I was thinking today of something that is recently absent in society today – a seven letter word rarely remembered – a word that has had songs written about the importance of receiving it and has been the fodder of comics. 'Respect.' The word used to need no definition but perhaps by today’s standards by necessity needs to be delineated precisely.

Through observation, I have witnessed acts of violence by youths, and a lack of civility in society by all whether it is the irate driver flashing obscene gestures at pedestrians or verbal insults towards police officers! It seems that the vast majority of our youth today have no respect for people older than themselves or persons deserving of this value by nature of their position in society whether police officers, teachers, or leaders. Perhaps they have no respect for themselves.

With the recent gangland-style murder of Des Moran, the story of mobsters in Australia sounds like something out of Hollywood. Secret conversations, wigs, get-a-way cars, and a shootout in broad daylight while the victim sat at his table drinking coffee.

Who doesn't LOVE to shop at Target? They have good prices, nice and trendy items and now there is another reason to patronize their stores in Australia.

That's right - they are among the first large retailers who are making a difference for the environment!

It all just makes me want to run over and spend a bunch of money!!!

As a visitor to Australia, there are so many differences from the United States that I decided to try to give you a quick guide. I hope this information will be helpful to you as it was certainly fun to create this list.

In my initial entry on Everyday Citizen, my goal was to use my experiences while in Australia for the next three months to write from an American perspective about the environmental, social and animal welfare issues in Australia. While starting to write about "Green Energy" advances in Australia I found there to be too much information to compile in one single article. I ask your indulgence while I try to compartmentalize the various advances in this area.

My first article will be on "Green" Awareness and how little I actually realized that I knew about this issue when faced with the plethora of information available. I was amazed at the advances in "Green" construction and consumer tips that are occurring in the United States and elsewhere. I hope you enjoy this article as much as I have enjoyed researching and writing about it.