Small Actions to Change the World #5 (Blog Carnival)

Hi everyone and welcome to the 5th edition of "Small Actions to Change the World" carnival. This is the first one that is published after 2 weeks. If this turns out to be good, I will keep on posting these editions every 2 weeks. That's why this post will be a bit shorter than you are used to. And I'm sorry this post is a day late; next to organising my university courses, my part time work, my volunteer work and the weekend class reunion I had little time in between, so I hope you forgive me :-).

FitBuff presents Lifeline Screening: 15 Types of Blood Tests and Checkups You Need posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "So, how do you make sure you are aware of your true overall health condition without becoming a paranoid hypochondriac? Below is a list of tests and screenings that should be included in your regular checkups..."

sasha presents Making a Personal Difference to the Environment posted at Tempyra, saying, "An article on me taking stock of the little changes I've made to my life with the aim of reducing my personal impact on the environment and a list of further improvements I want to make. I'm looking for comments and ideas about reducing your environmental impact."

SustainaBee says: That's a great idea; it can be very encouraging to see what things you've done and to set goals that you want to achieve!

Ravi Vora presents 5 Creative Ways to Have a Great Week | Ravi Vora posted at Ravi Vora. Thank you for a nice and short post :-).

Summer presents Save money by saving water posted at Your Frugal Family.

SustainaBee says: Another example of how saving the environment also makes financial sense!

Sarah Filipiak from German Sheperd Central presents Don’t Buy That Puppy In The Window saying: "The simple move of bypassing pet stores in your search for your next dog will save lives." Wow, what an insightful post. I didn't know these things about puppies.

That's it for this edition of "Small Actions to Change the World". I hope you had a nice read :-)! If you want to submit a post, use the carnival submission form.

Past editions of the carnival can be found here.

And as always, I will conclude this carnival edition with an inspiring story. This one is a lecture (a edited WSJ.com-version YouTube video is included in this post) that has inspired me in the last few weeks. Here is a part of the WSJ article (and at the bottom you can find the YouTube video and the link to the complete lecture on Google Video):

"Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-science professor, was about to give a lecture Tuesday afternoon, but before he said a word, he received a standing ovation from 400 students and colleagues.

He motioned to them to sit down. "Make me earn it," he said.
What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? For Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch, the question isn't rhetorical -- he's dying of cancer. Jeff Zaslow narrates a video on Prof. Pausch's final lecture.

They had come to see him give what was billed as his "last lecture." This is a common title for talks on college campuses today. Schools such as Stanford and the University of Alabama have mounted "Last Lecture Series," in which top professors are asked to think deeply about what matters to them and to give hypothetical final talks. For the audience, the question to be mulled is this: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance?

It can be an intriguing hour, watching healthy professors consider their demise and ruminate over subjects dear to them. At the University of Northern Iowa, instructor Penny O'Connor recently titled her lecture "Get Over Yourself." At Cornell, Ellis Hanson, who teaches a course titled "Desire," spoke about sex and technology.

At Carnegie Mellon, however, Dr. Pausch's speech was more than just an academic exercise. The 46-year-old father of three has pancreatic cancer and expects to live for just a few months. His lecture, using images on a giant screen, turned out to be a rollicking and riveting journey through the lessons of his life."