That's Initiative

So in my line of work I am interested in the way cities work and how people live and interact, though I am far from being a town planning nerd.

I am fairly passionate about effective public transport and about reducing our impact on the environment. I don't own a car and usually get around on trams, trains, buses, bike or foot... however, I ruin all that by flying in planes that guzzle a years worth of fuel and emit as much pollution per flight as a year of driving a car. I almost never water the garden or use a dishwasher, I always wash a full load of clothes and I don't have a bath... but I take long, hot showers - I can't help myself. But I digress.

I am also interested in how communities work and the potential for them to band together and get what needs to be done, done. Particularly when it comes to developing countries, the resiliance shown can be so amazing!

So coming across this story that combined all of these interests and gave me a laugh gave me just the kick my day needed

Cambodians ride 'bamboo railway'


So given my not quite sustainable ways maybe I should move to zero carbon village?

Building a zero-carbon world

Serendipity

Wandering around in a daze yesterday, I came upon a wall in a back laneway, covered in quotes and paintings of leaves.
It was EXACTLY what I needed at that moment in time. I felt like somehow I was drawn to this location, like I was meant to see this wall and read these quotes and have them affect me at that moment. I had no plan to go here, I hadn't even planned to be walking around at all, but somehow my errands had disappeared. During my listless, moist eye wander I turned corners as though something else was deciding for me, I even almost took the parallel street but doubled back to take this one. I didn't know they were here. They were not here the last time I walked past this house months ago. It felt completely natural at the time that I had found them. Only now have I started to over-analyse the coincidence and start to feel like a freak. I think I will just have to put it down to Serendipity.

Thank you to whoever created this wall!

Cynical or Practical?

Should we be cynical as to the motives behind celebrity 'causes'? Or be glad that someone is bringing the suffering to the attention of the mass public?

"Gwyneth Paltrow declares "I am African" in a new advertisement for a charity working in Africa."