Razoo Blog

Ditch the Bottle, Save the World and Win Something!

Ryan Morris — Thu, 01 May 2008 09:36:00 -0500

In a previous blog post I mentioned that Americans toss almost 38 billion water bottles in the trash every year. To combat this environmental waste, Brita (you know, the folks who make those cool water filtration products for your home) and Nalgene (check any college student's backpack for one of their fashionable water bottles) teamed up to create the FilterForGood campaign. The success of the campaign is determined by the number of disposable water bottles saved from ending up in your local dump. The environmentally conscious endeavor requires participants to pledge to reduce bottled water waste by using a reusable water bottle (Nalgene, encouraged) or filtered water (this is where Brita's pitchers and faucet mount filters come in.)

I was very excited when I learned about the pledge, so naturally I signed it online and began taking steps to become an active participant. The FilterForGood folks were stoked too and sent us some reusable water bottles for the staff to use along with a few faucet-mount filtration systems to give away.

Get Free Stuff, Save the Planet

Leave a comment at the bottom of this entry describing ways you plan to get the word out about reducing disposable water bottle use. The top three comments will receive a Brita faucet-mount filtration system. Oh, if you're wondering who will be judging the comments, look no further than Razoo's celebrity panel of super heros and rock stars, of course. ;-)

To track the success of the campaign you can view how many water bottles have been saved by using an interactive map on the campaign Web site.

Links of Interest

You Can Help Feed the World Today!

Ryan Morris — Thu, 01 May 2008 09:34:00 -0500

The other day, Razoo'er Roshani Kothari notified me about a post on the growing global food crisis. The increasing number of food riots in Africa and Asia along with a dramatic rise in food prices have elevated the exposure of this international problem.

According to the post Roshani directed me towards, "The United Nations said this week that 100 million people are now urgently at risk of not having enough food to eat -- and that includes people on every continent of the world."

Photo Source: wmnet.org.uk

Sounds pretty scary, huh? Luckily, there are things you can do to help fight this problem. Check out the OneWorld group on Razoo so that you can educate yourself, spread awareness, and donate time or your expertise.

Pioneers of Prosperity Africa Prize 2007

Ryan Morris — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:31:00 -0500

The Legatum Prosperity Africa Prize is a program which "seeks to recognize and reward the best of small business in emerging markets." The grand prize winner received $100,000 for training and business development.

Check out the trailer for Unlocking Africa, a documentary on the Legatum Pioneers of Prosperity Africa Prize program. More info on this awesome endeavor to come!

This Campaign Keeps You Hydrated and the Earth Greener

Ryan Morris — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:39:00 -0500

It is estimated that Americans toss almost 38 billion water bottles in the trash every year. To combat this environental waste, Brita and Nalgene teamed up to create the FilterForGood campaign.

Gauging it's success by the number of disposable water bottles saved from ending up in a landfill, the program requires participants to pledge to reduce bottled water waste by using a reusable water bottle (Nalgene, encouraged) or filtered water (this is where Brita's pitchers and faucet mount filters come in.)

I'm so excited about this campaign I signed the pledge and am in the process of making sure everyone in the office has a reusable water bottle. You can get involved by taking the pledge and joining the cause on Razoo today.

To see how many water bottles have been saved, you can view a really cool interactive map on the campaign Web site. So go on, take the pledge, help the planet and enjoy a greener, healthier earth.

Happy Earth Day!

Crocs (the Footwear, Not the Animal) Raise Questions in My Mind

Ryan Morris — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:46:00 -0500

Just a few moments ago, my co-worker Robin got a text from a friend stating "2-year olds in Crocs make me laugh." This made Jenn, Robin and I all giggle for a bit and opened a brief discussion on how silly or awesome we think the trendy rubber clogs look. Just then, Jenn mentioned an article she had read about a toddler who's foot got stuck in an escalator while wearing the holey footwear. We started searching the Net for the article, digested it and then moved on to the Croc Web site. In one of the product testimonials, Jenn noticed there was an endorsement written by a child:

''I am 5 years old and I have been wearing Crocs for one year now. It is the only shoe my mom can get me to wear. Everyone asks me all the time "where did you get your shoes?" I have red and navy blue, the red is my favorite. I am looking forward to getting more colors of crocs."

Photo Source: http://www.hegemonyrules.net

We've got nothing against the Crocs company, but this testimonial started to raise questions in my head related to child exploitation:

1) How far is too far when using minors to pitch a product?
2) Is this instance OK, or just a precursor to more marketing by the youngest marketing segment, to the youngest marketing segment?
3) Several iterations and evolutions later, does this turn into things much, much worse -- like child labor?

Share your thoughts in the comments section below, or in a discussion board.

Obama For President, Ya Digg?

Ryan Morris — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:06:00 -0500

Yesterday, while surfing the blogosphere, I visited one of my favorite news crowd-sourcing sites, Digg.com. I entered the term "Obama" and was surprised to see that almost three weeks later, folks are still ranting on (yes, ranting) about Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermon which contained several remarks some members of the media have labeled as "anti-american," "racist," and "pro-terrorist." [For those of you not familar with him, Rev. Wright was pastor of the church Senator Barack Obama (D - IL) attended when not in Washington, D.C.]

In another Digg search, I entered the term, "race" and reviewed links ranging from the full text of Barack's March 18 speech in Philadelphia to a CBS poll surveying the success of Mr. Obama's oratory genius. Ahh, the power of the Internet: it leaves no opinion or angle unturned ...

Watch: Obama's "A More Perfect Union" Speech

Yep, everywhere I surf on the Net someone's got an opinion about Rev. Wright or the speech Barack gave shortly after the controversial tape of his pastor was released. What to do? Jump in and give my two cents of course ...

Defending My Hero

People vote for candidates for a variety of reasons. Policy-wise, Obama and Hillary Clinton are almost identical. The deciding factor on who I plan to vote for has more to do with life experience and how it relates to the future generation of America. Most Americans aren't wealthy for the majority of their life. Most haven't been the First Lady, or had a childhood filled with upper-crust privilege. Nope, most American's work long hours for a wage that doesn't justify the amount of effort they put in -- or the results their employer will gain from it. Many young Americans come from a divorced or single parent home. An increasing number of young American's are offspring of a bi-racial or multi-racial union. None of these experiences line up with the life of Mrs. Clinton or Senator McCain (R-AZ), and after reviewing the side-by-side comparison sheet of all three candidate views, life experience rules.

When November comes around, you can bet your tax rebate that I'll be voting for Mr. Obama. It's not without hesitation however. You see, when I first learned that the senator from Illinois was making a go for prez, I was happy and saddened at the same time. Ever since I was about eight or nine years old, I became aware of the implications skin color can have on social circles, economic status and social standing. There is a unique social learning curve you endure as a bi-racial child, so being told I "look like a nigger" in the sixth grade by one of my peers had a profound effect on what friends I would keep, colleges I would attend, employers I would seek out and organizations I would support.

As a result of several incidents like the one above throughout my adolescent years, I was always keen to an open dialogue of race and progress with my friends and family. When I was in high school, I remember having this optimistic view that racism would be eradicated in my lifetime. In one particular conversation with my school mate Vic, I vividly remember asking him if we would see racism's downfall in America before we die. He looked up from his cardboard-tasting cafeteria pizza very confidently and replied, "No."

Vic's reply would stay with me for several years, drive me to read as many books on race, ethnicity, and social economic theory, and ultimately help me come into agreement with him. I guess I can chalk up my hope to demolish hate before I die to a youthfully optimistic --yet, naive-- outlook on life. Don't get me wrong though --I still have great hope the hate we experience in this country will be eradicated one day-- it just won't be when Vic or I are around.

This leads to the aforementioned "hesitation" I experience when I mention that I plan on voting for Senator Obama. More directly, I'm scared he'll be assassinated.

You see, there is still an entire group of Americans who carry the baggage, grief and pain of the United States, pre-desegregation. These Americans are on both sides of the racial fence (hence, some of Rev. Wright's remarks). It is these same American's who give birth to younger Americans, instill the same backwards and apathetic moral compass and ultimately allow hate to fester in the fabric of this nation.

I want to see someone who represents the experience of the majority of young America win the presidency and run this nation. Almost equally, I'm fearful of what tragedy could result in trying to elect the most qualified person for the job.

Am I just living in a cloud of fear, or are my feelings justified?

**Note: The views/opinions expressed in this article are the views/opinions of the author, not Razoo.com.

Taxi Cab Confessions: Political Violence in Northern Ireland

Robin Weekley — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:25:00 -0500

I spent the better part of last week in Northern Ireland. I flew into Belfast on a grey Thursday morning and took a long taxi ride into the heart of the city and my hotel, only a ten minutes walk from the inspiring façade of Queen’s College. My knowledge of Northern Ireland was short at best; I’ve seen the Hollywood interpretations, thanks to Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford (The Devil’s Own and Patriot Games), and heard bits and pieces of a difficult history through such well-groomed mouthpieces as U2. I did, after all, know the all the words to “Bloody Sunday,” based on the infamous 1972 day in Derry, Northern Ireland.

The sidewalks were wet from the rains that hang over Belfast this time of year, and students were leaving class. From where I sat, everything was normal; buildings, people, street noise and advertisements abounded. The black cab wove in and out of Lisburn Rd., Belfast’s answer to the neighboring High Street, and hung a left a few blocks down. We were driving down roads with painted curbsides, blue, white and red, “the loyalist colors,” Ken said. Ken was my taxi driver and tour guide, a Belfast resident for four decades. We squeezed down the innards of Belfast, stopping occasionally for a piece of history or the odd mural, where Ken would look in the rearview mirror to check my attention, or perhaps my reaction.

The Troubles, the period of sectarian violence between the late 1960’s and the Belfast Agreement (or Good Friday Agreement) of 1998, had marked up the streets and inevitably, the people of this town. The Troubles were made up of violent outbreaks and political activity between the majority Protestant/loyalist community and the nationalist community, generally Roman Catholic. At its most basic, the loyalists wanted to remain loyal to the crown and under British rule, and the nationalist wanted independence and self-rule. The conflict has been called everything from a civil war to terrorism, and was characterized by a flood of paramilitary violence and political warfare, leaving many dead or wounded in its 30 year wake.

Falls Rd. is synonymous with this past and stands not far off from Shankill Road, its Protestant counterpart. Both were hosts to the parasitic ethnic conflict, bearing battle wounds and inscriptions above doorframes, commemorating the matryed and the lost-too-early. The murals too, stare down from high in alleys, retaining walls and building fronts; Frederick Douglass, the mural tells me, believed in the nationalist cause. So did Ghandi, who resides next to a pipe smoking George W. Bush caricature. On the other side, the Queen’s portrait and birthday are celebrated blocks from Bobby Sands, the original of the infamous Hunger Strikers of the early 1980’s.

Between them all, the murals, the roads, the claimed curbs, stand towering Peace Lines. The Peace Lines, ironically, are a series of barriers that run through Belfast, separating Catholic and Protestant territory. The walls grow from lines in the ground, your side/my side, to twenty-five foot walls iced with barbed wire and nets to keep stones from being thrown over. Ken drove us through one of the few gates in the peace lines, which stretch for 13 miles, and we skimmed the edge of a section where tourists and well-wishers, including Bill Clinton, have left messages of peace and reconciliation.

As we sped past stone cathedrals and public housing, the irony of the walls sat heavy in me. Despite the sharp decrease in violence since the 1998 Belfast Agreement that ushered in ceasefire proclamations and paramilitary disarmament, the calm seems to run thin. The Peace Lines mark the irresolution of a long and tired conflict, a scar that cuts through Belfast, scoring the edge of stability and the return to a darker and more dangerous time.

But then, we circled a round-a-bout, I leaned back in my seat and snapped a photo of a overgrown church through the back window of the cab. As we lurched forward, I was confronted by the rest of the city, the imposing signs of a new Belfast in every direction. Titanic’s shipyard outlines the harbor and the giant ferris wheel, sponsored by Ulster Bank of Ireland, claims the skyline, much like the London Eye. City Hall is nearby, regal and serene, and the Merchant Hotel is down the street, boasting chic visitors like Tom Hanks and Bill Murray, as well as the most expensive cocktail in the world. Van Morrison and Snow Patrol call Belfast home, along with local favorites Foy Vance and Oppenheimer. People are everywhere, suits and students, and from this vantage point, the walls all disappear.

We’re nearing the end of our tour, and Ken drops us at the Hewitt pub in the shiny city centre. We pass Hotel Europa as we climb out, and Ken chimes in, “Didja’ know Europa is the most bombed hotel in the world?!” I’m reminded again that here, things are two steps forward, one step back.

Swanky restaurants and reinvented pubs line streets the entire walk back towards Queen’s. It’s late now, and university students have left their wellies in favor of footballer jerseys and mini-skirts. Someone asks me about the new Rambo movie and we laugh at American films. Secretly, I wonder if he’s Protestant or Catholic, if he walked Falls or Shankill and if he thinks it all will hold. But I don’t ask, it feels foreign to talk about such things now, when the night is free from worry and the ferris wheel is lighting up the sky.

“Insofar as Northern Ireland can be described as peaceful, that peace has come at the price of reconciliation.”- from a 2006 United States Institute of Peace report

To learn more:

The Troubles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles

Peace Lines: http://www.mspacenyc.com/belfast.home.html

Belfast Tourism: http://www.gotobelfast.com

Our Home Page Went to the Spa For A Makeover

Ryan Morris — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:13:00 -0500

Jason, Razoo's Creative Director, worked really hard on improving the look, feel and organization of the home page for Razoo. We made these changes based on member feedback, best practices and what some Keebler elves told us.

Also, you will notice we got rid of the splash screen located at http://beta.razoo.com and had it redirected to http://community.razoo.com. The beloved video on Razoo has been moved to the home page Jason freshened up, so you can still show it off to your friends for a little inspiration.

Is the Problem too Big?

Jenn Fraher — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:29:00 -0500

We're coming to the end of March, when we've been focusing on different water issues across the course of the month. There are many more aspects of the water problem that we could examine, from water management and its impact on the environment (such as in the Grand Canyon) to water shortages and droughts in cities around the world and controversial techniques to recover water from the ocean. A question that rises above all of these individual aspects of the problem though, is whether an individual can make a difference.

When faced with a problem like the a shortage of usable water and the numerous nuances of the problem, I'm easily overwhelmed. We're taught in school (and in turn teach the kids around us) to shut off the water when we're brushing out teeth, and we avoid watering our grass, at least during the day. Still, do these small actions really have an impact?

As I think about this question, I'm inspired by a book that I recently read that recounts the life of John Snow. While his name isn't widely known, his actions in relation to waterborne diseases have had a significant impact on thousands of lives.

John Snow was a physician who lived in London during the early and mid 1800s. At that time, cholera was a disease that frequently devastated India, Russia, and many countries in Europe, including the U.K. London in particular was affected by outbreaks of the disease. Many physicians blamed the outbreaks of the disease on "miasmas" or poisonous gases caused by rotting organic matter. Snow, however, believed that the disease was caused by microscopic organisms (although he couldn't identify them). As the outbreaks continued in London, Snow began a methodical study of the city's different water supplies to confirm his hypothesis that people were being made sick because of water that had been contaminated by waste. By mapping the path of the disease and correlating that map to each house's water source, Snow was able to prove a correlation between the sickness and a contaminated water source.

So, what does this example have to do with us today? John Snow is an example for us today for a few reasons. First, he was persistent in the face of significant opposition that the popular assumptions about miasmas were incorrect. This persistence lasted over many years and likely cost him significantly in terms of his reputation and professional opportunities. He didn't stop at objecting to what he felt was wrong, but was persistent in exploring ways to prove or disprove his hypothesis, even though he couldn't actually see the micro-organisms that were causing cholera. His methodical approach to the problem gave rise to a new discipline--epidemiology--which has since helped to understand and address the causes of other diseases.

John Snow is person who took action to help address one problem he saw in the world around him. What about you? What are you doing to help address the water issues we're facing today?

Clean Water Changes Everything

Robin Weekley — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:03:00 -0500

There are some things that stop you in your tracks when you read them, statistics too big and jarring to pass by, read over or turn the other way and forget. 4,500 children will die today from water-related diseases—4,500. The worst thing about this statistic is that every single one of those 4,500 deaths is preventable by providing clean water to communities in need.

There are many non-profits in the United States and around the world dedicated to bringing clean water to the needy, whether it be raising awareness or working on the ground in the developing world to implement clean water solutions for those in need. They are, daily, trying to lower the number of children and families that suffer due to the many diseases that make their home in contaminated water sources. In many areas, villages get their water from muddy and dirt-filled holes, and sometimes from a hand-dug well that is contaminated or has run dry form over-use. In other cases, villages have water pipes that run to their community from the nearest city center, but the city lacks the power and energy to get the clean water our to their villages. Sometimes, a community will go without water for years simply because of a well in need of repair. In Uganda, a $5 broken chain link on a well pump left an IDP camp without water for months. Groups like Living Water International, Charity:Water, Blood:Water Mission, H20 Africa, the Fermi Water Project and others devote their resources to bringing attention to the need for water, and work on the ground with locals to drill wells, construct filters, and bring water to thirsty people.

World Water Day is a perfect time to reflect on the prominence and prevalence of water in our lives, and in that recognition, come to know the urgency of the need for clean water all over the world. Water is not simply a cause to get behind, it is one of our most basic and urgent needs, it is a building block for life. In thirsty communities the world over, clean water really does change everything.

For more information:

Living Water International