Paper products giant Kimberly-Clark joined forces with Greenpeace on Wednesday, pledging to conserve forests by getting wood fiber from environmentally responsible sources and using more recycled fiber.
Greenpeace activists had waged a nearly 5-year campaign against the maker of Kleenex and Cottonelle for clear-cutting in Canada’s ancient boreal forest, part of the world’s largest intact forest.
A Roman Catholic parish in California has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation — one in nine homes is in default. Now, a priest, Rev. John Lasseigne, has made it his sacred mission to negotiate with banks and lenders on behalf of his flock.
Luckily, he is qualified. “Before entering the seminary, he graduated from law school and knew how to read contracts,” reports the AP.
An endangered species of red deer found only in Kashmir has made a rapid comeback in the past year due to a decline in violence and conservation efforts, wildlife officials said on Tuesday.
Known for its magnificent antlers with 11 to 16 points, the State Animal of Kashmir once numbered about 5,000 animals in the beginning of the 20th century but dwindled to as low as 150 deer by 1970. The population of the hangul, also known as the Kashmir stag, increased by more than 50% in one year.
(Read the good news in Reuters)
(Photo, Kashmir Stag: Free Creative Commons license)
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday the United States would present a Middle East peace plan within weeks and Israel should accept it.
“I believe that Israel must take the lead in accepting the plan,” he was quoted as saying.
Most injured turtles are never spotted, and die at sea. The lucky ones are taken to the Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys, where a former Volkswagen mechanic performs surgery, massage and rehabilitation on the lumbering giants.
This one-of-a-kind facility has saved and reintroduced into the sea 1,000 turtles, after treating them for tumors, injured limbs and even spinal injuries.
Watch the amazing video below… (or, at Clip Syndicate)
President Obama announced Wednesday that the stimulus is now providing $2.4 billion in taxpayer grants to create electric cars and tens of thousands of jobs, including more than one billion in grants to Michigan for the manufacturing of advanced batteries and green vehicles.
48 projects receiving funds through the Recovery Act, were selected through a competitive process by the Department of Energy.
The president, speaking to citizens of Elkhart, Indiana who have been hit particularly hard as manufacturing jobs have disappeared, said this new investment provides $39 million for local company Navistar to create or save hundreds of jobs in the Indiana city.
“I’m committed to a strategy that ensures America leads in the design and the deployment of the next generation of clean-energy vehicles. This is not just an investment to produce vehicles today; but an investment in our capacity to develop new technologies tomorrow.”
Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar met with workers at an innovative solar panel company in Longmont, CO that has created more than 200 ‘green jobs’ in two years and expects to double employment by next year.
“Abound Solar and hundreds of renewable energy companies are sprouting up across the nation,” Secretary Salazar said.
“The President’s energy policy is jump-starting the creation of cutting-edge firms that together will generate millions of jobs, restore America’s role as a global leader in the clean energy industry, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and cut carbon pollution.”
A New York woman laid off from her job in the music business bounces back with her own catering company.
She has always been passionate about cooking and baking, especially comfort foods like brownies, mac & cheese, and lasagna. She named her company, Uptown Comfort, and received help from small business resources in the state.
Two window washers clinging to a dangling platform 37 stories up on a downtown Boston building were rescued by firefighters Wednesday.
“They were panicking,” said an employee inside the building.
A 12-year old cat has caught the bus regularly from his own yard for four years. He waits in line behind the passengers, hops on, and travels the whole bus route, past pastures and business districts, exiting several hours later at his own stop.
“Casper has travelled an estimated 20,000 miles but Mrs Finden says because he is getting old the drivers often have to shuffle him off at the right stop,” reports the Telegraph.
His owner just found out where he’s been going during afternoons, although the bus drivers have been aware for years.
“A spokeswoman for First Bus said the firm has put a notice up in the office asking them to look after the non-paying passenger.”
Continue reading about the cat who prefers the back of the bus, in UK’s Telegraph.
(Thanks to Pam Guthrie for sending the link!)
Virginia banks found the key to getting homebuyers back into the market and helping out the builders they lent money to.
In May, First Market Bank began offering mortgages of 3.99 percent to people buying homes or lots from builders who have loans from the bank. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the area is about 5.2 percent.
The bank has issued $10 million worth of mortgages under the program, and more than 30 houses have been sold.
“It is the true definition of a win-win.”
Two U.S. journalists who were held for nearly five months in North Korea are back in the United States, after former President Bill Clinton secured their release.
A plane carrying Laura Ling, Euna Lee and former President Clinton arrived in Burbank, California this morning. Mr. Clinton had flown to Pyongyang to meet directly with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
The journalists and the former president were greeted by cheers when they stepped off the plane. President Barack Obama said he is “extraordinarily relieved” over the release. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the return of the women.
Colombia joined Japan, the United States, Spain, France, and 11 other nations last month endorsing a landmark treaty to protect tuna along the entire Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The agreement bans tuna fishing by all nations for approximately two months each year to help shore up the world’s tuna stocks.
It anchors a series of measures introduced by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) to avoid the catastrophic collapse of valuable stocks of yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack tuna.
Colombia was the last of the 16 nations that make up the IATTC to endorse the measures proposed at the meeting of the Commission in June. The group is made up of 10 Latin American nations and USA, Japan, Spain, South Korea, France and Vanuatu.
Studies carried out by the IATTC showed a rapid deterioration of tuna populations here – particularly bigeye – with stocks seriously depleted.
A statement from Conservation International said: “This agreement is a major step toward the creation of sustainable tuna fisheries in the pacific. Thousands of Colombians rely on this industry, and this plan shows foresight which should ensure Colombian tuna has a future. It also sends a message to the world that Colombia can be a sound trading partner.”
In 2007, Colombia exported over 61 million dollars worth of tuna – 37% of its total fish exports – to the United States, Ecuador, Panama and Japan, among other countries.
“Now with the endorsement of the tuna conservation program, we need to urge the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) to adopt conservation measures for the tuna stocks in that region, and in particular, the shared stocks of migratory tuna in the Pacific Ocean.”
The ban will see tuna fishing in the Eastern Pacific banned for 59 days in 2009, 62 days in 2010 and 73 days in 2011.
(Conservation International)
Workers at the Hoquiam Plywood mill in Washington state got back to work yesterday, eight months after the mill shut down due to the housing collapse.
Orders for plywood have come in recently and management hopes that will continue.
Economists say every timber related job can support three other jobs in the community.
(Read more or watch video at King5 TV)
Photo courtesy of Sun Star
India will spend some $200 million to protect its forests and will announce how much carbon emission is being captured by its green cover, the environment minister said on Friday.
Money would go into conserving and restoring unique vegetation, controlling forest fires and strengthening forestry infrastructure.
The Compliment Guys may be visiting your town to shout out praise to all who pass by…
“I love those sunglasses!”
“I love your smile.”
“You make a cute couple!”
Two college students from Perdue University who began offering an emotional boost on campus to passersby every Wednesday are now traveling under sponsorship from Kodak to bring smiles to more people in ten cities.
It’s easy to find a few kind words from the “Free Compliments” guys on the Perdue campus. They set up shop every Wednesday afternoon, just to make people feel better, outside the Chemistry building.
Today they’re visiting New York City handing out their distinctive flattery and cheer.
Called the BrightSide Tour, it began in New Orleans. From there, the uplifting banter was delivered to Alabama, Atlanta, Charleston, Charlotte, Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. The tour ends on Aug. 7 in Rochester. Visit their website for more info.
Watch the video below from the Chicago Tribune, or read about their stop in Philly last week …
Nissan unveiled its new electric car yesterday. The Leaf, a medium-size hatchback, debuted with a top speed of 87 miles per hour (140km) and a travel range of 100 miles with seating for five adults.
“LEAF is the world’s first affordable, zero-emission car,” says the Nissa global website.
Slated for launch in late 2010 in Japan, the US, and Europe, Nissan Leaf ushers in a new era of zero – not simply reduced – emissions, based on its lithium-ion battery-powered chassis.
“During a remarkable 17-day lull from mid-May through early June, there were no tornado watches issued anywhere in the United States, a period that is typically the height of the season in Tornado Alley,” reported the AP this week. (July 31, 2009)
A new DNA test for the virus that causes cervical cancer does so much better than current methods that some gynecologists hope it will eventually replace the Pap smear in wealthy countries and cruder tests in poor ones.
Scientists say that women over 30 could drop annual Pap smears and instead have the DNA test just once every 3, 5 or even 10 years.
(Continue reading the April 6 in the New York Times) – Photo U.S. NIH
A beluga whale saved a drowning diver by hoisting her to the surface, carrying her leg in its mouth.
While taking part in a diving competition in an aquarium, terrified Yang Yun thought she was going to die after her legs became paralysed by crippling cramps in the arctic temperatures.
