It’s that time of year again, time to “fall back”, time to reset your clocks and watches back one hour, time to give up a bit of daylight in the afternoon and gain a bit of daylight in the morning. It happens at 2 AM on Sunday, November 5th–like anyone […]
General News
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I was recently given a book, Coffee Gives Me Superpowers (Iwata, Ryoko, 2016, Kansas City, MO, Hallmark Gift Books) which has an interesting section taken from a psychological study on how the way you drink your coffee shows certain personality traits. According to the study, if you are a black coffee drinker, you […]
When we drill a new borehole or rehab a broken one, the response is almost always the same. “Thank you for the water, thank you for loving us.” It’s simple, yet poignant. Here, in Pittsburgh, we get caught up in “stuff” which obscures what’s really important. Life can get complicated […]
It’s a major event in the life of a Ugandan village when they get a new borehole. It means so much to their health, lifestyle and success as a village. However, that is not the end of the story. Africa is littered with broken boreholes–by some estimates more than half […]
I receive a calendar that lists every national “day” throughout the year. As I write this on Thursday, May 4th, it is National Hoagie Day. I do not know who designates these selections, but it seems like everyone and everything has its special day. Some do not make sense to […]
The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970–almost 50 years ago. I think we take it for granted today and we ignore the effects of our everyday decisions on this fragile planet. Life is a gift; we didn’t do anything to earn it or deserve it. With the gift comes […]
When I was growing up in Massachusetts, the winter was always cold and the ground snow-covered. March would eventually come, still snow-covered and cold, but there would be a day or two toward the end of March and the beginning of April where there was a hint of springtime in […]
During our recent visit to Uganda, we spent one day at a Displaced Persons Camp, a DPC. These people were part of a tribe which had been removed from land they had lived on which was due to be developed. As they didn’t own the land, they have been […]
Just for today, since it’s World Water Day, take a little extra care on how you use this precious, life-giving resource. Simple ways to conserve include turning off the water while you brush your teeth, wash your hands or wash your hair. Take short showers instead of a bath. Do […]
At least 1.8 billion people on our planet are getting their water from contaminated sources. (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs391/en/) Almost 3.4 million people die each year from water-related diseases. (http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/takingcharge.html) The average American uses 80- 100 gallons a day. 80 gallons would weigh about 667 pounds–can you imagine if you had to walk, pump […]