Reporters Without Borders 2006 report on press freedom reveals the harsh realities that journalists are facing around the world for the sake of bearing witness to the truth. Some pay the ultimate price. This begs the question: Why do journalists struggle so hard, sometimes even risking their own lives, to get the story? We don't need to look very far for recent examples of this. Journalists in our own city are compromising their safety to bring a little justice to citizens' lives. Check out Peter Silverman's (from City TV's Silverman Helps) brush with a crooked business man with a temper: Is it worth endangering ones' life to get the scoop?

When justice is circumvented it is often simply because we are unaware. It is not that we are ignorant of a particular world issue as a whole; it is just that that particular situation seems like a faceless giant too big to tackle all at once. There are billions of people on this earth with just as many untold stories of cruelty, hidden lies, and evil that have gone unreported and unnoticed.
Reporters give these a face and provide us with a cause to stand by.

Reporters have always faced censorship by governments. By venturing into these dangerous situations not only do they face the wrath of the corrupt governments but also that of several other non-governmental parties also involved. Reporters Without Borders, an international organization that advocates freedom of press reported the killings of 81 journalists and 32 media assistants in 2006, the highest numbers since 1994. There is an even more appalling number of physical attacks, kidnappings, and arrests.

We have reached a technological age and now with a greater choice of media outlets, many more are voicing their opinions. With the internet comes the possibility of instant reporting and updates of ongoing crises all over the world. Even with statistics showing elevating levels of danger, an increasing number of reporters are crossing into hostile environments and are willingly putting themselves at risk for a story. These journalists realize that they must immerse themselves to truly understand the story rather than being simple outside observers with generalized opinions.

It can be argued that all reporters are working for the money, the glory of a good story and the fame that comes along with it. This is true in many cases but a select few reporters who endanger their own lives for the sake of outing an injustice should be considered heroes in their own right.

Are you ready to change the world?

I’ll be the first to admit, the minute I flip to an article on global warming, or pretty much any sort of environmental issue, I quickly turn the page. I mean, I’m quite sure that I’m not the only one who has secretly daydreamed of clouting that obnoxious environmental activist, spouting his ideals, over the head with an environmentally friendly bat.

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It’s because of this fantasy of mine that it is pretty serious when I say that, in regards to the issue of global warming, I’ve definitely been converted. So what new information could I have possibly immersed myself in that has brought on such a shift in ideals? It was Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. If you haven’t seen this documentary already it is something that will change your mind, guaranteed. Take it from a (former) chronic, apathetic ignorer of all things environmental.

Many remember Al Gore as the man who ran against (and unfortunately lost to) our favorite American, President George Bush. Rather than slink back into obscurity, he has stepped forward to take on the challenge of educating young people, professionals, and the American government of the perils we are spiraling carelessly into at an alarming rate.
It may appear at times that global warming is creeping up on us slowly and so does not call for our immediate attention, but truthfully it is a planetary emergency. If we continue emitting carbon into our atmosphere at the same rate, our oceans may revert back to the same chemical balance it was 300 million years ago, and all in this lifetime. In fact, some leading scientific experts believe that unless some dramatic changes are made, we could be approaching a point of no return within the next 10 years. Entire cities, states, and countries will disappear into the ocean, displacing millions.

Gore is doing it right; it’s as if he’s broken out of his stuffy political shell. He is appealing to students and the younger generation. He finds in the youth an open mind willing to listen to the realities of the world. This is striking in contrast to the older generations who are downplaying the urgency of the situation. He recognizes them as the people who will one day take up the reigns of government, and in them he sees the potential for change, the belief that this task is not too big, and more importantly, it is not too late. His goal is to educate the world about this climate crisis one person at a time, one city at time, one family at a time until we cross the threshold where as a combined force we can make a difference before it is too late.

Gore is not fighting an easy fight, that’s for sure; it is definitely one that faces a frustrating history and sometimes, blatant ignorance. Scientists have been silenced, persecuted, ridiculed, and put out of a job just because their facts led to an inconvenient truth. Then you have Fox News hiring “scientific experts” who claim that global warming is a scare tactic used to grab more money out of the pockets of the American people. Some politicians have even gone as far as to say global warming is one of the greatest hoaxes perpetrated on the American people… You’re kidding, right? No wonder so many of us are sitting back thinking global warming means a few less winter days.

As soon as we accept what is going on, we can work towards change. It may seem like an insurmountable task, but the solution is so much closer than we have been made to believe. The solutions offered to us seem impossibly expensive and too impractical to implement but there are companies who have already taken up the cause and cut gas emissions and saved money while doing it. Following in their example other companies have been working aggressively to stake out economic prospects in a clean-energy future.

Future generations are going to look back and ask why we didn’t make a big enough difference while we still had a fighting chance. It is imperative that we wake up and ask ourselves the same question before it is too late. Things aren’t going to work themselves out eventually. We can’t sit here like naïve fools waiting for someone else to do something, this has to be a global effort. What’s at stake? Our future on this Earth. I recommend that you take some time out of your busy day to watch this documentary, and if it still hasn’t changed your mind I’ll gladly let you chase me with that eco-friendly bat.