Ms Suzuki, why didn't we listen?

THis is fairly long, but what she has to say is profound for a 12 year-old. This speech would have the same impact today, with the same problems seemingly even larger. We need to find some way to deal with our society's greed, to re-establish community and find touch with our empathy again. We need to alter western society's structure, so that fiscal wealth is not our sole vision of happiness (a vision ably provided by the advertising world), but that happiness can be found through community, love and fairness.
Should we aim to alter society's structure from the top, or the bottom? How do we get to where we all, deep down, want to be? Where on earth do I start?

I freakin LOVE bamboo

I love Bamboo. Seriously. It even sounds cool when you say it. BamBOO! BAM!boo. Awesome.
My favourite floors are made from bamboo, it looks absolutely gorgeous, and is so damn sturdy. My ma has the most excellent chopping board made from it. Some of my fellow queenslanders are making beautiful furniture from it (http://www.wambamboo.com.au). It makes great paper, and now one of my friends tells me she has a bamboo cotton jumper! BAMBOO COTTON!

It makes me wonder why we chop down gorgeous, mature trees when we can use this totally renewable stuff. It grows like crazy. It's beautiful. Vive la Bamboo.