Canada’s largest supermarket chain plans to install rooftop solar panels on many of its Loblaws stores in Ontario, becoming one of the first companies to jump aboard the province’s new renewable-energy program.
The program, billed as the first of its kind in North America and a cornerstone of the McGuinty government’s Green Energy Act, pays premium prices for renewable power.
(Read more in the Toronto Globe and Mail)
Last fall, Eric Alperin, a San Francisco artist, heard about blackberries, plums and loquats growing on public property in his city and free for the picking.
“It was great,” he said. “We picked as much as we could carry and had beautiful, fresh, free city fruit,” Alperin said. “I’ll definitely go (picking) again.” Fruit-picking opportunities like that are becoming more common, as volunteers in cities including Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia and Madison, Wis., mobilize behind a goal of planting fruit trees on public land in city parks and neighborhoods.
(READ the inspiring story in USA Today)
For millions of gluten sensitive sufferers, eating even a microscopic amount of gluten — foods laced with wheat or other grains — frequently leads to illness.
A new drug called Larazotide Acetate, developed by a University of Alberta doctor, has been called ‘revolutionary’ for its promise to help such people to lead a normal life.
Larazotide Acetate was shown in three clinical trials to reduce the effects of gluten in up to 85% of subjects with celiac disease. The pill may offer patients the freedom to eat out at restaurants, or go to a friends house for dinner without getting sick from gluten contaminated food.
A fourth clinical trial is slated for later this year, and the drug could be made available by 2012.
(Compiled from reports in both CTV.com or Celiac.com)
For millions of gluten sensitive sufferers, eating even a microscopic amount of gluten — foods laced with wheat or other grains — frequently leads to illness.
A new drug called Larazotide Acetate, developed by a University of Alberta doctor, has been called ‘revolutionary’ for its promise to help such people to lead a normal life.
Larazotide Acetate was shown in three clinical trials to reduce the effects of gluten in up to 85% of subjects with celiac disease. The pill may offer patients the freedom to eat out at restaurants, or go to a friends house for dinner without getting sick from gluten contaminated food.
A fourth clinical trial is slated for later this year, and the drug could be made available by 2012.
(Compiled from reports in both CTV.com or Celiac.com)
Joining Cadbury in the pantheon of sweet-makers to announce commitments to fully embrace the Fair Trade movement, Ben & Jerry’s vowed that all its flavors in every country where the ice cream is sold will be manufactured using Fair Trade Certified™ ingredients by the end of 2013.
Ben & Jerry’s was the first ice cream company in the world to use Fair Trade Certified™ ingredients starting in 2005, and today it’s racing ahead as the first ice cream company to make such a significant commitment to Fair Trade across its global portfolio.
Company co-founder Jerry Greenfield said, ”Fair Trade is about making sure people get their fair share of the pie. The whole concept of Fair Trade goes to the heart of our values and sense of right and wrong.”
Fair Trade means that certified farmers are using environmentally sound practices to grow and harvest their crops in a sustainable way. Farmers selling Fair Trade products earn a better income, which allows them to stay on their land.
Ben & Jerry’s Fair Trade commitment means that every ingredient that can be sourced Fair Trade Certified™, now or in the future, will be purchased as such. Globally, this involves converting up to 121 different chunks and swirls, working across eleven different ingredients such as cocoa, banana, vanilla and other flavorings, fruits, and nuts. It also means working with Fair Trade cooperatives that total a combined membership of over 27,000 farmers.
Rob Cameron, Chief Executive of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) said, “Congratulations to Ben & Jerry’s on the scale and the depth of this commitment to take their whole product line Fair Trade. Tackling poverty and sustainable agriculture through trade may not be easy but it is always worth it, and Ben & Jerry’s has demonstrated real leadership in laying out this long-term ambition to engage with smallholders, who grow nuts, bananas, vanilla, cocoa and other Fair Trade-certified ingredients.”
Paul Rice, President and CEO of TransFair USA, says, “Ben & Jerry’s has been a model for socially responsible business for 32 years, proving that being responsible and sustainable are good for business. Their entry into Fair Trade in 2005 builds on that history and has had a real impact on the lives of family farmers around the world. By converting their ingredients to Fair Trade, Ben & Jerry’s will help galvanize its suppliers to join the Fair Trade movement. That represents a huge leap forward for Fair Trade in the United States, and it’s once again the kind of bold, pioneering move for which the company is known and admired.”
On Friday, the European Commission announced that the EU, which is made up 27 member countries, is on track to meet its goal of generating 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2020. The Commission also says the EU will meet its other two goals of increasing energy efficiency by 20 percent and decreasing emissions by 20 percent of 1990 levels.
(READ More at Treehugger.com )
Corporate Responsibility Magazine announced its 11th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List and this year the list includes a number of companies whose rankings rose significantly from last year.
“Thirty-six of the Top 100 were not on last year’s list, evidence that companies are increasing their focus in the areas of climate change, environment, employee relations, and human rights,” said Corporate Responsibility Magazine publisher Jay Whitehead. “Between 2009 and 2010, for instance, the top company’s total score improved by 66 percent, and the average score of all 100 companies climbed by 19 percent.”
The 100 Best Corporate Citizens List is based on publicly-available information in seven categories: Environment, Climate Change, Human Rights, Philanthropy, Employee Relations, Financial Performance, and Governance.
A startup company developed a new fuel injection system with the goal of increasing the fuel efficiency of existing gasoline engines.
The best hybrid cars of today can only deliver about 48 miles per gallon. By using this newly developed fuel injection system, a test vehicle achieved 64 miles per gallon in highway driving — a nearly 50% increase in fuel efficiency.
(READ More at PhysOrg.com)
For all those dismayed by scenes of looting in Chile or elsewhere, take heart: Good acts — acts of kindness, generosity and cooperation — spread just as easily as bad. And it takes only a handful of individuals to really make a difference.
In a study published by the National Academy of Sciences last week, researchers provided the first laboratory evidence that cooperative behavior is contagious and that it spreads from person to person to person. When people benefit from kindness they “pay it forward” by helping others who were not originally involved, and this creates a cascade of cooperation that influences dozens more in a social network.
(READ More in Science Daily) – Thanks to Nancy P. for submitting the link!
President Obama named ten charities this week that will share the $1.4 million award that comes with his 2009 Nobel peace prize.
“These organizations do extraordinary work in the United States and abroad helping students, veterans and countless others in need,” said President Obama. “I’m proud to support their work.”
The charities are:
* Fisher House, a national non-profit organization that provides housing for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers. ($250,000)
* The Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, formed in the wake of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, and per request from President Obama, former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton joined to create a vehicle for raising funds for long-term relief efforts. ($200,000)
* College Summit, a national non-profit organization that partners with high schools to strengthen college-going culture and increase college enrollment rates. ($125,000)
* The Posse Foundation, a national non-profit that identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes, awarding them four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships. ($125,000)
* The United Negro College Fund plays a critical role in enabling more than 60,000 students each year to attend college through scholarship and internship programs. ($125,000)
* The Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the nation’s leading Hispanic scholarship organization, provides college scholarships and educational outreach support — in its 34 year history, close to $280M in scholarships to more than 90,000 students in need. ($125,000)
* The Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation, supports and enables young men and women from Appalachia to pursue higher education though scholarship and leadership curriculum. ($125,000)
* The American Indian College Fund, transforms higher education by funding and creating awareness of the unique, community-based accredited Tribal Colleges and Universities. The Fund disburses approximately 6,000 scholarships annually for American Indian students seeking to better their lives through higher education. ($125,000 )
* AfriCare, founded in 1970, reaches communities in 25 countries, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa with programs that address needs in three principal areas: health and HIV/AIDS; food security and agriculture; and water resource development. ($100,000)
* Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute, promotes and supports community-based education and literacy, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg’s book, Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace, One School at a Time, recounts his attempt to successfully establish dozens of schools and promote girls’ education in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan. ($100,000 )
Thanks to John Malcomson for submitting the story link!
Alexander Reyes’ boyhood dream of a military career ended when he was hit by an improvised explosive device during a patrol two years ago in Baghdad.
“Laying in that hospital bed … sometimes I felt I’d rather [have] died,” Reyes said. “My life came to a complete halt.”
He and a handful of other injured veterans are getting help from a custom home builder in Houston, Texas, who recently presented Reyes and his wife with an unexpected gift: a home built especially for them, mortgage-free.
“Thank you. That’s all I can say,” Elizabeth Reyes said, sobbing and clutching her stunned husband’s arm as Wallrath surprised them with the house.
WATCH the video below, or at the CNN Heroes Website…Thanks to C. Davenport for sending the link!
Sydney’s ”miracle” Asian elephant calf, born alive two days after he was declared dead in the womb, is the first elephant known to have survived such a protracted and difficult labor.
The doctor had announced the death of the calf after a week of labor in which the baby had been in an ”upside down” position never before seen by vets. He apparently went into a coma for the nine-day ordeal.
The keepers at Taronga Zoo had been amazed the calf was born alive. ”The looks of disbelief on our faces were quite a picture. We couldn’t believe that this could be true.”
He is well on his way to a normal life, having taken his first steps and nursed with his mum.
(READ More in the Sydney Morning Herald) Thanks to Jackie for submitting the link!
The government announced yesterday that the rate of overall traffic fatalities last year in the U.S. reached the lowest level on record in more than 50 years, despite four times as many cars on the road.
Traffic deaths have declined for 15 consecutive quarters — almost four years. The improvement shows that seat-belt crackdowns, tougher drunken-driving laws and auto safety improvements such as air bags and stability control are paying off.
Taking into account the number of miles traveled, it was the lowest level ever recorded.
(CONTINUE Reading in USA Today)
Fifty percent of traffic accidents happen at intersections. Gary Lauder shares a brilliant and cheap idea for helping drivers share the road and move traffic more smoothly: a new road sign that combines the properties of “Stop” and “Yield” — and asks drivers to simply ‘Take Turns’.
WATCH the TED Talk below (3:00) — and bring the ideas back to your community.
Fifty percent of traffic accidents happen at intersections. Gary Lauder shares a brilliant and cheap idea for helping drivers share the road and move traffic more smoothly: a new road sign that combines the properties of “Stop” and “Yield” — and asks drivers to simply ‘Take Turns’.
WATCH the TED Talk below (3:00) — and bring the ideas back to your community.
There was nary a dry eye in the house on “The Early Show” today when an AT&T customer service representative being credited with saving the life of an Illinois man surprised him by walking out onto the set as he was being interviewed.
Ron Zivin, 60, was shoveling snow for his mother on Feb. 2 when he started having chest pains and other symptoms of possible heart trouble.
Not only didn’t Zivin react to them, he called AT&T to discuss his account. During the call, he mentioned his symptoms to customer service representative Kelly Hart...
Watch the video below, or read the story at CBSNews.com.
On Wednesday, more than six decades after their service, the nation’s first “fly girls” were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol.
The highest honor Congress can give civilians was awarded to the women who made history signing up to serve in the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP.
(READ More in the Milwaukee Journal)
Two-wheeled travelers across the U.S. got some good news today: Google is adding bicycling directions to its popular Maps site. Now, riders in 150 cities will be able to identify bike lanes, quieter streets and off-road trails before heading out on their morning commutes or pleasure rides.
(READ More in the Toronto Star)
Yoga instructors were spared from state regulators in Virginia, thanks to a measure offered by two Northern Virginia lawmakers.
The bill protects yoga training programs from being regulated as “higher education” on the grounds the regulations would add too much cost and interference in a recreational activity that is already governed by consumer protection laws.
It will also exempt Pilates, karate and other such activities from state regulations that would force too many of the instructors out of business.
(READ the full news story in the Wash. Post)
Tomorrow, Natalie Randolph is scheduled to be named the head football coach at Coolidge High School in Washington, DC, making her what is believed to be the only woman coaching boys’ varsity high school football in the United States.
Randolph, a former sprinter at the University of Virginia, is hardly a football newbie. She was a receiver for the Divas of the Independent Women’s Professional League from 2004 to 2008 and an assistant coach at H.D. Woodson high school in 2006 and ’07.
(READ More in the Washington Post)
