology, to the degree we invest in oil and gas right now, then judge the industry.

The sad thing is there once was a time when being conservative meant conserving the environment and its natural resources. Republican president, Teddy Roosevelt was one of the founding fathers of the environmental movement in the United States. America would not likely have the large natural parks and reserves it enjoys today without his conservative efforts.

Honestly, I think there are some conservatives who understand this reality but the "dirty energy" industries have corrupted our politicians with so much money to prevent changes that it's hard to make progress. I refuse to give up though because soon American (and the world) will feel the financial pain of denying climate change and global warming to such a degree that it will be undeniable. I just hope it's not too late by then but maybe views are changing faster after "Super-storm Sandy" pummeled the densely populated east coast of the U.S. We can hope, and we must never give up. Never. Mother Nature has supported us all these centuries, so the least we can do is defend her in her time of need.

~Be Well~

Happy Birthday, Bob Marley!!!

Today is the birthday of the late, great, Bob Marley. He has been my favorite musician since I was young and first heard his amazing music. His lyrics are spiritually and politically empowering while the music stirs you body toward movement. Reggae is the music of the soul, and Bob Marley was the best. And he continues to be one of the most popular musicians to this day, which is why I chose "Jammin'" as the song to mark his birthday. He's still jammin' after all of these years healing the world one song at a time...
~Green Man~

2013 Budweiser Super Bowl Commercial: The Clydesdales: Brotherhood.

In case you missed the Super Bowl last night, there was a commercial from Budweiser beer that was very beautiful and touching. It was my favorite one of the night. A Super Bowl ad has never brought tears to my eyes but this one did. I have such a soft sport for animals.

~The Green Man 

Full-Moon Rise.

  Full Moon Silhouettes from Mark Gee on Vimeo.
Breath-taking, awe-inspiring, Moonrise!! Moon rising over Mount Victoria Lookout in Wellington, New Zealand. It's a short 3 minute video but it is very worth watching...our planet and universe are so beautiful!!!!

~Be Well~

STUDY: Native Americans Descended From Asian Ancestors.

This from AFP News Source:

WASHINGTON — Present-day Asians and Native Americans are descended from a group of people who were already in China 40,000 years ago, according to an analysis of fossil DNA published this week.

Green Man: I grew up brainwashed within the Mormon religion, which claims in their holy book, "The Book of Mormon" that Native Americans are descendants of ancient Jews from the Middle-East. The story goes that a few Jewish families fled, what is now present day Israel, across the vast Atlantic Ocean in small boats to land in Central and South America.

As I grew older, I began to realize that Native Americans didn't look like most Jewish people. They had darker skin and Asian eyes. The Mormons have an answer for this, too. They claim the Jews who arrived in the Americas eventually disobeyed "God" to the point where "God" made their skin darker as punishment; much like in the Bible with Cain's posterity. Not only is this explanation borderline racist, it's also inaccurate, according to this study.

Notice the similarities in costume between this Mongolian woman (above) and the Native American women (below). PHOTO CREDIT: (click on link)

This DNA study adds to an already massively crushing volume of evidence exposing the Mormon tale as mythology. The cultures, clothing/textiles, and traditions are somewhat similar to those in Mongolia and elsewhere within Asia.

Native American female dancer at the Gathering Of Nations Powwow Festival (link)

Native Americans have traditionally been nomadic hunters carrying their homes with them in the form of tepees, which mirrors the portable yurts in Mongolia, Tibet and elsewhere in Asia. 

There is simply overwhelming evidence now that the native peoples of the Americas are ancestors of ancient Asians who migrated into North America across the Bering land-bridge formed during the last great ice-age.

~The Green Man Has Spoken~

Shocking Images from the Amazon Jungle. Our World is Dying By Our Own Hands.