A field full of weeds, kudzu and abandoned cars has become a fields of dreams for kids in a Decatur Boys and Girls club thanks to the Atlanta Landscaping and Turf Association which adopted the project and sent 100 volunteers to hunker down for four days with hoes and shovels. (Read the A-J Constitution story from their new Good Works section, which our own Steve. G. will be monitoring for the best stuff!)
The Street Samaritans of New Orleans
Post-Katrina volunteer medics on bicycles have created a new model of community health care in New Orleans. (Mother Jones)
World Pledges More Aid to Bangladesh Cyclone Victims
More and more countries have come forward to provide assistance to help Bangladesh conduct the relief and rescue operation, including the most recent, a pledge by India to rebuild ten villages destroyed in the storms.
Finally, Something Not Caused by Global Warming
While we should in no way downplay the environmental challenges we face today, we should also make sure that we recognize good news. In one case, clean air laws helped reduce pollution and acid rain, but they also created dissolved organic carbon, which was a situation that looked like more bad news at first, but turned out to be a small flame of hope.
Billion Tree Campaign Reaches One Billion Trees Planted in One Year
The goal of planting one billion trees around the world has been achieved in one year thanks to the United Nations and Nobel Peace Prize winner and Kenyan Green Belt Movement founder, Wangari Maathai. “I am elated beyond words at the global interest and action that was motivated by the Billion Tree Campaign. I knew we had it within us as a human family to rise up! We called you to action almost exactly a year ago and you responded beyond our dreams!”
A UN report said Wednesday that the billionth tree was probably planted in Ethiopia where close to 700 million trees have been planted alone. Half of all those who participated were private citizens or households planting one to three trees, according to UN Environment Program (UNEP), while another 13 percent were planted by the private sector.
A big boost came in Mexico where the government and local authorities-with support from the army and inspired by President Felipe Calderón-pledged and planted over 200 million trees. Several million more trees are expected to be planted by Guatemala, China and Spain.
The news comes as thousands of delegates across the world are ready to arrive on the Indonesian island of Bali for the next and most crucial round of global warming negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Billion Tree Campaign was launched at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi last November in the garden of a staff member.
While not all numbers are in, UNEP said the top-ranking countries appear to be Ethiopia, over 700 million trees planted; Mexico, 217 million trees; Turkey, 150 million; Kenya, 100 million; Cuba, 96.5 million; Rwanda, 50 million; Republic of Korea, 43 million; Tunisia, 21 million; Morocco, 20 million; Myanmar, 20 million and Brazil, 16 million. The Green Belt Movement planted 4.7 million trees, double the number of trees it had initially pledged.
“There had been a few cynical smiles and shaking of heads when the Billion Tree Campaign was launched,” said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director. “Some said it would never happen, but citizen after citizen, community after community and country after country, have proved the doubters wrong and demonstrated an abiding truth in 2007.”
Promising New HIV-AIDS Drug Approved in Canada
“A new HIV-AIDS drug, the first in a promising new class of medications, has been given approval for the Canadian market for treatment when viruses are resistant to other HIV drugs. AIDS expert Dr. Mark Wainberg says there is tremendous optimism about the drug in the community of HIV patients, doctors and researchers.” (Canadian Press)
Neil Young Turns Electric — With His Gas Guzzling Car
On a beautiful, crisp late fall afternoon, rock icon Neil Young took his 1959 Lincoln Continental for one last spin before a team of mechanics ripped out its gas-guzzling engine to make way for an electric motor.
Car buffs may think it’s sacrilege to tear apart an automotive classic, but Young wants it to have a new life as a fuel-efficient hybrid.
(READ the full story from CNN)
Car Salesman Gives Homeless and Ex-Cons New Lives
“Word of the good Samaritan car salesman started spreading through the homeless and prison communities, and the more people showed up at the Chevrolet dealership, the more Korry Holtzander did to change their lives for the better. Andy Garcia was living in his van with his wife and two little kids when Holtzander gave him a sales job and a month’s rent.”
(Read full text at CBSNews, and watch the heart-warming video report, by Steve Hartman)
Ten Millionth Tree Planted in Congo’s Gorilla Habitat
The World Wildlife Fund is celebrating the ten millionth tree planted around crucial endangered mountain gorilla habitat in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The tree-planting project, launched in 1987 for the area surrounding Virunga National Park, has continued despite sporadic armed conflicts in the region. The goal is to reduce the shortage of firewood for neighboring communities, staving off illegal wood harvesting and charcoal production within the park, a major threat for the protected area.
Quarter Million People Fed Through Playing of Internet Game
You gotta try the new Internet game in which you choose the correct definition of a word — the words keep getting harder, which makes it really fun — and for every correct choice you make, a hungry person is fed. The website, FreeRice.com, donates 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program (WFP) every time you get one right. Today, brainy gamers are set to pass the 5 billion grain mark after just seven weeks of operations. That is enough to feed more than 250,000 people for one day!
Indonesia Plants 79 Million Trees in One Day
Indonesia, which is clear-cutting its rainforests faster than any other country, planted 79 million trees in one day Wednesday and aims to plant another 10 million seedlings tomorrow.
Measles Deaths In Africa Plummet by 91 Percent — UN
Deaths from measles in Africa have dropped by 91 per cent — from an estimated 396,000 to 36,000 — between 2000 and 2006, thus achieving the United Nations goal to cut measles deaths by 90 percent four years early, it was announced today.
Homeless Poodle and Pit Bull Find True Love, But Need Home Where Beauty Can be with Beast
"Vincent didn’t care about their differences. He was in love and that was that. Sure, some might call it "puppy love." They are, after all, dogs. But Vincent doesn’t seem to care that he’s a well-coiffed, 12-pound poodle and his love, the object of his adoration, is a 40-pound pit bull mix." (A-J Constitution) Steve sent this with the hope that we hear a happy ending for this doomed couple — someone willing to adopt the beauty and the beast…
Honest Man Returns 2 Million Dollar Check
“Expecting a $15 refund from the Utah Department of Commerce, the Draper man opened his mail recently to find a $2,245,342 check.” After some consideration, he returned the accidental over payment to the state. (AP Wire)
Google Plugs the Internet Into Clean Power
"Google and other large data servers now consume more electricity each year than the entire state of Colorado. Sensing perils to both the environment and their bottom line, Google announced Tuesday it will plow $100 million into development of alternative energies." (CS Monitor) Thanks for the link, Steve.
50K in Stolen Toys Being Replaced in Radio Marathon
Not sure if you heard about this in Atlanta, but $50,000 worth of toys were stolen. Those were somebody’s Christmas toys. Now, a morning radio show is trying to make up for that with a fundraising marathon. (A-J Constitution) Thanks for the update, Steve!
One Man Tries to Spur an Urban Revival with Tulips
“Durwin Rice leads a drive to change the image of Troost Avenue, a racial and economic dividing line in Kansas City, by planting millions of flowers.” (CS Monitor) Thanks to Steve G.!
Wind Power Lifts Dying Texas Farm Town
Roscoe, a small farm town in Texas transforms into Wind City U.S.A. — collectively one of the biggest wind farms in the nation and the world. It’s a boon to the town (where most restaraunts had closed) and to its farmers, who get between $5,000-10,000 per turbine per year. (NPR- nice story, audio and slides)
Mexico Invests to Protect Monarch Butterflies
Mexico’s president pledged $4.6 million to protect the forested nesting grounds which are the winter home for millions of monarch butterflies. (Nat’l Geographic )
500 Trees to Mark Half-Millennium of Luther’s Reformation
Churches worldwide are encouraged to adopt one of 500 trees being planted in a special "Luther Garden" in Wittenberg in eastern Germany to mark the 500th anniversary in 2017 of Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation. and also to plant a tree themselves to denote a link with the birthplace of the Reformation.
