4Ocean, the guys who you may have seen on Instagram selling bracelets made out of ocean plastic as a way to fund their ocean cleanup, have enlisted the help of new and extra-special beachcomber in their land-based campaign to end ocean plastic pollution.
The electric-powered, sand-sifting BeBot can clean up to 3,000 square meters, or 33,000 square feet, of beach per hour, making it 20-30x more effective than collecting trash by hand.
The machine is agile and easy to maneuver, a clear differentiator from existing options which tend to be derived from retired agricultural equipment powered by gas, making them less-suited to delicate beach work.
It specifically excels at removing small pieces of plastic and other trash that are notoriously difficult to clean by hand, using small 1 cm x 1 cm sifting grids to separate these items from the sand.
A pair of triangular tracks gives the BeBot a smaller footprint, while a shallower cleaning depth of 10 cm effectively removes common beach trash while avoiding disruptions to any nearby habitats or animals, providing a more effective and sustainable approach to cleanups.
A remote-controlled robot, the beach-cleaner can be operated from up to 950 feet away.
BeBot comes out of a marine-technology firm called Polaru Marine, that among many other projects such as robotics, specializes in building aluminum marinas. They construct floating solar panel banks, and other cool aqua-tech like the “mooring star,” which is essentially a giant addition sign that allows nature parks to greatly increase their boat mooring potential whilst protecting shorelines.
“BeBot has groundbreaking and unprecedented environmental assets,” stated Claire Touvier, member of the Environmental Solutions team from Poralu Marine. “With a unique track system distributing equal and minimum pressure on the sand, BeBot reduces erosion. This innovative design also helps the preservation of biodiversity as it prevents the compression of turtles’ eggs and any vegetal ecosystem in the sand.”
“We are always searching for innovative technology to improve our cleanup capabilities,” said Alex Schultze, co-founder of 4Ocean. “With the launch of the BeBot, we are able to work smarter and sustainably while recovering plastic that has already seen the ocean and preventing new plastic from ever getting there in the first place.”
In a statement, 4Ocean revealed that they were on track to remove their twenty millionth pound of plastic trash from the ocean, despite lifting pound number sixteen million just one month ago.
This is a more than 100% increase from 16 months before whenGNN reported they were “closing in” on their eight millionth pound, a milestone it took them almost three years to reach.
(WATCH the beach cleaning robot in action below.)
CLEAN UP Your Comrades’ Feeds With a Little Good News…
Quote of the Day: “Believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is strength and a blessing.” – Rainer Maria Rilke
Photo: by Steve Halama
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
An ocean of kindness has swept over a loving mom and her son after strangers learned about her ingenuity in the face of poverty—and it inspired a whole community.
A hand sewn toy by Tiffany Holloway inspires Reddit community to give her son the real thing.
Tiffany Holloway wrote a post on Reddit about how her son wanted a stuffed manta ray for his 5th birthday. She couldn’t afford to buy one so she crafted one—and made it out of his old baby blanket.
The photo of the blue ray with button eyes became the No.1 post on Reddit (the largest online forum in the world) and soon hundreds of readers were sending Jason toy manta rays, squids, and other plush ocean creatures.
But the fun didn’t stop there for the Oklahoma tot and his siblings.
One Redditor, who wants to remain anonymous, contacted the Blue Zoo and had them hold a $100 gift card for the family, which they used for admission, so that Jonas— whose hero is Steve Irwin—could see and touch some real sting rays.
Jennifer Prokop (username YarntYouSweet) bought Tiffany and her four boys tickets to the Oklahoma City Zoo, as well as four tickets to feed the sting rays.
“Jonas got to see and touch and even feed his favorite animal,” Tiffany told GNN. “Jennifer and I have become fast friends. She is an amazing kind person with a big heart.”
They stayed alongside the pool for over an hour, even as most guests moved on after a few minutes. “The boys loved it.”
“My son’s favorite part of all this is having a bunch of sea friends to cuddle with at night. He has so many stuffed sea animals there is barely any room for him on his bed but he insists on sleeping with all of them.”
“Jonas is a child that rarely smiles because of all the trauma he’s been through,” she said in an email.
“This outpouring of love and kindness has brought an oh-so-rare smile to his face—and that is worth more to me than anything else.”
Submitted by Tiffany Holloway
“It was a reminder for me that even when we are struggling and feel alone there are good people in the world who will offer you support and compassion when you need it the most.”
A GoFundMe campaign was started by their new friend, Jennifer, to accept donations to the family.
With a big media spotlight turning on—the Ellen show called and the Washington Post is publishing a story tomorrow—Tiffany wants to highlight the Manta Trust conservation group, which rescues and rehabilitates the graceful sea creatures.
The group lets the public “adopt” a ray and then sends a packet in the mail to donors about their chosen manta.
DON’T Let This Story of Kindness Float Away, Without Sharing on Social Media!
The second-most populous country in the world has banned an array of single use plastics, such as cutlery, plates, and thin bags, beginning July, 2022.
India’s rule states: The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of (the) following single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, commodities shall be prohibited with effect from July 1, 2022:
…“ear (swabs) with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration; plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays; wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers.”
The provisions will not apply to products made of compostable plastic.
Furthermore, it will be the responsibility of the manufacturer, importer, and/or brand owner to dispose of any other plastics which are deemed no longer useful to consumers.
The Environment Ministry has also set up a national-level task force to look into eliminating more single-use plastics, and is working with 14 states to responsibly recycle the plastic containers which are recyclable, like water bottles.
Learn more at India Today. (FeaturedPhoto by Snemann, CC license)
RECYCLE This Good News For Other Eco-Warriors on Social Media…
A German animal shelter began using the Tinder dating app to post profiles of lonely dogs and cats looking for love.
YouTube
Reuters reported that the Munich Animal Welfare Association hired an unnamed advertising agency to photograph a few of their adoptable animals and write some Tinder profiles to help find “the purrfect match.”
One of the animals was a black-and-white cat called “Captain Kirk.”
“Several people” have swiped right on Tinder, according to the shelter’s Jillian Moss.
“The response is insane, it’s exploding everywhere,” she told Reuters.
The shelter has been processing requests and doing interviews with the hope of finding proper homes for the single pets, pairing them with lonely humans.
WATCH a video below…
SWIPE This Story to Social Media, and Share the Wonderful Idea…
Lacey Shillinglaw with Betty the bumblebee. See SWNS story SWTPbee; A teen has a special bond with a bumblebee she saved two weeks ago who now won’t leave her, even when she goes to the shops, and it went on a family bowling trip. Lacey Shillinglaw, 13, spotted the large fluffy bumblebee lying in the road as she returned with her mum, Laura Pashley, 35, from walking the family dog in Coundon Wedge, Coventry on Saturday August 7. Worried for the creature’s safety, the teen scooped up the bee, now Betty, who had one crumpled wing but immediately started walking all over Lacey, at 2:30pm. The rescuer spent an hour trying to put Betty on flowers in a local park on the way home, but the bee kept fluttering back onto her new friend, so Lacey allowed her to hitch a ride home on her: Betty happily wandering over Lacey’s arms, shoulders and head.
A teenager who rescued a bumblebee says it’s now a loyal pet, following her everywhere, and even sleeping in a jar by her bed.
Lacey Shillinglaw with Betty the bumblebee —SWNS
It all started two weeks ago when Lacey Shillinglaw, 13, spotted the large bumblebee lying in the road while walking her dog. She scooped up the bee and noticed it had a crumpled wing.
She tried to put it in a safer spot, on some flowers in a nearby park, but it refused to stay put, buzzing back over to Lacey and crawling all over her, and after an hour she gave up and headed home with the creature perched on her shoulder.
Despite repeated attempts to leave the insect outside, the buzzy friend has refused to leave Lacey’s side. Now recovered and named Betty, it follows her to the shops and even stayed with Lacey during games at the bowling alley with 14 friends.
She stayed on Lacey throughout both games—for two-and-a-half hours.
“I’m so happy and I just love spending my time with her,” said the girl from Coventry, West Midlands. “She’s so fluffy and I love our friendship.”
On the way home Betty was perching on the girl’s glasses as she went into her local shop to buy milk—shocking other shoppers.
The insect apparently enjoys nibbling on Lacey’s food, but also gets fed sugar water, honey, and strawberry jam. Lacey takes her bee-pal into the garden to feast on flower nectar, but as soon as the teen goes back inside, Betty is right beside her.
Lacey with Betty the bumblebee – SWNS
At night Lacey tucks Betty up in a little pot beside her bed, and while there is no lid, the animal stays put until morning.
Quote of the Day: “The real goal—the living of your life… If you are not careful you can become paralyzed by excessive fear and caution.” – Andrew Sullivan
Photo: by Dekler Ph
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
If you feel like you’re hoarding plastic containers in your home, you’re not alone. A new poll found 62% of Americans surveyed would rather keep them for possible reuse than throw it away.
The study asked 2,000 adults about their plastic habits and what they’d like to improve. Over half (55%) said they’d rather keep plastic containers and other plastic wares, rather than throw them away.
Half of respondents keep a bag stuffed with plastic bags in their house. 44% say they have a kitchen drawer with plastic cutlery. 39% have a cabinet full of mismatched Tupperware, and almost one in five have a cabinet storing old jars (18%).
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Core Hydration, the results also found that 55% don’t want to throw out plastics in their home without reusing them.
In fact, sixty-four percent of respondents said they never need to buy Tupperware, because they have plenty of other containers they’ve saved. Three in five said they always try to make a conscious effort to repurpose or upcycle items.
They ask themselves “Can this be recycled?” an average of four times a week and end up tossing another four items in the recycling bin that they’re not even 100% certain can be recycled.
“It’s common to feel that you might not be making a difference by recycling, but it’s important to remember you are,” said a spokesperson for Core Hydration.
“Choosing products made with recycled materials is a simple step in the right direction and keeps the plastic within the circular economy,” they added.
The survey also asked for examples of how people had been repurposing items. One respondent said they were growing garlic inside cut-off water bottles. Plastic jugs are also being reused as pots for plants.
MOST UNIQUE WAYS AMERICANS ARE UPCYCLING
1. Created an original piece of rustic artwork to pep up a bare wall by repurposing wooden window shutters.
2. Growing garlic in cut-off water bottles.
3. Having saved quite a few big coffee containers, I use them for cat litter in winter, for birdseed, and the grandkids like to use them to dig in the garden with.
4. Those round plastic lids from toddler food pouches are good for lots of things, teaching kids colors, sorting, and even stacking to build towers.
5. I have turned old frames into jewelry hangers and bottles into flower pots and candle holders.
6. I repurposed a foam egg crate from my new bed, turning it into a bed for my dog.
7. I reuse glass yogurt containers for individual dessert cups/servings.
8. Turned a ladder into a bookshelf.
9. Taking plastic jars, removing labels, painting and decoupage them into attractive vases or pencil holders or decorated for use for cotton balls, etc.
A man in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was watching television last week when the WITI news team showed a photo of a dog that was available for adoption.
“Meet Mason,” the news segment began…
Dwight Gary took one look at the dog and said out loud, “No that’s not Mason, that’s most definitely Payday!”
He recognized the distinctive underbite of his little black pup who had gone missing from their yard more than two years ago after being frightened by fireworks.
He contacted the news desk of channel 6, which regularly features pet adoptions for the Wisconsin Humane Society.
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week beginning August 20, 2021
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Author Katherine Mansfield once told her friend Virginia Woolf, “You put me in touch with my own soul.” I’m sorry Mansfield didn’t previously have that precious connection, but I’m elated that Woolf helped her make it. In the coming weeks, I expect you will encounter an abundance of influences like Woolf: people and animals and places and experiences that can bring you into more intimate contact with your soul. I hope you take full advantage.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
At the age of 70, Libran novelist Magda Szabó mused, “I know now, what I didn’t then, that affection can’t always be expressed in calm, orderly, articulate ways; and that one cannot prescribe the form it should take for anyone else.” In that spirit, Libra, and in accordance with astrological omens, I authorize you to express affection in lively, unruly, demonstrative ways. Give yourself permission to be playfully imaginative, exuberantly revelatory, and vivaciously animated as you show the people and animals you cherish the nature of your feelings for them.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Do you Scorpios lie to yourselves more than the other signs lie to themselves? Are you especially prone to undermine yourselves through self-deception? I don’t think so. However, you might be among the signs most likely to mislead or beguile other people. (But here’s a caveat: On some occasions, your trickery is in a good cause, because it serves the needs of the many, not just yourself.) In any case, dear Scorpio, I will ask you to minimize all such behavior during the next five weeks. I think your success will depend on you being exceptionally honest and genuine—both to yourself and to others.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
“I like being broken,” says Sagittarius actor Jamie Campbell Bower. “It means I can have chocolate for breakfast.” I guess that when he feels down, he gives himself special permission to enjoy extra treats and privileges. According to my assessment of the astrological omens, you now have the right to give yourself similar permission—even though I don’t expect you’ll be broken or feeling down. Think of it as a reward for the brave work you’ve been doing lately. Enjoy this chocolatey grace period!
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) was a Jewish theologian born under the sign of Capricorn. He wrote, “Indifference to the sublime wonder of living is the root of sin.” That’s a different definition of sin from what we’re used to! To be a moral person, Heschel believed, you must be in “radical amazement” about the glories of creation. I hope you will cultivate such an attitude in the coming weeks, Capricorn. It would be a mistake for you to numbly take things for granted. I dare you to cultivate as much awe, reverence, and adoration as you can muster.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
A blogger who calls herself Hopeful Melancholy wrote a message to her lover. She said, “My favorite position is the one where you work on your paintings and I work on my book, but we’re in the same room and occasionally smile at each other.” You might want to consider trying experiments comparable to that one in the coming weeks, Aquarius. The time will be fertile for you and your dear allies to work side-by-side; to cheer each other on and lift each other up; to explore new ways of cultivating companionship and caring for each other.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Dick Dudley was a 17th-century swindler. Among his many victims was the Pope. Dudley offered an item for sale that he claimed was a divine relic: a piece of the beard of St. Peter, founder of the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope paid Dudley a small fortune for the treasure, and kissed it copiously. Only later did the full story emerge: The so-called beard was in fact a wig. I hope you don’t get involved in switcheroos like that anytime soon, Pisces. Make sure that the goods or services you’re receiving—and offering, for that matter—are exactly what they’re supposed to be.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Here are examples of activities I recommend you try in the coming days. 1. Build a campfire on the beach with friends and regale each other with stories of your most interesting successes. 2. Buy eccentric treasures at a flea market and ever thereafter refer to them as your holy icons. 3. Climb a hill and sit on the grass as you sing your favorite songs and watch the moon (full tonight) slowly rise over the eastern horizon. 4. Take naps when you’re “not supposed to.” 5. Tell a beloved person a fairy tale in which he or she is the hero.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
The popular American TV sitcom 30 Rock produced 138 episodes in seven seasons. At the height of its success, it crammed an average of 9.57 jokes into every minute. Its comic richness derived in large part from multi-talented Taurus star Tina Fey, who created the show and played one of its main characters. She was also a writer and executive producer. I propose we make her your role model in the coming weeks. According to my projections, you’re entering a charismatic, ebullient, and creative phase of your astrological cycle. It’s time to be generous to the parts of your life that need big happy doses of release and liberation.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
I got an email from a Gemini reader named Jaylah. She wrote, “Hi, not sure if you remember me, but in our past lives, you and I used to write sacred cuneiform texts on clay tablets while sitting across from each other in a cave in Mesopotamia 4,910 years ago. Your name was Nabu. Mine was Tashmetu. I was always a little jealous because you earned more money than I, but it didn’t get in the way of our friendship. Anyway, if you ever want to catch up about the old days, give me a holler.” I loved receiving this inquiry from a soul I may have known in a previous incarnation. And what she did by reaching out to me happens to be the perfect type of activity for you Geminis right now. Secrets of your history may be more available than usual. The past may have new stories to tell. A resource from yesteryear could prove valuable in the future.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Cancerian-born Franz Kafka was an interesting writer and a master of language. But even for him, it could be a challenge to convey what he really meant. He said, “I am constantly trying to communicate something incommunicable, to explain something inexplicable, to tell about something I only feel in my bones and which can only be experienced in those bones.” Now here’s the good news, as far as you’re concerned, Cancerian: I suspect that in the coming weeks, you will have more power than usual to do exactly what Kafka aspired to do. You will be able to summon extra ease and grace in expressing your truths. I invite you to be a connoisseur of deep conversations.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
“If we wait until we are ready, we will be waiting for the rest of our lives,” declared novelist Lemony Snicket. This is good advice for you to heed right now. I really hope you avoid the temptation to wait around for the perfect moment before you begin. In my vision of your best approach, you will dive into the future without trying to have all your plans finalized and all your assets gathered. I expect you will acquire the rest of what you need once the process is underway.
WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com
A five-minute breathing exercise that you can do while watching television can lower your blood pressure as much as medication, according to a new small study.
– University of Colorado Boulder
Described as “strength training for your breathing muscles”, it uses a hand-held medical device that provides resistance as a person inhales through a tube. Scientists say it can lower cardiovascular disease risk in aging adults—and could also aid athletes in running faster marathons.
High-Resistance Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training (IMST) is meant to be done in reps like high-intensity interval training, with quicker, higher resistance breaths leading to “cardiovascular, cognitive, and sports performance improvements.”
The technique could be even more effective at lowering blood pressure than going for a run, especially in postmenopausal women.
Professor Doug Seals at the University of Colorado Boulder hailed it as an easy and drug-free option.
Developed in the 1980s for respiratory disease to help patients strengthen their diaphragm and other breathing muscles, the regimen was prescribed for 30-minute-per-day at low resistance.
But inspired by HIIT, researchers now believe 30 inhalations a day at high resistance, six days per week, could reap many benefits.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, recruited 36 healthy adults aged 50 to 79 with above-normal blood pressure with half doing high resistance IMST for six weeks and the others doing a placebo where the resistance was much lower.
Even six weeks after they quit doing IMST, they maintained most of that improvement.
The treatment group also saw a 45% improvement in vascular endothelial function, or the ability for arteries to expand upon stimulation, and a significant increase in levels of nitric oxide, a molecule key for dilating arteries and preventing plaque buildup. Nitric oxide levels naturally decline with age.
The IMST group saw their systolic blood pressure dip nine points on average, a reduction generally exceeds that achieved by walking 30 minutes a day five days a week.
That decline is also equal to the effects of some blood presssure-lowering drugs.
“We found that not only is it more time-efficient than traditional exercise programs, but the benefits may also be longer-lasting,” said lead author Dr. Daniel Craighead, at UC Boulder. “If aerobic exercise won’t improve this key measure of cardiovascular health for postmenopausal women, they need another lifestyle intervention that will. This could be it.”
Craighead, who uses IMST for his own aerobic training, added, “It’s easy to do, it doesn’t take long, and we think it has a lot of potential to help a lot of people.”
Indeed, to have a form of therapy available that lowers blood pressure without drugs, or doing aerobic exercise, which so many people tend to abhor, would be a great option.
The National Institutes of Health recently awarded Seals $4 million to launch a larger follow-up study of about 100 people, comparing a 12-week IMST protocol head-to-head with aerobic exercise.
Meanwhile, the research group is developing a smartphone app to enable people to do the protocol at home using already commercially available devices.
NO Pressure: Share This With Your Circle on Social Media…
Quote of the Day: “If you haven’t the strength to impose your own terms upon life, then you must accept the terms it offers you.” – T.S. Eliot
Photo: by Matt Seymour
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
San Francisco garter snake-credit-Richard Kim:USGS Western Ecological Research Center
One of the most beautiful of its species, the garter snake that inhabits the San Francisco peninsula is also the most endangered of its kind. Fortunately for the California serpent, it has human protectors who have given it a safe haven near the runways of the San Francisco International Airport.
The San Francisco garter snake (thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia), which can grow to three-feet in length, has skin that looks like a black canvas painted with racing stripes of bright orange and neon turquoise.
As the Bay Area has grown and developed, the wetland habitat that is needed to sustain the harmless snake has diminished, so the animal was listed as endangered 54 years ago. Brutal droughts have also thinned its population, and that of their prey, as well.
While the snake is mostly isolated around the San Francisco peninsula, they are thriving in numbers near the tarmac of the airport known as SFO.
A tract of 160 privately-owned acres has been put to work to save the beautiful reptile, including the construction of many small ponds where the snake can keep moist, breed, and hunt for its favorite prey: the red-legged frog—which is also endangered and given sanctuary on the SFO runway lawn.
The officials who own the land and operate the airport now boast that they’ve kept 1,300 snakes happy and fed while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) looks for a better solution.
Richard Kim, USGS-Western Ecological Research Center
In fact, the recent survey by the FWS declared this to be the largest population of this particular garter snake anywhere—something the SFO brass found to be a “pleasant surprise.”
“Everything that happens there is designed to protect these species,” said SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel, according to The Guardian.
“For us, success would be that there is a stable thriving population, but to find out we had the largest population—it was really a pleasant surprise.”
In the rest of the Bay Area, cats and dogs have become two of the snake’s top predators. But, at the airport the snakes pretty much have the land to themselves—a double-positive as the airport wildlife biologist can make sure that they are insulated from the effects of climate change that would normally damage wild populations.
The frogs too, have ponds they can safely raise their tadpoles in.
“As our airport continues to evolve, this is the one place that continues to stay the same,” Yakel said. “We want to continue to provide a good stable environment for these two endangered species. Hearing that they are thriving—that is the ultimate validation.”
In the 1985 recovery plan laid out alongside the endangered listing, the FWS wrote that 10 populations of at least 200 snakes must be stable or growing for 15 consecutive years before the snake can be considered for delisting. By this criteria, at least one habitat, SFO, has come through with spades.
Give This Snake Some Travel Miles By Sharing On Social Media…
A Michigan woman accidentally lost her wedding rings on the sandy shores of Lake Superior—but soon celebrated the return of the precious jewels after some stunning police work by the local sheriff’s K-9 dog.
Elsa Green had taken her rings off at Eagle Beach to apply some sunscreen, setting them carefully in her hat. Later, she was suddenly startled by a large bug crawling on the cap and she tossed it into the air—remembering only seconds later that her precious rings were inside.
When a frantic search for the wedding band and matching engagement ring turned up nothing, Green and her friends enlisted the aid of someone using a metal detector who was scanning the sand—but he couldn’t find them, either.
“I felt sick about it,” she told the Washington Post. “I’d been wearing those rings every day for 17 years. But at that moment, I figured they were gone.”
Hoping the police might have another metal detector that would allow them to continue the search, Green’s pal drove to the Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Office. While the department didn’t have a metal detector, they did have a ‘Dogo’— a specially trained 5-year-old Dutch shepherd with a nose for ferreting out weapons.
Dogo can also find things by honing in on a person’s signature odor.
According to Dogo’s, handler Sgt. Brad Pelli, K-9s trained in “article search” can detect pretty much anything that still has a human scent trail on it. But, looking for a lost wedding ring would be a ‘first’.
Arriving at the beach, Pelli cleared the area of people, so Dogo would have the best shot at locking onto the olfactory clue he was searching for, without distraction.
It didn’t take him long. The intrepid pooch latched onto the scent of Green’s engagement ring, and dutifully sat down on the spot. Pelli sifted some sand through his hand and found its hiding place—and then found the second ring close by.
With the rings back on her finger where they belonged, Green and her 9-year-old son gave Dogo a huge hug and heaped praise on Sgt. Pelli for volunteering his services without any payment.
An ecstatic Green posted on Facebook, celebrating the amazing find: “K9 Dogo, you will forever be my hero!” she enthused. “Dogo put his training and skills to use and sure enough he found my rings! I’ll be bringing you ice cream to say thank you!”
All Dogo requires for a job well done is some praise and a chance to play with his favorite ball—but after the mini-miracle at the beach, a little treat might be a pawsome reward.
A pair of golfing pals were astonished when they both got a hole in one in succession, breaking 17 million to one odds.
48-year-old David Giles was playing in a duo against two colleagues when he scored a hole in one on the seventh tee.
After an excited celebration, the group of businessmen couldn’t believe it when his team mate, 51-year-old Chris Bunce, took the next shot and scored a hole in one using the same club.
David said, “I was over the moon with my hole in one and once we had calmed down, who would have ever thought another was about to follow!
“We had two witnesses who were playing with us and we were all just left speechless. There was plenty of laughing, swearing, and high fives all round. What a game!”
It was the first ever hole in one for David’s manager Chris, from Southend, Essex, who has only been playing golf for a year.
SWNS
The super shot at The Oaks Golf Club in York was David’s second ever hole in one.
The pair each scored a hole in one after hitting the ball 146 yards from the tee on the seventh hole.
David’s co-worker Garry Marsh, who had been playing with the two men, added: “I’d never seen a hole in one in the flesh, so to speak, so to see two on the same hole on the same round was absolutely fantastic.”
Canadian teenager Anthony Muobike is a huge fan of basketball. When summer hits Edmonton, the 14-year-old can be spotted in the street practicing his dribbling skills on pretty much any day of the week.
When he recently got a knock on the door from the neighbors, he assumed they must be sick and tired of hearing him work on his skills.
Quote of the Day: “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela
Photo: by Harshil Gudka
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
A New Yorker has launched a hugely successful GoFundMe campaign to fly at-risk Afghans out of the country as quickly as possible.
Internet meme artist Quentin Quarantino’s GoFundMe campaign raised $550,000 in just two hours. Now, after only a day, the total has rocketed toward $6 million and is still climbing.
After two decades of U.S. military intervention and their recent withdrawl, the Taliban extremist group has returned to power and specifically targeted certain individuals and their families.
The GoFundMe campaign hopes to help these human rights lawyers, activists, translators, journalists, and artists—all of whom are “at imminent risk” of being killed.
The asylum seekers will be transported in family groups, and the funds raised so far should translate into the evacuation of thousands of refugees.
If you do the math, Quarantino says that every $550,000 will buy two airplanes out of Kabul. Per the GoFundMe page, “Every $1,500 raised represents a seat on one of the planes, and a life saved.”
Tommy Marcus, known by his pandemic pen name, Quentin Quarantino, is a University of Michigan grad who donned the alter ego in the early days of COVID-19 as a humorous way to cope with the stresses of life in lockdown. Initially, posting funny memes, the musings morphed into serious social commentary.
Kabul, Scott Clarkson, CC license
“The internet can be a force for good,” Quarantino stated on his Instagram page, which currently has over 767,000 followers. “Raising five million dollars in less than 24 hours for this rescue mission has given us, and so many around the world, hope for humanity. Most importantly, it’s a direct line to attempt safe passage for Afghans in danger.”
The stunning total of funds so quickly raised is a testament to the human spirit that Quarantino finds humbling.
“The amount of impact this is going to have and the lives it will save is so mesmerizing that no words I can put in this tweet will do it justice,” he posted.
If you’d like to add to the appeal, head to the GoFundMe page here. Anything left over will be earmarked for the International Women’s Media Foundation to aid in their efforts to safeguard at-risk female journalists in Afghanistan.
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Locally extinct bandicoots have returned to an Australian national park in New South Wales after more than 100 years.
The nationally threatened species—known by local Aboriginal people as ‘talpero’—once ranged across inland Australia, including the area now managed as Sturt National Park.
The small, native marsupials became extinct in the region after ecosystem changes caused by rabbits and predation by feral cats and foxes.
Now, a founding population of talpero have been reintroduced to the area by the team at Wild Deserts.
Their reintroduction is another major milestone in the Wild Deserts conservation project, which last year reintroduced bilbies and mulgaras into the national park.
“The season has been tremendous out here with the rains we had last year and then again in March,” says UNSW’s Dr Rebecca West, an ecologist based at Wild Deserts.
“These rains have helped create a highly productive system that is excellent for the reintroduction of this species.”
Up until recently, western barred bandicoots were considered one species with five subspecies, but this has recently split into five species. Only the Shark Bay species, the species translocated to Sturt National Park, survived. UNSW scientists acknowledge this important taxonomic work.
This remaining species has been moved to two islands and three fenced locations. The Wild Deserts conservation reintroduction came from one of these, a self-sustaining population at Arid Recovery near Roxby Downs.
Supported by governments because of their conservation value, the Wild Deserts conservation reintroduction recognizes the important role that this species complex played in ecological function, important for restoring desert ecosystems.
The Wild Deserts team eradicated every last rabbit, cat, and fox from two 2,000 hectare feral-proof fenced exclosures within Sturt National Park, creating one of the largest feral-animal-free areas in Australia.
These exclosures in the wild work as ‘training zones’, where reintroduced vulnerable species can learn to live in the wild without dangers from predators like cats and foxes.
When their populations start thriving, the animals will be released into a second training area with predators, where they will learn to become predator-smart.
The ultimate project aim is to release a smarter generation of bandicoots and other locally extinct mammals back into the wild.
NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean says: “The reintroduction of this important species to the Corner Country in Sturt National Park is another huge step in our battle to halt and reverse the tide of mammal extinctions.
“Our aim is to re-establish ecosystems as they were before feral cats, foxes and rabbits wreaked havoc on Australian native wildlife.”
Talpero are the smallest members of the bandicoot family, roughly the size of a guinea pig. They can be distinguished from other bandicoots by their fawn-coloured coat with pale stripes across their rump.
The nocturnal marsupials dig for their food in sandy environments, making foraging pits to find seeds, tubers, insects, and fungi. This process turns the soil and helps it catch water and nutrients, contributing to the overall health of the ecosystem.
The Wild Deserts team have introduced 10 talpero as a founding population, but they hope to add more members soon.
“If they keep doing as well as they are, then I think we will be able to add some more characters to the mix,” says Dr West.
“Hopefully that will re-establish bandicoots back into Sturt National Park into the future.”
UNSW Sydney
A recovering ecosystem
The founding talpero population are from Arid Recovery, an independent not-for-profit conservation and research project that manages a large feral-free safe haven near Roxby Downs in South Australia.
The marsupials were released into Wild Deserts’ southern exclosure, called ‘Mingku’—named after the word meaning happy in the Maljangapa language. The talpero joined two other recently reintroduced species, the bilbies and mulgaras.
“This is an important step in restoring this desert ecosystem,” says Professor Richard Kingsford, leader of the Wild Deserts project and director of the UNSW Centre for Ecosystem Science.
“We are already starting to see the beginnings of a transformation occurring in the landscape. The soil is starting to turn over, which gives great opportunities for lots of little invertebrates and catches water and nutrients.
“We think that’s part of how we can transform these deserts back into what they were.”
Dr John Read from Ecological Horizons, a major partner of the Wild Deserts project, says “These energetic little diggers at Wild Deserts are important culturally, historically and ecologically and will be great for restoring the desert.”
The Wild Deserts scientists will check in on the animals daily using radio tracking devices to ensure they’re adapting well to their new environment.
“We have deliberately designed the Wild Deserts project to allow us opportunities for scientific monitoring to assess our management and the success of the species,” says UNSW’s Dr Reece Pedler, the Wild Deserts project coordinator, in a statement.
UNSW Sydney
“We hope to establish talpero in other parts of the Wild Deserts site—and ultimately into neighbouring areas of Sturt National Park or beyond. We have already recorded recruitment of young that were translocated in pouch and other young that were born at Wild Deserts.”
Wild Deserts is part of a major NSW Government initiative to protect threatened native mammals via the Reintroduction of Locally Extinct Mammals project and the Saving our Species initiative.
Next, the team plan to reintroduce other threatened mammals into the Wild Deserts exclosures, including western quolls, stick-nest rats, and golden bandicoots.
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When Paolo Fanciulli dropped 39 large marble sculptures down to the bottom of the sea off Tuscany’s Maremma Regional Park, it was not his first strike in the battle against unsustainable fishing, but it was his first step into the art world.
This fascinating story, at the heart of which is a fascinating and charismatic figure, recounts the confluence of an ancient relationship between man and nature and a celebration of the Mediterranean Sea as a cradle of civilization.
60-year-old Fanciulli practices sustainable fishing and “pescaturismo” or fishing-tourism at his home in the village of Talamone.
He still wakes up at dawn before heading out into the clear waters off the coast of Tuscany’s Grosseto province. He and his colleague Francesco fish, as their ancient ancestors did, by casting shallow nets that take mullet and bream while leaving the bottom reaches undisturbed.
Fanciulli’s “war” against illegal or unsustainable methods of fishing is long documented, and has appeared in newspapers around the globe.
From 2002 to 2006, he gathered the help of the Tuscan government and WWF-Italia to deploy a strategic formation of 126 underwater cement bollards to ruin any of the deep sea trawling nets which he realized were rapidly destroying the fish stocks he grew up harvesting.
The nets would tear up the delicate seabed ecosystem, including seagrass meadows, and simply decapitate the marine food-web. But Fanciulli knew the nets were extremely expensive to replace, and the relatively-inexpensive bollards, costing about €560 to make and transport, would last a lot longer than the poachers would.
That work took him twenty years to complete, recount the authors of his biography The House of the Fish.
His next project would be similar, but quite different. It would expand the protection of his beloved Mediterranean, while enlisting some of the greatest marble sculptors on Earth to bring the world’s attention to the greater problem of general environmental degradation.
Andy Corbley
The House of the Fish
“The importance of the project is that we need some sensible consumption of resources,” Fanciulli told GNN. “However the illegal industry is devastating everything, and with this project we can send a message to the whole world to give back; not only to take.”
“But the intent of mine is also to think of the future; a better future, with more sustainable fishing, and a greater respect for the environment.”
Paolo Fanciulli is, as he told me when I went out on a tour with him and Francesco, a fisherman, not a super-savvy marketer or social media manager.
So with the help of a childhood friend who had become a successful engineer, Fanciulli imagined a series of large marble sculptures, taken from the Carrara Quarry, the font of so much of the marble which Michelangelo used to create his artworks.
Even while Fanciulli asked for merely two, after meeting with the President of Grosseto region and Ippolito Turco, the president of an association that now looks after the sculptures—he received 100.
But who would sculpt them? He needed to find generous and far-sighted sculptors who would put their creativity at the service of the sea, and enough funding to transport the 10-20 ton blocks from the north of Tuscany to the south.
Arriving at the house of an artist named Massimo Catalani, who lived in Rome and worked at the famous Federici Palace, Paolo, who brought his morning’s catch in a large pot to cook for dinner, was connected with scores of people from the world of art and architecture, one of whom was Emily Young, considered Britain’s best living sculptor.
“It was like a film,” Paolo writes.
Atlantis in Tuscany
Young was among a dozen international and Italian sculptors who donated their time and effort to contribute to a project that would not be seen in traditional museums, but that would slowly become covered in seaweed, and seen only by divers as they sit sentinel-like, defending the life of the depths.
In May 2015, the first 20 stone blocks, each costing thousands simply to transport to the pier of Talamone, were loaded onto a barge and floated out to their final resting place. A second group of 19 were lowered down last summer.
Ippolito Turco told The Independent, “We’ve managed to totally stop the illegal fishing in the area. Now we’re looking at extending the project along the coast to the north. We want to put more sculptures on the seafloor. It has proved to be very effective.”
“What you want to happen is that in time, you won’t know they are sculptures,” said Ms. Young. “They will be so covered in seaweed and algae that they will look like a coral reef or the remains of a wreck.”
61 blocks of greyish marble remain in Turco and Fanciulli’s possession, waiting for world-renowned sculptors to carve them into statues.
For those familiar with the 17 contrade or guilds of Siena, one sculptor plans to make one of every animal-symbol on the guilds’ coats of arms, something bound to attract major investment from the uber-patriotic city, while Paolo also wants to work with the Grosseto Cultural Office to install underwater lighting amid the sculptures to light them up for a few hours at night time.
Andy Corbley
“If there are artists that want to come to the House of the Fish, we are available, because the more artists we have the stronger the project,” Fanciulli told GNN. “I think if famous artists come here, there’s a bigger impact. If there are artists reading this, our sea has need of your talents.”
The La Casa dei Pesci website is one big fundraiser, where people can contribute in all sorts of ways to the project. Artists looking to carve a block will post their idea as a fundraiser, and anyone who contributes gets gifts in return, such as dinner and a fishing trip with Paolo, paintings, and more.
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