US president-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed he would “engage vigorously” in global climate change talks and that denial was no longer an acceptable response to global warming. Obama said in a surprise video message to an international conference hosted by Gov. Schwarzenegger and four other state governors, that he would show new leadership on the issue as soon as he takes office in January.
Feast your eyes on five of the winning photographs of the London Natural History Museum and BBC Magazine’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 Competition. Both professional and amateur, youth and adult photographers are invited to submit pictures in 17 categories. An exhibit of all the winning photos is on display at the Natural History Museum.
Right: Troublemaker by Stefano Unterthiner, Italy, Animal Portraits winner – Nikon D2X + Nikon 12-24mm lens; 1/250 sec at f10; ISO 125; graduated neutral-density filter; flash. — “I think Troublemaker’s expression captures the spirit of these wonderful monkeys,” Black-crested macaques.
The top four healthiest cities for 2007 according to the US Centers for Disease Control are: Lincoln, Nebraska; Fargo, North Dakota; Boulder, Colorado; and Burlington, Vermont. The ranking is created by asking people who in metropolitan areas if they feel they are in great health, good health, or poor health. Topping the healthy list was Lincoln, Neb., where 92.8% of residents say their health is good or better and only 7.2% report fair or poor health. The people in cities with the highest numbers citing poor health were Mobile, AL; McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX; Laredo, TX; and ranking most unhealthy, Huntington, West Virginia. (Entire list follows below)
Once a common sight in waters around the Philippine islands, the giant clam had virtually disappeared until marine biologist Edgardo Gomez decided to do something about it. “Giant clams are essential to coral reefs and so it was a race against time to build stock up.” Now reefs and bays in many parts of the Philippines are being restocked with mature giant clams as part of his project. Educating local fisherman is also key.
It was like Christmas in November for needy school districts nationwide as the Obama campaign donated 100 percent of the leftover campaign supplies from 200 recently closed offices. Obama’s Pittsburgh campaign office, for instance, donated to the local district at least five flatbed trucks of office supplies, including 12 Dell computers, 17-inch LCD monitors and several printers.
“The district was also invited to clear out the office of everything — and the schools took file cabinets, file folders, paper shredders, pens, clipboards, paper, paint and butterfly clips. Much of the haul was bulk ordered by the Obama campaign and never used.
…They are just as excited about the donor. Old campaign signs have been a hit in the Pennsylvania school district’s high schools — with teenagers lining up by the principal’s office to claim pieces of Obama campaign memorabilia that were donated along with the other supplies.” (Read more at ABC News.com)
Manitoba is trying to encourage people to stop flushing so much water and money away. The province has announced a new WaterSmart conservation program that will provide rebates to people who buy dual-flush, high-efficiency toilets. (The Winnipeg Sun)
Veterans Airlift Command is an organization that offers free flights to injured soldiers and their families, thanks to pilots volunteering their services, planes, and even paying for the fuel costs. Chip Reid reports on the service and the vet who started the project after learning how big a difference it makes to have a family near you when you are trying to heal after a war injury. (Video below)
Visit Veterans Airlift Command website, which displays the motto, “They’ve got heart. They need wings.”
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One young Ugandan, orphaned by the country’s civil war, has managed to support his five younger siblings and pay for their education by setting up his own business in the slums of the capital.
With the installation of a lighting management system, the New York Times Building has seen a 70 percent savings on its energy usage. That reduction translates into savings of $315,000 and 1,250 metric tons of CO2 a year for the building. (Read more at EcoGeek)
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced the 2008 recipients of its Community Health Leaders Award for individuals who overcome the odds to improve the health and quality of life for underserved communities across the United States.
The CHL honorees represent the diversity of America, working in many geographical, ethnic, social and economic neighborhoods. From providing deaf patients better access to medical care with interpreters, to giving low-income children a fair start on their education with eye exams, to violence prevention programs for teens, the awardees have dedicated themselves to tackling some of the most intractable problems affecting the health of their communities.
When dozens of white sturgeon began washing up dead on the banks of British Columbia’s Fraser River in the mid-1990s, some feared that North America’s largest freshwater fish could be headed toward extinction.
But now, thanks to an alliance of government agencies, environmentalists, aboriginal groups, and fishing interests, the sturgeon has been spurred to a robust recovery in the lower river.
(READ the story from National Geographic News)
Britain’s iconic water mills, some of which date back to the 11th century, are to become a major force in the fight against climate change.
Mill owners around the UK have started to refurbish their old buildings and install turbines in order to show that they can be used as a source of clean electricity. Government figures suggest that if the resource is fully tapped, small-scale hydropower from the old mills and weirs could provide up to 10,000GWh per year – 3% of the UK’s electricity needs. (Read more at UK Guardian)
Photo is from the blog, Memories Are Made of This, where you can see more water mills.
As long as she can remember, Ginger Ann, 93, has wanted to dance. After being married to someone who refused her for 53 years, Ginger Ann has found a partner and today she lives to dance. She found love and fulfillment in her golden years. (Read full text at CBSNews, or watch Video below)
Sunnis and Shi’ites made an emotional reach across the sectarian divide on Tuesday, reopening a Baghdad bridge between the two communities closed since a 2005 stampede, the deadliest incident of the war. Sunni children from one side raced to see their Shi’ite friends on the other. Women from the two communities met up on the bridge, hugging each other with joy. A banner across the bridge read: ‘The bridge of love and reconciliation between the people of Adhamiya and Kadhimiya.’ (Reuters News has the full report )
Holiday Mail For Heroes invites the public to send holiday cards with their message of thanks and support to service men and women in the U.S. and around the world. The American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes have teamed up to provide a special post office box to collect the cards until Wednesday, December 10. They will then sort and package the cards, and deliver them to military bases, hospitals, and other locations during the holidays.
With the highest obesity rates in Europe, Britain is investing £30 million to urge people in Manchester and 8 other areas to cut the fat. People who run, walk or cycle every day will be rewarded with coupons at stores and even days off work. (Read more in the Christian Science Monitor)
A Ukrainian woman who plunged 100 feet from her ninth floor flat survived without injury because she fell into a giant vat of grapes that cushioned her fall. (Ananova has a few more details)
As a hungry grad student, Brandon Mendelson can sum up his financial status in two painful words: “broke” and “desperate.” He needed quick cash to help cover his living expenses, so he turned his techno-trash into digital gold.
Mendelson scanned his campus at SUNY Albany and saw possible salvation in the trash stream. Not beer bottles or discarded newspapers. Today’s garbage: his, and his friends’ digital debris.
I have seen how the striving for success can create much unnecessary drama. The image that comes to mind for me is rowing with all your might to get to an island that never appears. When do I get there? How do I get there faster? What if someone else gets there first?
My experience as a speaker and consultant has taught me that whenever there is drama in the boat, even the arrival at your destination isn’t going to bring relief.
With that in mind, here are five skills that will make your success journey one worth savoring…
While known for giving toys to under-privileged children during the holidays, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is teaming up with The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. locations nationwide to provide books to needy children this holiday season through the Toys for Tots Literacy Program.
Launched in March of this year, the Toys for Tots Literacy Program is a year-round initiative offering our nation’s most economically disadvantaged children the ability to compete academically and to succeed in life by providing them direct access to books and educational resources that will enhance their ability to read and to communicate effectively.
“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 12.8 million children are living in poverty,” said LtGen. Pete Osman, USMC (ret), president and CEO of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. “One of the keys to unlocking the door to a brighter and more prosperous future for these children is a good education. With the Toys for Tots Literacy Program, we are able to extend our reach and impact in a very meaningful way by giving the gift of hope and helping to break the cycle of poverty.”
Through Wednesday, Dec. 31, participating The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. locations are selling $1 donation cards to benefit the Toys for Tots Literacy Program. Every $1 donation will help the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation buy a book for a deserving child.
“As the exclusive sponsor of the Toys for Tots Literacy Program, we have the opportunity to bring awareness to the issue of children’s literacy year round,” said Stuart Mathis, president of Mail Boxes Etc., Inc. (MBE). “Even though a dollar doesn’t seem like much, with each dollar donation the literacy program can deliver a book to a child in need and instill in them a passion for reading.”
Since March, The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. network has collectively contributed more than $300,000 to the Toys for Tots Literacy Program through a variety of activities, including in-center donation card campaigns, coin box collections, special events and sponsorships.
MBE and its brands, The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc., are the exclusive sponsors of the Toys for Tots Literacy Program. Since 2005, the network has teamed up with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, donating more than $1.5 million to brighten the lives of thousands of children nationwide.
