4 million residents of Harbin, China are without water due to a chemical spill in Jilin province. The 80-kilometre (50-mile) long toxic slick is moving down the Songua River towards Russia, causing the evacuation of villages, and the death of wildlife along the way.

This is a huge environmental disaster with long-term international consequences.

Why is no one in the blogosphere talking about it?

The Friends Committee on National Legislation's action alert Tell Congress Not to Bring Back the Draft reports that another move is afoot to reinstate the military draft.

In May 2005 Representative Charles Rangel (NY), an opponent of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, introduced new legislation to reinstate the draft. The Universal National Service Act of 2005 (H.R. 2723) would require 15 months of military or civilian service for every person in the United States between the ages of 18 and 26 (The legislation has a provision requiring Conscientious Objectors to perform alternative service). In introducing this legislation, Rep. Rangel argued that it would be much more difficult for President Bush to launch new wars in Iran, Syria, or North Korea if the children of the rich and privileged were subject to the draft.

If the Bush administration continues on its current course, a draft is inevitable.  The question is:

Will we be ready for it when it comes?

::flip::

I grew up in Berkeley in the 60s and 70s. As a child, I was aware of the ongoing struggle to make this country and this world a better, freer, more humane, more just, and more harmonious world. I learned about the people who stood up and spoke against the sins of our society. I joined peace marches, attended integrated schools, and had soul-searching conversations with my girlfriends about how we would advance the cause of women.

The torch burned brightly when those Berkeley radicals passed it to me. In recent years, its light has been dimmer. I've had moments when I've been afraid that the torch might burn out completely.

My 16-year-old daughter posted this on her LiveJournal yesterday:

I see these old sci-fi films and see some things that, frankly, I consider barbaric. Oh, Trek's not utterly backwards, but still. And my mum keeps reminding me that back then those things weren't considered barbaric. It's scary to realise that when I see Han Solo committing sexual harassment in Star Wars, it wasn't even terminology that had been invented when the film was made. Then I think, I used to believe that war didn't happen. I still have trouble realising that actually, my freedom can be taken away. I can't fathom the idea of not being able to vote when I turn 18. I honestly used to think that racism was strictly a thing of the past. I still can't believe any of these things, really. And then I look around and realise that the majority of people my age and even a decade or two older think the same way. Why is feminism not a liberal issue any more? Because people, both men and women, think that it's over. Why is racism not a mainstream issue at all? Because people think it's only practiced by old-fashioned rednecks. Why were people so shocked by 9/11? Because we believed, all of us, that there was no danger for our nation any more. When people assume that all the evil is in the past and that nowadays people are too modern to do the horrible things people do, when people assume that "oh, it can't happen here," when people forget that the past is not over and that history does repeat itself, then we lose what so many people fought to gain. And I'll be damned if I'm going to give up what millions of people suffered for to make my children repeat that fight. I will damn' well hold on to what I've got and not let myself take it for granted, because the future deserves better.

I think that she and her generation are going to need every ounce of that fighting spirit to get through the struggles of their times.

In many ways, blogs like this one have become the new public square. People meet in these online venues to discuss the important issues of the day. Blogs have also taken on some of the function of the press.

Alexis de Tocqueville wrote a great deal about the value of a free press and voluntary civic organizations in a democracy. Tocqueville believed that the village square, with its garden and rotary clubs, was the training ground for democracy on the state and national level. He argued that a vibrant and competitive press was essential to a healthy democracy. Without access to a multiplicity of views, democracy would become a creeping oligarchy.

Earlier this week, it struck me that all blogs are privately owned and operated. How does this private ownership affect the quality of speech online? As blogs become bigger and more important, is there any danger that they will be taken over by corporate interests, used to promote a narrow agenda, and limit the expression of inconvenient views? How do we prevent the development of oligarchy in the blogosphere?

::flip::

This Sunday is World Day Against Child Labor, and the UN wants to spotlight the 1,000,000+ children working in mines around the world. Child miners perform heavy physical labor in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. They risk injury or death from the awkward, heavy loads and the instability of underground structures. They risk illness from the chemicals used in mining and the exposure to the elements.

Mines are often located in remote areas without schools, legal services, or social services. The harsh boom-or-bust conditions lead child miners into prostitution and drug and alcohol abuse.

"Because the money they earn is crucial to ensuring that they and their families survive, many are unable to attend school at all. These children are digging for survival," the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) says.

"Underground, they endure stifling heat and darkness, set explosives for underground blasts, and crawl or swim through dangerous, unstable tunnels. Above ground, they dive into rivers in search of minerals, or may dig sand, rock and dirt and spend hours pounding rocks into gravel using heavy, oversized tools made for adults," it adds.

We can't wait for the federal government to get its act together! We need an Apollo program to fund known transportation and energy solutions and to research new energy technologies for the 21st century.  

California has the 6th largest economy in the world.  It's a state that prides itself on its environmental policies, and also a state that is particularly sensitive to the price of gasoline.  Right now, California's economy is sagging, and it will sag even further as the price of energy increases.

Imagine the state of California pulling together cities, counties, universities, businesses, energy experts, environmentalists, and citizens to create an energy program that ends our dependence on foreign oil, makes energy a lower cost of doing business, and builds new industries to keep California's economy healthy.

We can do it!

For many years, my revolutionary emblem has been a canvas grocery bag.

I bought my first canvas grocery bag 20 years ago.  In that time, it has been to the grocery store twice a week, replacing over 2000 paper or plastic bags.  It holds more than a paper grocery bag, it has convenient carrying handles, and it's rugged and durable.  It can hold swimsuits and towels, a snack for the park, library books, or a contribution to a potluck supper.

Empty, it holds a message from the first green revolution.  "The solutions," it says through its unbleached wrinkles, "are simple.  They are within your reach.  They are in the dozens of daily decisions you make, and in your willingness to see how the choices you make affect the rest of the world. You have power.  Your choices matter.  You can help create the world you want to live in, or you can contribute to the misery of humanity."

I think this is a message we need now, when so many people feel so powerless. We need to fight on the national and state level, and, at the same time, we need to pay attention to the small things we can do in our daily lives that can make a difference.

In the 70s, a lot of people were still committed to the ideals that we picked up during the 60s. There was a lot of counterculture blooming, and a lot of people working to grow the new, greener, fairer, more equal world alongside the old one.  Over time, many people got tired, relaxed their ideals bit by bit, and bought SUVs.

There have been people who have been working patiently all these years, exploring green construction or cleaning products or solar power or recycling or better infrastructure design.  Mostly, though, this country turned their backs on them and went shopping at Walmart.

It's time to back away from mainstream culture, slowly, and go talk to the people who have been working on the blueprints for a better future. Time to reflect on the way we live and the way it affects the planet and the other folks who share the Earth. Time to   get off the oil high and see where we can go on our own two feet.

What can I do today to make the world a better place?