[Victoria BC 01-26-12] Apple and many other tech companies were hit hard after the news report indicting them of partnering with companies in China that operate with exploitive labour practices. The biggest story recently was Foxconn and reports of worker suicides because of long hours and incredibly detailed by hand processes repeated hundreds/thousands of times every hour with no breaks.
Apple has made the decision to take the first step towards accountability in partnering with companies that practice fair labour. FINALLY, a tech company steps up. It makes sense that Apple would be the first one. Being located in the Bay Area in California which cuturally embraces equality and awareness towards injustice lends towards a company having people in leadership with a conscious. Mind you it took some uncovering in the media to take the first steps but better now than possibly never. Good on you Apple to take the first steps.
For the first time, Apple has disclosed the identity of 156 suppliers, and said it will become the first tech company to join the Fair Labor Association (FLA). This means that the FLA will investigate Apple suppliers and issue regular reports on their labor practices.
“We’re extremely proud to be the first technology company admitted to the FLA,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s senior vice president of Operations.
“Last year we performed more than 200 audits at our supplier’s facilities around the world. With the benefit of the FLA’s experience and expertise, we will continue to drive improvements for workers and provide even greater transparency into our supply chain.”
Apple can now claim it is the world’s first fair trade electronics maker, which sets a higher bar for competitors.
[Ottawa ON 01-19-12] Green Leader Elizabeth May sees the Obama Administration refusal of the Keystone Pipeline as an opportunity to create Canadian jobs. “We should now pause and re-think shipping our unprocessed crude to either the US or China. We can refine that oil here and use it domestically or export the finished product, creating jobs in the process and ensuring environmental controls,” said May, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands.
Yesterday, US President Obama denied the construction permit for the 1,700-mile Keystone pipeline, which was heavily opposed due to potential risks of contamination along its route. “We now have an opportunity to rethink our ad hoc energy policy. Lacking any explicit policy, the implicit policy appears to be to expand the tar sands as fast as possible while shipping out unprocessed bitumen crude for value added-elsewhere,” said May.
“While the Harper government tries to portray the issue of pipelines as the environment versus the economy, the reality is that these pipelines do not make economic sense. There is more potential for jobs if we keep and refine the existing bitumen in Canada. It is critical to freeze any new growth of the oil sands allowing value-added processing. The reason oil companies don’t build refineries near the tar sands now has been described by former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed as due to ‘the traffic jam.’ Due to the hyper-inflationary situation created by unconstrained growth in the Athabasca region, labour and capital are in short supply and very expensive for other installations.” said May. “We need to begin the shift away from fossil fuels. Slowing the tar sands, shutting down coal-generated electricity, and diversifying our energy resources by expanding geo-thermal, solar, wind, tidal and small scale hydro, as well as investing in intensive energy efficiency improvements will create more jobs across Canada than the pipeline proposals, while giving us greater energy security and reduced greenhouse gases.”
The Green Party is advocating increased environmental responsibility of oil sands developers and placing a moratorium on further oil sands development (i.e. increases in annual production). Slowing the over-heated economy will allow refineries to be built in Alberta. The major energy union operating in the Athabasca region, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, has estimated that the Keystone Pipeline represents the export of more than 40,000 Canadian jobs. “Canadian jobs in upgrading and refining will literally go down the pipe to the U.S. with the 900,000 barrels of unrefined bitumen,” said Dave Coles, CEP President. “Meanwhile, Canadian refineries are closing.”
The proposed Keystone Pipeline would have run to the US Gulf Coast to refineries there. “We have a chance here to focus on building a secure energy economy. Fifty-five per cent of the oil used in Canada comes from Venezuela, Nigeria and other OPEC nations. From parts of Ontario east, Canadians have no access to the oil our Prime Minister is so keen to pump south to create jobs in Texas. What’s wrong with this picture?” asked Elizabeth May.
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[Victoria BC 01-05-12] Patagonia is a clothing company that encounter earth partnered with in our short time in retail. When we were researching regarding clothing manufacturing companies that aligned in similar values with encounter earth we discovered that Patagonia had been doing fair + sustainable for decades. Far ahead of his time Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia believed in triple bottom before it became accepted and cool.
Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia
Now Patagonia has taken the quantum leap as they have taken advantage of new laws enacted in California as of Jan 1, 2012. The ‘Benefit Corporation a new legal structure that gives directors legal cover to consider social and environmental missions over financial returns.’ YES, this is an actual law in place in state of California. This is the stuff we talk/dream about day in and day out here at encounter earth.
Thank you Patagonia for inspiring us! Keep pushing the edge in the midst of being an international, global company with a conscience.
[Victoria BC 01-01-12] Our (Paul & Corey) former real estate lawyer back in the 90s and early 00s in the Fraser Valley just east of Vancouver, Canada is now the Minister of International Trade & Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway for the Government of Canada. Ed Fast is carrying out the wishes of the majority party, the Conservative Party of Canada and their leader/Prime Minister Stephen Harper. They believe that unlocking trade barriers is key to the future of Canada successfully participating in this global economy.
Here at encounter earth we believe that trade barriers which include 15-20% tariffs most often penalize those who are the most vulnerable, the worker who works for pennies on the dollar. Any removal of these barriers translates beneficially for those who are participating in direct trade. More dollars can go back into the economy of the developing nation. We applaud Canada’s effort to engage in removing these trade tariff barriers.
[Cowichan Bay BC 10-31-10] Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Heads of State and Government, along with the private sector, foundations, international organizations, civil society and research organizations, today kicked off a major concerted worldwide effort to accelerate progress on women’s and children’s health.
With pledges of more than $40 billion over the next five years, the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health has the potential of saving the lives of more than 16 million women and children, preventing 33 million unwanted pregnancies, protecting 120 millions of children from pneumonia and 88 million children from stunting, advancing the control of deadly diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, and ensuring access for women and children to quality facilities and skilled health workers.
“We know what works to save women’s and children’s lives, and we know that women and children are critical to all of the MDGs,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. “Today we are witnessing the kind of leadership we have long needed.”
[Canmore AB 06-23-10] In September of 2000, the United Nations addressed the issue of global poverty by adopting the Millennium Declaration. The declaration pledged the members to accomplish measurable goals to eradicate global poverty by the year 2015. The Millennium Development Goals focus on eight areas of concern, including poverty and hunger, universal education, maternal health, and HIV/AIDS prevention, among others.
With the deadline now only five years away, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called upon world leaders to attend a summit this September to assess and accelerate the progress towards reaching these goals. From un.org: “Coming amid mixed progress and new crises that threaten the global effort to halve extreme poverty, [Mr. Ban says,] ‘The summit will be a crucially important opportunity to redouble our efforts to meet the goals,’ […] by the 2015 deadline.”
With such mixed progress, how will the goals be met? Microfinance can contribute to many of these goals, making it an important tool in reaching these targets in the developing world. Although not specifically stated in the Millennium Development Goals, microfinance has proven to be a strong mechanism for achieving its mission. Addressing nearly every target, microfinance breaks through the many elements of poverty inherent in the eight goals.
“Microfinance is much more than simply an income generation tool,” says Mark Malloch Brown, administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). “By directly empowering poor people, particularly women, it has become one of the key driving mechanisms towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals, specifically the overreaching target of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.”
[Canmore, AB 12-01-09] My life partner, Corey, and I watched “Silk Ceiling” Pt. 1 on BBC News Channel regarding the inability for most women in S. Asia to break through the barrier imposed by culture to gain gender equality. This documentary is hosted by Ritu Bhardawaj who herself grew up in a rural village but has become a well-known journalist on News X in India. There is one story in particular regarding African Indians who live in Jambur, Gujurat, India. This one woman nicknamed “Forest Diamond” started a cooperative and basically a trust bank for women all on her own… incredible. Corey and I were very moved and so sense that this is what the journey ahead is… empowerment and sustainability.
Below is an excerpt from the documentary website:
Back in India, Ritu visits the area in Gujarat where the Siddi tribe are descendants of migrant workers who came hundreds of years ago from Africa. She goes to meet the woman they like to call Hirbai Ben Lobi – the Diamond of the Forest. The Forest Diamond tells Ritu about the old days – when the Siddi lived in the forest – and women were harassed and exploited.
"When the girls of our village went to the forest to collect firewood... the forester used to harass them a lot... It is from this incident that I realized that we should not go into forest to collect wood anymore! Instead we needed to save our money up! But at that time the bank would not open accounts for us since some of us could not read or write. They asked us ‘who will fill your deposit slips?’ I was outraged and I told them that tomorrow my colleagues will fill the slip."
The Forest Diamond and her friends formed a co-operative. Their savings fund businesses - their own businesses. Now - unusual in South Asia - 900 village women hold assets in their own names. Money from the co-op even helps the village school. If more women went to school - and got paid jobs - it’s been estimated the Asia-Pacific region could be ninety billion US dollars a year better off.
Says the village headmaster: "If a poor and uneducated woman can do so much, if women are educated and they come forward, this will bring a great change in society."
A local woman tells Ritu: "Thank God I am a woman. If I were a man I would have done nothing. It is because I am a woman that I can accomplish so much. I am happy to be a woman, I don’t want to be a man…"
[Canmore, AB 08-22-09] Northern Uganda is a very dangerous place to live for anyone! The LRA - Lord’s Resistance Army, led by their mystic-leader Joseph Kony, have targeted parts of Uganda, Sundan and DR Congo. Since 1987 this group has terrorized the land trying to establish their own theocratic state. This is the longest running conflict in Africa… over 22 years in length. Children have been the most vulnerable through this war. The LRA goes into villages and abducts the children to make them soldiers for their cause. They recruit and exploit the weakness of young children brainwashing them into believing they must fight and kill. It is so sad and something must be done… but over 20 year?! How can we bring change on this side of the world?
Invisible Children [IC] is an NGO in Los Angeles led by some young adults who are trying to advocate for sisters and brothers in Nothern Uganda. I spent some time on their website over the past few days. The guys over at goodsociety who make the jeans we sell at encounter earth also support this organization. IC is active in creating awareness regarding the children and families who have been abducted and killed for the LRA cause. Below is a video from the IC website to help create awareness and encourage participation in making a difference.
[Canmore, AB 08-06-09] One of the most difficult challenges that children of the third world face is bad water. This bad water is full of viruses and diseases that often leads to diarrhea and death. According to UINCEF over 4000 children die daily from water-related diseases and over 1.8 million people (mainly children) die annually. That is difficult for many including myself to process and fathom.
I often go to TED.com to be inspired and encouraged by thinkers and innovators. Today as I watched the video below with an engineer Michael Pritchard from the UK I was stirred with hope. Please take 10 minutes to watch the video below regarding Lifesaver, an incredible water bottle or a jerry can with an water filter system, that can take the worst sewer-infested water and in seconds make it safe, sterile drink water!
It is clearly time to “think differently” and consider the possibilities of changing the world…
[Sudan - 07-27-09] Thirty-six child soldiers who once served with an armed rebel movement in Sudan’s Darfur region have been voluntarily demobilized and given assistance so they can return to school and their communities, the United Nations reported today.
The joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) has provided logistical support to the Darfur Child Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programme and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which are spearheading the demobilization initiative.
By the end of the week another 17 child soldiers are expected to be released and demobilized and help with reintegration into their communities. As many as 2,000 children have been identified as eventually participating.
The programme is taking place in Tora, a village located about 60 kilometres from El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
The first batch of 36 – who served with the Freewill faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), often to defend their villages – received backpacks containing school and educational supplies, as well as sports equipment, as part of their reintegration packages.
The Sudanese Government has also set up a three-year special education programme to help with reintegration.
