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We Did It! Donations Deliver 55 ‘Good Happens’ T-shirts for Teachers (Photo)

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Apr 2, 2011

Stevenson Elementary teachers show off new tees from Good News Network

All the teachers at Stevenson Elementary school wore their new tee shirts on Friday. “Everyone was so appreciative and touched by the shirts,” says Lisa Otto, who originally wrote the note asking for ‘Good Happens’ shirts for the staff. (Read her touching plea for help, expressing her desire to close the negativity gap at her school.)

“It has helped me to hear the positive comments from my co-workers,” she added. “I want to thank everyone for their kind words of encouragement. It really works.”

Principle Debby Root was so grateful to Lisa for contacting the Good News Network on behalf of the Dayton, Ohio-area school. “Their generosity was overwhelming.”

Good News Makes Better People, Says New Study

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Apr 2, 2011

delivering food

A new study released Tuesday by the University of British Columbia found that people were inspired to do good when they see media stories about uncommon acts of human goodness.

“The news media have a tendency to celebrate bad behaviour, from Charlie Sheen’s recent exploits to articles that focus the spotlight on criminal and other aberrant behaviour,” says lead author Karl Aquino, a professor at the Sauder School of Business who studies issues such as forgiveness, reconciliation and moral behavior.

To appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the research shows a direct link between exposure to media accounts of extraordinary virtue and one’s desire to be a better person and act or donate on behalf of others.

“Our study indicates that if more attention was devoted to recounting stories of uncommon acts of human virtue, the media could have a quantifiable positive effect on the moral behaviour of a significant group of people,” asserted Aquino.

Good News Makes Better People, Says New Study

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Good News Network

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Apr 2, 2011

delivering food

A new study released Tuesday by the University of British Columbia found that people were inspired to do good when they saw media stories about uncommon acts of human goodness.

“The news media have a tendency to celebrate bad behaviour, from Charlie Sheen’s recent exploits to articles that focus the spotlight on criminal and other aberrant behaviour,” says lead author Karl Aquino, a professor at the Sauder School of Business who studies issues such as forgiveness, reconciliation and moral behavior.

To appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the research shows a direct link between exposure to media accounts of extraordinary virtue and one’s desire to be a better person and act or donate on behalf of others.

“Our study indicates that if more attention was devoted to recounting stories of uncommon acts of human virtue, the media could have a quantifiable positive effect on the moral behaviour of a significant group of people,” asserted Aquino.

New Pandas From China Help Lighten the Mood in Japan

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Apr 2, 2011

A pair of pandas that arrived from China a few weeks ago made their first public appearance at a zoo in Tokyo on Friday, providing a little light relief for victims of the tsunami that hit the country in March.

About 300 people who were forced from their homes by the tsunami joined thousands of others at Ueno Zoo to welcome male panda Ri Ri and female Shin Shin, both 5 years old.

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40 Foods and Herbs to Grow in Partial Shade

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Apr 2, 2011

Photo by Sylvalis via Morguefile

We all know that most garden crops want as much sun as possible. Tomatoes, melons and peppers will suffer if they don’t get oodles of light.

What you may not realize is that many other garden crops will do quite well with limited sunlight.

Which plants will put up with lower light levels?

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Why There’s Never Been a Better Time to be Alive: The Rational Optimist

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Apr 1, 2011

Photo by sealion of Sacramento

A British scientist and author of the book, The Rational Optimist, makes the case that mankind’s progress has been vigorous, widely spread, and not just benefiting the privileged few.

Matt Ridley says, “Average citizens are becoming healthier, cleaner, smarter, kinder, happier, and more peaceful.” And he has the facts to back it up. (Read his essay below…)

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Unemployment Rate Falls to 8.8 Percent, Lowest in 2 Years

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Apr 1, 2011

job classified ads - Kevin P. via Morguefile

The unemployment rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8 percent in March, capping the strongest two months of hiring since before the recession began.

The economy added 216,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. Factories, retailers, the education and health care sectors and professional and financial services all expanded payrolls. Those job gains offset layoffs by local governments.

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Organized Crime Groups in Japan Supply Truckloads of Relief to Disaster Victims

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Apr 1, 2011

angel of lights

Organized crime networks have been sending tons of relief goods in trucks from the Tokyo and Kobe regions to deliver food, water, blankets and toiletries to evacuation centers in northeast Japan, the area devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

As with the devastating 1995 Kobe earthquake, government workers were slow in reaching afflicted areas, so the “yakuza” groups — society’s outcasts — stepped in quickly, and in many cases, were first on the ground.

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Libyan-Americans Rush Off to Join Fight Against Gadhafi

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Apr 1, 2011

Libyan-american-joins-rebels

Age wasn’t about to stop Libyan-American Ibrahim Elfirjani from joining the fight to oust Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. So the 60-year-old owner of an auto repair shop left his home in Illinois and trekked to Libya to help the opposition on the frontlines of the conflict.

“I decided my birth country needs me today. … I’m an old man but I have energy to kick this dictator out,” Elfirjani, of Orland Park, Ill., told msnbc.com by phone from Libya, during a stop near the Egyptian border to pick up communications equipment for the rebel fighters. “My heart is still young … 25 years old.”

He Helps Pakistan’s Low-income Families Afford Healthcare: $1.80 per month

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Mar 31, 2011

Asher Hasan in rural village, Pakistan

13,000 low-income workers in Pakistan are getting nearly-free health care thanks to Asher Hasan and his micro-insurance program, Naya Jeevan, founded in 2007.

The surgeon-turned-social entrepreneur left a successful career in the United States to return to Pakistan, where he had spent his formative years, on a mission to provide affordable health care to low-income workers.

(READ the full story at the CS Monitor) – Donate at Naya Jeevan!

Small Florida Fish Back From Brink of Extinction

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Mar 31, 2011

Okaloosa darter - USFW photo

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is upgrading the status of the Okaloosa darter from endangered to threatened saying that the population is being managed so well, the small fish is making major strides on its road to recovery. Much of the praise goes to a U.S. Air Force Base.

Originally listed as endangered in 1973, the Okaloosa darter is a small, perch-like fish known to occur only in six clear stream systems in Walton and Okaloosa counties in northwest Florida. About 96 percent of this watershed drainage area is under the management of Eglin Air Force Base.

Coal Waste Could Save Billions on Road Repairs

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Mar 31, 2011

the road leads ever on

Fly ash, a byproduct of coal-burning electric power plants, could save billions of dollars if used in the repairing of U.S. bridges and roads, researchers say.

Using fly ash to coat the concrete used to rebuild America’s infrastructure could extend the life of those roads and bridges by decades, saving billions of dollars of taxpayer money, scientists told a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday.

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$30,000 Lottery Ticket Left in Church Collection Plate

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Mar 31, 2011

lottery Cash Craze ticket from Maryland

A struggling Baltimore parish received a surprising donation two Sundays ago, when a winning lottery scratch-off ticket arrived in the collection plate.

The Maryland Lottery ticket, which was already scratched revealing the prize, was discovered by the church’s pastor when tallying the day’s contributions.

$30,000 Lottery Ticket Left in Church Collection Plate

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Mar 31, 2011

lottery Cash Craze ticket from Maryland

A struggling Baltimore parish received a surprising donation two Sundays ago, when a winning lottery scratch-off ticket arrived in the collection plate.

The Maryland Lottery ticket, which was already scratched revealing the prize, was discovered by the church’s pastor when tallying the day’s contributions.

Burt’s Bees Founder Buys Enough Land in Maine to Open National Park, Finds Common Ground With Hunters

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Mar 30, 2011

Lake Umbagog Natl Wildlife Refuge in Maine -USFW photo

The state’s sportsmen were outraged when Roxanne Quimby, the conservation-minded founder of Burt’s Bees cosmetics, bought up more than 120,000 acres of Maine’s fabled North Woods — and had the audacity to forbid hunters, loggers, snowmobiles, and all-terrain vehicles on the expanses.

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Time’s Most Heroic Animals of All Time

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Mar 30, 2011

german shepherd

Time compiled a list inspired by the story following the Japan tsunami, where a dog remained alongside its trapped canine companion until it was dug out by rescue workers.

The top ten list includes a miniature horse used for therapy in senior homes, a carrier pigeon that helped save soldiers, and Trakr, trained as a police dog in Canada, the animal was credited with locating the last survivor beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York after September 11.

Does Food Dye Make Kids Hyperactive? FDA Panel Investigates Evidence

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Mar 30, 2011

Fruit Loops photo by ppdigital via Morguefile

Doctors and consumer advocates have long argued over whether hyperactivity might be tied to certain dyes and additives used in processed foods.

In a two-day meeting beginning Wednesday, an FDA advisory committee will examine the strength of evidence surrounding food dyes and the detrimental behavior changes seen in some children. They may decide that food labels should be changed to better protect consumers, or that certain dyes should be banned altogether, or to further study the issue.

Indonesian Example Counters Fears of Radical Religious States in Tunisia/Egypt

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Mar 30, 2011

Indonesian child holds US flags -USAID photo

Many scholars are pessimistic that Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution and the political transition in Egypt will successfully bring about democracy in these countries, and worry that there is a significant risk of Islamic political groups, some with radical interpretations of shari’a (Islamic principles of jurisprudence), taking on an inordinately influential role during the political transition.

Is there any truth to the argument that Islam is incompatible with democracy? The Indonesian example suggests otherwise.

Pixar Animates its First Female Hero in ‘Brave’

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Mar 29, 2011

Pixar's Brave screenshot

Pixar replaced Disney long ago as the undisputed king of animated filmmaking, but for 15 years Disney remained one-up on the upstart, until now. With its 13th major film in production, Pixar is, at last, turning to a female character to play the sole protagonist. And, like Disney’s Mulan, she will turn out to be an inspiration, despite her sassy ways and nonchalance for the breaking of out-dated rules (which rains turmoil down on her kingdom).

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