COALITION OF POSITIVE ENERGY

MY CHOICE NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN

robpavao — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:01:32 +0000

I have been asked by friends and family why Jason and I don’t adopt children. We’ve been told that we would be great parents and that we have so much love to offer a child. The issue for Jason and I having a child is not about how much love we have to give because between the both of us, there would be plenty. Our concern is more about whether or not we are financially stable to ensure that (if we had a child) they would have everything they need. Jason and I have discussed the possibility of a child – the discussion was short and both of us agreed that having a child didn’t make sense for us.

Recently – I made the following statement on my Facebook page:

What would happen if we taxed families for how many children they had? I don’t have any so why are my taxes the same as those who do? Thoughts? To elaborate – think about the environmental impact a family that consists of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 children – diapers, meat consumption (let’s get real, most people eat meat and that has a huge environmental impact), carbon footprint etc….much more than me, my partner and small dog. Food for thought.

Let me just say that I am not anti-family or for people having children….I just want people to be more present in the choices that they make and what implications they may have on the planet as a whole. Let’s be real – most people DO NOT think beyond what they can see. How many of us really think about the amount of garbage that we are contributing to landfills everyday or what the environmental implications of meat consumption are? Most of us don’t care about these things because we don’t see the outcome. We don’t live in the slums of India or Brazil and are not faced with the poverty and starvation that so many millions face on a daily basis.

What are people’s motives for having children today? Is it because they can? Do they feel morally obligated to do so or is it to continue their family name? Whatever the reason – I don’t believe people are putting much thought into their decision to have a child. How many times have you heard this: “We didn’t mean to have a baby, it just happened” or “He/she was an accident”………obviously not much thought was given about what could possible happen after having unprotected sex.

I am not complaining about paying taxes – I agree that our government should use our taxes to offer welfare or social services to those who are in need of them. Now consider this – a family of six may require more space, produce more garbage, drive more, etc….while someone who chooses to be single doesn’t require as much – shouldn’t that single person deserve more of a tax-break due to the reduced carbon footprint? We are living in a time when scientists are saying that we will require 7 more earth’s to accommodate humanity’s current dependency on fossil fuels and lifestyle, so why isn’t that message getting across? Why wouldn’t people make more of a conscious effort in their decision to have children. If our planet will not be able to accommodate us – where will all these people go? I hear they are building colonies on the moon or even Mars – is that even a reality for families that can’t even pay to put food on the table?

My original Facebook statement wasn’t meant to upset anyone – it was meant to provoke thought and debate. It was meant to make each of us look at ourselves and really think about the implications of the choices we make. We have to stop being distracted by the promises of BIG CORPORATIONS. We have to wake-up from the dreams the pharmaceutical companies promise and we have to take off the blinders to ensure we are present and are making the choices we want to make and not what the food, government and automobile industries tell us we should be making. When we remove those distractions, maybe bringing a child into this harsh reality isn’t as easy to make as it was prior to all the distractions.

For more information about over population, please visit: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/eye/overpopulation/effect.html or http://www.naturalnews.com/039490_overpopulation_myth_ecological_footprint_population_collapse.html

To review the environmental implications of meat consumption, please visit: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/beef/environmental_impacts/ or http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/agriculture/2013/Ecological-Livestock.pdf

For more information on the current state of our environment, please visit: http://350.org/ or http://www.davidsuzuki.org/

Knowledge is power!

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

LIGHT IN THE WAKE OF DARKNESS IN OKLAHOMA….

robpavao — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:12:43 +0000

May God send miracles to those touched by the devastation of the May 20 tornado in Oklahoma……just when you think there is no hope, a miracle happens…..watch this awesome video:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50147264n

I hope that the universe allows us to experience more stories and videos such as these in the wake of such tragedy…..

Here is a link of what you can do to help:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/20/us/iyw-how-to-help-moore/index.html

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

SOCIAL MEDIA – A MEANS FOR DISTRACTION or A TOOL TO SPARK CHANGE?

robpavao — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:53:59 +0000

I am amazed at how so many people are afraid to face the realities of what is happening around them and how they don’t want to get involved in issues that inflict injustice on other people, animals and the environment. I scan the Facebook pages of friends and acquaintances and am awestruck at the meaningless posts they want others to read. Here are some examples (without mentioning names, of course):

a friend liked a page dedicated to ‘hot guys in sweat pants’
someone posted a link to pictures of ‘people of Wal-Mart’ obviously to ridicule their look and weirdness
people bragging about how great their lives are (without being humble)
people bragging at how great their make-up or haircuts look

I know…..why is it so wrong for people to post these things – they are only sharing these things for laughs or because they are proud. Maybe it’s me – but I don’t enjoy poking fun at people anymore or telling everyone on Facebook that I love porn. Maybe I am making too much of an assumption – I have posted pictures of concerts I have attended and of authors I have met. Why do I feel that the posts most other people make are not as authentic? Why should I care? I don’t know what contributions these people make to social, political or environmental causes. Here’s why I care…..

I know some of these people and I know their personalities and their habits…..when someone tells me they don’t recycle because their landlord doesn’t supply them with the resources to recycle, why should they bother? They would rather surf the net for pictures of hot guys or follow the lives of porn stars than engage in a conversation with their landlord about setting up a recycling station in their building. That’s the reality.

I have also engaged in pretty heated debates on Facebook because of what someone may have posted. I stand behind everything I post – because I believe whatever I post 100% I try not to judge the lifestyle’s of others but will stand up for what I believe in. Many people have commented on many of my Facebook posts telling me “why do you post those, they are too violent”, “I don’t want to see that”, “Facebook isn’t for activism”. I guess Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites are only for ‘hooking up’, porn, making fun/judging others or to post meaningless crap that continues to distract people from the realities and injustices BIG corporations, BIG oil and our governments are creating to ensure we don’t ‘remove our blinders’.

I may not be able to go to the Arctic to make a point that Shell/Exxon/BP or any other oil company should not be drilling there – but I can certainly post and blog about it to get the message out. I may not be able to afford an electric vehicle right now but if I keep spreading the word to pressure our governments and the automobile industries, maybe I will one day. I may not be blocking transport trucks from delivery animals to slaughter houses but I can surely share the horrors these animals go through and possibly making someone think twice before they purchase factor farmed animals.

I know and understand our need to be desensitized to social, political and environmental issues – life is difficult, but if we continue to leave our blinders on, imagine what the world would look like tomorrow? Think about it for just one moment – if people didn’t advocate for the environment and sustainable energy, what would our environment look like today? If people didn’t advocate for equality or human rights, what would our world look like today? Imagine if we didn’t have PETA or individuals who actually care about the pain and suffering animals go through, what would our world look like today?

Social media is a powerful tool – with it, we can send messages across the globe instantaneously and start revolutions, we can ignite the spark and let the flames of positive change engulf the planet. Are you ready?

Together, we can make the world a more positive one.

IS THE PLANET TAKING ITS LAST BREATH?

robpavao — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:09:10 +0000

Let me tell you what I am not……I’m not a scientist, physicist, a climatologist, or an expert on environmental issues. I like to weigh the pros and the cons of any situation and do enjoy a good debate. In terms of the planet and our environment - there is no need for debate. Scientists have been warning us that if humanity continues to rely on fossil fuels and dirty oil instead of thinking about sustainable energy, we would cause a shift in climate change that would have a devastating effect on our planet and humanity forever.

I am 44 years old and I have always had a love for nature and our environment. As a teenager, the extent of my environmental activism was wearing t-shirts about saving the planet and protecting our forests. At that time (nearly 30 years ago) I didn’t understand the severity humanity’s actions would have on the planet – whose fault is that? I don’t know. Should I have taken more of an interest, should our government and politicians taken this issue more seriously, should we have relied on the educational system to put emphasis on environmental issues? Scientists warned us over 25 years ago that our dependency on fossil fuels would have a devastating effect on our climate but the urgency of their message was ignored and now we are in a ‘do or die’ situation and we must get involved.

So many of us fear the knowledge of climate change and don’t want to disrupt their lives with this knowledge. Many people think “what’s the point, there’s nothing I can do about it now”. Thoughts like this are so dangerous because when we close ourselves off from the reality of what is happening – we close ourselves off to potentially finding the solutions to those same issues. If and when we understand the severity of the problem and what the problem may cause in the very near future – shouldn’t that knowledge engage people to seek the solutions to those problems? I understand life is very difficult enough and that we have our own personal problems….we think – “let’s rely on the experts to fix this”. Well, experts need the support of the masses to challenge those who don’t believe there is an issue and only care about profit margins.

Here are some interesting statistics:

NASA completed a study to find out how much carbon in the atmosphere is too much – they indicated 350 ppm (parts per million). In 2012, readings of carbon in the atmosphere were 395 ppm
Arctic ice shield has been reduced by more than 50%
Oceans are 30% more acidic than they were over 30 years ago
Fossil fuel industry is allowed to pollute our environment without financial repercussions
Top 5 oil companies (Exxon, Chevron, BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips) had record profits in 2011 – over $130 billion dollars or $375 million dollars/day
Top 5 oil companies received $6.6 million/day in federal tax breaks
Top 5 oil companies spend $444,000 thousand dollars/day lobbying congress
Rex Tillerson CEO, Exxon made $100,000/day

Here are some key issues from the WMO’s (World Meteorological Organization) 2012 Climate Statement summary:

2012 in the top 10 warmest years ever on record
Above average temperatures were observed in most of the globe’s surface area
Greenland ice sheet had the largest melt since satellite records began 34 years ago

What can we do? Call your legislator’s and ask them to support sustainable energy. Demand high performance/affordable electric cars. Join a global movement and help them take the fight to parliament. It is our obligation to do whatever we can to save our planet but we must act now.

Here are some great links to connect you to a global community of environmental activism:

DO THE MATH – YouTube video

http://350.org/

http://wwf.org/

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/

A detailed version of The Statement on the Status of the Global Climate 2012 report summary and additional information about The World Meteorological Organization can be found at: http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/press_releases/pr_972_en.html

If we all work collectively – we can ensure that this planet will never take its last breath. We may not be able to stop climate change but we can make changes today that will be positive for our environment, animals and for humanity tomorrow.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

PROGRESS???

robpavao — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:21:08 +0000

Minnesota representative, Peggy Scott, R-Andover, cried on the house floor in light of Minnesota approving same-sex marriage. Here are her comments:

“My heart breaks for Minnesota, It’s a divisive issue that divides our state,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes as she stood on the House floor after the vote. “It’s not what we needed to be doing at this time. We want to come together for the state of Minnesota, we don’t want to divide it”

I find it ironic how she indicated that she didn’t want to divide the state of Minnesota yet, she is doing just that by not wanting to give all citizens of Minnesota equality and protection under the law.

Another appalling news story comes out of Russia were a 23-year old man was beaten to death after telling two acquaintances he was gay. It’s no secret that Vladimir Putin is not a supporter of the LGBT (lesbian, gay bisexual and transgendered) community and that in general, Russia is very conservative in terms of these types of social issues but when people are being killed for being gay – everyone has an obligation and duty to speak out. Ignorance and hate does not constitute the right to murder someone.

In light of these events, I thought I would post inspiring stories of progress from allies of the LGBT (lesbian, gay bisexual and transgendered) community:

Back to Minnesota…..St. Paul, Minnesota mayor – Chris Coleman renamed the Wabasha Bridge to Freedom To Marry Bridge. Here is his tweet:

I renamedthe WabashaBridge 2 the Freedom to Marry Bridge for this week. Marriage equality here we come #Time4Marriage twitter.com/mayorcoleman/s…

— Chris Coleman (@mayorcoleman) May 13, 2013

CUBA

Mariela Castro is the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education (Havana) and activist for LGBT rights in Cuban. She is the daughter of current Cuban president Raul Castro and feminist and revolutionary Vilma Espin. She is the niece of former president Fidel Castro. She recently lead a march in Cuba against homophobia. Here is the BBC report:

PARIS

Pop sensation – MIKA, will be headlining a free concert in Paris, France on May 21, 2013 to show his support for marriage equality and to stand against homophobia. Here is Mika’s video for Celebrate:

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

MOTHER’S DAY – TRIBUTE VIDEO

robpavao — Mon, 13 May 2013 01:09:49 +0000

This video is for all those mothers around the world who are thinking about the sons, daughter’s, brother’s, sister’s, husband’s and wives that they have lost in combat or because of war. My heart goes out to you and to those you have lost. PS – For any of you that have lost a mother – may her memories always warm your heart.

MOTHER’S PRIDE

Oh she knows
She takes his hand
And prays the child will understand
At the door they watch the men go by
In the clothes that daddy wore

Mother’s pride
Baby boy
His fathers eyes
He’s a soldier waiting for war
Time will come
He’ll hold a gun
His father’s son

And as he grows
He hears the band
Takes the step from boy to man
And at the shore she waves her son goodbye
Like the man she did before

Mother’s pride
Just a boy
His country’s eyes
He’s a soldier waving at the shore
And in her heart the time has come
To lose a son

And all the husbands, all the sons, all the lovers gone
They make no difference
No difference in the end
Still hear the woman say your daddy died a hero
In the name of God and name

Mother’s pride
Crazy boy
His lifeless eyes
He’s a soldier now forevermore
He’ll hold a gun ’till kingdom come

Thank you Mr. George Michael for writing and producing such a beautiful and emotionally charged song. For more information about George Michael and to download his music please visit iTunes or George Michael’s website at: http://www.georgemichael.com

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

BOY SCOUTS WILL NOT CATCH THE ‘GAY DISEASE’

robpavao — Sat, 11 May 2013 21:15:53 +0000

I don’t know how many times the LGBT community can say this: We are not trying to recruit your sons and daughters, we don’t have a ‘gay agenda’, we are not being elected to push our ‘gay policies’, we are not teaching in schools to promote the ‘gay agenda’, we don’t want to have equal protection under the law in order to fuck the lives of heterosexuals up, we don’t want to enrol our children into the boy scouts so that they can ‘change’ the other boys, we are not trying to convert your sons and daughters and we don’t want to marry so that we can ruin yours. What we want is to be treated like any other human being – THAT IS ALL!

When people such as Keith and Katherine Goode make stereotypical and ignorant comments about not wanting homosexuals in the Boy Scouts, what are they really afraid of? What can a gay scout possible suggest or do to instil such fear in people? In my 44 years – I have never heard of an institution/organization become less productive because they realized ‘gay people’ were part of that institution or organization.

The only advice I have for Keith and Katherine Goode is as follows: If you don’t like gays and don’t want to live in a world that is inclusive of all people, than you probably should create a commune and shut the rest of the world from your lives. Gay people exist. You may have come across many of us in your daily lives, at the supermarket, at your gym, at work, in the park, at school, in a restaurant and even at church and you probably never even knew. We exist and we no longer want to be pushed back into hiding – we want to live our lives just as you do, OUT and PROUD. Also – if you are worried that your boys may be exposed to gays in the scouts, than you may want to remove them and let them believe that your ignorance is what acceptance, love and compassion is all about.

For those of you that are not familiar with why I am writing this blog, please watch this video of what Keith and Katherine Goode believe will happen should homosexuals be open and honest about who they are in the Boy Scouts:

According to this family – Gays are not as committed in terms of defending the constitution as heterosexuals. We are not capable of being ‘morally straight’ – like so many heterosexuals are. Gays are not capable of being physically strong and couldn’t possibly hike for miles like heterosexuals can and we are not capable of being mentally awake to provide first-aid care to someone who may need it because we are gay. What??? Also – they are concerned with where ‘the gays’ will sleep on camping trips. Really?

I am sad that Keith and Katherine Goode feel this way and are perpetuating their ignorance onto their children, hopefully their children will understand that they don’t have to believe the ignorance and prejudices their parents believe. There is only hope.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

ACT NOW TO SAVE OUR PLANET.

robpavao — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:48:30 +0000

Please take off the blinders and ACT NOW to save our environment, planet and humanity! We must stop saying that we can’t take on the big oil corporations like Exxon, BP and Shell – but WE CAN! Scientists have indicated that we must drastically cut our dependency on fossil fuels and we must do so in the next 5 years.

Please watch and share this video with everyone you know….we all have an obligation to the planet to ask our government and oil companies to invest in sustainable energy that will SAVE OUR PLANET…..

This video shows us exactly what we can do to create positive and effective change in the world. It is time to show the BIG OIL companies that we can hurt them were it counts – their bottom line.

For more information and to advocate for the planet on a grass-roots movement….please join http://350.org/

Together, we can make the world a more positive one.

LET YOUR PASSION and COMPASSION CREATIVE POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE WORLD

robpavao — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:25:19 +0000

My full-time job satisfies me to a certain degree – with it, I can live, buy food, clothing and have shelter. It also allows me to work on what I am most passionate about and that is to advocate for the LGBT (lesbian/gay/bi/transgender) communities, the ethical treatment of animals and our environment. Through my blog, I am able to share my passion with you and to shed light on these social issues. I hope that people view my posts and are inspired to act and become part of the Coalition of Positive Energy whether that is by making better choices daily for our environment, making better choices in food consumption to ensure the ethical treatment of animals or by simply understanding that because someone is born gay/lesbian/bi/transgendered doesn’t make them any less of a human been than they are.

There have been many historical moments where humanity has shown its very dark and cruel side – slavery, genocide, environmental catastrophe’s, greed, violence in the name of religion etc….many think that these issues were too complicated to do anything about, they are wrong. Think about the civil rights movement - why did it take so long for society to understand that killing someone for the colour of their skin was completely wrong or that it was alright for black people to sit at the back of the bus? For me, standing up against hate, ignorance and intolerance is courageous – we should be all grateful for those that inspired change for equality and freedom such as Claudette Colvin, Rosa Parks, Representative John Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and countless others that fought for civil rights.

World War II saw the genocide of 6 millions jews – had the world not stood up to the tyranny of Adolph Hitler, what would the world look like today. When we decide not to act for the greater good in our world – things like genocide, slavery, greed, violence, tyranny, dictatorship and violence will continue.

We all have a moral obligation to ensure that we live in a world and in a society that comes from love, compassion and without judgement. Allow your heart to speak for your and for what is right and for what creates positive change in our world. We know that governments shouldn’t be taking people’s rights and freedom’s away, we know that dictatorship is wrong, we know that oil spills cause environmental catastrophe’s, we know organized religion (like governments) are in place to keep people from free thought – what ‘they’ don’t want us to know is that we can do something about it.

What is your passion and what positive change will you create in the world from your compassion?

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

LOVE IS EVERYTHING – THANK YOU LADY KIER!

robpavao — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:10:47 +0000

Here is a classic vibe from the amazing and talented dance trio – Deee-Lite from 1992. The song is hauntingly beautiful and ahead of the game – after 20 years it still is relevant and ‘chillout’ before chill was cool. Deee-Lite released 3 studion albums in the 90′s – The fabulouslness of World Clique (1990), Infinity Within (1992) and Dewdrops in the Garden (1994). Dewdrops was completely ground-breaking and has completely stood the test of time (along with their other 2 releases). Each time I revisit the music of Deee-Lite and the fantastic vocal talents of Lady Kier, I keep asking myself: “what happened to the good old days of dance music, real dance music – not what the pop artists of today are calling it. Where artists had a message – whether it was social or politically and injected their message with a beat, a postive vibe and made it fun?” Deee-Lite was pivotal in infusing their political and social message into their extra funky and housey vibes.

Lady Kier continues to tour and belts out Deee-Lites past hits and continues to inspire us with her own original and current hits “Bullet Proof” being her latest and absolutely fantastic house vibe. I look forward to seeing Lady Kier in the future doing both gigs as performer and dj (hopefully she joins us in Toronto again for Gay Pride 2013 – she was fantastic last year!)

In the meantime – enjoy this classic vibe and escape to a time of innocence love and where ‘real’ dance music ruled!

LOVE IS EVERYTHING

I woke in the middle of the night
Just to see how you look when you’re sleeping
I don’t need a conversation
I just want to feel your vibration
I know your dreaming
And I hope it’s about me

Real…
Sometimes you talk too much
No words only melodies
And there’s nothing else to say
Nothing else to say
The words just get in the way
I’ve got to find our melody

Bring it back to me
Bring it back to me
Cause I know that you can feel it when it’s real
There’s a smile on your face
And it reminds me
How much I like my place
Right next to you

Real…
Follow your dreams
No matter how far they seem
Searching for the reason
The mystery
We can only dream

For more information about Lady Kier – please visit her website: www.ladykier.com

Love is everything…….

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!