What a Blog Can Do

While my first blog didn't seem to get much attention or comments, it brought me something priceless none the less.  For reasons that I may disclose in another blog, I have not been in contact with my  older brother for years, during which time I had moved and changed jobs, leaving him no easy trail to follow.  I felt very guilty about what happened to us and just couldn't bring myself to contact him, fearing rejection.  This morning, I checked my email and found a notice from PNN alerting me to a message sent to me with the subject heading : Glad I found you sister!

I thought it was from a reader- a sister in solidarity.  I opened the message and was immediately shocked.  The message was from my brother:

Hello Phyliss51,

Noooodels at PNN has sent you a message:

I'm so glad I located you again. PLEASE contact me, I would very much like to see you. I am going to be in NYC with my wife, Mary, Jed, his wife Tara and your grand-nephew 1 1/2 yr old Alex from 3/30 to 4/6. My e-mail is :  . I love you Phyliss, and would love to see you. John

To respond, don't reply to this email, simply click on this link and go to their site:
http://noooodels.pnn.com/

I've deleted the personal contact info contained in the message.  I immediately shot off an email back, explaining that I had not been in contact with him because I was ashamed of my behavior at that time. I included my phone number.  Five minutes later, the phone rang and I spoke with my brother, John, for an hour and a half.  He said that the way we see things can be distorted, as he says he felt he was much more to blame.  Through the tears and laughter, we have decided to leave the past in the past.  He will be coming to NYC next week with his wife Mary, my nephew Jed, his wife Tara and my grand-nephew Alex.

My brother John and I, were both born and raised in NYC.   John will play tour guide for the tourists in the family, Mary , Jed, Tara and Alex..  My soon-to-be husband and I will join them as much as possible.  I am in the process of synching  his itinerary with our calendar.

So while my first post didn't get much attention, it did attract attention that was needed and missed.  PNN has changed my life for the better, and I am forever grateful.

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The Silent Disaster

We have all had our attention focused on the economy lately, and rightly so.  We have to secure our jobs, keep out of foreclosure and pay the high costs of utilities and feeding our families.  And the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to take a toll on our troops and resources.  Added to this is the looming threat of global warming, or more accurately, global climate instability.

Is anyone out there having a good time?

We have heard that the stimulus package will eventually turn the turn the economy around by mking banks more solvent and able to offer credit again, which will keep businesses going and able to retain jobs.  We will invest in green technologies and create a new green labor market.  Troops will be withdrawn from Iraq, but there will be a surge in the troops in Afghanistan.  

I agree, with the exception of the surge in troops in Afghanistan and the length of time troops will remain in Iraq, that these appear to be sound actions at this point in time.  I am inspired and hopeful.  Yet, there is another serious global threat that is not being discussed.  It is not new, it was not created by Wall St., the banking, mortgage, or oil industries.  In fact, those respnsible for this threat are not  any corporation or nation or group of nations.  Those who are responsible are from every spot on the planet, every ethnic, socio-economical background, every religion, atheists, agnostics and spiritulists.  The perpetrators are our predecessors, contemporaries, and those yet to come.

The threat is:

POPULATION  EXPLOSION

By 2050, the world's population will be approximately 9 billion.

I say "approximately" as different reports vary somewhat in their projections, such as the UN report states 9 billion in 2050, while the US Census Bureau International Data Base projects world population to reach 9 billion in 2040. 

Here are  few resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopgraph.html

www.bos.frb.org/economic/conf/conf46/conf46d1.pdf

As a boomer, I can recall as a child hearing numerous discussions on the population explosion by governmental leaders, health and social welfare leaders and activists.  In present times, as we are begining to face the realities of limited resources and global climate instability, none of our leaders are talking about the growth of the population.

WHY?

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