Today (December 1st) is WORLD AIDS DAY.
Today we remember those who have died and celebrate their lives ( who could forget the late great Freddie Mercury) We remember those who are battling the disease and who are HIV positive.
And we remember those who will die because the rich western-owned drug companies refuse to make their medicines available at an affordable price to the developing world.... medicines that could save millions of lives. Young people are the future of any nation. The young people of Africa are dying at the rate of 25 million each year
Wear your red ribbon with pride, reflect on its meaning, and remember those who are not alive to wear theirs today.

Red ribbon history

Who created the red ribbon?
The red ribbon has been an international symbol of AIDS awareness since 1991. The Red Ribbon Project was created by the New York based organisation Visual AIDS, which brought together artists to create a symbol of support for the growing number of people living with HIV in the US.

What does it symbolise?

The red ribbon is worn as a sign of support for people living with HIV. Wearing a red ribbon is a simple and powerful way to challenge the stigma and prejudice surrounding HIV and AIDS that prevents us from tackling the global epidemic.

Who owns the red ribbon?

The red ribbon is the result of collaboration between community artists who wanted to create a non-copyrighted image that could be used as an awareness-raising tool by people across the world.

When did the red ribbon go international?

The first international celebrity to wear a red ribbon was Jeremy Irons at the 1991 Tony Awards. The symbol came to Europe on a mass scale on Easter Monday in 1992, when more than 100,000 red ribbons were distributed during the Freddie Mercury AIDS Awareness Tribute Concert at Wembley stadium. More than 1 billion people in more than 70 countries worldwide watched the show on television. Throughout the nineties many celebrites wore red ribbons, encouraged by Princess Diana’s high profile support for AIDS.

http://www.worldaidsday.org .... cut through the lies and myths and get the facts and figures.

"It's great to see this, and the Blogs on the issue of climate change. I believe climate change is, quite simply, the biggest threat facing our planet.

The case for urgent action is overwhelming. We are all in this together, and we must al do our bit. Tackling climate change is a shared responsibility. With government giving a lead, individuals, communities and businesses have an important part to play.

I believe a consensus is emerging amongst all these groups in favor of decisive and robust action. That is exactly what we need."

David Cameron
Leader of the Conservative Party

Hi all you bloggers at Cathkin High!

I enjoyed reading all the blogs on the very important topic of climate change. What a good response you've had and I hope you will take it further. 'Eco-blogger' hit the nail on the head. We hear fine words from others about their commitment to climate change but words are not enough, we need action. Emissions from vehicles, aviation and energy use are still increasing and scientists say we have 5-10 years to make the serious changes needed.

I first raised the issue of how we could build Green Schools with South Lanarkshire Council in March 2005. I even brought an expert in sustainable buildings to meet council officers. But still the councillors voted for 17 new secondary schools, including Cathkin, to be powered by last century's technology, oil and gas boilers, rather than renewable energy. Even North Lanarkshire has installed biomass boilers (using wood - a renewable resource) in two of their secondary schools. Not having renewable energy built in right from the start is a lost opportunity for the planet we all rely on and for young people to learn about energy right where it matters - in your school.

There are lots of ways we can all make a difference. Could Cathkin High consider becoming an EcoSchool http://www.eco-schools.org.uk/ ? But we also need faster, stronger action from our leaders. Maybe the Cathkin High School bloggers could invite your MSP's or councillors to a debate and you can put your questions to them directly?

Well done and best of luck with your blogspot.

Kirsten Robb
South Lanarkshire branch of the Scottish Green Party
www.slangreens.org.uk

From Ian Murray
Policy and Strategy Manager
Community Resources
South Lanarkshire Council

I would like to congratulate you on your web site and ‘Bloggathon’ event.

Climate change is undoubtedly the biggest issue affecting humanity in the 21st century and there is no doubt that people’s this has been caused by human activity and in particular the burning of fossil fuels on which the industrial revolution of the past and our lifestyles today depend. There are new pressures too: the earth’s rapidly increasing population has result in ever greater demand on the planet’s natural resources leading to the burning of rainforests and loss of soils and further release of greenhouse gases. There are also fears that the rate of global warming will increase due to the release of even more greenhouse gases due to the unfreezing of arctic permafrost and the gradual heating of the oceans.

It is now clear that the earth will experience an average temperature rise of at least 2 degrees over the next 50 years. This does not sound much but the effects will be significant. Sea levels will rise leading to greater flooding of coastal areas where most of the earth’s population lives, vast populations may have to move in some parts of the world where there is already too much pressure on land and other resources. Some regions of the world will become too hot and dry to grow crops, again leading to population displacement, famine and creating the kind of competition for scarce resources which in the past have led to wars.

Our lifestyles in the developed world are largely the reason for climate change. We are consuming more than ever before. In doing so we are using more resources and burning more fossil fuels. Our current lifestyles are unsustainable. Our lifestyles also have a global impact for example greenhouse gas emissions in China are rapidly increasing because of our demand for cheaper manufactured goods. Economic development is needed to improve the quality of life of many of the world’s poorer countries, but the implications for climate change are serious. There is a very real question about how the world will manage to reduce global emissions in an equitable way – try a search on ‘contraction and convergence’ and you will see what I mean.

Can young people have an influence on solutions to these problems? Very definitely yes!! Here are just a few ideas:

· Get to know more about the issue - the more knowledge and information you have, the more likely it is that you will be able to influence key decision makers.
· Don’t be afraid to express your opinion – some people can’t accept the reality of climate change, but you are entitled to your view regardless of your age.
· Learn the skills you will need for tomorrow – some of the solutions to climate change will involve new technology so we will need engineers, plumbers, electricians, and scientists of every kind. There will be real jobs out there to help us all adapt to new lifestyles. We will also need people who can think creatively, plan, negotiate, use the media etc.Try to live more sustainably – the choice of stuff you buy makes a big difference to the impact you make on climate change and by doing you can influence others – loads of web sites on this (for example check out http://www.wwflearning.org.uk/wwflearning-home/). Use cars less and walk or cycle and use public transport where you can. Buy products with less packaging, reuse and recycle all you can. Switch off electrical equipment you are not using and don’t keep TV sets on standby etc.

Good luck with the blogspot...

Congrats. to the new Cathkin High School Blog group.What are we to make in the future in Technical? S1 pupils in the past have designed and manufacture ice scrapers..... where is the ice? where is the snow? It's supposed to be Winter!!!It looks like we will need to make an Ark soon!!We are now using wood from sustainable resources, water based paints and varnishes, old pupil projects to make new ones etc.There are lots of energy and resource saving to be made in the school. How about some ideas???

Mr Clowes PT-Technical Education

Well done everyone at Cathkin blog group for choosing such an important topic for the blog-a-thon!

I am the sustainable Development officer at South Lanakshire Council and i think it is critically important for young people to make their voices heard on this issue. This blog-a-thon is a great way of doing this! All descision makers have to realise that the choices we make today will determin the extent of the problems of tommorrow, the ones which this curent generation of young people will have to deal with in years to come. Young people have the biggest stake in this issue, so they must ensure their voices are heard.

There are also lots of important things that all of us can do to lessen the future impact of climate change by making descisions about the way we live our lives today. We can try to walk, cycle and use public transport more instead of going in the car, for example on the way to school or work, or we can make sure we switch off lights ad appliances when we aren't using them. In this way we all have important descisions to make each day that will impact on the extent of climate change we will experience when we are older.

I hope together we can make a difference.

Lorna Jarvie
Sustainable development officer
South Lanarkshire Council

As you correctly state, climate change is one of the most important issues facing the world today. It is not just the responsibility of governments throughout the world to help the enviroment (although they obviously have a key role to play). Individuals can make a difference, and I am very pleased that the young people involved in this scheme are showing how seriously they are taking this issue through your work for National Enterprise Week.

Good luck for the rest of the day!

Janis Hughes MSP
Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Glasgow Rutherglen constituency

Congratulations on launching your site and running your group.

Best wishes for a successful launch,

First Minister Jack McConnell MSP

Would like to congratulate everyone in the blog/podcast group with their fantastic work on this site, you're doing really well to raise the issues that really matter to you . Keep it up!

Miss Smith
Science

Congratulations to the Cathkin High School Blogathon Team, your project set up to celebrate National Enterprise Week. You have been very enterprising in your approach to the issue of global warming and how to offer young people the opportunity to be involved and empowered. You have taken the initiative and taken the debate to a wide audience. You have shown that young people are responsible, can make a difference and can be successful at anything they put their minds to. Well done and good luck with the roll-out of your project!
Fiona Downey, Enterprise Development Officer, South Lanarkshire Council