Styrofoam on the beach

It's always jaw-dropping - the sheer amount of trash strewn across the beach after the snows melt away. And no little WALL-E units to clean it up. I decided to focus just on the styrofoam, since that stuff doesn't really biodegrade. Ever. It just breaks down into smaller pieces. And if you burn it the fumes aren't good either. A lot of foresight went into that one.

ONE GOOD DEED: Clean up styrofoam from beach.

Raising awareness for charities

The last month I've worked so hard on the Genocide Prevention Ritual that I've hardly had time to look into other charities. But over time the ones I learn about pile up, and today I posted quite a number of them to Polytheist Charity.

Mercy Corps - a team of 3700 professionals helping turn crisis into opportunity for millions around the world; a vast list of programs addresses nearly all areas of humanitarian concern.

Heifer International - giving livestock as an economic base to struggling families in developing countries; recipients agree to pass on offspring and knowledge to others.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - a worldwide mission to help victims of conflicts and internal violence, whoever they are; efforts help people affected by armed conflict in some 80 countries in 2009; Sudan is currently the organization's largest humanitarian operation, followed by Iraq and Afghanistan.

The American Red Cross - the Red Cross in America

Oxfam International - a confederation of 13 like-minded organizations working together and with partners and allies around the world to bring about lasting change; working in development, emergencies, advocacy, campaigning, and policy research; campaigns in health, education, agriculture, climate change, arms control, and trade.

Best Friends Animal Society - rehabilitates abandoned pets deemed "un-adoptable" and finds them good homes, rescues animals from disasters, and educates about setting up animal shelters and programs

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) - not a crusade against alcohol consumption - MADD's mission is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking.

Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) - Founded as Students Against Driving Drunk in 1981, SADD has been committed to empowering young people to lead education and prevention initiatives within their schools and communities. SADD now highlights prevention of all destructive behaviors and attitudes that are harmful to young people, including underage drinking, substance abuse, impaired driving, violence and suicide.

Central Asia Institute - works with local people of remote parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan to promote education and literacy among girls; also awards scholarships

Nike Foundation - works to get girls on the international agenda and drive resources to them; researches the critical importance of girls in the developing world; finds the best programs for girls

The Girl Effect - initiative of the Nike Foundation communicating the importance of girls in the developing world

BRAC - works to fight poverty in the developing world through a broad set of services ranging from education to health care, emphasizes poor rural women as agents of change

Polytheist Charity

Visit this group

ONE GOOD DEED: Raise awareness for important charities.

Trash in a parking lot

Home at last. With a few days of leave from work left, I went to nearby Rumoi to have my hair cut. The parking lot was filthy. It's spring now, and the snows are melting away to reveal loads of rubbish. I expect I'll be posting quite a lot about trash in the weeks to come. Trashmonk season is here!

ONE GOOD DEED: Pick up trash in a parking lot.

Cleaning up the train

Finally I was on my way home. As the train pulled into Sapporo station, I noticed a number of people had left bottles and wrappers. So I gave the car a once-over before stepping off.

ONE GOOD DEED: Clean up left trash on a train.

Trash after Cherry Blossom-viewing Parties

The Japanese have a spring custom: when the cherry blossoms bloom, which only happens for about a week, they get together with friends and family for a picnic under the blossoms. I found a great many of these picnics going on in Kitanomaru Park in Tokyo. Ever ready to exploit situations for a good deed, I thought surely there would be a great deal of trash left by them. Truthfully I was stunned by how tidy the park was. Even in a big place like Tokyo, the Japanese hold true to their habits of consideration and cleanliness.

ONE GOOD DEED: Pick up trash in Kitanomaru Park in Tokyo.

Beers for a friend

After I finished in Hiroshima, I trained it to Tokyo to meet a friend. Although we mainly speak over the Internet, he's become one of my closest English-speaking friends here in Japan. I was happy to be able to visit him. He was nice enough to put me up for the night, so I thought I'd extend a favor in return.

ONE GOOD DEED: Buy beers for a friend in Tokyo.

Where do you want to go?

While riding the tram in Hiroshima, I came across some frazzled tourists. A foreign family (Indian?) who spoke no Japanese boarded the tram, and struggled to ask the conductor where to get off to find their hotel. He didn't seem to understand them. I offered to translate, and an elderly Japanese woman chimed in as well. Between us we managed to get them headed in the right direction.

ONE GOOD DEED: Help a family of tourists find their way.