Green Thoughts for Green Backs
My
business is still operating because early 2008 a national nonprofit involved in
healthcare improvement approached me to do community outreach within the five boroughs. By late 2009 we executed a three-year contract.
Prior to that connection, I got certified as MBE for NYC, NYS and the Port Authority of NY & NJ. I also registered with many NYC agencies' vendor online procurement systems; e.g., Dept of Education and NYC Housing Authority. Doing these things keep RFPs and Bid notices arriving in my email.
I maintain my
Web site; however, I must step up advertising in professional magazines and event journals.
I recently signed with an e-newsletter service. This has kinks in it but keeping a presence is important.
To keep my name in the public and keep my mind organized and sharpened, I write for the
NY Amsterdam News.
What is key for every entrpreneur is to learn about green economy opportunities. Will installing solar panels, full spectrum light bulbs, conducting energy audits, promoting earth-friendly cleaners and paints be where your business has to move into? Will you coordinate a panel discussion, do a newsletter, or host a workshop on health & beauty using fruit- and vegetable-based products to stay alive and thriving?
Reinvention, modification and morphing are words that have to do with environmental adaptation. The smart survive. The great ape is mighty and she is smart enough to live in the mountains, eating the vegetation and away from humans.
Labels: business, entrepreneur, environment, green economy
Civil Disobedience to Reform US Healthcare System
“The US needs single payer healthcare and nothing less,” said Healthcare-Now!’s Naomi Brussell who stood in front of 99 Park Avenue, the headquarters of Aetna, on September 29, 2009, as others strode the demonstration lines Earlier that day, 17 people from Act Up were arrested for staging a sit-in within the hallway in front of Aetna’s executive offices.
Such groups as Healthcare-Now!, Private Health Insurance Must Go, Disabled In Action, and NYC for Change participated in a national call for civil disobedience for the sake of making single-payer health insurance for all US residents a fact of life. These groups didn’t believe the proposed Private Insurance with Public Option went far enough wherein over 20 million Americans would remain uninsured. In fact, the Public Health Option died in the US Senate Finance Committee, September 29, 2009, the first day of civil disobedience. October 8 is Chicago’s day to stage a Patients Not Profit demonstration and other US cities will do so October 15.
The sit-ins and other demonstrations are staged at the headquarters of America’s largest insurance companies—United Health Group, Aetna, CIGNA and PacifiCare to name a few—because they are viewed as the wedge between the patient and the doctor. Healthcare-NOW!’s Brussell said that “20% of claims go to profits and administrative costs.” It is estimated that over 450,000 Americans die each year because they can’t get needed care. Other proponents of single-payer healthcare assert 30 cents of each health care premium dollar goes to insurance companies’ profits.
Around Naomi Brussell walked and rode people of various ages, genders and backgrounds. Giovanni Silva, 21, from the International Socialist Organization said he was there because “people should come before profits.” A contingency of wheelchair-bound individuals—some using oxygen respirators—representing Disabled in Action rode the demonstration line, holding protest signs. An unnamed black woman, 60, with NYC for Change revealed that she was “unwilling to be arrested as the 17 from Act Up had been but, believed the demonstration and rally were effective in getting the point across.” With at least 250 people covering the sidewalk either standing to hear Healthcare-Now stalwart Andy Velez address the crowd or walking the demonstration line, the event got noticed.
New York City’s demonstration, dubbed Medicare for All March and Rally, began at 51st Street and Park Avenue (Bristol Meyers executive office) and ended at 40th Street and Park Avenue (Aetna’s executive office) to bring to light the link between pharmaceutical companies and health insurance companies.
Labels: health insurance, national health, single-payer healthcare
October 24 is 350 Parts recognition day
Summer rolled into fall and I've been battling with roaches and flies for months. I finally laid down more roach motels because I have misgivings about mashing these critters. They say to me, "We don't know nothing about apartments or buildings or property. We just know where to find water and food."
I'd mash them some more and a scout would run back to tell the others of my deathly ways. These critters said, this time, "We were here before humans got here and will be here after you leave." It's very true, roaches haven't changed their appearance in millions of years and have withstood fire, volcanos, hurricanes, tornadoes, ice and droughts.
This had me think about the ways human civilizations have perished on this globe. Machu Pichu came and left; so did Pompeii and Timbuktu. Humans have a way of taxing the ecosystem and, then cry, "Mercy!" when the rivers and lakes dry up or the soil can't grow plants. Imagine there are people willing to buy melted glacier ice from the Antartic without thinking how harmful chopping it up will be for the whole planet.
God love
Al Gore and his global connections because he's put climate change and human sustainability center stage. 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe level for human existence. On October 24, people and institutions around the globe will do something--rally, fast, present petitions--to demand a breathable--for humans, plants and critters--atmosphere.
To take part in this death-defying action visit
http://www.350.org/ Get information, resources and events to save humans from themselves. As I said before the roaches told me, "We were here before humans got here and will be here when you leave." Don't prove them right.
Labels: Al Gore, climate change, sustainability, the Earth
Central Harlem Health Revival Wants Us to Take Charge of Our Health
Yes, there is a great life beyond mac & cheese. There’s a life without fried chicken and white rice. There’s a life full of vigor, vibrancy and expectancy in each moment when exercise, tasty, good nutrition and rest reign. The
Central Harlem Health Revival (CHHR) is on a mission to show Harlem residents the path of health and well being. Central Harlem Health Revival claims victory over obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and heart disease—all of which are preventable diseases.
On September 27, 2009 the fourth annual Health Revival Week kicks off with the Health Walk which starts at W. 155th Street and 8th Avenue and ends at the Harlem State Office Building, on W. 125th Street and Lenox Avenue. There are stops along the route at houses of worship to get quick healthy living tips such as substituting brown rice for white rice.
From the walk the community is welcome to the Health and Wellness Fair at the State Office Building’s plaza. Other events include an ecumenical worship service October 1, 7:00 PM at Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church, 101 W. 123rd Street and a health conference and fair at Minisink Townhouse, 646 Lenox Avenue.
The impetus behind the week is the continuing high rates of hospital admissions for cases of stroke, pulmonary disease, diabetic complications and HIV/AIDS. Too many Harlem residents access emergency medical services rather than preventive care. The other motivating force is the firm belief in a higher power and that holy renewal is a mind, body and spirit reality.
CHHR is an offshoot of the Borough of Manhattan Ecumenical Advisory Group (BMEAG) that is comprised of representatives of houses of worship and faith-based institutions in Manhattan. It receives guidance and support from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Office of Minority Health. CHHR grew beyond its parent body in the drive to reduce disparities in health and medical service delivery experienced in Central Harlem compared to the whole of Manhhattan. CHHR’s short list of member organizations includes Harlem Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital, Canaan Baptist Church, Mother Zion A.M.E. Church, Abyssinian Baptist Church, and Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church.
The voluntary body uses teleconferencing and weekly meetings to finalize the logistics of the Health Revival Week. The September 8 meeting closed with a special prayer of encouragement for Dr. Kristie Lancaster, professor in New York University’s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health who has steadfastly co-convened the meetings.Contact Central Harlem Health Revival at 646 345 5235 or
http://www.centralharlemhealthrevival.org/ for more information.
Labels: diabetes, faith-based, Harlem, holistic health, stroke
