Top Ten Good News Stories of the Week (May 27-June 2)

By Good News Network Saturday, June 03, 2006

Archives - Week in Review

1) Kenya to Provide Free AIDS Drugs- The BBC reports Kenya's president has announced that anti-retroviral drugs will now be free to all people with AIDS within all of its clinics and hospitals. Kenya is one of the few countries to reduce their citizens' HIV rate, "from 14% in 1997 to 4% today". The cost for treatment -- 100 shilling per dose ($1) -- keeps 140,000 of the 200,000 eligible Kenyans from taking the beneficial drugs. (comment on this story)

2) US Farm Manure Begins to Power Homes- Turning manure into a source of electicity is a reality today. The manure from Lee Jensen's cows can power about 600 homes in Wisconsin. A machine mines the methane from rotting manure and feeds this natural gas into a pipeline that connects to local power grids. Additionally, many byproducts benefit the farm. . . (tell me more)



3) Plastic "Bio Bottle" Composts Back into Soil in 80 Days - Belu Natural Mineral Water last week launched the UK’s first biodegradable and compostable plastic bottle. The revolutionary plastic bottle is made from corn instead of petroleum oil and can be commercially composted back into soil in 80 days. The “Bio-bottle” is the latest good news from London-based Belu, a bottled water maker that contributes 100% of its net profits to clean water projects. Working with WaterAid, every bottle of water purchased in the UK provides someone in India or Africa with clean water for one month. . . (read more)

4) Food Rations Increase in Darfur Thanks to Recent Donations to UN - Food rations that were recently reduced by half for more than 3 million people in Sudan will be increased to 84 per cent of minimum daily requirements from June to September in the war-torn Darfur region thanks to new donations to the United Nations World Food Programme emergency operation. . . (details)

5) Trees For Life, Planting Peace in Palestine - The Olive Co-operative has launched an initiative that offers the public an opportunity to sponsor the planting of olive trees in Palestine. The new trees will offset the destruction wrought in Palestinian olive groves by years of conflict in the area. According to the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem over 500,000 olive trees have been destroyed since 2000. Each new tree sponsored represents a long-term source of income for Palestinian families, who have been harvesting olive oil, fruit and wood for generations... (more)

6) Katrina’s Piano Fund Restores Musicians in the Big Easy- Hundreds of replacement instruments -- including more than 40 pianos --have been donated to regional New Orleans musicians who lost everything in the huricane. Each piano was accompanied by a letter from the donor, explaining the history of the piano, what owning and playing it had meant to them, and their wishes to help New Orleans musicians. Steve Burtchaell, a professional musician, mourned his family's loss of a Steinway baby grand piano. He, like everybody else, had to put his instrument at the bottom of a mile-long list of priorities and realized it was probably never going to be replaced. . . (more )

7) New Orleans Levees Repaired as Storm Season Starts- The US Corps of Engineers has finished repairing the 169 miles (270 km) of battered levees around New Orleans in time for hurricane season. The Corps reported today that their June 1 target has been met, and residents of New Orleans "can be confident in its hurricane protection system because it is better and it is stronger." (comment on this news)

8) New Technology Turns Garbage Into Gold- Imagine a machine that can turn almost anything into oil. Imagine that it uses natural processes like heat and pressure, and produces no pollution. Imagine that waste from landfills, refuse from poultry factories, sludge from city sewage, or even infectious medical waste, are used to make the oil. Everybody says it sounds too good to be true. But now we have the science -- and two factories -- to prove it. . . (continue) - Reprint of a GNN story from 2003; in preparation for a followup article soon

9) One Man Creates Peace in African Country Torn by Ethnicity- Gearing up for October elections, Côte d'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) faces fear that a renewed eruption of violence between ethnic groups will destroy any progress towards political reconciliation. But in Trogui, a village once divided by ethnicity, one man has become a pivoting force away from violence and toward peaceful coexistence. Thanks to the training he received from the group, Search for Common Ground, he was able to create solidarity where there once was hostility. . . (continue)

10) Autistic Kid Shoots Miracle Round on Basketball Court in Final 4 Minutes- You may have heard about the high school basketball coach in Rochester, NY, who inbasketball February, for the last game of the season, let somebody play who'd never even suited up before -- an autistic boy who'd helped with water, towels and practices. Not only was the boy alit with team spirit while he was only the designated "team manager", he absolutely caught fire as a player on the court, launching 3-pointers through the net one after another. . . (see the amazing video)
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For more good news and inspiring stories -- since 1997 -- Stay tuned to the Good News Network, Geri Weis-Corbley, Editor/Publisher (c)2006