11th Hour Auction Raises Money for Conservation

The 11th Hour Auction at Christie’s helped to raise $38 million to protect endangered species, explains Animal Support founder Julian Omidi.

On Monday evening the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation held a special auction at Christie’s in New York, called the “11th Hour Auction” in order to help fund global conservation efforts. Efforts that the proceeds of the auction will benefit include the creation of natural habitats and sanctuaries for endangered species. In total, 33 works of art were auctioned off for the event, which raised a total of $38.8 million, making the auction the most valuable to support conservation work.

The need for these conservation projects and for funds in order to support them is more important than ever; 140,000 different species of plants and animal become extinct every year and less than 2% of philanthropic financial support globally goes to these conservation efforts.

Leonardo DiCaprio reportedly put in a great deal of work in order to make the auction a success, from convincing contemporary artists such as Rob Pruitt and Sergej Jensen to either donate or create works for the auction to calling up bidders personally in the days leading up to the auction. As a result of this personal involvement several records were broken for both the artists and Christie’s for bidding.

At the beginning of the evening, before bidding opened, DiCaprio noted the importance of treating our planet in the same way that we treat fine art, “…as something of value that we can protect and preserve for our children and our grandchildren.” Clearly those in attendance and bidding recognized the importance of doing so.

By Julian Omidi

Earth Day 2013

April 22nd is Earth Day 2013. Learn more about the importance of Earth Day and what you can do to celebrate from Julian Omidi.

You may have noticed the Google Doodle for today is centered around Earth Day. Around the world there are over 1 billion people who are participating in festivities to promote the message of Earth Day 2013: The Face of Climate Change. In honor of Earth Day let’s take a look at some of the history and events going on to celebrate.

The History of Earth Day

The very first Earth Day was in 1970, inspired by the protests of the late 1960s and the book Silent Spring written by Rachel Carson and published in 1962. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson was the founder of Earth Day, an idea born out of the aforementioned events as well as his personal experiences of witnessing the effects of a massive oil spill in 1969. On the first Earth Day, which has been observed on April 22nd every year, more than 20 million Americans took part in rallies to raise public awareness of the need to protect the only planet that we have. The foundation of Earth Day has led to the passage of such important environmental legislation as the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and even to the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency in December 1970.

Though the movement began in the United States, in 1990 it went global with over 200 million people around the world participating in 141 countries. In 2013 it is expected that 1 billion people in more than 192 countries will participate.

 

Earth Day 2013 Google Doodle

For the last several years Google has marked Earth Day with one of its Google Doodles. While it wouldn’t necessarily be something to note, this year it highlights something that is particularly important to my brother Michael and I: clean water.

By highlighting the precious natural resource of water, Google calls attention to the fact that so many around the world suffer from a lack of clean drinking water and sanitation. While clean water should be one of the most basic and fundamental provisions for everyone around the world, there are 4,000 children alone that die every day due to unsafe water and more than 10% of the world’s population lacks access to clean drinking water.

By simply capturing the water cycle in their Doodle, Google highlights just one aspect of Earth Day 2013 that you can focus on; helping to provide and maintain clean, safe drinking water. With only 3% of the world’s water consisting of freshwater, and estimates place the percentage of water that is actually drinkable on the planet at 0.37%, this is a resource that we must do our best to conserve.

 

Ways to Celebrate Earth Day 2013

All around the world there are festivals and events that have occurred or are occurring to celebrate Earth Day. These are just a few examples of the events celebrating Earth Day:

• Earth Day Festival – In Santa Barbara, California thousands attended the Earth Day Festival on April 20th and 21st. The event featured live music from artists such as Mad Caddies, Afrolicious, and One Drop, a Green Car Show, the presentation of awards to proponents of environmental awareness Bill Nye and Van Jones, and speakers who discussed several topics related to conservation and climate change among others.
• Surfrider Foundation Clean Up – In Argentina the Surfrider Foundation is working to clean up local beaches while also planting trees and shrubs in order to aid in the prevention of water and wind erosion.
• Eco-Style Earth Day Flash Mob – In Seoul, South Korea, Ecomom Korea has organized a flash mob that will be based on the popular song “Gangnam Style” as well as an exhibition that will feature a photo display for Earth Day 2013 called The Face of Climate Change, as well as a Walkathon.

Will you be participating in Earth Day this year? If so, tell us about your plans in the comments section.

By Julian Omidi

 

 

Impoverished in Nigeria See Homes Demolished

Although the Nigerian region of Lagos has promised to reinvent itself as a global financial center, the local redevelopment efforts have not taken into account the hundreds of thousands of citizens living in shanties and “informal” neighborhoods.  Julian Omidi discusses the thousands of residents who were abruptly made homeless by the Lagos government.

Lagos, Nigeria is poised to become a global business capitol. Luxury car dealerships are appearing in the financial district. President Bill Clinton recently visited an upscale housing development that is set to rival anything found in Dubai. The Nigerian government is aggressively pursuing the dream of a city teeming with high rises, high speed trains, and high incomes. The only problem is the 21 million poor living in the Lagos slums. Unfortunately, the decision to tear down the slums and let the residents fend for themselves.

Tens of thousands of people were forcibly evicted from their homes so that new and expensive housing complexes can be constructed on the sites. Homes were demolished without any notice; many of the residents were still sleeping in their beds when backhoes arrived and mowed down every dwelling into a pile of rubble. The governor of Lagos, Babatunde Fashola, has plans to demolish the homes of nearly 100,000 people in order to realize the dream of a sparkling metropolis. Little thought has been given, however, to the people who once lived there.

The average income of the people living in Lagos slums is less than $100 per month; nowhere near enough to afford the rent in one of the new apartments in the housing complexes that are slated for development. Not only were the residents of the slums forcibly evicted with only 20 minutes notice, their possessions were utterly destroyed. The New York Times reported a pile of torn boards and nails, slabs of concrete and cardboard mingling with clothes, mattresses, pots, pans and children’s toys. The residents hardly had the time to save anything.[1]

Black police cars arrived with men armed with machetes. The residents were forcibly pulled out of their homes and beaten if they offered any resistance. Local boys were given $10 to clear out the dwellings that were not accessible to the backhoes, and they pulled the shacks down manually with sledgehammers and stole what little of value they could find.

The residents have no plans to relocate; they have been sleeping outside on the remains of their mattresses. The heat has been perishing, and mosquitoes buzz around day and night. There is no light – residents’ feet are being pierced by exposed rusty nails at night as they make their way around the remnants of their neighborhood.

The Lagos housing commissioner, Adedeji Olatubosun Jeje, insists that ample notice was given regarding what was termed as the “regeneration of the slums.”  Moreover, the office denies that there was anyone actually living there. “Maybe we had a couple of squatters living there,” he said.

After the New York Times reported on the demolitions the National Human Rights Commission has resolved to look into the demolitions and how they were conducted. [2]

By Julian Omidi

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[1] Nossiter, Adam: In Nigeria’s Largest City, Homeless Are Paying the Price of Progress New York Times 3/1/2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/02/world/africa/homeless-pay-the-price-of-progress-in-lagos-nigeria.html?ref=africa&pagewanted=print

[2] Ezeamalu, Ben. “Human Rights Commission to Launch Public Inquiry into Demolitions across Nigeria.” Premium Times Nigeria. The Premium Times, 27 Mar. 2013. Web.

The Issues Faced By Women in Poverty

In the wake of International Women’s Day, Julian Omidi looks at the issues faced by women in poverty around the world.

On International Women’s Day the following meme was circulated to highlight the inequality that women experience around the world:

It was later shown that these statistics could not be fully substantiated by any sources, but it does raise the question of what women experience when it comes to poverty and inequality.

According to the Global Poverty Project statistics, despite the fact that women make up roughly 50% of the global population, women account for 70% of those living in poverty around the world. There are many different factors that lead to this inequality, so let’s take a look at some of these key issues.

• Gender Wage Gap – According to a recent article in the Washington Post, a lifetime gender wage gap of $431,000 exists between men and women in the United States. While life choices such as leaving the workforce to have children or deciding to work in a lower-paying occupation contribute to women earning roughly$0.77 for every $1 a man makes, when these life choices are factored out women still earn $0.91 for every dollar a man makes, a gap that many researchers identify as discrimination. The gender wage gap is not just a problem in the United States; in both developed and developing nations there can be a significant wage gap between men and women. In developed nations such as South Korea and Japan men earn wages 30% higher than women. In Germany and Canada the percentage gap exceeds 20% as well. In countries in Africa the wage gap (as of 2007) varied from 61% in Morocco to 80% in Egypt.
•  Stages of Life for Girls and Women in Poverty – The Global Poverty Info Bank provides a thorough look at the problems facing women in poverty from birth to adulthood, and it is highly suggested that to get a comprehensive picture of the inequalities that women face that you read it for yourself. Some of the important factors that are examined include the higher risk that baby girls born into poverty face of female infanticide, lack of proper feeding and nutrition in favor of a male child, and genital mutilation that can result in infection, pain, or even premature death. When women reach child-bearing age many die during childbirth due to undernourishment or associated disease; in fact, roughly 99% of the women who die during child birth annually live in developing nations, roughly a girl or woman every minute. 

The question now becomes “What Can Be Done?” Some of the best courses of action include:

• Education – Making sure that young girls and women have access to education and are enrolled in primary school is crucial. Women that have at least basic literacy skills have a better chance to succeed in the work force and make higher earnings, have lowered maternal mortality rates, and are more likely to send their own children to school. 
• Micro-Credit Provisions – As proven in Bangladesh, women that have access to small loans are able to make better financial decisions, have increased awareness regarding legal and political issues, and have more financial mobility.

Promoting female empowerment and equality will help in the global effort to eradicate poverty and provide a better future for the women of the world in the present and future.

By Julian Omidi

 

 

 

Can Video Games Help Children with Dyslexia?

In a surprising new study, researchers at the University of Padua have found that certain types of video games – namely action packed video games – may be successful in helping dyslexic children read more easily and accurately. Julian Omidi discusses the study and what it could mean for education.

There have been conflicting studies regarding the effects of electronic media on our children. One recent study revealed that television, internet surfing, texting or playing video games before sleep could interrupt the sleeping patterns of children and teenagers, causing sleep deprivation and a host of other problems.  However, there is a new study which suggests that video games might be beneficial to some children who suffer from learning disabilities.

In a very small study from the University of Padua, which is to be published in the journal Current Biology, a team of researchers found that kids suffering from dyslexia might actually hone their reading skills by playing action video games.  The study followed 10 dyslexic children aged 7-13 years, as they played either action or non-action video games.  The group that played the action-heavy video games for 12 hours showed improvement in their reading skills that they only would have achieved through one year’s worth of actual reading.  Additionally, the action video game group seemed to have an improved attention span than the kids who played the tamer video games. [1]

One of the skills that is essential to efficient and effective reading is the ability to quickly decipher the critical information within the written narrative, and the kids who were given action-packed video games were able to strengthen that skill more quickly than the non-action group.

The researchers are, naturally, hesitant to encourage children to play video games in lieu of reading – much more research needs to be performed before action video games become a part of school curriculum.  However, the results are intriguing, and may come close to dismantling all of our previous theories regarding the usefulness of video games.

It should be noted that the study was very small – only 20 participants, and that these results have yet to be duplicated in a larger clinical trial.  Moreover, the long-term effects have yet to be tested.

It is fairly safe to say that children still need to be monitored in terms of video game content, as well as the time allotted for active video game play.  We still need to be cognizant of the fact that sedentary activities, such as television watching, internet browsing, and video games are major contributing factors to the obesity crisis in the United States, and such activities need to be limited in order to encourage young people to spend more time participating in more physically engaging hobbies.  Nevertheless, these new findings could possibly change the methods currently employed for strengthening dyslexic children’s reading skills in a way that is as effective as it is fun.

By Julian Omidi

[1] Bakalar, Nicholas. “Video Games May Aid Children With Dyslexia.” NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company, 05 Mar. 2013. Web. <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/video-games-may-aid-children-with-dyslexia/&gt;.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit (http://www.etsy.com/shop/JamesBit)

Julian Omidi Looks at Sustainable Energy for All

Julian Omidi examines the United Nations program to provide sustainable energy in order to help eradicate poverty. Julian Omidi looks at the benefits that this program could offer the world, especially those living in poverty. 

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has organized an initiative referred to as the Sustainable Energy for All project. The goal of this global initiative is to be able to provide all citizens of the world with access to sustainable energy services while also improving the global rate of energy efficiency and increasing renewable energy.

Why are these goals so important to the betterment of our global society? Currently, roughly 20% of people around the world do not have access to modern energy services. It is estimated that as many as 3 billion people worldwide rely on energy sources such as animal waste, wood, coal, and charcoal for heating and cooking. What many forget or take for granted is that energy sources power productivity and opportunity.

Providing the impoverished not just with reliable energy resources, but with those that are sustainable as well, will lead to a way out of poverty for billions of people as well as lead to a solution that will aid in decreasing environmental warming.

According to recent studies the initiative could assist in keeping the rise in global temperature below 2°C and could make a significant contribution in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. By making sure that the provision of energy is achieved through sustainable means it will also help to promote the Millennium Development Goals and help to move the world into a lower-carbon economy. [1]

Making energy affordable and available to all will have significant positive repercussions for the world. Help spread awareness of this initiative by sharing this article via your social media profiles and help the world achieve sustainable energy.

By Julian Omidi

[1] Kirby, Alex. “Climate News Network.” Climate News Network. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

Julian Omidi Reports on World Cancer Day 2013

Julian Omidi reports on World Cancer Day 2013 and how it is being used to dispel myths and sterotypes. Julian Omidi focuses on how these myths and stereotypes often relate to the impoverished.

Today, February 4th, is World Cancer Day, which focuses primarily on one of eleven targets of the World Cancer Declaration: dispelling myths and misconceptions that are damaging to the understanding of cancer risks and risk groups.

The World Cancer Declaration is a tool designed by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to bring attention of the growing cancer crisis to health policymakers and government leaders in an effort to “reduce the global cancer burden by 2020.” Included in the declaration are 11 targets, which include:

• Ensure Effective Delivery Systems in All Countries
• Significantly Improve Measurement of Cancer Burden
• Decrease Tobacco, Alcohol Consumption, and Obesity
• Ensure Universal Coverage of the HPV/HBV Vaccine
• Dispel Damaging Myths and Misconceptions

With deaths caused by cancer accounting for more deaths than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined, cancer has become a significant issue worldwide. The specific goal of World Cancer Day is to focus on dispelling 4 common myths about cancer.

1. Cancer Is Just a Health Issue - No one is denying that cancer is a health issue, but it directly relates to the abilities of individuals and nations in other areas as well. One of these areas is that of poverty, of which cancer can be both a cause and outcome. Between the negative impact that cancer can have on the ability of a family or individual to earn and the high costs of treatment for the disease, many people can be put into poverty as a result. Additionally, those in poverty often lack proper access to healthcare and education, which has been show to increase risk and morbidity for cancer.
2. Cancer Is a Disease of the Wealthy, Elderly, and Developed Countries – Many people believe that cancer only affects developed, wealthy nations, but that is not the case. In 2008 more than 55% of the 7.6 million global deaths caused by cancer occurred in developing countries. In the case of cervical cancer for example, 85% of deaths from the disease occur in developing nations.
   
3. Cancer Is a Death Sentence – While cancer certainly poses a significant danger to one’s life, developed nations have made great strides in treating cancer effectively; just in the US more than 12 million people are living with cancer, the reduction of mortality for breast and cervical cancer has been significant in the last several decades, and there are more cost-effective strategies for treatment than ever before. With commitment and work these same reductions can be seen in developing countries as well.
4. Cancer is My Fate - Prevention is the best way toward reducing the global burden of cancer, specifically when it comes to lung cancer. By addressing tobacco use, which accounts for almost one-third of lung cancer deaths, the number of people that die or even contract cancer can be significantly lowered. In developing nations, addressing cancer-causing infections is the most important issue, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human papillomavirus (HPV).

Help spread the message that while cancer may affect anyone in the world, it is neither a death sentence or fate for you or anyone you love. Share this article to your Twitter or Facebook profiles to spread knowledge of the facts, not the myths, behind cancer on World Cancer Day.

By Julian Omidi

Underreported Stories of Philanthropy in 2012

As a philanthropist, Julian Omidi feels it is important to highlight both noble philanthropic efforts and issues they deserve increased awareness. Here Julian Omidi looks at five underreported stories of altruism and struggle from 2012.

Sometimes we need to be made aware of people’s acts of kindness as well as the deprivation in the world, even if only to remind us to be grateful for all of our own blessings. Neither acts of philanthropy nor news of people who need help typically receive a great deal of attention from our news or social media. Unless a celebrity is involved, important humanitarian issues generally go unreported.

Here are what we believe to be five of the most underreported philanthropic news stories of 2012.  Some of these stories involve people and institutions who work to improve the lives of people in nearly hopeless conditions; others are stories that remind us of all of the work that still needs to be done.

1.  The widespread distribution of vaccines for pneumonia and diarrhea in Ghana.  Without anyone in the rest of the world noticing, Ghana became the first African country to combine the pneumococcal vaccine with a rotavirus vaccine in order to eradicate two of the leading causes of childhood death around the world.  Enough medication to vaccinate every single Ghanan child was given to every health clinic.

2.  Climate change could introduce malaria back to parts of the world that had it under control.  It is believed that in 50 years, regions in Africa will be so altered by climate change that malaria-carrying mosquitoes will begin to flourish in regions previously unaffected, and thwarting all of the efforts made to eradicate the disease once and for all.

3.  The police officer who bought shoes for a homeless man.  On a chilly New York sidewalk, a police officer noticed a shoeless homeless man, so he stopped by a local shoe retailer and bought him a pair of shoes.  The whole event was captured on a passerby’s smartphone camera and broadcast across the internet.

4.  Childhood malnutrition in Yemen.  Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, and was reported that three quarters of a million children are classified as being chronically malnourished—double the statistics of 2000.  The Arab Spring uprising and internal insurgencies has caused many citizens to flee to remote areas for their own safety, where there is little food, poor sanitation and rampant disease.

5.  The 100^th million meningitis A vaccine was administered in Nigeria.  Meningitis A is a deadly disease that threatens more than 450 million people in what is known as the meningitis belt, a length of sub-Saharan countries that stretch from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east. Over the course of two weeks over 16 million people were vaccinated in Nigeria.

By Julian Omidi

Julian Omidi Tracks the Flu Season and It’s Arrival in Los Angeles

Julian Omidi looks at the severe outbreak of the flu that has affected the United States and is poised to strike Los Angeles. Julian Omidi also looks at preventative measures you can take and what to look out for during this particularly dangerous flu season.

If you look on your social media accounts you will no dobut know someone (or several people) keeping the world apprised of their battle with the flu; excessive vomiting, fatigue, the sweats. The flu this season has so far accounted for over 2,200 hospitalizations throughout the country and has very tragically resulted in the deaths of 18 children.

Since October 1st Boston alone has seen 700 confirmed cases of influenza, and the flu is set to hit Los Angeles with the L.A. County Department of Public Health advising in a statement this week that:

“Flu activity is now on the rise and expected to get worse over the next few weeks.”

The department has released some of the following information to help you stay safe during this particularly volatile and dangerous flu season in Los Angeles.

• If you know someone who has contracted the flu you can expect them to be contagious for about five days after becoming sick, so take extra precaution around these individuals especially if they reside with you.
• Frequently washing your hands as well as avoiding contact whenever possible with your nose, eyes, and mouth will help prevent the spread of germs.
• Seriously consider getting a flu shot. Many pharmacies such as Walgreens and CVS offer flu shots at a discount or free of charge to those without health insurance.
• Those for which the flu presents a paricularly dangerous risk include women who are pregnant, adults over the age of 65, those experiencing chronic medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, and those living or working in long-term care facilities, day care, or health care.

Due to the fact that the flu season hit earlier this year many contracted it during the winter holidays, though officials warn that with flu seasons often extending into May that to think the worst is already over is not a mistake to make this year; deaths from a particularly strong flu season can reach close to 50,000 and see hospitalizations climb near 200,000.

Be safe and take all of the necessary precautions to avoid the flu season this year in Los Angeles.

By Julian Omidi

How California Stacks Up in America’s Health Rankings 2012

As a resident of Los Angeles I was interested to see how the state of California stands up with the release of America’s Health Rankings for 2012. Overall the state has maintained its spot at 22nd, though there has been improvement in several areas, though it has also seen increased disparities in certain areas as well. Here is how California stands among the other states of the nation and itself a year previously.

Smoking

Over the last five years California has seen the percentage of its over 18 population quit smoking on a regular basis. The state currently ranks 2nd in the category of smoking, indicating that only one other state (Utah) has smoking rates lower than California’s 13.8%. Some of this can be attributed to the fact that California has some of the most restrictive smoking laws in the nation. Of the total population of 37,691,912 in California about 3.9 million adults smoke on a regular basis.

Obesity

In the category of obesity California ranks 5th with 23.8% of the total population categorized as obese. Other states that ranked in the top 5 of states with the lowest obesity ratings included Colorado (20.7%), Hawaii (21.9%), Massachusetts (22.7%), and New Jersey (23.7%). The study found that states with the lowest obesity rankings also had the least amount of its residents living a sedentary lifestyle; in particular California had only about 19.10% of its population living a sedantary lifestyle. Much of the nation had obesity percentages over 30. Overall the entire country has seen an increase of the obesity rate over the last decade.

Graduation Rate

Unfortunately along with successes in smoking and obesity there are challenges to the overall health of the state such as the graduation rate, which California ranks 42nd out of all 50 states. The graduation rate in California is approximately 71%; comparatively Wisconsin has a graduation rate of over 90%. Many neighboring states such as Nevada and Arizona have low graduation rates as well at 56.3% abd 72.5% respectively. As California is the largest state by population in the U.S. it is difficult to find another state by which it can easily be compared; the next largest state by population – Texas – has approximately 25,674,681 residents and a graduation rate of 75.4%.

Infectious Disease

California also ranks low among states in the category of infectious disease. Here California ranks 46th out of all 50 states. As qualified by the study the category “Infectious Disease” is defined as, “number of AIDS, tuberculosis and Hepatitis (A and B) cases reported to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention per 100,000 population.” The percentage of these reportings was approximately 17% within the state of California.

The United Health Foundation has provided an excellent resource at http://americashealthrankings.org/CA/ that provides extremely detailed information for all 50 states not only for 2012 but also including every year from 1990 until now, allowing you to track the course of certain issues in specific states or across the nation in a simple but effective graphic. To learn more about why California ranked 22nd, or how your state ranked among the others in the nation visit their site.

By Julian Omidi