Prepare for Change

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/29/tokyo-micro-apartment-photos_n_4012788.html "There's definitely been a surge of interest in living small over the last decade, but the concepts behind the lifestyle have actually been appreciated for much longer. In fact, Kisho Kurokawa was one of the founders of a movement in the '60s called "Metabolism" which was also based on the idea of flexible design and architecture. In 1972, his Nakagin Capsule Tower was built, which has 140 "capsule" apartments that were meant to be renewed and replaced every 25 years." These are definitely tiny, but where is the bathroom?

http://world.time.com/timelapse/ "Landsat was a notable exception, built not for spycraft but for public monitoring of how the human species was altering the surface of the planet. Two generations, eight satellites and millions of pictures later, the space agency, along with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has accumulated a stunning catalog of images that, when riffled through and stitched together, create a high-definition slide show of our rapidly changing Earth. TIME is proud to host the public unveiling of these images from orbit, which for the first time date all the way back to 1984." And here's a site close to my neck of the woods.  A gold mining venture declared bankruptcy and left a huge mess behind that turned into a Superfund site; https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=44.3314%2C-103.669825&spn=0.015103%2C0.042272&t=h&z=15

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24039202 "The income gap between the richest 1% of Americans and the other 99% widened to a record margin in 2012, according to an analysis of tax filings. The top 1% of US earners collected 19.3% of household income, breaking a record previously set in 1927. Income inequality in the US has been growing for almost three decades. Overall, the pre-tax incomes of the top 1% of households rose 19.6% compared to a 1% increase for the rest of Americans." as the rich accumulate more and more of our wealth and the rest of us lose, we are heading toward the time again when there will only be serfs and lords.  I do not like that idea.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/03/daesung-lee_n_3859821.html "Since 1980 Ghoramara island, found on a delta region in West Bengal, has lost 50 percent of its terrain to the rising seas as a result of climate change, causing two thirds of its population to move elsewhere. Photographer Daesung Lee decided to capture the remaining percentage of Ghoramara's citizens." Sad story.  Climate change is real. It is making real change in more than just climate.

http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/facts/entry/amount-with-inflation/ "Fast food workers today plan to mount one-day walkouts against nearly a thousand stores in over fifty cities — the largest-ever mobilization against their growing, low-wage, non-union industry, which until last fall had never faced a substantial U.S. strike. The work stoppage comes four weeks after a four-day, seven-city strike wave in which organizers say thousands walked off the job. Today, the strikes – which started with a single-city November work stoppage in New York — are expected to hit several cities. In each city – from Los Angeles to Peoria – workers are demanding a raise to $15 an hour, and the chance to form a union without intimidation by their boss." Minimum wage if kept up to inflation should be $10.74 today; http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/facts/entry/amount-with-inflation/ It's impossible to pay for rent, food, and other essentials on the current minimum wage. Th...

There's the prominent whistleblowers in the news lately, like Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden.  But years ago some of the former students at Dozier School in Florida tried to tell what was going on there.  Nobody paid attention.  Many children died.  We need to listen to whistleblowers. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=209584938

http://tinyhouselistings.com/ I think one person could liver comfortably in 400 square feet, provided you also have some sort of separate storage unit as well.  LOW mortgage :)