Lynnmj wanted to share this news that a court issued an injunction against logging on land inhabited by spotted owls. The company who owns the land, Weyerhauser, says it is working to protect the owl species too. (AP) Related story: GNN featured a paper company protecting woodpeckers (endangered red-cockaded species) in 1999.
Struggling Yellowstone Trees Get Help from Wolves
"Great news for Yellowstone and the recovery of willows, cottonwood, and especially aspen trees, a species in decline all over the West." Wolves, reintroduced after a 70-year absence in 1995, have reduced the ample population of elk, which had been devouring the small aspen shoots. (LiveScience) Also, see the Feb. 2006 GNN-i article by Gary Wockner, which describes the return of wolves as bringing balance back to the landscapes of the rural west: Wolf Reintroduction an Environmental Success
Energy From Moving Crowd Could Generate Electricity
"The energy from commuters in a train station, dancers in a night club or shoppers in a mall could one day be harvested, say scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who envisage turning the mechanical energy of people walking, dancing or jumping into electricity." (UK Telegraph)
69 Chinese Miners Rescued After 3 Days
Sixty-nine miners in China were pulled from a flooded mine in an emotional rescue after living for three days on milk poured down a ventilation shaft. (AP)
How to Bring Shade to a City
"Four U.S. East Coast cities are using satellite mapping to set environmental goals and plant more trees." (CS Monitor) Thanks, SG, for the link!
Largest Peacekeeping Force Committed for Darfur
"The UN Security Council has voted to send peacekeepers to the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan, after months of wrangling. Up to 26,000 troops and police will make up the world’s largest peacekeeping force." (BBC)
Good News Network is Now Wind Powered
August marks a great milestone for the Good News Network. On August 31, ten years ago, I launched the world’s first comprehensive positive news service that today has become the #1 site on Google for uplifting news and opinion from around the world. All this month we will be rolling out new products, services and surprises in celebration of ten years of good news, starting right now, with the announcement that GNN-i servers are now powered entirely by the wind!
“Free Hugs” Campaign Aims to Inspire Reserved Japanese
FOLLOW-UP: A group of university students were on a mission earlier this year to change Japan — and make hugging more acceptable. Inspired by the original Free Hugs campaign in Sydney, and by living in the U.S., where people smile at strangers, Saki Inoue longs for friendliness and more hugs between Japanese. (Read the AFP story here)
(Must-see video from Sydney on GNN-i earlier this year)
Japan First Introduced Hybrid Cars; Now Hybrid Trains
Although not as big a threat to climate change as the carbon emissions from automobiles, Japan today launched the first ever diesel-electric hybrid trains for passenger service. (AP)
Poland Halts Wetlands Road Plan
Poland has halted the planned work on a road through one of Europe’s last remaining wetlands after the EU warned it would file an injunction. Construction within the environmentally protected Rospuda river valley would have started on Wednesday. (BBC)
U.S. Money May Some Day Be Plastic and Glowing to Stop Counterfeiters
The cashier in the sandwich shop was trained to recognize counterfeit money, a necessary skill these days since advanced computers and printers have made the copying of money more common. As she holds the fifty-dollar bill tightly, it changes color in her hands. She looks closely at the eyes of President Grant. They light up. She folds the bill in two but it springs back to its original shape. Accepting the payment as genuine, she nods and hands me my change. Although this may sound bizarre, these are exactly the kinds of security features the U.S. Secret Service may one day embed in paper currency to slow the tide of casual counterfeiters.
Since 1865 the U.S. Secret Service has been working tirelessly to thwart the efforts of would-be counterfeiters by building security features into the currency that make it easy (or easier) to identify the real bills from the fakes.
Take the last issuance of currency in 2004. A number of unique security features were added on top of those existing from previous currency releases, including:
- An offset-printed, multi-colored background
- A slightly off-center, borderless portrait
- An iconic symbol to the right of the portrait printed in metallic pigmented ink
A recent National Research Council report suggests making future generations of printed currency even more secure by adding interactivity to the mix and hi-tech enhanced security features. Changing the material on which the currency is printed can also help to solve the problem, but selecting a durable long lasting material is challenging. Plastic fits the (ahem) bill, however and is already in use in Australia. The currency looks and feels like a typical banknote but has much better longevity. The primary advantage? Using plastic to print only low-denomination notes would eliminate the current practice of bleaching these to reprint them as higher denominations, which could continue to be made of cotton.
Making the notes interactive can be done by borrowing cutting-edge technology from the electronics industry. Incorporation of flexible organic circuits powered by an embedded photocell would cause sections of the bill to glow. Alternatively, the use of piezoelectric materials would change shape when a voltage is applied by a simple device to be used by a cashier. The shape change could be as subtle as raised bumps on the note. Using both of these ideas together would produce a bill that, when squeezed, would produce light briefly. Perhaps even lighting the president’s eyes! Adding temperature-sensitive inks (think of mood rings here) and the warmth of a finger touch would cause them to change from one color to another or disappear entirely. Using other specialized dyes could result in color changes when the note is breathed on due to the higher content of carbon dioxide in breath than air. The list goes on and it is not clear yet which of the recommendations from the report will be adopted, but one thing is for sure, our currency is about to get a lot more interesting and bright.
Further reading about U.S. currency and the Secret Service can be found at the U.S. Secret Service Web site. The National Research Council report entitled, “A Path to the Next Generation of U.S. Banknotes: Keeping Them Real” can be found at The National Academies Press Web site.
Michael Little works in analytical chemistry and has almost 20 years experience in the research based pharmaceutical industry. Michael resides in Laval, Quebec, with his wife and three children. Michael has written occasional science articles for GNN since 2007.
American Housewife Works Among India’s Leprosy Colonies
A white American housewife is helping to break the curse of leprosy in India, at first by simply not turning away from them in the streets, and now, through her organization that provides 20,000 people living in leprosy colonies with microloans, mobile health clinics and schools. A PBS documentary, "Breaking the Curse," has brought her amazing tale to the screen. Thanks to Diana D. for submitting the story in Utah’s DeseretNews.com! For more info on Becky’s work visit RisingStarOutreach.org.
Bear Rehabilitators Worldwide Look to Idaho Center for Guidance
The Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation Center near Boise has saved nearly 150 orphaned black bears since its opening in 1989. These days they are fielding calls from wildlife rescuers in places as far flung as Turkey, South Korea, Pakistan and in China, where officials are preparing to return some giant pandas to the wild. Read this AP story about their latest success story, a cub they call Twister.
(Thanks to Selena for the link!)
For more info visit: BearRehab.org
Teen Turns Trash into Computers for Needy Families
Fifteen-year-old Jacob Komar rebuilds old computers that are destined for the landfill and gives them to needy families. “I started Computers for Communities in 2001 when I was nine years old. I acquired computers that were being discarded from a local school. Then I refurbished and distributed them to families in my community that could not afford to have a computer at home. What a great feeling to see the smiles on those kids’ faces. I felt like I was Santa Claus!”…
“Since then,” Jacob said, “I have created a nonprofit organization that helps other groups do the same thing: locate discarded computers, refurbish them and distribute them to those in need. To date, we have donated over 1,500 computers!”
Things you can do: Start your own local Computers For Communities (CFC) group; Mentor kids in a CFC group; Make a monetary donation to CFC; Donate your old computer to CFC. Learn all about it on their Web site: Computers4Communities.org
Andrew N. of the UK submitted a story link that led to this article.
Hear Online Interview with GNN Editor
EDITOR’S BLOG – "The greatest discovery of my generation is that people can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." This quote by William James was used to launch a radio interview with me on the Healthy Life Network. Hosted by Dr. Beth Erickson, the program, called Mirrors of the Soul, explored how the Good News Network got started ten years ago, the effects that bad news and good news have on people, especially sensitive souls, and what stories over the decade became my favorites. Find out which network news shows are now featuring good news regularly. The interview plays on Windows Media Player and starts at about 4:00 from the start. No podcast for this, but look for a NEW Good News Network podcast to begin streaming this August providing Top Ten Good News every week.
Gentle Strokes Massage for Pain and Stress
"A massage therapy devised by an intensive care nurse helped a single mom to relax for the first time in years." It’s called the M technique and it’s done the same way every time. (London TimesOnline)
Free Tele-Seminar Helps You Live Your Dream
Editor’s Blog –
It has been said that most people spend more time planning a vacation than they do planning their life. Do you know what it is that you truly desire for your life? Do you have a dream, or are you looking for one? A friend of mine is hosting a free tele-seminar that could help you. He will be revealing: The four key elements to everyone’s personal life design as well as the 10 steps to creating a life that fulfills that design…
Forget the Zoos, Let’s Go to the Robotarium
I can imagine my kids screaming in the back seat, “Robotarium! Robotarium!” Their obsession demands a visit to the first zoo ever created to showcase artificial life. Created as a public garden in Portugal, the Robotarium X features a four-meter high cage made of steel and glass housing 45 different robot “species” that interact as would animals in the real world.
Like nature itself, the bigger robots are formidable opponents and the smaller ones are in constant danger of getting their tails cut off. (Right, Spider-like and hanging from the ceiling, this “bug,” called Araneax, crawls down to anyone approaching the zoo and makes threatening gestures until they leave. No word if they are poisonous.)
A bright yellow structure houses the robots, most of which are powered by photo voltaic technology (solar energy). The robots are all of unique design and comprise 14 “species” both big and small categorized by their distinct behavior strategies and body types. The robots possess various skills, including obstacle avoidance, movement, sunlight detection and interaction with the public. Large robots respond to visitors by following their movements and either opening their petals or taking defensive actions.
Artist Leonel Muria, who designed the zoo, stated that “we must start looking at robots as a novel species that is being born to share with us planet and human society.”
“Robotarium X is also an art work of a new kind of art that realizes a critical questioning of knowledge and culture. Notions like nature, life, the artificial, machine, art, culture and science are challenged by this display.”
Michael Little works in analytical chemistry and has almost 20 years experience in the research based pharmaceutical industry. Michael resides in Laval, Quebec, with his wife and three children. Michael has written occasional science articles for GNN since 2007.
College Students Put Congress in the Hot Seat on Global Warming
Two hundred student leaders from 33 states and Canada converged on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol to put Congress in the ‘hot seat’ on global warming through peaceful protest.
The students, standing in rows with 200 red chairs, formed a mass of color on Thursday behind large banners reading “Congress, You Are on the Hot Seat,” and “Act Now: Stop Global Warming.”
The voiceless demonstration was combined with personal lobbying by students with representatives in congress and the culmination of a seven-day grassroots activist training program, called Change It, designed to empower students to become the next generation of leaders for change in the environmental and social justice movement.
“Last year, we received an overwhelming response from students interested in learning how to be more effective change agents in the world, so we decided to double the number of participants in 2007,” said Jeffrey Hollender, president and chief inspirer at Seventh Generation. “I know that when this year’s participants return home, they will continue to ignite change in their community, and the world.
“Now in its second year, the Change It program is an intensive, all-expenses-paid, week-long training program led by the international environmental group Greenpeace and sponsored by Seventh Generation, best known for its leading brand of environmentally friendly household products.
Change It 2007 was facilitated by some of the nation’s top environmental leaders and featured speakers on global and social issues. Participants worked one-on-one with Greenpeace leaders who provided personalized training sessions focused on campaign strategy, lobbying, media relations and peaceful demonstrations.
The program helps transform students from merely participants in the environmental movement into leaders. Graduates of last year’s program have gone on to organize on-campus global warming pledge drives, Earth Day events and political lobbying. Some are working with university administrators to develop ethical purchasing and green building policies.
Scientists Celebrate Return of Rare Butterfly
Thanks to conservationists who replanted native buckwheat along the California coast, the endangered El Segundo blue butterflies have returned after decades to Redondo Beach and Torrance, thriving on nectar from the restored native plants. (AP)