Centuries before European settlers landed on the Eastern shores of North America, many tribes of Native Americans demonstrated their thanks each year in the form of harvest festivals. In 1621 the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared in one such autumn harvest feast, celebrating the colony’s first successful harvest. Nearly 400 years later we’re still giving thanks. While the majority of Americans enjoy Thanksgiving day by sharing food with friends and family, in 2008 a... Read Full Story

The world of philanthropy has expanded exponentially as participation and fundraising increasingly move from the small circle of wealthy individuals and corporations to now involve most everyone. While it’s true that broad based campaigns, such as the United Way, have been around for a long time, there has recently been an explosion of charitable causes promoted at the grass roots level. Nowhere has this been more evident than in San Diego, where there is a nonprofit event happening mo... Read Full Story

I ran across a blog post on Twilight Earth a while back, and couldn’t get this topic out of my mind. While I understand the issues surrounding patent protection, and the basic desire/need/right to be compensated for ones work, it would be a shame (criminal?) if the planet suffers because critical technology is being held back. Click here to view the embedded video. Posing the Question Watch the video, then think for a moment about the prospect of being denied a critical technology that ... Read Full Story

That the world’s richest nation is dealing with so many health related issues – obesity, heart disease and diabetes to name a few – is perplexing, as is the sad fact that our government, along with the food and health industries themselves, have demonstrated little or no desire to deal with this problem. It’s a complex situation, as the cause and effect of diet and exercise are difficult to fully understand. Studies have attempted to shed light on the role various food... Read Full Story

Launched by The WILD Foundation in 1977, the World Wilderness Congress (WWC) is now the longest-running, public, international environmental forum. With over 30 years of conservation achievements, the WWC has become a high-profile platform for acting on complex wilderness and wildlands issues. The WWC 2009 forum will be held from November 6th to 13th in Merida, Mexico. The WILD Foundation Partners With Unidos para la Conservación Preserving wild nature is essential to maintaining a sustaina... Read Full Story

While it would be nice if our governments and corporations would recognize the need to address climate change, and do something about it. But the sad truth is that they often consider Profits & Power to be far more important than People & Planet. Which is why it’s time for us to raise our voices and be heard. Bloggers Speak Out Held each year on October 15th, the purpose of Blog Action Day is to create a discussion by enlisting bloggers around the world to unite on one day and ... Read Full Story

While there is much discussion about the dwindling supply of oil, and the degree of price rise that will occur in the next 20 years, a more critical problem is present in the world today – the limited supply of fresh drinking water – a situation with dire consequences. Exploring the Issue The topic of fresh water came up recently during a discussion with a close friend, and the following day he sent me his copy of Blue Plane Run: the Race to Provide Safe Drinking Water to the Worl... Read Full Story

The inaugural Music as Medicine concert took place in San Diego on September 3, 2009. Sponsored by the 12for12k Challenge and Global Patriot, the evening featured the sounds of The Alphonse Mouzon Jazz Project in support of Doctors Without Borders. This beautiful montage was filmed and edited by Ricardo Villarreal (@skovi) and highlights the message of why we were all there – to celebrate the unique ability of music and art to transcend borders, just as Doctors Without Borders is dedic... Read Full Story

Stockholm was host to the second stop on the Music as Medicine concert tour in support of Doctors Without Borders. For this event the partnership between Global Patriot and the 12for12k Challenge expanded to include a new organization entitled Concerts for Change. Johan Burell, Renee Viterstedt, Anders Sporring This collaboration began with an initial Tweetup meeting in Stockholm during which I explained that Danny Brown (founder of 12for12k.org) and I (founder of Global Patriot) had chose... Read Full Story

I had an amazing time on the Music as Medicine tour benefiting Doctors Without Borders. After the kickoff event in San Diego on September 3rd, the series moved on to Stockholm for a second concert on September 9th. The third event occurred on September 15th at Kettner’s in Soho and was produced by the Leap Anywhere team. Music as Medicine from Leap Anywhere TV on Vimeo. Featured on Leap Anywhere TV, the clip above highlights the purpose of the event, the selfless work of Doctors Withou... Read Full Story