This makes me want to start doodling on my walls. . . A central Kentucky man decorates his cream color walls with Sharpie drawings of columns, bookshelves and more. Great panoramic (VR) photos at the Lexington Herald-Leader website… (Tip: Make the picture move faster by grabbing and dragging with your mouse)
Man Decorates Basement with $10 Worth of Sharpie Pens
Man Becomes Hero to Nation of Farmers
Almost everyone knows Shykh Seraj in Bangladesh, where farming offers a lifeline to most of its 140 million people, half of whom live on less than one U.S. Dollar a day.
He teaches impoverished farmers how to better work their fields and rise above grinding poverty.
A decade ago the journalist, interested in agriculture, launched a TV show and YouTube channel, more recently, focusing on farmers and giving solutions for their problems.
“Every day there is new reports, new techniques, and new crops.”
1875 Pound Pumpkin Headed for World Record
A Taunton Massachusetts man is an extreme gardener, growing a 1,800-pound pumpkin, according to his estimate, that he plans to have weighed Oct. 11. He’s going for a spot in the Guinness World Records. (Taunton Daily Gazette) Refresh your page if you don’t see the photo of the pumpkin patch … Thanks to Sun Star for the link.
90,000 Homes To Be Powered By Chicken Manure
The world’s largest biomass power plant running exclusively on chicken manure has opened in the Netherlands, converting one-third of all chicken manure residue there into green energy. The power plant will deliver renewable electricity to 90,000 households. (Environmental News Network)
Plant Tweak Could Let Toxic Soil Feed Millions with New Crops
Thanks to a genetic breakthrough, a large portion of Earth’s now-inhospitable soil could be used to grow crops — potentially alleviating one of the most pressing problems facing the planet’s rapidly growing population. Scientists at the University of California, Riverside made plants tolerant of poisonous aluminum by tweaking a single gene. This may allow crops to thrive in the 40 to 50 percent of Earth’s soils currently rendered toxic by the metal. (Wired Magazine online )
New Machine Scrubs CO2 From the Air
University of Calgary climate change researchers say they are close to figuring out how to commercialize the capture of carbon dioxide directly from the air with a simple system that could be set up anywhere in the world.
If they can make it work, it would allow greenhouse gas to be removed from ambient air and reduce the effect of emissions from transportation sources such as cars and airplanes.
(Read the full story in CBC News)
(Right- University of Calgary climate change scientist David Keith with his CO2 scrubber. (University of Calgary))
New Machine Scrubs CO2 From the Air
University of Calgary climate change researchers say they are close to figuring out how to commercialize the capture of carbon dioxide directly from the air with a simple system that could be set up anywhere in the world.
If they can make it work, it would allow greenhouse gas to be removed from ambient air and reduce the effect of emissions from transportation sources such as cars and airplanes.
(Read the full story in CBC News)
(Right- University of Calgary climate change scientist David Keith with his CO2 scrubber. (University of Calgary))
4.2 Million New Green Jobs Predicted
A major shift to renewable energy and efficiency is expected to produce 4.2 million new environmentally friendly “green” jobs over the next three decades, according to a study commissioned by the nation’s mayors. The report makes “a very compelling economic argument for investing in the green economy and that we’re going to get a huge return for it.” (Associated Press at MSNBC)
Southern California Ports Clean up Polluting Trucks
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, comprising the busiest U.S. cargo complex, launched a landmark clean-air program Wednesday banning some 2,000 older trucks blamed for half the pollution spewed by the ports’ diesel haulers. (Full report at Reuters News )
Once a Stutterer, James Earl Jones Gets Lifetime Achievement Award for Vocal Career
James Earl Jones, who remained mute as a child because of a stuttering problem, but went on to give voice to some of entertainment’s most memorable characters, will receive the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award for a vocal tenor that is “without peer.” (Associate Press has a good article, too)
Leo, Ellen, Halle And More Celebs’ New Message: Don’t Vote (Video)
Don’t vote? A new public service announcement uses big-time celebrities and reverse psychology to urge citizens to vote.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston, Tobey Maguire, Eva Longoria Parker and other stars “just say no” to young people to get them into voting booths on election day.
In a new public service announcement that hit YouTube and other online outlets Wednesday, DiCaprio says: “Please — just don’t vote.” Others echo his plea: “Don’t vote.”
But the stars soon twist the message: Voting is a civic duty and the only way to effect change.
“I mean, seriously, … after this whole video — if you’re not gonna vote, I don’t even know what to say. … You know you have to vote,” says DiCaprio, who produced the PSA.
Also appearing: Ellen DeGeneres, Forest Whitaker, Dustin Hoffman, Demi Moore, Sarah Silverman, Jonah Hill, Ashton Kutcher, Courteney Cox, Laura Linney, Natalie Portman, Jamie Foxx, Usher, Kyra Sedgwick and will.i.am.
Celebrating Amazing Weight Loss
Patients of weight-loss surgeries celebrated their slimming success by throwing a red carpet party. Their success stories include more exercise, eating healthier, and diseases and symptoms subsiding. Amazing “before and after” photos… (on the video below)
Nevada’s First Green Convenience Store
Nevada’s first full-sized alternative fuel station and LEED-certified convenience store opened in Minden Tuesday. With solar panels and skylights, bamboo shelving and biofuels, the idea was to “take a Whole Foods market, and shrink it down to the size of a 7-Eleven.”
A Good News Network fan submitted the story link and said a friend of theirs stopped in to the store yesterday, the second customer for Don Bently, owner of Bently Biofuels Outpost.
“She was told that if there was anything natural that she would normally get from a health food store or order online, just to let them know and they will order it for her… so we’re very excited.”
California Launches Broad Effort to Control Hazardous Chemicals
California on Monday launched the most comprehensive program of any state to regulate chemicals that have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption and other deadly effects on human health. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the broad laws…. (Read more in the Lost Angeles Times)
Stars Gather to Honor Britain’s Citizen Heroes
The annual Pride of Britain Awards were held last night to pay tribute to hero members of the public whose selfless, courageous and caring acts earn them honors from the stars of stage, screen and society. (The Daily Mail, which sponsors the awards, has the full story of the heroes)
Also, take a look back at the last ten years of award-winners at this link.
Caring Makes Us Human — Even the Prisoners
“After more than two decades in prison, I know that kindness is not a value that’s encouraged. It’s often seen as weakness.” But, when a cat wandered into the prison yard, normally gruff men turned into pussy cats, and a lesson was seared into the heart of Troy Chapman. “There’s a lot of talk about what’s wrong with prisons in America … but I think what we really need is a chance to practice kindness ourselves. Not receive it, but give it.” (Read or listen to the essay at NPR)
Tunnel To Towers Run Celebrates Heroes Of 9/11 (Video)
In celebration of the heroes from September 11, 2001, “The Tunnel To Towers Run” follows the path Stephen Siller and other first responders took on 9/11 as they raced toward Ground Zero. What started in 2002 with 2,500 runners has grown to 15,000 participators, raising more than $4 million for charity.
Wall Street Woes? Free Yourself From the Frenzy
Are you getting sucked into FEAR and FRENZY and the media gloom around the chaos on Wall Street? It’s too late to join our tele-conference call on October 3, but you CAN listen to the recorded call by dialing in on our free playback line… You can learn how to stop the drama and create positive thoughts and feelings in your life that will lead to a sane and healthy mindset and a more secure future…
Listen to positive thinking experts as they cull through fact and fiction and help you to break addictive patterns that lead to more fear and drama.
YES, we have a reality in financial markets that challenges us and our leaders. But, we do NOT need to get sucked into the false notions that lead to desperate emotions, and addictive patterns that result in more failures and even more poverty.
This is the premiere tele-conference of the 2008 Great Mentors audio seminar series, created to provide free virtual help to those who don’t have the opportunity for one-on-one mentoring. The 2008 series kicked off last Friday with an important bail-out of your financial frenzy!
Admission is FREE, but you must register on-line. Great Mentors tele-conferences give you the chance to ask and respond to questions from the panel. You receive the dial-in number and access code when you register.
TO REGISTER GO TO: www.greatmentoring.com
Marlene Chism is our special guest, the founder of www.stopyourdrama.com. She works with people who want less stress and more success, particularly offering down to earth practical tips — especially to business owners — for increasing performance, productivity and personal power. To get a free e-lesson go to www.TheDramaStopsHere.com
Experts in the field of positive thinking help you deal with your fears and give you a menu of actions to take to effect positive change immediately. We will magnify the world of possibility and productivity, BRINGING RELIEF for your feelings of desperation and doom.
Sign up and get the phone number to listen to the call at your leisure over the next few weeks. Register to hear the 75-minute call by registering online: www.greatmentoring.com
Boeing, Virgin Join Group Committed to Biofuel for Commercial Jets
Boeing last week joined Virgin Atlantic and eight other major air carriers, along with Honeywell’s energy arm, in an organized effort to develop new sustainable aviation fuels that will lower carbon emissions and free the airlines from the grip of high oil prices.
The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group is supported by and collaborating with the World Wildlife Fund and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
At Last, 20 Games for Mike Mussina!
Pro baseball pitcher Mike Mussina had always come within an inch of reaching one of the pinnacles for major league starters: He took a perfect game into the ninth inning, he came in second in Cy Young award voting, he came within a single game of winning 20 — two years in a row. But now Mussina has done it, becoming the oldest pitcher to win 20-games in a season, for the first time… (The Atlantic.com and a full report at WashingtonPost.com )
