Monthly Archives: June 2006

Viewers Want Realistic TV for a Change

I find this report to be a bit of shock, TV viewers acknowledge that they have a negative view of the developing world. Of course, it’s not their fault, but TV’s and viewers want that to change.

Hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call to journalists that we want critical analysis about the world and not just sports, boobs, and celebrity gossip.

“Reflecting the real world? How British TV portrayed developing countries in 2005 compliled by volunteer agency VSO, with DFID support, reveals that television viewers have an overwhelmingly negative view of the developing world and that they hold TV responsible. The report shows that viewers have a real appetite for richer representations of the world outside the UK and calls on broadcasters to invest more funds, creativity and talent in bringing the world to UK audiences. “

Gas Station Looks to Gas Free Future

A gas station in San Diego California is one of the first of it’s kind to begin to sell clean burning fuels at the pump. The Pearson Ford Fuel Depot offers a wide range of gas including one called Bio Willie, a brand of bio diesel made of soybeans which is being promoted by Willie Nelson. This station is attracting many customers who are into the concepts of keeping their money in the country, helping the environment and who are curious how their cars will run on the new ‘alternative’ fuels. San Diego typically has some of the highest gas prices in America, and although the pumps aren’t incredibly popular yet, owner Mike Lewis is hopeful that their are enough people out there looking to change to their traditional polluting ways that he will eventually become very successful. And to encourage this he has found other new ways to turn a profit from his station including adding a market and giving tours to students.

“If you could make it profitable, you could do a whole lot more to preserve the environment than all the mandates in the world,” Lewis said.

Canadian Youth Learn Smoking is Bad

Anti-smoking laws and advertising campaigns are working in Canada, which is most obviously a good thing since smoking destroys your health. The study notes that smoking has dropped across all age groups, but most significantly with teenagers.

“Fewer young Canadians are smoking, but they are still the group most at risk of being exposed to second-hand smoke, according to new data released Tuesday.

The results of the Canadian Community Health Survey, released by Statistics Canada, found that in 2005 about 40 per cent of non-smokers aged 12 to 17 reported being regularly exposed to second-hand smoke, far higher than the 11 per cent of those aged 65 and over and 19 per cent of 35 to 64 year olds.”

Less Sweat in Shops

Sweatshops are wretched things, and that is why many organizations don’t like them. Some groups like United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), UNITE!, and as previously mentioned, UNICEF. Alternet has a great article on the state of the anti-sweatshop movement in universities and colleges in the United States. In the past decade, over 200 universities have adopted antisweatshop codes of conduct in response to student protest.

“In collaboration with human rights groups, unions and faculty experts on the apparel industry, campus activists developed the DSP to give universities a mechanism to enforce their antisweatshop codes. With the help of the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), an independent monitoring organization with 152 member colleges and universities, USAS has identified a number of factories around the world — particularly in Asia, Mexico, Central America and the United States — that could qualify under these more stringent worker-friendly standards. Alternatively, major brands like Nike could identify one of their major suppliers to specialize in producing clothing for the university market under the terms of the DSP.”