Fair Trade Brings More Compassion into the World

Posted on June 17, 2013 by SuperAdminCE

Tulane University is the world watchdog on child labor in cocoa farms. According to a recent survey, “… a projected total of 819,921 children in Ivory Coast and 997,357 children in Ghana worked on cocoa-related activities.” The report also reveals that 40% of these children are not enrolled in schools and 95% are not paid for their work.

Exploitation of children in the manufacturing supply chain also includes children in Indian carpet workshops. The US Department of Labor has uncovered evidence from international organizations, human rights groups, and non-governmental organizations describing the dangerous conditions under which children make carpets, often in bondage and without pay.

Serious long-term developmental effects

In an International Labor Organization survey of 26 countries, one quarter of child laborers suffer injuries or illnesses while working. Each year, as many as 2.7 million healthy years of life are lost due to child labor, especially in agriculture.

Developmental risks for young children involved in manufacturing and agriculture include:

skeletal growth
retardation of organ and tissue development
greater risk of hearing loss
lack of ability to assess risks
greater need for food and rest
higher chemical absorption rates
growth impediments
lower heat tolerance

Injuries, accidents, living in poverty, psychological damage, exposure to pesticides, land lack of a sanitary working environment are also part of child-labor abuse.

What can we do to alleviate this situation?

The answer is to buy Fair Trade, which not only assures a fair price for goods produced in third-world countries, but also helps producers improve their lives and the lives of their workers through health care, education, and better working conditions. Producers who are part of Fair Trade International have a say in setting prices, premiums (money for health care and education), standards, and overall strategy. Small Fair Trade businesses must have a democratic structure and transparent administration. Workers have representatives to committees that make decisions on prices, benefits, and conditions.

Fair Trade is almost certainly the best option when it comes to buying chocolate that is slavery-free. Fair Trade chocolate in the US has grown in popularity but the market is relatively small compared to Europe. For example, recent figures show that whereas 1,745 tons of Fair Trade chocolate was imported into the US, on a worldwide basis 10,299 tons of Fair Trade chocolate products were sold.

Buying Fair Trade

It is decidedly easier to buy Fair Trade products in the United Kingdom and Europe because of the Fairtrade Foundation. All consumers need do is look for the organization’s label on a product when they are shopping. The group provides an independent certification of the production chain and licensing use of the FAIRTRADE Mark as a consumer guarantee on products. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions and securing the rights of marginalized producers and workers.

Here in the U.S. we have to seek out Fair Trade products by doing some research. This list of retailers, compiled by greenamerica.org will get you started. Their National Green Pages is a “Yellow Pages” for green and sustainable businesses nationwide.

Compassionate Essentials is dedicated to the goals of Fair Trade, offering shoppers access to Fair Trade products on our web site.

Mindfulness: Don’t Just do Something. Sit There!

Posted on June 12, 2013 by SuperAdminCE

Mindfulness practice is no longer restricted to Buddhist retreats and those seeking enlightenment. Thanks to studies by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health and Massachusetts General Hospital, mindfulness is flooding into the mainstream, being practiced not only by individuals, but also by groups and organizations.

Why all the fuss?

Alina Tugende wrote recently in the New York Times, “Elementary school students practice it. Doctors practice it — and their patients. Prisoners practice it. There’s mindful eating that promises a healthier way of eating. And scans show mindfulness may change the way our brains function and help us improve attention, reduce stress hormones and even bounce back faster from negative information.”

A January 2011 research study at Massachusetts General Hospital found that mindfulness meditation actually makes measurable changes in some regions of the brain. As part of a psychotherapeutic program, mindfulness-based practices have led to reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and chronic pain, as well as improving general quality of life and feelings of well-being.

How it works

The popularization of mindfulness meditation can be traced back to back to Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s groundbreaking book, “Full catastrophe living: using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness.”

As a concise working definition, Dr. Zinn says that mindfulness is “… the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience, moment by moment.”

1. Live more in the moment – savor the present

If you focus your mind on the present, not allowing thoughts of the past or future enter, you soon realize that you are not your thoughts. Mindfulness means allowing thoughts to arise and disappear without reaction.

It is important to pay attention to your immediate experience without relating it to your self- esteem or unpleasant social interactions. Never take anything personally. Savoring involves relishing or luxuriating in whatever you’re doing at the present moment.

2. Lose track of the flow of time

Set up a task that will enable you to live in a state of total absorption for a while. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the psychologist who first defined the concept of flow says, “It could be playing the next bar in a scroll of music, or finding the next foothold if you’re a rock climber, or turning the page if you’re reading a good novel. At the same time, you’re kind of anticipating.”

While performing a self-absorbing activity, your field of attention narrows and you lose all self-consciousness. Awareness merges with the action and you achieve a sense of mastery over the situation. Action feels effortless.

3. Accept the unpleasant as well as the pleasant.

Acceptance of an unpleasant state just means you accept that certain things are beyond your control. Negative emotions such as sadness, anxiety, anger, or even pain will happen, whether you like the situation or not.

“Acceptance of the present moment has nothing to do with resignation,” writes Kabat-Zinn. “Acceptance doesn’t tell you what to do. What happens next, what you choose to do; that has to come out of your understanding of this moment.”

Try labeling the feeling and then move on. If a feeling of anxiety arises, label it “anxiety,” and then direct your attention elsewhere. You don’t have to believe your thoughts and you don’t have to act upon them.

4. Don’t set your expectations too high

Living a consistently mindful life is difficult. Mindfulness itself is easy.

“People set the goal of being mindful for the next 20 minutes or the next two weeks, then they think mindfulness is difficult because they have the wrong yardstick,” says Dr. Jay Winner, author of Take the Stress out of Your Life. ”The correct yardstick is just for this moment.”

With a little practice, you can become mindful at any moment just by paying attention to your immediate experience. Focus on your breath – the expanding and contracting of your lungs and the in-and-out pattern of air in your nostrils. If you find your mind wandering, bring yourself back to the present and stay there!

International Compassion in Action (Mostly)

Posted on May 26, 2013 by SuperAdminCE

1,127 dead. 2,500 injured. This is the toll of the disastrous collapse of an eight-story garment factory in Savar’s Rana Plaza, Greater Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh on April 24, 2013.

Rana Plaza, Bangladesh garment factory building-collapse disaster

But it was not the first time an international tragedy of this type has occurred. On November 24, 2012, the Tazreen Fashion factory, also in the outskirts of Dhaka, burned killing 117 and injuring 200, making it the deadliest factory fire in the nation’s history.

Why Bangladesh is so popular with worldwide fashion retailers

Bangladesh has become the world’s second-largest clothing exporter after China. Fashion companies have flocked to the country to take advantage of shockingly low wages (lowest minimum wage in the world at $37 per month), lower materials costs, and the lightest regulations in the world.

H&M apparel chain made its name churning out fun, cheap fashions that are almost disposable.

The low prices the rest of the world pays for brands such as H&M, Benetton, Zara, Mango, Gap, Nike, and many Walmart labels are possible only because of child labor, worker exploitation, and dangerously unsafe working conditions.

Kalpona Akter

Kalpona Akter, a former child laborer in Bangladesh’s garment industry, recalled, “I began working in Bangladesh’s garment industry at the age of 12, making just $3 a month. I went to work because my father had a stroke and the family needed money to cover basic living expenses. I worked 23 days in a row, sleeping on the shop floor, taking showers in the factory restroom, drinking unsafe water and being slapped by the supervisor.”

Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh

Organizations such as the International Labor Rights Forum, United Students Against Sweatshops, Workers’ Rights Consortium, Corporate Action Network, CREDO, Making Change at Walmart, and more are mobilizing to get apparel brands to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. This accord is a five-year, legally binding contract that requires international apparel companies to help pay for fire safety and building improvements in Bangladesh.

Thus far, more than 40 major companies, mostly European, have signed the agreement. But Gap, Walmart and many other American retailers including Macy’s, Nordstrom, Kohl’s, Sears, jcpenney, and American Eagle Outfitters are still holding out.

Why? Some companies, like Walmart, claim they are working on separate initiatives to improve conditions and workplace safety in Bangladesh. Labor advocates have been quick to point out that Walmart’s supposed solution the problem is little more than and aspirational statement and a clever public relations device. Since the deadline to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh has passed, Walmart’s response appears to be the company’s attempt to give the appearance of taking bold action.

Compassionate Essentials encourages Fair Trade and fair wages

We offer products that have been chosen using strict standards drawn from Buddhist ethical practices, driven by the simple but powerful universal principles of non-harming and caring. For us concern for the health and safety of all is as important in business as it is in any family. You can support compassion in purchasing by ordering any product from our web site: www.compassionte essentials.com

Compasionate Essentials Fair Trade jewelry collection

Fair Trade: Taking a Lesson from the Brits

Posted on May 20, 2013 by SuperAdminCE

We can learn from the UK in promoting ethical purchasing via Fair Trade. The Guardian reports:

“Few people realize that Britain leads the world on Fair Trade. The label now accounts for 10% of all tea sold in the UK, just over 8% of all roast and ground retail coffee and 12% of chocolate.”

Fairtrade UK promotes the benefits of buying Fair Trade products.

The difference between the UK and the US is that in the UK, products bearing the distinctive Fair-Trade label are sold in mainstream retail stores, supermarkets, and independent shops.

High-price perception

One of the keys to Fair-Trade product success in the UK, is overcoming the perception of higher price. The Brits have established the Fairtrade Foundation, which certifies product quality and price with its label. The organization has a mission to erase public belief that Fair Trade-certified goods are automatically more expensive than their counterparts.

The Fairtrade Foundation’s CEO, Michael Gidney, says:

“Fairtrade sales continue to confound expectation in the midst of the current tough economic climate. The UK public has developed a lasting appetite for food and goods traded on fairer terms with producers, and forward-thinking businesses are responding energetically to this by providing a wider range of products.”

The moral alternative

UK Fair Trade merchants offset higher price perception by creating awareness of the ethical option which purchasing Fair Trade goods offers. By emphasizing environmental impact and the treatment of workers at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy, mainstream UK retailers are leading the way by incorporating ethical issues as part of their public image.

Starbucks UK, for example, recently decided to boost its social impact. The company ran a series of full-page ads outlining their plans to contribute to reducing one of the UK’s most nagging problems, youth unemployment. Starbucks UK has pledged to take on 1,000 new youth apprentices over the next two years.

Starbucks UK announces its new apprenticeship program

This moral responsibility has been at the basis of Fair Trade’s business model from the movement’s very beginning. Customers who buy Fair Trade products know that, as a result of their purchase, the producers and workers who make Fair Trade products are paid a fair price and a premium on top of that to invest in social projects. This moral imperative has been incorporated into the Fair Trade certification and is guaranteed by the Fair Trade label.

Lessons to be learned

Thus far, the United States has nothing like the Fair Trade label that appears on products throughout Europe and in many countries in the rest of the world. Fair Trade USA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. This organization, unlike the UK’s the Fairtrade Foundation doesn’t have the marketing clout and brand recognition that the latter has built up over the years since its beginnings in the late 1980s.

Experts agree that the key to building Fair-Trade business lies in convincing consumers, when they are choosing which specific product to purchase from a range of available brands, to consider ethical factors if everything else – price, quality, availability – is more or less the same. The trick to enhancing the perception of reasonable price and high quality is developing a strong, trusted, well recognized Fair Trade brand.

Fair Trade – From Olive Oil to Elephant-Dung Paper

Posted on April 21, 2013 by SuperAdminCE

In our previous article exploring the benefits of Fair Trade, “Fair Trade – The Compassionate Alternative,” we reviewed the history and impact of the Fair Trade movement. In spite of the existence of Fair Trade since the 1960′s and even earlier, there are some misunderstandings about what Fair Trade stands for today and the products that are offered

Fair Trade is not all about coffee

If you enter the words “Fair Trade” in a search engine on the Internet, you are likely to uncover a variety of web sites that feature coffee as their main product. In fact Fair-Trade-certified coffee imports to the United States and Canada rose to a record high of 163 million pounds in 2012, an 18% increase over 2011, according to Oakland, California-based Fair Trade USA.

However, Fair Trade actually includes a vast assortment of agricultural goods and handcrafts, including baskets, clothing, cotton, home decor, furniture, jewelry, sports balls, toys, wine, rice, olive oil, chocolate, sugar, tea, and many other items. It is true that coffee was the first agricultural product to be certified fair trade in 1988, but handicrafts have been offered via fair-trade organizations since 1946. In the United States, consumers can choose from 7,000 products sourced from 58 countries.

Recycled paper and exotic gifts

There is such variety that Fair Trade has even moved into the area of exotic gifts and recyclable paper made partially from elephant dung. The mission of Mr. Ellie Pooh, LLC is to reduce elephant slaughter in Sri Lanka, where humans are encroaching on elephant habitats, and cutting down trees. When elephants come looking for food, local residents shoot and kill them because the elephants are seen as a threat to valued agricultural crops.

The owner and founder, Dr. Karl Wald, believes that his newly created industry will directly contribute to the local economy. He hopes to get farmers to respect elephants and consider the animals an asset instead of as a threat.

Fair Trade products are not necessarily more expensive

One of the major goals of Fair Trade is to work directly with producers and eliminate the traditional “middlemen” in the distribution chain. A greater percentage of the retail price, therefore, is returned to the producers. Consumers end up reaping the benefits. Most Fair-Trade merchandise carries prices that compare very favorably to their retail counterparts.

Fair Trade products emphasize quality production

Producers in Fair Trade countries maintain a constant dialogue with their buyers too insure high- quality products and establish long-term relationships. Part of the uniqueness of Fair Trade merchandise is that it includes some variation from article to article, eliminating an “assembly-line” appearance often found in conventional products of the same category. Fair Trade associations have often won awards from organizations such as the Cup of Excellence competition, the New York Home Textile Show, the San Francisco Chocolate Salon Award, and several others.

Compassionate Essentials’ Fair Trade jewelry

Our entire jewelry selection is handmade from recycled glass and/or brass by native artisans in Bali.

View our jewelry collection by clicking here.

Practicing Compassion

Posted on April 17, 2013 by SuperAdminCE

The quest for personal happiness is at the root of the Dalai Lama’s belief in compassion. He says:

“If the body is content, we virtually ignore it. The mind, however, registers every event, no matter how small. Hence we should devote our most serious efforts to bringing about mental peace.   From my own limited experience I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion.  The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.”

But do we sincerely recognize the necessity of practicing compassion in our daily lives? The philosophy of Ayn Rand has come to the fore recently in the battle leading to President Obama’s re-election. The author and political thinker’s collection of essays “The Virtues of Selfishness” emphasizes her belief that charity is neither a moral duty nor a primary virtue. Some politicians have used this line of thought to justify their recommendations for cutting government support to the poor, sick, disabled, and seniors.

The proposals for new legislation that we see coming from Washington bring under question the existence of compassion as a meaningful human impulse in today’s world. Do we still care about one another? Is the pursuit of personal success and wealth going to define us as a nation, to the exclusion of caring and benevolence?

The Charter for Compassion

Unveiled in 2009, the Charter for Compassion is an international cooperative effort whose goal is to promote not only compassionate thinking, but also compassionate action in society, including religious, moral, and social life. It emphasizes making a commitment to put ourselves in the shoes of others in all ethical matters.

You can sign the charter, Like the organization’s Facebook page, and learn more about conferences, events, and community activism here.

Compassion in the workplace

How many of us have had managers and supervisors who believe that putting pressure on employees is the only way to get us to be productive? Ayn Rand seems to have invaded our business culture as well as our political environment.

A new field of research has shown that an ethic of compassion rather an environment of stress will lead to a better-functioning workplace and lead to increased profits. The Stanford School of Medicine’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education tells us that a stress-free working environment lowers health care costs and decreases employee turnover.

A compassionate workplace encourages bonding among employees, increases psychological happiness, and boosts employee health by lowering heart rate and blood pressure, and strengthening the immune system.

Our wish for world compassion

Compassionate Essentials is dedicated to extending the benefits of our good work to all and enhancing the happiness of all beings everywhere. See our collection of compassionate personal care, household cleansing products, and Fair Trade jewelry by clicking here.

We choose our products based on principles of non-harming and caring.

Avoiding Toxins in Personal Care Products: Parabens

Posted on March 13, 2013 by SuperAdminCE

Recent research from the United Kingdom has shed new light on the relationship between parabens and breast cancer.

Cheap toxins

Parabens are potentially toxic chemicals used by personal-care-product manufacturers since the 1950s as preservatives to lengthen the shelf life of a variety of popular products such as face creams, moisturizers, make-up, perfumes, shampoos, and deodorants. These chemicals are the darlings of manufacturers because the additives are cheap and widely available. They must be man made and are rarely found in natural ingredients. Manufacturers have found a way to keep costs down and increase profits at the expense of our health and well-being.

Parabens and breast cancer

An important research study, recently released from Reading University in the United Kingdom analyzed samples of human breast tumors and measured the concentration of parabens in the tissue. Of the 160 tissue samples collected, 99% contained at least one paraben and 60% of the samples had five.

Reading University’s Dr. Philippa Darbre, who has spent more than a decade studying parabens and their effects when absorbed by the skin, says, “These results are of concern because parabens have been shown to mimic the action of the female hormone estrogen and estrogen can drive the growth of human breast tumors.”

Progress in combating parabens

Personal care product companies concerned about the possible harmful effects of parabens are making progress by following two avenues of investigation: finding alternative ways to prevent microbial growth in their products and selling products with a shorter shelf life. Natural/organic personal-care companies have developed preservative-free products with a shelf life of six months to one year. Most personal care products are used daily and are likely to be finished before the use-by date.

Avoid the risk of cancer

Compassionate Essentials offers parabend-free articles from Acure Organics, whose products are also free from animal testing, sulfates, phthalates, synthetic fragrances, harmful preservatives, and artificial colors. The company is family owned and operated and is founded on sustainable principles to provide the highest quality Fair Trade, natural, and certified organic personal care products. They believe in pursuing a triple bottom line: people and planet are just as important as profit.

To order Compassionate Essentials Acure organics products, click here.

Fair Trade – The Compassionate Alternative

Posted on March 4, 2013 by SuperAdminCE

The Fair-Trade guru, Mark Cardwell of The Global Fair Trade Shopping Channel points out:

Almost half the world – over 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 a day.
At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10.00 a day.
The poorest have less access to health, education, and other services.
Problems of hunger, malnutrition, and disease also afflict the poorest in society.

world poverty

Fair Trade is a global effort to combat economic injustice by creating a network of international commerce, building direct trade relationships between buyers in developed countries and producers in developing countries.

1960′s activism

Although the movement has its origins in the 40′s and 50′s with the Mennonite Church and their Non-Government Organization (NGO) Ten Thousand Villages, it didn’t get serious traction until 1965 when the first “Alternative Trading Association” was started. That year the British NGO Oxfam began selling imported handicrafts in their charity stores and mail-order catalogs under their “Helping-by-Selling” program.

In 1968, Fair Trade began to take off when the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development adopted the slogan “Trade not Aid” and began to build fair-trade relationships with developing countries. That same year saw the first publication of the Whole Earth Catalog, which resulted in uniting thousands of specialty merchants and global independent producers who wanted to bypass large-scale corporate retailers, such as discount stores and department stores. The movement was fueled by radical student groups that targeted multinational corporations whose traditional corporate business models they believed to be fundamentally flawed.

the first WholeEarthCatalog, 1968

Fair Trade’s impact today

Fair trade guarantees a fair price that covers the cost of production and a living wage, including both living expenses and health care. The international Fair Trade Labeling Organization establishes a base price for products and Fair Trade USA screens and certifies Importers and retailers.

Fair Trade artisans in Bali

Pricing also takes into account equal pay for equal work by both women and men. Fair Trade not only does not discriminate in hiring and remuneration based upon gender, but also ensures equal access to training, promotion, and non discrimination in termination and retirement – this includes race, caste, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, union membership, political affiliation, HIV/Aids status, and age. Women’s work is properly valued and rewarded and they are empowered in their organizations.

Children are protected under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as local laws and social norms. If children participate in any way in the production process, the local organization must disclose the extent of their involvement and ensure that they are not being adversely affected in terms of their well being, security, educational requirements, and need for play.

Fair Trade actively encourages environmental responsibility through better environmental practices and the application of responsible methods of production. The principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle are encouraged. Rigorous environmental standards induce farmers to better protect their delicate ecosystems and reduce the use of harmful chemicals.

Community development is supported by the “social premium,” a set amount of money that is invested in community development projects. Projects funded through Fair Trade are democratically chosen by the cooperative and include building healthcare clinics and schools, starting scholarship funds, housing construction, leadership training, and women’s empowerment programs.

Compassionate Essentials supports Fair Trade

Our eco-and-Fair-Trade jewelry collection is hand made by artisans in Bali. The products adhere to all of the Fair Trade principles discussed above.

Compassionate Essentials’ jewelry collection

We believe that all living things on our planet are interconnected, that we are completely dependent upon one another, not only for survival, but to live a happy and healthy life. Our business is about connectedness. Our products are produced using the highest possible social and environmental standards, which are drawn from Buddhist Ethical Practices outlined by Tich Nhat Hanh. Cause and effect can never be ignored; compassion among all is essential.

Visit our web site to learn more.

Care for Yourself and the Environment by Choosing Safe Personal Care Products

Posted on February 19, 2013 by SuperAdminCE

National organizations including the Breast Cancer Fund, Greenliving, and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics agree that many American personal care items are unsafe because manufacturers are free to dump toxic chemicals into their products. These chemicals have been linked to cancer, infertility, birth defects, and a multitude of other serious health problems.

Poison in your shampoo, conditioner, and even lip balm

Of the over 12,000 chemicals banned by the European Union from the manufacture of personal care products, only nine are prohibited in the U.S.

The problem is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is lax in regulating the cosmetics industry for products sold in retail stores. Thus the shampoo, body wash wash, facial treatments, and even lip balm that you buy at your local Target, Walgreens, or CVS may contain chemicals, additives, preservatives, synthetic fragrances, and heavy metals.

Stephen Sundlof, the head of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, emphasized this emergency when he said, “The law as it is currently written allows virtually anything to be incorporated into a cosmetic.”

Because of weak government authority in the personal care products industry, there are vast loopholes in restrictions that are placed on manufacturers. The problems exist in the areas of pre-market safety assessment, inadequate product labeling, and monitoring the effects on the human body.

Weak self-regulation

The industry regulates itself through a self-policing body called the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) panel. However this group, which has existed for more than 30 years, has yet to evaluate any more than a mere 20% of the ingredients used in personal care items and cosmetics, leaving the vast majority of the products free of monitoring by any group or agency.

Consumers left to defend themselves

The Breast Cancer Fund reports that many chemicals used in the lotions, cleansers, and skin-reinvigorating concoctions that we may use every day are actually used in industrial manufacturing processes to clean industrial equipment, stabilize pesticides, and grease gears!

When we try to read the ingredients label on our shampoo or conditioner or other personal care item, we find a confusing list of chemicals that are unintelligible to the average American. To help guide you through this technical maze, the David Suzuki Foundation, headed by an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and radio/television broadcaster, has compiled a list of the “dirty dozen” chemicals to avoid when shopping for personal care products. You can check out his list here.

Compassionate Essentials protects you and your family

At Compassionate Essentials we have gone through the process of choosing environmentally and socially responsible products for you. Deciding which products to buy can be confusing, so we’ve chosen manufacturers that guarantee that the products that you use to clean and beautify your body are safe and compassionate at the same time.

For example, our Acure Organics day cream is free from animal testing, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, synthetic fragrances, harmful preservatives, artificial colors and is 100% biodegradable. The manufacturer of this product helps you avoid the toxins listed in David Suzuki’s “dirty dozen.”

Let Compassionate Essentials provide the control that the FDA doesn’t. We offer products that have been chosen using strict standards drawn from Buddhist ethical practices, driven by the simple but powerful universal principles of non-harming and caring. For us concern for the health and safety of all is as important in business as it is in any family.

Visit us at: www.compassionateessentials.com

From Carbon to Renewables

Posted on December 19, 2012 by SuperAdminCE

I am the first to admit I am not an Energy and Economic Analyst with all the correct solutions to slow down excess carbon from being released into the atmosphere.

So when I say I would like the world to instantly change its energy source exclusively to renewables, I do know this is physically and economically impossible.

In a recent article, Professor Dieter Helm of Energy Policy at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Economics at New College, Oxford, presents a comprehensive energy and economic policy which does lead from carbon to renewables, with a stop at natural gas, and which is partially funded with a carbon tax. His plan is very practical and takes into consideration current and future world populations, energy use and economies. (It is vital that fracking be addressed and made harmless to the environment as natural gas use increases.)

Some excerpts from the article:

“The next steps are harder: A carbon price is a necessary condition for facing up to the pollution our consumption is causing. If we don’t want to pay the price of our pollution, then we don’t want to tackle climate change. So far, the sad reality is that we are not prepared to act.”

“(The US) has a deep technological base and its entrepreneurial culture provide one of the best places to drive through the necessary advances.”

We are responsible for the damage we have caused to our environment and we can use our extensive skills to acquire the necessary energy needed without causing more harm.

No one will do this for us, we have to work together to make the change.

Compassionate Essentials Blog

Everything is Connected – Thich Nhat Hanh

Mindfulness: Don’t Just do Something. Sit There!

Avoiding Toxins in Personal Care Products: Parabens

Care for Yourself and the Environment by Choosing Safe Personal Care Products

From Carbon to Renewables