This issue of RoW documents a victory for our friends in Philadelphia, multiple ongoing struggles at the FCC and in Congress, and machinations in our own state with video service providers operating in a variety of situations. But to this observer, all commercial video providers are single-mindedly focused on their ultimate goal: The Bottom Line. The moldy concepts of promoting the common good like clean air and water and preserving public property like the ?public airways? seem to be no longer understood in our money-driven society.

Most people are swamped with long hours on a job, commitments to their children?s lives and activities, and worries about how much gas will cost tomorrow. And then there are the events that demand immediate and total attention, like life-threatening illness, loss of a loved one, or loss of the job one has had for many years. On top of all those challenges, there are other serious concerns that we carry: what about the environment? How can we reverse the pollution and climate changes to save our planet for human habitation? It?s no wonder that putting effort into demanding a public access television channel doesn?t usually cross people?s minds. Although the potential of such a channel is limitless, depending only on the creativity of the producers, even if a channel were in place, time and effort are required to prepare and present programs.

Thoughts like these lodge in my mind most of the time. So I was pleased to find a book entitled Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming. If you saw Leonardo DiCaprio?s recent movie The 11th Hour, you saw author Paul Hawken, one of the commenters in the movie. He talked about some exciting possibilities of meeting our physical needs in earth-friendly ways-in other words, he was one of the people in the movie who represented hope for the present and the future. His book is one of hope and of realization that the worldwide ?movement? for social and environment change he discovered is not just a plan; it?s a reality in millions of places in the world today, in thousands of groups working on thousands of projects to help people and heal the world. Blessed Unrest is a scholarly book that contains breathtaking insights into the biology of nature - awesome and inspiring for a non-biologist like me.

If you are searching for hope like I am, but you don?t have time to dig into a scholarly volume, take a few minutes to check out www.wiserearth.org. (WISER stands for World Index of Social and Environmental Responsibility, thus, WiserEarth.) The site uses open source software and contains tens of thousands of groups with information and photos. Search Media in Areas of Focus and find hundreds of groups, each with a positive purpose. If you are associated with a group that works for social or environmental causes, add your organization to the site. It will lift your spirits, and empower you in your efforts to heal the planet and its people. and maybe to accomplish what the stalwart faithful did for Philadelphia: create real-live public access television in our city.

Jean Coughlin is a retired IT worker and Co-Editor of The Right of Way.