On Thursday July 16, 2015 I got a chance to go to Denver, Colorado; it was the best experience of my life it changed my way of thinking about a lot of things in general. The road trip was really long but we made it through the road trip by playing a lot of car games with each other. Our first stop was in Lake Tahoe; when I got to Lake Tahoe it was the greatest thing I ever saw because of the sunset. If you ever go on a family vacation you would go there and watch the sunset. It was still a long day so we didn’t stay long because there was too much driving to do. So it was the boring road again and long.

Once we reached Nevada it was a lot better but it was really dead when we got there because we went to Eureka, Nevada at nighttime. Once we hit the road and we hit the desert at nighttime it was great because we got to see a lot of stars, you don’t get to see the sky as clear when you are in Sacramento.

On our way to Denver from our stop in Nevada it seamed liked it was a short drive what made it worst was the traffic; our bodies were hurting because we were sitting for so long. Once we arrived to our destination, we all where happy and ready to absorb all the information and activities from the conference.

The next day was good so what happen was me and the other youth got together and we got to know each other more. Getting to know people from other states wasn’t so bad. I was kind of shy, but then I decided to come out of my shell and go talk to them it was pretty cool. We all shared about all of our experiences and how we all have difficulties in our local communities. I also shared with them about my work with Sac BHC Youth Media Team. They liked the idea of creating their own media team in their local community. Most of the youth have and want to share their stories so that others can learn and grow from them. I am so thankful for the opportunity to share my work and my passion for my community. During the conference I was put in a not so confortable place I had to do things that I would normally wont do. I was interacting with people that I had never met and that where strangers and suddenly we became friends in such a short time. I also learn that is ok to be out and share your personal experiences and be open to meeting new people. I usually don’t open up to new people because I am afraid, but this few days I really learned and have found a new way to interact with people. Our conference provided us with tools to interact with others and to be able to speak to new people and make sure that we get to know them before we judge. To be able to not hold any grudges or make enemies out of nowhere. This conference has made me realize that change is good and that I need to embrace it and join in. I will try my best to adjust to this new me and share with as many people that I can what an amazing opportunity I have.

So after we talk to all the people and got to know each other more for little while then we had to go home, our conference was over. We all said our good byes and then we came back home and the experience that we had the best it taught me a lot of leadership and showing people what they can improve or better their life more.

Contributed by Christine Binney

Planning a funeral is never easy. Trying to plan a ceremony that respects the wishes of your loved one and all the family members involved is complicated, and doing it under such stressful circumstances makes it that much harder. It can be hard to manage emotions while taking care of all the details that go into organizing a funeral. With some proper planning and a few tips, the funeral process can be made easier for everyone involved. Simply remember these seven things and you’ll be able to honor your loved one’s memory in the perfect way.

1. Communication is key

When planning a funeral for your loved one, it’s important to take each family member’s wishes into consideration. If your loved one documented their funeral wishes before they passed, then you have a guideline to follow and most family members will readily get on board with the plan. But if the deceased never previously expressed their wishes for their funeral, then it’s up to the family to decide what it will look like. Since a funeral is such a major part of the grieving process, it’s important to consider everyone’s opinions. Keep the lines of communication open and try to make decisions objectively and rationally. Work on a funeral plan that will allow everyone to express their sorrow while also celebrating their loved one’s life.

2. Write a meaningful obituary
Work with family members to write a meaningful obituary for your loved one. Take the time to reflect on the most important aspects of their life that you want to memorialize. Create a list of people whose names should be included in the obituary. Decide which newspapers or online websites for where you want the obituary to be published. Be prepared for some outlets to charge a significant fee which is often based on the number of words in the obituary.

3. Handle invitations efficiently
An obituary is a good way to get the funeral information out to the public. However, you’ll also want to do some personal outreach to notify your loved one’s family, friends and neighbors. Create a list of names and recruit the help of your family members to begin reaching out. Decide how to best notify people of when the services are taking place. Announcements can be mailed, emailed or delivered via telephone. Consider group invitations for any organizations that your loved one was involved in, such as knitting groups or book clubs. Also, consider reaching out to your loved one’s alma mater so that the alumni office can inform their classmates.

4. Talk about money
The costs of a funeral can add up quickly, so don’t be shy when it comes to talking about money. You don’t want to come home from a funeral only to find unexpected bills in the mailbox. You also don’t want to put yourself into financial crisis because of the funeral. Be realistic about what you can afford to spend and be comfortable making objective decisions based on your budget. Reach out to family members who can help pitch in with some of the costs. Most importantly, research your options. Prices can change drastically from one funeral home to another, so gather quotes from several places. Be sure that all costs are clearly listed upfront so that there are no surprises. Get a contract that includes any extra fees, which could include everything from transportation costs to visitation hours to staff salaries.

5. Create a personalized ceremony
When planning a funeral, these days there are endless options to choose from when it comes to the format of the service. Many people incorporate a mix of religion, remembrance, spirituality, and a celebration of life into funerals. This eclectic combination can appease many family members by accommodating everyone’s wishes. There are event planners and funeral home staff who can help with logistics and allow you to create a unique funeral that is a true reflection of your loved one.

6. Don’t forget the details
When planning a funeral, take some time to think about the details that you can incorporate to personalize the ceremony. If your loved one was an avid fisherman, consider burying him with his most trusted fishing rod. If he or she had a favorite flower, feature them in all the floral arrangements. If your loved one had an outfit that always made them feel their best, choose that for them to wear for the services. If they had a favorite photo album, incorporate the pictures into a video slideshow that can be played in the lobby.

7. Write down everything

You may think that you have all the details of the funeral committed to memory, but don’t underestimate the effect that emotional stress can have on you. While there are some great manage stress, it will likely still affect you on the day of the funeral. Stress combined with sadness can make it hard to remember details, especially as you are being pulled in a hundred different directions. To ensure that all of your careful planning pays off, have all of your logistics written out in a planning document.  Share it with other key family members and funeral home staff members who will be playing a part in facilitating the funeral. This type of organization will ensure everyone is on the same page and that no detail is forgotten.

The post 7 Things to Remember When Planning a Funeral appeared first on Lotsa Helping Hands.

The worst nuclear disaster in a generation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant – which began in March 2011 – is still very much an ongoing crisis that will not be solved for the foreseeable future. Most of the massive radioactive releases were carried out to the Pacific Ocean by the prevailing winds at that time of year. But, on the nights of March 15^th and 16^th, the winds turned carrying an enormous amount of radiation inland. Land, especially to the northwest of the crippled reactor site, was heavily contaminated.

Greenpeace investigations into areas where the Japanese government is intensively decontaminating with the intention of lifting evacuation orders by March 2017 have made a shocking discovery: in Iitate – one of the priority targets of the Abe Government's plan – radiation dose levels are comparable to those in the 30km exclusion zone around Chernobyl. Even more surprising, this was true even around homes that had already been supposedly "decontaminated."

What on earth would motivate the Japanese Government to do such a thing to the tens of thousands of nuclear victims and decontamination workers?

To answer that question, it is first important to understand a bit of background on Iitate: the region – referred to as Iitate Village – is actually a 200 km² area of heavily forested hills, mountains, and lakes, interspersed with farm fields, and homes. It lies 28 – 47 km to the northwest of the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in the direct path of the heaviest on-land radioactive fallout.

Although the Abe Government has stated on its website that it is "decontaminating" Iitate – even going so far as to say on the Ministry of Environment website that 100% of the forest has already decontaminated – you have to dig through several different pages to discover that they are only referring to about a ¼ of the land area of Iitate.

In other words, of the 200 km² of Iitate Village only 56 km² are targeted for decontamination. Of that tiny fraction, the percentage comprised of the 10-20m into the forests along the roads and around people's houses has been supposedly completed.

Except even that small amount of the forest isn't finished. Decontamination efforts in these small bits of forests were still ongoing in July 2015.

And what strikes you when you see it is not just the swarms of people raking away at the woodland floor and trimming blades of grasses by hand in these first 10-20m of forest along the roads, but the enormity of the vast mountains upon mountains of dense, lush forest stretching out behind them as far as the eye can see.

You feel sorry for them. You also admire their intensive effort, meticulous work, and commitment. They are working in sweltering heat, in full radiation suits, boots, gloves and masks; not even their eyes are visible. And they are doing intense physical labor for almost no impact. Many of these workers are the residents of other impacted areas, like Minamisoma, who lost their jobs in farming, forestry, fishing or services due to the nuclear disaster. So they are working in the only growing industry in the region: radioactive decontamination.

It's surreal. And it's heartbreaking.

On 27 March, 2011, Greenpeace radiation investigations in Iitate had revealed extremely high levels of contamination, which led our organisation to urgently recommend to the Japanese government the immediate evacuation of the more than 6000 residents. Until that point, the residents of Iitate had been told that evacuation was not required. Evacuation did not begin until 22 April. And still, eight weeks after the start of the accident, in early June, over 1200 people remained in Iitate. As a result, the people of Iitate were the most exposed to radiation of all citizens of Fukushima prefecture.

Iitate has since become an iconic area within the story of Fukushima: a constant reminder to the Japanese public and the international community that a major nuclear disaster is not confined to a small "emergency planning" zone around the reactor site. The impacts are far reaching, destroy entire regions and communities, rip people from the fabric of their lives, and cannot be repaired.

Over four years after the triple reactor core meltdowns and exploded containment buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the majority of the Japanese public has remained opposed to any nuclear restart. The country has been completely nuclear-free for nearly two years, thanks in large part to significant public opposition, in spite of the massive pressure from nuclear utilities and the Abe government on local city governments.

However, these utilities are massively powerful and the Abe government is wholly in bed with them.

In an effort to reduce public opposition, Abe has been pushing the pro-nuclear agenda to normalize the Fukushima nuclear disaster. If the public can be convinced that mere years after the worst nuclear disaster in a generation, citizens can go home and return to life the way it was before the disaster – with no additional health risks – then that is a powerful argument against those opposed to nuclear restarts.

The effort to minimize the impact of the disaster on the nuclear industry has been aided by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an agency charged with the promotion of nuclear energy in its charter. The IAEA has sought to downplay the radiological risks to the population since the early days in 2011. In fact, it produced two documents that can be said to have laid the primary foundation for Abe's current policy of forced resettlement.

The reality is this myth making requires that the people of Fukushima prefecture – especially the people of Iitate – be the sacrificial lambs for the nuclear industry. This is not only wholly unjust, but is a violation of their human rights.

They have already been exposed to more radiation than any other population in the region. To deliberately force them back to areas where dose rates reach up to 20 millisieverts per year puts them at significant, unacceptable, and unnecessary risk.

After all, this is not the confusion that ensues after a nuclear disaster. This is a thought-out plan of forcing people back into their heavily contaminated former homes, no matter what the cost – both in wasteful, ineffective decontamination of these areas and in human health risks.

Compounding the gross injustice of the Abe Government's forced resettlement policy, by focusing on creating a myth of a return to normalcy – and therefore investing vast amounts in expensive and futile decontamination – it is therefore utterly neglecting the contaminated areas that were never evacuated. Rather than addressing this urgent need to reduce the radiation risks to these populations, whom are currently living in contaminated areas, the government is more interested in deceiving the public in Japan and globally by creating illusions in places like Iitate.

What is clear is that the damage done to the people of Fukushima prefecture, and especially Iitate, is irreversible and irreparable. Their entire communities and way of life were destroyed by the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, with no prospect for a safe return in the foreseeable future.

At minimum, we as Greenpeace, demand: 1) no lifting of the evacuation order in Iitate; 2) Exemptions and Government support for those determined to return after having full and accurate information regarding the risks; and, 3) full compensation for their loss of livelihood, property, community, mental distress, and health risks incurred, so that they may fully support themselves to move forward to pursue whatever life they so choose.

To keep the victims of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in limbo, many crammed into tiny temporary housing cubicles, for nearly five years is inhumane. To force these citizens back into such heavily contaminated areas via the economic leverage the Government holds over them is a gross iniquity. And for the International Atomic Energy Agency to assist the Japanese Government in the propaganda war being waged on Fukushima victims not only undermines whatever credibility it may have, but amounts to it being an accomplice in a crime against the people of Japan.

Kendra Ulrich is Senior Global Energy Campaigner for Greenpeace Japan.

A huge victory for Detox supporters came out of Europe this week as all EU member states voted to ban NPE from textile imports. This decision closes a trade loophole that allowed clothing containing dangerous levels of NPE to enter the EU even though the toxic chemical was banned from regional manufacturing.

So what exactly is NPE?

Officially known as nonylphenol ethoxylates, NPEs are used in textile production as wetting agents, detergents, and emulsifiers. This toxic chemical then remains in the garment, released once you wash your clothing, breaking down to form toxic nonylphenol (NP). Nonylphenol is a persistent chemical with hormone-disrupting properties that builds up in the food chain and is hazardous even at very low levels.

The wide use of NPE in the textile industry was brought to light by a Greenpeace International report, Dirty Laundry 2: Hung Out to Dry. Released in 2011, the report initially drew huge media attention, as it pointed out a loophole in the EU’s REACH chemical regulations.

And now it’s banned in the EU?

The EU already bans NPE from use within its borders however it allows garments containing NPE to be imported. This ban will need to be adopted by the European Commission, which should happen in the upcoming weeks and will take effect within five years, allowing the fashion industry ample time to remove NPE from its supply chain.

How will this affect the industry?

Manufacturing countries such as China, rely heavily on their trade relationship with Europe.  For more than a decade, Europe has been China’s number one trade partner and China’s textile production needs that relationship to continue. That said, China’s textile industry needs to be more progressive in identifying and banning harmful chemicals from their products otherwise they will lose a key market.

What’s next?

Hundreds of thousands of supporters have called on high street brands such as Gap, Nike, and Diesel to clean up their supply chain. This is a huge win for a cleaner, toxic free future.

We will continue to monitor this industry’s use of NPE but we still need your help. The Detox campaign is far from won and we need your support if we are going to have all hazardous chemicals banned from use in the textile industry. Greenpeace is calling on the brands and suppliers to become champions for a toxic free future, by eliminating all releases of hazardous chemicals from their supply chains and their products.

Take action.

Yixiu Wu is the Detox My Fashion Project Leader at Greenpeace East Asia

Contributed by Tiffany Silverberg

When a friend or family member loses someone close, sympathy is a natural and immediate response. Tradition has often called for a bouquet of flowers in memory and in good cheer. They bring a sense of brightness, life, and joy in an otherwise dark or sorrowful time. However many bouquets can turn a living room into a garden. Those with allergies or those uninterested in cleaning up dozens of blooms may prefer an alternative while those sending sympathies may want something more creative to convey their feelings. Here are a few sympathy gift ideas that can show someone that you are there to comfort them in this time of need.

Plant

Although quite related to flowers, a plant can be distinct and well received. Because they don’t soon perish like a bouquet, they can be cherished for months, even years, depending on the plant. Popular among sympathy gift ideas, plants are readily available and can be purchased from local nurseries and florists, or ordered online and delivered. These are ideal for when you need to send a gift from a far. Choose a plant of particular significance to your loved one, maybe a favorite of the one who passed or one they can transfer to the yard or garden.

Food

Sympathy gift ideas should include thinking of the daily needs of your grieving loved one. A time of sadness can be all consuming. Provide the gift of food – whether it’s a treat or meal. If you live far from your loved one, you may want to send a fruit basket or box of candies. You may even choose a local snack or favorite of the one who has passed in special memory. If you live close, you may want to prepare a meal and deliver it yourself. A pan of lasagna or pot of stew can be served immediately or stored away in the freezer.

Art

Sympathy gift ideas may involve something particularly unique to your loved ones. A painting or print can celebrate the life of the one who passed and cement memories of special times. Look for a landscape of a favorite location or vacation destination. You can also have a piece commissioned – maybe a sketch of a family home or a building at an alma mater. You might frame a favorite portrait or have it placed on a canvas or wood for easy display.

Memorial Funds

There is a long standing tradition among sympathy gift ideas of giving financial donations in the name of a loved one. You may choose to give funds in the name of the one who has passed at his or her place of worship, a favorite charity or nonprofit, or a local club or group. You may even want to open a memorial fund on behalf of the one who passed. A scholarship fund for his or her children or a fund to improve a local organization can be a meaningful gift of sympathy.

Jewelry or Accessories

If you are especially close to someone grieving, you may want to look for a piece of jewelry or an accessory by which to remember the one who has passed. A necklace, bracelet, or ring can be with your loved one even as the grief starts to lift. They can bring their memory with them wherever they go. Many businesses sell charms or inscriptions and you may find one that is particular to a loved one.

Opportunities to Remember

Although it may not be the best sympathy gift idea for in the midst of grief, a gift of travel may be ideal for a loved one. Let them return to a favorite location or take a genealogy tour. Traveling together and make new memories while enjoying the old ones is essentially priceless.

The post 6 Sympathy Gift Ideas Better than Flowers appeared first on Lotsa Helping Hands.

There’s no easy way to say this: The seafood at your local supermarket may be connected to slavery. It’s heart-breaking.

Fishing operators in over 50 countries around the world are crewing ships through human trafficking networks – using “debt bondage, violence, intimidation and murder to keep crews in line and maintain cheap seafood on supermarket shelves,” according to one of many recent reports exposing this exploitation.

An Associated Press investigation in Indonesia earlier this year uncovered evidence of astounding abuse, including crew being whipped with poisonous stingray tails and being kept in locked cages to prevent escape. In Thailand, survivors of forced labor told the Guardian of “horrific conditions, including 20-hour shifts, regular beatings, torture and execution-style killings.” And yesterday, the Guardian revealed how Rohingya migrants were being trafficked and sold into slavery on Thai fishing vessels.

Unsurprisingly, the exploitation of people goes hand-in-hand with the exploitation of the oceans.

Vessel operators who have little regard for labour laws often also have little regard for the environment or fisheries management regulations. Just days ago, the New York Times exposed one such vessel for both labour abuse and environmental crimes, and others for murder.

Companies are increasingly motivated to employ cheap or forced labour and to fish illegally as fish populations dwindle from overfishing and demand for cheap seafood grows.

From shrimp, to tuna, to pet food: the global seafood market is tainted with seafood caught unsustainably and by workers who have been denied their most basic human rights.

 Image provided by International Labor Rights Forum

How can we ensure the seafood industry is fair to workers and the oceans?

Labour abuse – like overfishing – is an industry-wide problem. In order to address it, we need real commitment from every party involved: governments, suppliers, vessel operators, seafood companies, and retailers.

Ultimately, supermarkets that sell seafood must take their share of responsibility. If retailers are not careful about their seafood suppliers and policies, they may make themselves and their customers unwitting accomplices in forced labour or human rights abuses.

But the vast majority of supermarket chains have historically ignored labour abuse concerns, instead of investigating where their seafood comes from. 

That’s why last week, Greenpeace USA released the 2015 edition of the Carting Away the Oceans report, shining a light on which major grocery chains in the US are leaders in sustainable seafood and addressing human rights abuses in the industry, and which are falling behind. 

The findings are telling. While US retailers like Whole Foods are doing a better job of offering ocean safe seafood options, major chains like Walmart are linked to destructive fishing practices, and some companies are even linked to human rights abuses. Though several retailers have taken initial steps to address human rights concerns, all 25 retailers profiled in the report have significant work to do to. 

And it’s not just a US issue. Seafood linked to human rights abuses and environmental destruction is present in the global seafood market – a problem everywhere.

Image provided by International Labor Rights Forum

What You Can Do 

Human rights violations and environmental exploitation are difficult to track down and stop at sea. Luckily, we can make a huge impact from far away by ensuring no one is profiting off this abuse. Here are five things you can do that make a mark on illegal and exploitative fishing. 

1. Demand that your seafood is not connected to human rights abuses. Companies care about what their customers think, so let your local store know you need them to do better when it comes to sustainable, socially responsible seafood. Wield your consumer power!
2. Act together. Invite your community to take action with you. Inform your friends and encourage them to tell their grocers that they want only sustainable, socially responsible seafood in a store they patronise.
3. Know the facts. If you shop in the US, you can visit seafood.greenpeaceusa.org to learn the truth about your favourite US supermarkets and what these companies must to do improve. If you eat canned tuna in the US, you can find out which brands are ocean safe in this guide.
4. Vote with your wallet. Reward grocers that are taking it upon themselves to make sustainable choices. Only purchase sustainable seafood and let the team behind the counter know you appreciate it.
5. Eat less fish. Today’s demand for seafood far outstrips what can be delivered from sustainable sources. Reducing seafood consumption now can help lessen the pressure on our oceans, ensuring fish for the future.

In the year 2015, nearly 21 million people are trapped in forced labour worldwide. And the seafood industry is implicated as a top offender. We can’t let this continue.

Supermarkets need to take responsibility and hold the companies providing their seafood accountable. And all of us can help make that happen.

David Pinsky is a Senior Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace USA

Contributed by Haley Burress

Downsizing your home can sometimes get a bad rap. It might feel like you are downsizing your possessions or even your memories. But making room in your new retired lifestyle is good not only for the soul, but also for your future. Before you make plans for a garage sale or start your search for boxes to pack, check out our go-to tips for how – and why – to downsize your home effectively.

Step 1: Realize the Purpose and Benefits

If you enter into your retirement journey thinking that downsizing is your first step towards the “old folks home,” you will find your efforts to be extremely depressing. However, if you realize that downsizing your home is the opportunity to live within a new lifestyle, you will be more eager to sort through that attic. Most retirees have been living in an empty nest for quite a few years, so your large family home might not be the best for you and your spouse any longer. Downsizing your possessions can be the first step to owning a smaller home and spending the extra cash on a vacation home or a new RV so that you can travel and see the world.

Large family homes often have more rooms to clean and more yard to mow, which can be more of a chore when you want to be out volunteering or checking out a new hiking trail with your new found time. Consider downsizing your possessions so that you can see what you really need in terms of realistic space for you and your family.

If you plan on staying in your family home throughout retirement, consider making some adjustments to the layout of the home that could benefit you later. Install grab bars in the bathrooms or make a contingency plan to move the master bedroom downstairs should walking upstairs become difficult or impossible. Sure, you hopefully won’t need these amenities for a decade or two, but you will certainly be glad that you have them before a major crisis or hospital stay leaves your family rushing to prepare the home.

Step 2: Sort and Sift in Steps

Downsizing your home shouldn’t be done in one weekend. Instead, break down your downsizing agenda into realistic pieces. Go room by room or commit to a few hours of purging per week. You will find that the experience is much more enjoyable when you aren’t crunched for time or exhausted by the end of the day.

Organize your items into sections or piles: things to keep, things to sell, things to give to children or family members, things to donate, and things to toss. If you can’t decide which section a certain item should go into, save that decision for another day. This way, you will not have any regrets or second thoughts while downsizing your possessions. If you find that you are still lacking the motivation to get up and moving, ask a friend to help you out for the afternoon and watch your productivity double.

Step 3: Save the Memories

Downsizing your home does not mean you need to get rid of some of your favorite pieces or items that are tied heavily to some of your best memories. When you are taking a look at your possessions and furniture, think in terms of the future while still preserving the past. Don’t get rid of your chest full of your favorite baby clothes from when your children were small; save them instead for your grandbabies. But, you might want to go ahead and donate the crib that has been in the attic since your children were babies – not only is it probably not safe by today’s standards, but your grandbabies can always snooze in a pack-and-play when they visit. If you can’t bear to part with the crib, take a photo of it to frame for your home or take a few pieces of the wood and hang it in a room of your home.

Step 4: Emotions are Okay

Downsizing can bring all sorts of emotions that you may or may not expect. You might find yourself shedding a few tears when you find your wedding veil or laughing at yourself for keeping your aunt’s side table that you never really liked. Your children might be mad that you tossed their high school yearbooks without asking them or they might be sad that you are looking to move out of their childhood home. All of these emotions are valid and there’s no need to rush through them. If you find that you are becoming overwhelmed with the process, just stop and pick it up again in a month or two. There’s no rush.

Step 5: Reward Yourself

Downsizing can be exhausting and if you are taking your time, it can be months before you are finally finished. Celebrate yourself and your accomplishments! Take some of the money that you earned on selling your items and head out to dinner or a weekend getaway. Host an open house for your friends and family to show off your new – and organized – home. Congratulations on your retirement and welcome to the adventure of this phase of your life!

The post Tips for Downsizing Your Home Before Retirement appeared first on Lotsa Helping Hands.