Yesterday it rained all day, and all night, and it is still raining, but not heavy at any time. The passing of the tropical depression gave me a chance to do a few things I would not normally have time to do. Including listening to all of NPR's morning show broadcast by Red River Radio (Shreveport, La). Today on Earth & Sky, a segment they use as a spacer each morning, there was a brief report by Jerome C. Glenn, Director of the- Millennium Project. I guess when your local news is dominated, not by the Republican Convention, but by the destruction and struggle of the Louisiana, it was an appropriate subject.

Living on the farm, I have learned to appreciate the limits of our physical and technological capabilities. Some things I would like to do are not possible. Practicing sustainable agriculture limits yourself more as you do not use every chemical available on the shelf to solve a problem. You have to be more innovative and use Mother Nature to some extent.

The Millennium Project is a decade long effort to identify the global challenges to humanity. What is out there that affects everyone today and tomorrow? A summary of the 2008 report has 15 global challenges. Each is worthy of reading and consideration. I know individually we are not going to affect them, but collectively if we consider our actions we can influence them on a micro basis.

The director of the project is Jerome C. Glenn. In this link, which is 21 minutes long, he gives an overview of the 2008 report and its implications globally. I found it interesting that outside of the developed world, and India and China, the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer. I thought we had a bit more economic diversity today in developing countries.

I know this is a deep subject to tackle, but if you have an interest in the lives your children's children and beyond may live, it is worthwhile to consider the findings of the report.