The National Education Association created Read Across America, an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community across our nation to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss. Children, teachers and parents are encouraged to participate in reading activities together all day long in schools, libraries, centers and homes across the United States.

With the growing world of technology upon us, new ways of learning are being invented. Enter the iPhone (and soon-to-be iPad). Moms are handing over their beloved iPhones to their children on a regular basis in order to keep them occupied and entertained while shopping, making dinner or standing in line at the post office. Educational apps are a new and exciting way for moms to not feel guilty for using technology as a distraction.

Well, the caring folks over at Oceanhouse Media create apps that uplift, educate and inspire. They have licensed with Dr. Seuss Enterprises to bring his beloved children's classics to the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. As a birthday present to all, Tuesday, March 2nd, they are dropping the price of their entire line of Dr. Seuss iPhone / iPod Touch apps to an astonishing $0.99 for one day only, in honor of Theodor Geisel’s (Dr. Seuss) birthday and Read Across America Day.

Here is a guest blog from a familiar face to Citizen Hunter, Brady Russell, who works with clean water action.

A little while back, I drove up into Dimock, Pennsylvania, to meet with a retired teacher who's worried that drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation that's more than a mile down beneath most of Pennsylvania, has made her water undrinkable and her land unsellable. She and her husband moved to Dimock to build a home
and retire together in the peace and quiet, but she's beginning to worry that she made a mistake.

The teacher's name is Victoria Switzer, and I videotaped her talking about the Dimock Drilling Project, by Cabot Oil and Gas, a Texas Company, earlier this year. Clean Water Action Pennsylvania put together the video to give folks a sense of what they can look forward to if the gas man comes to their neighborhood.

I asked my buddy Jordan Paul to write a piece describing his new blog so I could share it with all of you.  Hope you enjoy--check it out and let me know what you think.  Conventional Wisdom has never been my cup of tea so it speaks to me for sure.

Have you ever come to the realization that something that was supposed to make you happy didn’t?

Conventional thinking tends to take us away from the essence/heart of things, as well as from our own heart. Yet in the essence is where the fulfillment for which we yearn is found. For example, at the heart of most religions are simple ideas like compassion and love. When conventional thinking disconnects us from that heart the promise of the spiritual life is lost.

In the past I have written about my dear friend Valerie Sobel and all the great work she does with her foundation Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation.  I wanted to share with you the opportunity she provides to support those who need it most on this very special day--Mother's Day.

The foundation provides urgent finanical support to single parents whose children are seriously ill. The foundation has helped the hundreds of overwhelmed parents that have exhausted all financial resources, and wish only to be at their child's bedside. Their urgent assistance helps a single parent cope during this fragile and frightening time.

If you go onto their website  you can support a single mother of a catastrophically ill child, and at the same time, send a card to a special mother in your life

Last week young Christian leaders joined forces to launch a new initiative aimed at ridding the world of nuclear weapons. I was on the call and wanted to share what I thought was a great project.  Two Futures Project is a broad-based citizen mobilization, which in the next year will come to schools and churches, in partnership with organizations like former Sen. Sam Nunn’s Nuclear Threat Initiative.

Through Two Futures, citizens can take action in lots of ways—from lobbying their elected officials to educating their peers about the issue.

Tyler Wigg Stevenson, the founder of the Two Futures Project, said “Nonpartisan security experts are telling us that abolition of nuclear weapons is the only alternative to their eventual use, and scientists are telling us that we have the ability to do away with them.

Writing a column coming up, but thought I woudl give you guys a peek on the draft. Tell me what ya think...

As the unemployment numbers grow grimmer by the day, everyone is hoping for an end in sight, but no one knows for sure when that will happen. The March unemployment rate has reached a 25 year high at 8.5 percent.

Upon further inspection of the unemployment numbers, I discovered an eye-opening fact—for people with at least a bachelor’s degree, the March unemployment rate was at only 4.3 percent; however, for Americans with only a high school diploma, the unemployment rate more than doubled to 9.0 percent. If anyone needed statistics attesting to the power of education, there you have it.

Sorry I have not posted in a week - I was traveling a lot and it was difficult to get online.  A shame since this amazing email has been sitting in my inbox.  I asked Gail to write a piece for Citizen Hunter (which I'm cross-posting on Earth to Philly tonight) since I recently read her funny, uplifting and super-smart book Cancer is a Bitch!

As I am sure you noticed I have written about the topic more than usual lately as a close family member is in the throes of this terrible disease.  Gail and her book is just what the doctor ordered.  I figured she'd write me a summary of her book to post but she didn't.  So check out what she wrote, because she is frustrated and wants to get moving with her plan to implement change!

So read on and then go get her book Cancer is a Bitch: (Or I'd rather be Having a Midlife Crisis)  - it rocks!

I was a competitive runner, a yoga practitioner, an organic mostly-vegetarian eater, an arm-chair nutritionist, a person others consulted for health and anti-aging tips, a person with no aches, no pains, who rarely caught a cold... when I was diagnosed with non-invasive breast cancer in my mid-forties. This made no sense to me. I literally could not believe it. I was positive there had been some kind of big mistake.

This was not the me I knew. This was not the healthy persona I wore and preached and flaunted proudly.

After the reality sunk in and when I was recovering from surgery, I started Googling carcinogens obsessively and learned that even though I thought I was living a consciously healthy and clean lifestyle, carcinogens are everywhere, impossible to avoid unless you live off the land in the middle of nowhere. I even suggested that to my husband until he reminded me I wasn’t really a country person and was a terrible gardener. After reading a very small Canadian study about parabens found in breast tumors and learned that they were in most cosmetics and hair products, I realized I’d been rubbing parabens into my skin and scalp for years in the name of anti-aging. Ha! I threw out all those products and started making my own homemade organic lotions.

I wanted to share an e-mail I received recently with all of you. 

Though I am often not a fan of a month for this cause or day for that cause, it is helpful in just reminding us of things we should be working on all year round.  April is National Donate Life Month, and LifeSharers.org told me in their e-mail that they have a solution to the organ donation crisis that is causing needless loss of life.

There is a need to create awareness regarding the critical shortage of organ donors, and the ease and benefits of being a donor, is vitally important.

Will you help get the message out? They asked.  My reply: Heck yeah, and so will other Citizenhunters!

I promptly called the number at the bottom of the e-mail and asked what can I do to help oh and by the way how in the world did you get my e-mail and why are you writing me? To which the nice voice on the other end of the line said.

"I don't know you from Eve. I contacted you because you're a member of the press in the hope you'd help spread the word about an easy way to save lives.

Lots of problems are hard to solve. The problem of people dying waiting for organ transplants is not. In the United States we bury or cremate 20,000 transplantable organs every year, which is more than enough to save the 8,000 people who die every year waiting for organ transplants.

I have been getting to know Don Wilheim because of a mutual friend and Facebook!.  A 5-time cancer surivivor who does not know the definition of the word quit.  I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of his book, which I hear is amazing!  I reached out to him to ask if he could share some thoughts with Citizenhunters and here's what he sent.  I hope it helps you like it did me.

Folks, I know things are tough right now.  Everyone is paying the price for our collective gluttony of years gone by.  We are facing a global financial collapse over the next couple of years.  In addition, many of you who are reading this are facing cancer, or someone you care about is. There’s a lot to be down about right now.

But you have a choice.  The circumstances that are occurring in your life do NOT dictate how your life turns out.  The only thing that directly impacts you is how you choose to view your situation.  You control the thoughts that you have!  What thoughts are predominant in your mind each day?  Are they upbeat thoughts of how you and your family are going to make 2009 an outstanding year?  Are you picturing yourself healthy and happy?  Are you smiling and enjoying the time doing the things you love?