Shell to Settle US$15.5 Million For Executing an Environmental Activist - While Shell displays and talks about how it is working to help the environment, their crime last 1995 should not be forgotten. This is, indeed, the true face of Shell, and perhaps, many other oil companies as they greedily conquer lands not theirs to satisfy everyone's addiction to oil.

This drug, oil, which feeds on our daily requirements for transportation and other daily needs have been assured that it will still be kept at a high level, just so that oil companies have their constant earnings brought in loss of value for the environment and life.

Indian students stabbed a man in self defense after being abused and threatened. This is not how Indians react to situations, but after 11 Indians brutally attacked in Australia, they have no choice.

The 11 Indians who were racially attacked received no response from the Indian Government, which was a big disappointment given the severity of the situation. The United States, or other major countries for that fact, would not have tolerated the act and would have taken some strong action against the situation.

It is no longer just the cost of labor anymore. The biggest reality check American car companies should ask themselves is "who wants to buy my car?".

There is a large loss in the forefront of innovation, which has now been passed to European cars. This innovative spirit can also be found on Japanese cars. Having this place in the market has given Japanese car makers a stronger preference over American cars as well.

It is about time these American car companies put their ego down and ask "why will anyone want to buy my car?". They can no longer be dependent on nationalism, simply because people want the best. For American cars to survive, it has to understand one important factor, it has to be technologically advanced, more prestigious, and safer than their Japanese counterparts.

For those of you who have read the news, you would have noticed an article about the Airforce One jet doing a flyby in New York for a photoop. For whatever reason it was done, and strange enough, with all the people performing the act, this was in the books for ultimate stupidity.

Given the September 11 attacks, any city in the world would be paranoid over a plane flying on low altitudes. This chosen city was no ordinary city, this was New York, and flying a 747 in low altitudes is definitely a terrible idea. Proof of this is the reaction of everyone who witnessed the plane. People panicked, evacuated buildings, in short, everything was disrupted.

It might sound strange, but if smoking takes 5 minutes of our lives away, it is still not as bad as not being able to properly utilize our time. The biggest crime that we can possibly commit to ourselves is letting time get away on useless pursuits. The very first step to correcting this major error is awareness of our true current habit.

We get a choice on where to live, either get a large house 2 hours away from work, or a tiny little hole 10 minutes away by walk. The 10 minute walk is more beneficial, thus, 10 minutes well spent, rather than 2 hours driving to some far off location just because we want to live in a palace. Not only did we waste away 2 hours of our lives per day, we are also contributing more pollution to the environment, this still does not include cost of fuel, which comes from our work. That money could have been used elsewhere.

Here's the reality of things. If we want to go environmental, truly environmental, then we have to be prepared to make some changes.

If we look around us, many factories have been established with the sole purpose of proving such products, even to the very nail on your wall, it has to come from somewhere.

What I am driving at is one major reality: Packaging materials. We are in gross use of such items that we tend to forget how big of a part they play in our environment.