Top Ten Good News Stories (Sep 2-15)
Written by geri
Saturday, 16 September 2006
Here are my Top Ten Good News Stories for the past two weeks -- published every weekend.1) Clean Up the World Weekend Draws Millions - Some 35 million volunteers from 122 countries are expected take part this weekend in rubbish-clearing efforts along coastlines and waterways across the globe as part of the annual Clean Up the World Weekend. Last year More than 450,000 volunteers removed 8.2 million pounds of debris (3.7m kg) from 18,000 miles (29,000 km) of coastline and waterways in 74 countries during the daylong cleanup. (Earth)
2) Rate of Deforestation in Amazon Slowing - Deforestation rates in the Amazon are declining, according to data released by the Brazilian government. Rates of deforestation from 1 August 2005 to 1 August 2006 dropped an estimated 11 percent. (Good Bite)
3) Branson Investing $400m in Eco-Friendly Fuel Research - Richard Branson went green today when his Virgin Group launched an investment fund for environmentally friendly fuels. Branson said the new Virgin Fuels business will invest up to $400m (€315.6m) in renewable energy initiatives over the next three years. (Business)
4) First UN Food Shipment to Mogadishu in More Than Decade - Aiming to alleviate suffering caused by drought, a ship chartered by the United Nations World Food Programme docked this weekend in Mogadishu – the agency's first delivery to the Somali capital’s port in more than a decade. The ship docked at Mogadishu port on Sunday loaded with 3,300 metric tons of provisions. (Civics)
5) Paper Made From Sheep Droppings - Creative Paper Wales wanted to create a product with which foreign imports could not compete. Its Sheep Poo Paper accomplished that (Wales has a lot of sheep) and also benefitted the enviroment and won the company a £20,000 Millennium Award for "social entrepreneurship. (Business)
6) Soros, Gates, and Rockefeller Charities to Lift African Villages From Poverty - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation have teamed up to tackle hunger in Africa, starting with a $150 million endowment and US financier George Soros is to invest $50 million in a development project that aims to show how targeted investment can end extreme poverty in African villages. Soros' donation is being matched by other donors to bring in $100 million for The Millennium Villages program. (Civics, Soros; Gates/Rockefeller)
7) Boy Starts Doggie Treats Business to Aid Homeless Kids - Taylor Berey, a Phoenix seventh-grader has been baking and selling organic dog treats to raise money to send homeless children to the zoo... So far, Taylor has raised $5,800 selling 1-pound bags of treats for $7 each, and the orders are still pouring in... He will take 800 students to see the animals, have lunch and, with the money left over, buy them a treat. (Great Kids)
8) Four Exchange Kidneys In Remarkable Swap - A new program allows healthy family members to donate their kidneys to strangers in exchange for receiving an organ for their loved one. In Chicago, the second such swap ever brought together two families from very different backgrounds and united them in a bond of lasting friendship. (Health)
9) Retirees Win 100K for Creating Lasting Change - The Purpose Prize honors "what may be a new trend -- retirees taking on some of the country's biggest social problems." The five winners of the first-ever Purpose Prize, announced today, all 60 years or older, will split half a million dollars. "The finalists include a used-car salesman who now provides low-interest car loans to the poor, a retired CEO who helps poor kids get to college, and a woman who uses her antique store to give job training to people who have some of the worst job prospects." (Inspired! Individuals )
10) Just-a-Minute Can Transform Your Life - A new campaign to create personal peace in an ever-intensifying global climate of chaos and change is being launched this Sunday at London's Wembley Arena and around the world with an internet simulcast. Entitled ‘just-a-minute’ (j-a-m), the initiative introduces regular one-minute periods of silence into people’s lives, whether stressed out executives, social activists or busy moms, and includes multi-media tools such as one minute spoken meditations to download onto computers or podcast. (Inspired!)
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