Life We Spend at Work

DailyGood: The Life We Spend at Work

This tendency to look for ways to improve the lives of others, to want to help others, and enjoy that without expecting anything in return — which I think is at the heart of being a giver — is actually something that does not have to compromise your professional success. Just as you wouldn’t worry that you’re going to be a bad parent if you’re generous. Or you’re going to be a terrible community member if you care about the people who live near you. You can also be an extraordinarily successful professional if you demonstrate concern for the people that you work with.

I had this incredible coach, Eric Best, who said, “Yeah, that’s the bad news. But the good news is diving is a nerd sport, and it attracts all the people who are too slow for track, and too short for basketball, and too weak for football. So if you put in a lot of energy, you could become pretty good at this.”

And that really lit a fire under me, but what was remarkable about Eric was we only had diving season from November through March. And he took countless hours out of his spring, summer, and early fall to coach me, just volunteering. And he said, “As a coach, I will put in whatever you put in.”

And he didn’t get any compensation for it. He really loved diving and he really took joy in helping his divers grow, personally as well as athletically. And, you know, that was really a life-changing experience for me. I ended up getting good enough that I qualified for the Junior Olympic Nationals twice, and...  generosity is a core value in life — the data are actually pretty strong that it may be the core value in life, but we don’t even have to go that far. We can just say it’s one of the most important values that people hold dear

THE TRUTH about "Free Trade" Laws = LIES

And Just Like That, "Free Trade" Pact Trounces US Law

Claims that trade pacts like the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will not trump public health and environmental policies were revealed to be fiction on Tuesday after Congress, bending to the will of the World Trade Organization, killed the popular country-of-origin label (COOL) law.

The provision, tucked inside the omnibus budget agreement, repeals a law that required labels for certain packaged meats, which food safety and consumer groups have said is essential for consumer choice and animal welfare, as well as environmental and public health.

Congress successful revoked the mandate just over one week after the WTO ruled that the U.S. could be forced to pay $1 billion annually to its NAFTA partners, which argued that the law "accorded unfavorable treatment to Canadian and Mexican livestock."

Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch division, said that consumers relied on the standard to "make informed choices about their food," and that Congress' elimination of the rule "makes clear that trade agreements can—and do—threaten even the most favored U.S. consumer protections."

The move flies in the face of statements made by President Barack Obama, who—arguing in favor of the 12-nation TPP, pledged that "no trade agreement is going to force us to change our laws."

Indeed, Wallach argues that repealing the COOL law might prove to be a "real problem for administration efforts to pass the [TPP}–which faces opposition from an unprecedentedly diverse coalition of organizations and members of Congress—because claims that trade pacts cannot harm U.S. consumer and environmental policies have been a mainstay of their campaign."

Participating in the Green Map System

Participating in the Green Map System | Green Map System

Green Map System is a collaborative project with important social and environmental impacts. Green Maps are direct, democratic communication, dependent on local knowledge, action and responsibility. Mapmaking teams have the commitment, networks, skills and spirit it takes to initiate and complete this challenging project. You are invited to volunteer to become the leader of your community's Green Map team and make a major contribution to your home’s healthier, more sustainable future. 

Potential Green Mapmakers should explore the profiles in the Maps section, then go to the Mapmaker Registration page. Please explore our inclusive social mapping website, the Open Green Map, as this resource is also available to your Green Map team! 

Student Green Mapmakers, please start with Youth or University introduction or explore the Maps by theme.

Beyond Paris, Climate Movement Plans Global Swarm for Future of Humanity | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

Beyond Paris, Climate Movement Plans Global Swarm for Future of Humanity

Climate activists are also gearing up for a mobilization on Saturday in Paris—in defiance of a protest ban—at the end of the climate talks.

"Negotiators are avoiding making the real commitments that are required to meet their stated goals of keeping warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius," organizers write. "On December 12, we will honor the victims of climate change with beautiful things to see and build, and make plans with the global movement that has gathered in Paris for the coming years. We will lay down red lines of climate safety that must not be crossed, and collectively pledge to act so that they are not."

"This will be our demonstration of hope, power and strength that we will hold as we bring the fight back to the fossil fuel industry in 2016," the statement continues.

Author and activist Naomi Klein spoke Monday in Paris of the need for the Dec. 12 action, and said that people must recognize the urgency of climate crisis and must also say "yes to the world we want."

"We have run out of time. This is our historical moment.

"Let us not disappoint. The stakes are simply too high.

"Now is not the time for small steps.

"Now is the time for boldness," Klein said.