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Summer Vacations, Cheering Orphans, and Host Couples

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KidSave International
To California, North Carolina, and Virginia, the Summer Miracles program brings orphans from Russia, Kazakhstan and Columbia for summer vacation with host families. Through carnival rides, picnics, swimming, and horseback riding, these kids often experience the best moments of their lives.KidSave International

The adults who sign up for the program, through KidSave International, fall in love with children and often are inspired to adopt. More than 1,300 children have participated in the Summer Miracles program. Nearly all have found permanent homes.

American College Students Choosing to Teach Inner City Kids

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Teachers can learn something from Finland

Grad Students Teach America What Gen X is All About

In the spring of 2005, 12 percent of graduating seniors at Yale signed up to “Teach for America” in inner city schools. David Gergen of US News and World Report shared a compelling tale of young idealism.

Teach for America teachers score higher in classroom math scores than regular teachers. “This spring on many college campuses, something absolutely remarkable happened: Talented young people lined up by the scores to teach lower-income kids in urban and rural public schools. In years past, investment banks like Goldman Sachs were the recruiting powerhouses at top campuses; this year, they were joined by Teach for America, a program that expresses the fresh idealism and social values of this new generation.”

Small World Stories

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photo of elderly couple, by Geri

This is an inspiring letter I received from Michael in Canada. He calls it his small-world story. It should remind you that striking up conversation with people whom you don’t know is usually quite worthwhile, even though it takes some courage.

A recent study shows how being extroverted can make you happy. Talking to strangers requires us to be extroverted, but it pays handsomely, as the following tale reveals. Notice how Michael is aware that passing time talking with others enriches his happiness:

I was waiting in our local Emergency Room to see about my sprained wrist. I struck up a conversation with an elderly gentleman to pass the time a bit more enjoyably. He told how he was once helping out his local church rummage sale when a client asked to buy a large piece of furniture. While waiting for the delivery truck to return, he started talking to the man.

 

The man was an Iranian immigrant, fleeing from Khomeini’s strict regime. His family had fled to Turkey to escape.

 

My new elderly friend said, “My nephew worked in Istanbul during that time.”

 

The immigrant replied, “Istanbul is where we ended up! Tell me, your nephew, his name was David?”

 

“Yes, he worked at the Canadian Consulate.”

 

The immigrant grabs the old man in a huge hug and started crying, “Your David approved us to come to Canada! Your David saved the life of my family!”
Michael Kannon
Winnipeg, Canada
Do you have any Small World Stories (SWS’s) to share? Post a comment below.

20,000 Muslims Gather for Peace

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Dec. 5, 2005 — We need to be reminded again and again that mainstream Muslims are not like their fanatical brothers in terror. In Britain, families traveled to London to be counted as the peaceful majority of Islam, able to stand against terrorism yet speak out in the face of unfairness. Let’s collect here on the Religions page of the GN Network as many stories as we can about Muslims as equals. Equality and Oneness shine as values in all the world’s religions.

Optimism is Healthy

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optimistic oldster

optimistic oldster Park FallsA 2006 Dutch study of elderly men found a lower risk for cardiovascular death for those identified as optimistic.

The research found optimism to be associated with a 50 percent lower risk of death from heart attack in men studied over 15 years. Higher optimism scores were associated with younger age, higher education, less often living alone, better health, and increased physical activity.

Studies suggest that a person’s optimism can predict their well-being and physical health, according to background information in the article. Being optimistic has been associated with better health outcomes in patients with ischemic heart disease (caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries), and with a lower risk for all-cause death and cardiovascular disease and death. The study authors focused on dispositional optimism, defined as having generally positive life engagement and expectancies for one’s future.

Erik J. Giltay, Ph.D., M.D., of GGZ Delfland, Institute of Mental Health, Deft, the Netherlands, and colleagues studied elderly men living in the Netherlands to determine optimism’s effect on cardiovascular death. The study included 545 men aged 64 to 84 years who did not have pre-existing cardiovascular disease or cancer. Optimism was assessed in 1985, 1990, 1995 and 2000 in a questionnaire given to study participants, who were asked to rate their agreement with the following items: “I still expect much from life,” “I do not look forward to what lies ahead for me in the years to come,” “My days seem to be passing by slowly” and “I am still full of plans.” The men were given scores and divided into groups based on their levels of optimism.

The researchers found optimism to be associated with an approximately 50 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death in the men over 15 years of follow-up. Higher optimism scores were associated with younger age, higher education, less often living alone, better health, a higher physical activity score and a lower depression score in 1990. On a scale from zero to three, with three being the most optimistic, the average scores decreased from 1.50 in 1985 to 1.27 in 2000. Current and past study results indicate that an individual’s optimism changes only moderately over time, though it does tend to decrease with age. “Optimism can be estimated easily and is stable over long periods,” the authors write. “It is yet to be established whether interventions aimed at improving an older individual’s level of optimism may reduce the risk of cardiovascular mortality.”

(Article in the February 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals)

 

Blue Butterfly Back From the Brink

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Good News Network
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The Smithsonian published a feature article in 2005 called Back From the Brink that asserted: “Not every endangered species is doomed. Thanks to tough laws, dedicated researchers, and plenty of money and effort, success stories abound.”

The Hawaiian green sea turtle is one such success featured in the magazine, along with the bald eagle, palila songbird, and southern sea otter, the whooping crane, red-cockaded woodpecker, and California chinook salmon, the Chiricahua leopard frog, grizzly bear and the karner blue butterfly.

“The vexing question of what to do with endangered species on private land is answered by the inspiring cooperative agreements forged on these animals’ behalf.”

For instance, the article points to Wisconsin:

“38 different partners participate to conserve habitat for the karner blue butterfly. The Wisconsin Gas Company agreed to mow grass along its power lines later in the summer than usual, the state highway department … also mows late, and they leave the grass long at the end of the season to help butterfly eggs survive the winter. Forestry companies delay spraying pesticides on their lands until the fall, after lupine have died.”

Amy Grant, of Germantown, Wisconsin, wrote to the Good News Network describing how she cooperated in this coalition for conservation:

Back in 1996 I worked for an organization in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, called the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association. It is composed of private landowners in the state with 100 or more acres and at the time served 1000 members. The plight of the Karner Blue butterfly was brought to the attention of association members, whose land was prime habitat for the karner blue. They were asked to plant large fields of lupine, the wildflower on which the karner blue lays eggs in spring and summer. The plant provides food and shelter once the eggs hatch.

 

Now, almost ten years later, I was so touched by an article in Smithsonian magazine, about this endangered butterful, and how, through the help of state and local agencies like WWOA, this incredibly beautiful butterfly is making a comeback in Wisconsin.
(photo courtesy of Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife)

Decrease of American Women Smoking

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For the first time in 40 years, less than 20 percent of women smoke (one third of women smoked in 1965). Wanna quit? Free help line (800) 784-8669.

U.S. Forests Expanding

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Since 2000, U.S. forests have expanded by an area larger than Delaware.  — Jan. 2006, Smithsonian magazine

(Read All Good Bites)

Sudan and Chad Agree to Peace Plan

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sudan votes

sudan-vote-yeswecan-unknownSudan and Chad have agreed to end a crisis that began last year when fighting broke out on their border, reports BBC News.

“After months of dispute, the Tripoli accord, chaired by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, commits the two countries to restore diplomatic relations and cease any attempts of cross-border conflict,” said the February 9 report.

“I was blind for 25 years. Had a heart attack, woke up and could see.”

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Elderly Croatia looking up-KatinkaBille-FlickrCC
Never too old to enjoy the sunshine –Katinka Bille, CC

Elderly Croatia looking up-KatinkaBille-FlickrCCFrom the Telegraph newspaper in the UK, comes this story of a woman who had been blind for 25 years and awoke in the hospital after suffering a heart attack with her sight fully restored! The first thing she said to her husband — after, “I can see, I can see” — was, “You’ve gotten older haven’t you?”

Lower Lead Levels in U.S. Kids

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Levels of lead have dropped dramatically. In 1976, 88.2 percent of U.S. children had elevated blood lead levels compared to 1.6 percent today. (Feb. 25, 2006)

Water for Life

By
Bill Asenjo
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He remembers how the people reacted when he came to drill a well for them. “People just mobbed me and cried.”

Willis Miller believes in fate. Near death with a heart attack at age 50, he vowed to spend the rest of his life doing good in the world if he survived.

Now 81, Miller can take satisfaction in the decades of good created through his nonprofit organization, Water for Life. Miller spent all the money he saved as a successful water well driller to provide and maintain hundreds of water wells for the poor in Haiti, many of whom walked over 5 miles for a bucket of dirty water. “If you don’t have clean water,” Miller said, “you don’t have anything.”

Water for Life provides clean water for over 200,000 people a day in Haiti. Clean water not only improves health, but crop production and living conditions as well.

While recovering from his heart attack, Miller met a man one day who asked him what he did for a living. “I told him I was a water well driller, “ Miller said. “This man started telling me about how bad it was in Haiti, how a Haitian mission had a water well that no one could fix.”

For the next seven years Miller gave his time and expertise to large organizations such as World Vision and Compassion International. He remembers how the people reacted when he came to drill a well for them, “People just mobbed me and cried.”

The large organizations didn’t service the wells once they were drilled. “It just didn’t work out,” Miller said. “I drilled over 40 wells for them, but today none of them are working.”

Miller became so frustrated he was ready to return to his home in rural Iowa. But a friend decided he would rent out his farmland and give Miller the money so that he could continue his good works in Haiti. “We started with nothing,” Miller said, “but today Water for Life has a budget of over $600,000 and has more than 300 working wells in Haiti.” Water for Life trains Haitians to service the wells. A single well provides clean water for about 750 people and 250 livestock.

Water for Life also built two irrigation systems, a church and a primary school in Haiti. Before the irrigations systems were put in, Miller said, crops baked in the sun and yielded little edible food. “They used to get a bushel of corn. Now they get a roomful of corn,” Miller said.

Although he retired about 5 years ago, Miller remains involved in the operation of Water for Life from his home in Kalona, Iowa. His son, Leon, now president of Water for Life, spends much of his time in Haiti conducting most of the work, Miller said. “I feel I’ve accomplished what I set out to do,” he said. Seeing the living conditions in Haiti change dramatically has been one of Miller’s greatest rewards.

Miller said, “Mothers would tell me their babies once had worms up to three feet long, but not any more.” Then he smiled, “That just thrilled my soul.”

www.waterforlife.org

Mayors Combat Greenhouse Gases in US

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More than 160 mayors have pledged to curb greenhouse gases in their cities according to the guidelines of the Kyoto Protocol. (2005)

States Set Renewable Energy Goals

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Eighteen states, including power hogs California and Texas, have set requirements or goals for renewable energy. New York, for one, aims to generate 25 percent of the state’s energy from renewables by 2013, up from 19 percent today. (Jan. 2006)

The Legend Of Bagger Vance

By
Emma Belcher
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The Legend of Bagger Vance

An Inspired! Book Review

Bagger Vance is a wonderfully inspiring story that uses the quest of mastering ones golf swing as a metaphor for mastering ones self and ones existence.The Legend of Bagger Vance

The author, Steven Pressfield, weaves his tale using the unfolding lives of three men from three generations. Each man struggles to let go of emotional scars that haunt and torment his life. It is after each one reaches his lowest point that the presence of a mystical being, Bagger Vance, appears in the guise of a golf caddy to reveal a path that leads to greatness and self mastery.

The book is loosely based on the Bhagavad-Gita, the ancient Hindu epic and spiritual text of India. Bagger Vance represents the divine being that appears as a guide offering insight on how to live an authentic life.

The internal fight that each man faces is played out through his golf game. But the teaching here is not only about the golf swing. . .

Golf is just the perfect vehicle for Pressfield to convey a deeper message, that each of us is meant to stand up, explode into our existence, surrender to it completely, and be (without guilt or pride) all of what we can be. This is what is meant by mastering one’s self.

Bagger Vance will not only appeal to every athlete or performer, it is truly for everyone. Everyone has a game, an arena, or field in which they play. We all were meant to excel. It is up to each of us to find the field, know the field, and be the field. Reading this book will inspire you to do all three.
See the book or movie

Honoring Youth Heroes

By
Saadia Rais
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kids buddies

kids-multiracial-buddies-sunJune 3, 2005 — Kids everywhere are helping out around communities. These children have done things such as volunteering, raising money for patients with cancer, even helping out at the local YMCA. Whatever the reason may be, whether it’s to help the ill or just to put a smile on someone else’s face, it’s nice to know that children can make a difference in the world.

“This year North Star was overwhelmed by nominations for the award,” Lindsey Murtagh, manager of the North Star Program, said. “I think it is a tribute to our youth (aged 6–17) that we received so many stories detailing their heroic efforts. Our community is built on the efforts of unsung heroes.”

A Massachusetts community honored its young heroes in the annual North Star Hero Awards. Amber LaFountain, a youth leader in the Brayton Hill neighborhood, was chosen one of the area’s finest volunteers. For the past five years, the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition has been able to count on this important volunteer to help organize and lead activities in the neighborhood and wider community, including last summer’s Voter Awareness project, National Night Out, and dozens of other special projects, all of which benefited from her leadership abilities.

The Berkshires Online Guide Serving Berkshire County with News, Community Events, and much more - iBerkshires.comtells the story of five more young heroes, including six-year-old Justin Beany, who participated in a program called Pennies for Patients.

“On his own initiative he asked his parents if he could do chores to earn pennies. He vacuumed, washed dishes, emptied the trash, swept the kitchen, cleaned his room and made his bed” to earn money to help sick children.

Humanitarian Video Game Surprise Hit with One Million Players

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Humanitarian Video Game Surprise Hit with One Million Players

Launched by the United Nations last summer, the first video game designed to teach children about global hunger has surpassed all expectations in the gaming world by reaching more than three million players in 40 countries.

Surprisingly, the game, “Food Force,” released by the UN World Food Programme features no guns and no aliens. Instead, kids race against time to feed thousands of people on the fictitious island of Sheylan, alongside a team of emergency aid workers.
They pilot helicopters while looking out for hungry people, negotiate with armed rebels blocking a food convoy, and use food aid to help rebuild communities.

“Finally! An educational game that rocks!” comments Watercoolergames.com. Along the way, gamers learn about the real world where over 800 million people are plagued by hunger each day.

Available as a free download in MAC and PC formats through a dedicated website where information on global hunger can also be found, the world’s first humanitarian video game contains six different missions aimed at children 8-13 years old. Evidence of the response to the game includes thousands of comments posted on the site along with highest scores.

As of today, “manchild85 (JWH)” of the United States leads with a high score of 60,000,000 points.

According to John Powell, WFP Deputy Executive Director, the game is reaching 40 countries even though it is currently available in English only. Powell is looking for partners to help translate the game into other languages.

The WFP is also focusing on free distribution in schools around the world, backed by Yahoo! and Internet2, a Washington-based high-speed educational network. In addition, the game is supported by a community web site which includes lesson packs on world hunger in seven languages provided by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization

Reintroduction of Wolves Into Yellowstone Brings Wildlife Back Into Balance

By
Gary Wockner
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Gray Wolf Wikimedia Commons - photo by RetronOne of the greatest environmental success stories in history is playing out on the landscapes of the rural West.

When wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone and Northern Idaho in the mid-1990s, the ecological ideas of how large predators affected ecosystems, and the conservation policies that could support predator restoration, were mostly theory. Now, ten years later, grounded knowledge has replaced theory, and the wolf stands out as one of the greatest environmental success stories in history.

Prior to wolves, the elk numbers in Yellowstone had been growing dramatically, and burgeoning populations of sedentary elk were severely overgrazing the native landscape.

When wolves returned and started chasing elk, many other changes followed. Willows grew higher and spread more widely, beavers returned and made ponds, riparian-dwelling plants and animals returned—including songbirds and trout—elk carrion fed scavengers such as grizzlies and ravens, and coyote populations dropped resulting in more ground squirrels and gophers, which in turn fed hawks and eagles.

Wolves have also nudged the behavior and life-histories of other animals back into their natural evolutionary course. Without wolves, the system continued to simplify and fragment, and each species’ evolutionary course was stunted; with wolves, that course has realigned.

The elk in Yellowstone, for example, have changed over the last ten years since the wolf’s return. They now live shorter lives, they move around more, and they are more vigilant. They have become what they used to be — wild elk. When the wolf fails to chase the elk, the elk and everything around it becomes something different, something more singularly caused by humans instead of by the myriad factors in natural evolution.

elk in Yellowstone
Elk in Yellowstone, by GWC

But even in the face of this less hospitable climate, a surprising thing has happened in the Northern Rockies: wolf tolerance from rural landowners is increasing, and wolf numbers are growing dramatically.

After listening intently to the legitimate concerns of ranchers, the nonprofit group Defenders of Wildlife created a program that compensates ranchers for livestock lost to wolves. Defenders has another program that builds fences, buys guard dogs, and pays for other proactive tools that promote wolf recovery. Given the success of these two programs, a few states (including Colorado) are considering similar incentives.Gary Wockner

Gary Wockner is one of fourteen people who is charged with developing a management plan for wolves in Colorado. He’s spent a significant amount of time studying the role wolves will play in our ecosystem, human attitudes about wolves, and wolf conservation programs. (Top photo by Retron, CC license)

Bald Eagle Numbers Soar

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baldeaglewikipedia.jpg

photo by Adrian Pingstone, wikipediaUSA Removing Eagle from Endangered Species List

After nearly four decades on the endangered species list, bald eagles are soaring once again, their population climbing from a dismal count of just 417 nesting pairs in the continental United States in 1963 to more than 7,000 today.

With an additional bounty of tens of thousands of the majestic raptors thriving in both Alaska and Canada, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in February that it was taking steps to follow President Bill Clinton’s 1999 recommendation to remove bald eagles from protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Despite delisting, two other laws will continue to ban intentional harm to America’s national bird: the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the 1940 Bald Eagle Protection Act.

The United States government came to the eagle’s rescue in 1940 with the belief that eagles were in trouble even though the actual population was unknown. Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act making it illegal to kill, harass, possess, or sell bald eagles. “The bald eagle is no longer a mere bird of biological interest but a symbol of the American ideals of freedom,” the law states.

However, the act did not protect the birds from environmental threats, such as the widespread use of DDT and other pesticides after World War II or from lead shot. Eagles ingested large quantities of leftover lead when they ate waterfowl wounded by hunters. Effects in the nest include reduced egg numbers and weakened shells to the point that many would break before chicks could hatch.

In 1973 the bald eagle was one of the first species afforded the full protection of the American government under the new Endangered Species Act. Intentional harm and harassment were banned and habitats protected from further damage and encroachment. In 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency outlawed DDT and in 1991, the use of lead shot in hunting waterfowl, a component of the eagles’ diet, became illegal. An aggressive captive breeding program by USFWS boosted rebounding populations assuring for future generations the prominance of this soaring bird in the American landscape.

related links:

Live Eagle’s Nest Cam – Video from Santa Catalina Isle

Saving The Earth With Help From Above

By
Roger Marion, Science Reporter
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640px-Cryosat_br_front_H

The European Space Agency (ESA) agreed to launch a copy of its lost Cryosat Satellite to definitively measure the effect of climate change on Earth’s ever-changing ice sheets.

The first Cryosat Ice mission was launched last October from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia, but was lost when the second stage of its launcher failed to separate. The rocket plunged into the ocean with Cryosat aboard. Cryosat chief scientist Duncan Wingham, however, was undaunted, rallying his supporters behind his firm conviction that “Cryosat is too important to lose.”

Diminishing ice cover is frequently cited as an early casualty of global warming. Since ice, in turn, plays an important role in regulating climate and sea level, the consequences of climate change are far reaching, says the ESA website. It is therefore important to understand exactly how Earth’s ice fields are responding to these changes – and by how much.

Wingham lobbied for funding and on February 24 the ESA Programme Board agreed to provide over one hundred million euro to launch Cryosat-2, a satellite that will measure and monitor the health of land and sea ice worldwide.

Cryosat-2 could launch in as little as three years on a mission to help explain the complex relationships between the polar ice, the rise in sea levels, and climate change. Cryosat-2 is the first in a series of missions called Earth Explorers, part of ESA’s Living Planet Program to launch low cost spacecraft to help us to understand the Earth, and our impact on it.

CHECK OUT: Scientists Confirm Victory in Ozone Layer Recovery

Another mission will launch this year to accurately map the world’s gravitational fields. While gravity feels constant to people, Earth’s gravitational field actually varies widely from place to place. The Gravity (GOCE) Earth Explorer will provide an accurate map to help explain the effects of gravity on ocean currents that regulate the climate from place to place, keeping Europe warm and Antarctica cold, for example. Goce will also be able to effectively monitor sea level rise, and the effects of gravity on surface water flow, helping us to predict climate changes and the need for sea barriers and levees. (Photo credit: ESA)

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