Manitoba is trying to encourage people to stop flushing so much water and money away. The province has announced a new WaterSmart conservation program that will provide rebates to people who buy dual-flush, high-efficiency toilets. (The Winnipeg Sun)
Giving Injured Vets A Lift (Video)
Veterans Airlift Command is an organization that offers free flights to injured soldiers and their families, thanks to pilots volunteering their services, planes, and even paying for the fuel costs. Chip Reid reports on the service and the vet who started the project after learning how big a difference it makes to have a family near you when you are trying to heal after a war injury. (Video below)
Visit Veterans Airlift Command website, which displays the motto, “They’ve got heart. They need wings.”
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Uganda Civil War Orphan Turns Successful Entrepreneur
One young Ugandan, orphaned by the country’s civil war, has managed to support his five younger siblings and pay for their education by setting up his own business in the slums of the capital.
New York Times Building Sees 70% Energy Savings with Lighting System
With the installation of a lighting management system, the New York Times Building has seen a 70 percent savings on its energy usage. That reduction translates into savings of $315,000 and 1,250 metric tons of CO2 a year for the building. (Read more at EcoGeek)
Ten Extraordinary Americans Recognized for Innovation in Health Care
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced the 2008 recipients of its Community Health Leaders Award for individuals who overcome the odds to improve the health and quality of life for underserved communities across the United States.
The CHL honorees represent the diversity of America, working in many geographical, ethnic, social and economic neighborhoods. From providing deaf patients better access to medical care with interpreters, to giving low-income children a fair start on their education with eye exams, to violence prevention programs for teens, the awardees have dedicated themselves to tackling some of the most intractable problems affecting the health of their communities.
Giant Prehistoric Fish Rebounding in Canada
When dozens of white sturgeon began washing up dead on the banks of British Columbia’s Fraser River in the mid-1990s, some feared that North America’s largest freshwater fish could be headed toward extinction.
But now, thanks to an alliance of government agencies, environmentalists, aboriginal groups, and fishing interests, the sturgeon has been spurred to a robust recovery in the lower river.
(READ the story from National Geographic News)
Britain’s Historic Water Mills Gearing Up to Provide Clean Energy
Britain’s iconic water mills, some of which date back to the 11th century, are to become a major force in the fight against climate change.
Mill owners around the UK have started to refurbish their old buildings and install turbines in order to show that they can be used as a source of clean electricity. Government figures suggest that if the resource is fully tapped, small-scale hydropower from the old mills and weirs could provide up to 10,000GWh per year – 3% of the UK’s electricity needs. (Read more at UK Guardian)
Photo is from the blog, Memories Are Made of This, where you can see more water mills.
Waiting 87 Years to Dance (Video)
As long as she can remember, Ginger Ann, 93, has wanted to dance. After being married to someone who refused her for 53 years, Ginger Ann has found a partner and today she lives to dance. She found love and fulfillment in her golden years. (Read full text at CBSNews, or watch Video below)
Baghdad Opens Bridge of Love and Reconciliation
Sunnis and Shi’ites made an emotional reach across the sectarian divide on Tuesday, reopening a Baghdad bridge between the two communities closed since a 2005 stampede, the deadliest incident of the war. Sunni children from one side raced to see their Shi’ite friends on the other. Women from the two communities met up on the bridge, hugging each other with joy. A banner across the bridge read: ‘The bridge of love and reconciliation between the people of Adhamiya and Kadhimiya.’ (Reuters News has the full report )
“Holiday Mail for Heroes” to Deliver One Million Cards to Service Members
Holiday Mail For Heroes invites the public to send holiday cards with their message of thanks and support to service men and women in the U.S. and around the world. The American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes have teamed up to provide a special post office box to collect the cards until Wednesday, December 10. They will then sort and package the cards, and deliver them to military bases, hospitals, and other locations during the holidays.
To Battle Obesity, Britain Creates Incentives for ‘Healthy Towns’
With the highest obesity rates in Europe, Britain is investing £30 million to urge people in Manchester and 8 other areas to cut the fat. People who run, walk or cycle every day will be rewarded with coupons at stores and even days off work. (Read more in the Christian Science Monitor)
Woman Plunges Nine Stories, Walks Away
A Ukrainian woman who plunged 100 feet from her ninth floor flat survived without injury because she fell into a giant vat of grapes that cushioned her fall. (Ananova has a few more details)
Extra Cash? Turn in Your Techno-Junk for Money
As a hungry grad student, Brandon Mendelson can sum up his financial status in two painful words: “broke” and “desperate.” He needed quick cash to help cover his living expenses, so he turned his techno-trash into digital gold.
Mendelson scanned his campus at SUNY Albany and saw possible salvation in the trash stream. Not beer bottles or discarded newspapers. Today’s garbage: his, and his friends’ digital debris.
Skills for a Successful Life
I have seen how the striving for success can create much unnecessary drama. The image that comes to mind for me is rowing with all your might to get to an island that never appears. When do I get there? How do I get there faster? What if someone else gets there first?
My experience as a speaker and consultant has taught me that whenever there is drama in the boat, even the arrival at your destination isn’t going to bring relief.
With that in mind, here are five skills that will make your success journey one worth savoring…
Toys For Tots Literacy Program Turns Dollars Into Books
While known for giving toys to under-privileged children during the holidays, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is teaming up with The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. locations nationwide to provide books to needy children this holiday season through the Toys for Tots Literacy Program.
Launched in March of this year, the Toys for Tots Literacy Program is a year-round initiative offering our nation’s most economically disadvantaged children the ability to compete academically and to succeed in life by providing them direct access to books and educational resources that will enhance their ability to read and to communicate effectively.
“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 12.8 million children are living in poverty,” said LtGen. Pete Osman, USMC (ret), president and CEO of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. “One of the keys to unlocking the door to a brighter and more prosperous future for these children is a good education. With the Toys for Tots Literacy Program, we are able to extend our reach and impact in a very meaningful way by giving the gift of hope and helping to break the cycle of poverty.”
Through Wednesday, Dec. 31, participating The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. locations are selling $1 donation cards to benefit the Toys for Tots Literacy Program. Every $1 donation will help the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation buy a book for a deserving child.
“As the exclusive sponsor of the Toys for Tots Literacy Program, we have the opportunity to bring awareness to the issue of children’s literacy year round,” said Stuart Mathis, president of Mail Boxes Etc., Inc. (MBE). “Even though a dollar doesn’t seem like much, with each dollar donation the literacy program can deliver a book to a child in need and instill in them a passion for reading.”
Since March, The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. network has collectively contributed more than $300,000 to the Toys for Tots Literacy Program through a variety of activities, including in-center donation card campaigns, coin box collections, special events and sponsorships.
MBE and its brands, The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc., are the exclusive sponsors of the Toys for Tots Literacy Program. Since 2005, the network has teamed up with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, donating more than $1.5 million to brighten the lives of thousands of children nationwide.
Obama Sends Bipartisan Team to Global Financial Summit
President-elect Barack Obama is sending former Republican congressman Jim Leach of Iowa and ex-secretary of state Madeleine Albright to meet on his behalf with delegations attending the global economic summit this weekend. (Read more from Reuters News)
American Idol Gives Back – $67 Million
Celebrities like Bono and David Beckham were on hand to thank viewers of American Idol who helped them to raise $64 million U.S. dollars for charity. Checks of $10 million each were presented to the Global fund for AIDS, and other good causes. (Video below, or read story from AP)
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Man Follows His Dream of Twine
James Frank Kotera wants to make his town of Highland, Wis., famous. He heard a voice one night that told him to make the world’s largest ball of twine. Steve Hartman asks him why.
Music to your Ears? Music for your Heart, Too
Songs that make our hearts soar can make them stronger too, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. They found that when people listened to their favorite music, their blood vessels dilated in much the same way as when laughing or taking blood medications.
Israel Lauds Saudi Peace Plan Before King Abdullah
Israeli President Shimon Peres seized the rare opportunity of being in the same hall as Saudi King Abdullah on Wednesday to praise a Saudi peace initiative that he said had brought hope to the Middle East.
Addressing a special high-level U.N. General Assembly meeting on dialogue between different religions, Peres termed some of the language in an Arab peace proposal based on the Saudi initiative “inspirational and promising — a serious opening for real progress.”
It was a rare moment — an Israeli head of state speaking directly to the Saudi Arabian leader, whose country does not recognize Israel. (Reuters News report)
