People Power Wins: Alberta Reverses Course on Coal Mining Atop Rocky Mountains

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Feb 22, 2021

canadian rockies public domain unsplash jordan-grider — Jordan Grider

When the current Alberta government tried to repeal a piece of legislation restricting coal mining in the Rockies, Canadians of all varieties banded together to object.

The idea of exploratory metallurgical mining pits opening in the most iconic of Albertan landscapes—the mountains—has seen nothing more than unprecedented mobilization from the public.

Threatened wildlife, First Nation lands, popular recreation sites, the headwaters of a principal freshwater source for communities, and grazing lands used for generations by ranchers typify the eastern slopes of the Rockies, all labeled as Category 2—or unavailable for mining development—under the 1976 law the government sought to dispel.

Facebook groups, country music stars, conservationists, farmers, and more all joined together to oppose the repeal, which the United Conservative Party government did eventually go back on, but which controversial premier Jason Kenney said was only a “course correct.”

“We admit we didn’t get this one right,” said provincial Minister of Energy Sonya Savage. “We’re not perfect and Albertans sure let us know that.”

Savage would eventually issue additional directives to Alberta Energy Regulator stating that: “No mountaintop removal will be permitted and all of the restrictions under the 1976 coal categories are to apply, including all restrictions on surface mining in Category 2 lands,” and “All future coal exploration approvals on Category 2 lands will be prohibited pending widespread consultations on a new coal policy.”

MORE: Huge Indigenous Solar Farm Opens in Remote Northern Community: ‘We work with the sun for the children of the future’

Given that any leases and exploration programs approved while the coal policy was rescinded can still continue, Albertans aren’t stopping the fight to protect the province’s mountains and headwaters just yet.

Many have been surprised that the provincial government didn’t seem to expect such a fight from the public.

“It doesn’t take much looking at… Tourism Alberta ads,” political science professor Melanee Thomas told The Narwhal. “They are literally almost exclusively about the eastern slopes.”

What’s happening right now in Alberta is a tremendous demonstration of the power of collective public action, and a warning to any future politicians who want to make their bread at the expense of the wheat.

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The Public Gave Names to Over 50 Snowplows in Scotland And They are Hilarious!

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Andy Corbley

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Feb 22, 2021

Far from the disaster that christened an English ship ‘Boaty McBoatFace’, Scotland held a public drive to name more than 50 plowing trucks responsible for keeping the roads safe for motorists—and the results are too funny.

The contest was organized by Amey, a company responsible for maintaining public highways and bridges, performing inspections, and keeping the roads clear from debris and snow.

Running from December 23 to January 23, online submissions took puns to a new level, with many tributes to the nation’s late beloved film star Sean Connery.

Of course, they include every possible play on wintery words imaginable—and a simple GPS app allows you to see where each truck is deployed, marked with their locations with their own unique name.

Hopefully by next winter, Amey will have painted stylized images on the doors of each truck to reflect their names—the way World War II warplanes were decorated with comic book paintings in the ’40s.

Check out more amusing winners…

You’re a Blizzard Harry
William Wall-Ice
Brinestone Ploughboy
Spready Mercury
Sled Zeppelin
Lord Coldemort
Carrie Bradthaw
Spreddie Van Halen
Mary Queen of Salt
Salt Disney

And here are the five, fun Bond-themed trucks.

On Her Majesty’s Slippery Surface
Coldfinger
Dr. Snow
You Only Grit Ice
License to Chill

You’re welcome.

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Dolphins Have Similar Personality Traits to Humans, Study Finds

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Andy Corbley

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Feb 22, 2021

If you’ve ever looked into the face of a dolphin and felt for a second that they knew who you were, it’s because they’re naturally curious and sociable in a similar way to us humans.

In a study of personality psychology, bottlenose dolphins were found to have characteristics similar to both primates and humans (as well as a few others that appear to be all their own), shedding new light on the evolutionary pressures that develop personality.

When not referring to large African mammals, the ‘Big 5’ refers to broad personality traits that tend to be shared by most intelligent animals, and are defined as openness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness.

The Big 5 has been studied in chimpanzees, rats, and now dolphins—and all creatures on Earth bear some variation of these traits—with some having more demonstrative versions than others.

In the recent dolphin study, published in the Journal of Comparative Psychology, researchers looked at 134 different dolphins across eight different facilities in the world. Personality was measured in 49 dolphins using a 42-item questionnaire, and in 85 dolphins using a version of the questionnaire that included seven additional items.

Four personality traits were determined by the questionnaires, three of which are typical of both human and non-human primates: They are high openness (broadly defined as creativity or curiosity), low agreeableness (a lack of prioritizing others’ happiness over your own), and high extraversion (sociability).

Traits like this are often discussed in clinical psychology. Personality psychologists like Jordan Peterson would note that low agreeableness, found in the dolphins for example, is typical in people who ask for large raises at work, while someone with high agreeableness often has a very difficult time climbing corporate ladders.

MORE: Rare Pink Dolphins Returning to Hong Kong as Coronavirus Halts Ferry Traffic, Giving Scientists a Closer Look

The fourth, which the scientists described as “directedness,” was unique to dolphins, and seemed to be a mix of high conscientiousness, a trait that tends to be high in people like entrepreneurs, and low neuroticism.

Lastly, unlike other primates but quite like humans, dolphins lacked a strong dominance domain.

Researchers aren’t certain why the Big 5 evolved, and extending their field of study into more and more animals will help evolutionary psychologists perhaps determine how far back along the evolutionary track such traits developed.

Dolphins diverged from other mammals 95 million years ago, which allows evolutionary psychologists to place the application of big 5 personalities at least that far back. They now also know the evolution of these characteristics can occur despite broad differences in environment, like living on land or in water, and in social organization.

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“Excellence does not require perfection.” – Henry James

Quote of the Day

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Good News Network

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Feb 22, 2021

guy musician with guitar playing fun creative-pubdomain-Adam Hoffman — By Adam Hoffman

Quote of the Day: “Excellence does not require perfection.” – Henry James

Photo: Adam Hoffman

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Strangers Shelter Stranded Delivery Driver for 5 Days During Texas Cold Snap–Now She’s ‘Part of the Family’

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Good News Network

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Feb 21, 2021

Chelsea Timmons courtesy social media — Chelsea Timmons

Chelsea Timmons decided to make it her last delivery because the roads in Austin, Texas were getting slicker. When she ended up getting stuck in the customer’s driveway, there turned out to be a big silver lining.

Not wanting to walk up the driveway, the H-E-B grocery employee tried to make it up the steep slope with her car, but slid helplessly into the garden.

Though the couple tried to help move her car, efforts failed—and AAA road service was already inundated with calls.

That’s when Nina Richardson and Doug Condon decided, with the weather getting worse and safety concerns growing, she needed to settle in at their house.

“It’s just what you do when stuff shows up,” Nina told ABC News.

“We have daughters and we hope if they were ever in a situation like this that there would be someone who would open their house and help them,” added Doug.

Over dinner they learned that Chelsea would like to open a bakery some day—and she soon volunteered to bake them a delicious gluten-free coconut cake.

She slept in the spare room for five days, became friends with the dog, and realized how lucky she was overall.

“I found out my apartment lost water, lost power, so being ‘stuck here’ actually turned out to be a better situation. Most of my family lost electricity for several days.”

LOOK: Chicago Man Goes Around Buying All of Vendors’ Tamales in Frigid Temps Then Gives Them to Homeless

“I definitely ate a lot better here,” she exclaimed. “They made me feel comfortable and made me feel like part of the family.”

WATCH the local news coverage below…

PARK THIS on Social Media to Inspire Winter-Weary Friends…

Processors in Tech Wearables like Fitbits Could Be Replaced Using Mushroom Mycelium

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Andy Corbley

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Feb 21, 2021

oyster mushrooms-pubdomain-Rachel Horton — Oyster mushrooms by Rachel Horton

Wearable electronic sensors, such as those within Fitbit watches and pedometers that detect biological signals, could be replaced in the future by… mushrooms.

No that’s not a typo. In a proof-of-concept study, mycelium were able to perceive several external stimuli like light, temperature, and moisture, but also certain chemicals in the environment, and even electrical signals.

Oyster mushroom mycelium, the fibrous mainframe tissues of fungi that colonize under the soil and from which mushrooms sprout, were able to perceive electrical signals in such a way as to replicate that part for sensors and processors, which are readable by a computer.

In other (fantastical) words, the mushroom’s perceptions of the environment would become the data that gives you the beats-per-minute count on your heart rate monitor.

In nature, mycelium organizes itself into geometric structures in and throughout the soil. While fungal mycelium don’t have many reasons for detecting electrical signals in nature that we know of, reprogramming oyster mushroom mycelium genes to form different geometric structures that would optimize the detection power of electrical signals is the ticket to ride that makes Prof. Andrew Adamtzky believe it’s worth investigating.

“We have shown that it is possible to discern a nature of stimuli from the fungi electrical responses,” Adamatzky, who famously utilized slime molds to solve mazes and optimize city roadway planning in Tokyo and France, wrote in his new research paper.

Fungal wearable incorporated into real cloth – courtesy of A. Adamatzky, Reactive fungal wearables study

“The results paved a way towards future design of intelligent sensing patches to be used in reactive fungal wearables.”

CHECK OUT: He Works to Save Rare Ancient Fungus to Protect Us From Pandemics

The patches referred to were hemp fabric colonized with mycelium and then hooked up to computer sensors.

Spraying different chemicals onto the patch, as well as exposing it to different stimuli mentioned above, were what gave Adamatzky the surety of voice.

It’s not anything that’s going to seize control of the markets anytime soon, but it’s another fascinating application of mycelium, which GNN has reported can be used to make building bricks, coffins, canoes, and to great effect on nuclear waste cleanup.

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Green Tea Compound Could Hold The Key to Beating Cancer, Says Compelling New Study of ‘EGCG’

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Good News Network

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Feb 21, 2021

tea pot and cup-pubdomain-Alisher Sharip — Alisher Sharip

Green tea has been consumed in China for 4,000 years—and one of its compounds may hold the key to staving off cancer, according to compelling new research.

It switches on a gene called p53, which is proven to block the development of tumors.

Known as the “Guardian of the Genome” for its ability to repair DNA damage and destroy cancerous cells, p53 is classified as a tumor suppressor—and if a person inherits only one functional copy of the p53 gene from their parents, they are predisposed to the disease.

A new study published this month in Nature Communications shows that an antioxidant found in the traditional Chinese drink may increase levels of p53 and improve its efficiency, say scientists at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

Studying the direct interaction between p53 and the green tea compound, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), offers hope that a new drug might be created to mimic it.

“Mutations in p53 are found in over 50% of human cancer,” said the paper’s author Professor Chunyu Wang, who called it “arguably the most important protein in human cancer.”

A state of the art scanning technique called nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed EGCG protects the cell structure’s ‘N-terminal domain’ from degradation.

LOOK: The Ultimate Guide to Flu Prevention: 4 Micronutrients You Should Eat This Winter to Stay Healthy

EGCG is a natural antioxidant, which means it helps to undo the near constant damage caused by oxygen metabolism. Found in abundance in green tea, EGCG is also packaged by many companies as an herbal supplement.

Wang’s team identified the specific mechanism–the beneficial interaction between EGCG and p53– for the first time. “When EGCG binds with p53, the protein is not being degraded…so the level of p53 will increase with the direct interaction.”

“That means there is more p53 for anti-cancer function.”

When operating at full capacity, p53 activates DNA repair mechanisms and prevents the cells with damaged DNA from dividing. If DNA damage is irreparable, p53 induces the cell to destroy itself by undergoing apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

Since it is commonly switched off in human cancers, reactivating the protein could potentially provide a powerful way of treating the disease in the future.

The findings also shed fresh light on the benefits of green tea, which has been shown to reduce the risk of dementia and heart attacks. One study of over 100,000 older Chinese people found those who drank at least three cups of green tea a week were 25 percent less likely to die over the next seven years.

MORE: Researchers Develop ‘Holy Grail’ Eye Drop to Prevent, Treat Cataracts Without Surgery

“By developing an understanding of the molecular-level mechanisms that control key biochemical interactions linked to devastating illnesses such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, Chunyu’s research is laying the groundwork for new and successful therapies,” said Curt Breneman, dean of the Rensselaer School of Science.

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37 Years Ago She Began Making Braille Children’s Books to Cut the Cost By 90% And Donate Them Worldwide

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LStofflett

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Feb 21, 2021

March is Reading Month, and this inspiring blog post was submitted to GNN by one of our own readers. If you have an interesting story of kindness or positivity, be sure and send it to us for review.

According to the National Federation of the Blind, fewer than 10 percent of the 1.3 million people who are legally blind in the U.S. are Braille readers—but one woman has made an incredible difference in their lives.

35 years ago, our son, Jared, was born blind. Fortunately, I learned about her life-changing organization when Jared’s teacher of the visually-impaired introduced us to Seedlings Braille Books for Children.

It was founded by Debra Bonde, and although she did not plan to start a nonprofit back in 1984, she ended up helping blind children all over the world.

A shy woman, she just wanted to find a volunteer job she could do without having to talk to anyone. So, she signed up for a braille transcription class in hopes of translating books into braille in the basement of her Detroit home.

Debra began transcribing popular children’s books, like Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!, printing them on a braille printer her father had made, and selling them for just the cost of the paper.

Word spread among parents and teachers of blind children, and demand grew for more of her books. Friends helped her to form a nonprofit so she could start getting grants and donations to help with production costs. She named it Seedlings Braille Books for Children because she believes that if you give a child a book, the love for reading will grow. That first year, she printed 221 books.

From its humble beginnings 37 years ago, Seedlings has produced and distributed more than 600,000 books across the world. They give half of their books away for free. The other half are sold for an average price of only $10 each, about half the cost of producing them. (They also sell charms, shirts, and gifts with Braille on them through their website.)

As a mother, I appreciated that Seedlings provided “typical” experiences for Jared in school. Seedlings supplied braille books to the libraries of the schools Jared attended so he could check-out books just like his sighted classmates. Since books from Seedlings were affordable, it was possible to have a home library. In addition to purchasing books, Jared would often receive free ones from Seedlings through one of their many giveaway programs.

Today, Jared is a software engineer, who is married with two children, ages 1 and 3.

“Without knowing how to read and write—skills impossible to learn by just listening to speech—I would have never been able to graduate from Michigan State University with a telecommunications degree.”

“Without the childhood literacy skills Seedlings provided to me, I would not have a job in the modern workforce with the amount of reading and writing most employment requires.”

Today, he uses Seedling books to read to his sighted children.

“With the birth of my daughter, Harper, and my son, Logan, Seedlings has now come full circle in my life, he told GNN. “I read to them Seedlings’ picture books, which have both print and braille in them.”

Since 2012, Jared has served on the Board of Directors for Seedlings’—making an impactful difference in the lives of children, the way Seedlings did for his.

WATCH these great folks in action…

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“The great opportunity is where you are. Don’t despise your own place and hour. Every place is the center of the world.” – John Burroughs

Quote of the Day

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Good News Network

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Feb 21, 2021

Quote of the Day: “The great opportunity is where you are. Don’t despise your own place and hour. Every place is the center of the world.” – John Burroughs, naturalist

Photo: Nathan Dumlao

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Mercy Chefs Serves Its 10 Millionth Meal — Then, Heads to Texas to Feed ‘Bodies and Souls’ in the Cold

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Good News Network

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Feb 20, 2021

The Virginia-based disaster relief and humanitarian aid group Mercy Chefs reached a magnificent milestone this month, serving its 10 millionth meal.

The nonprofit, founded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, has served professionally prepared, restaurant-quality meals to victims and first responders in the wake of emergencies in 27 states and 10 countries, responding to more than 134 disasters.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, the nonprofit has dished out 7 million meals with the help of 10,000 community volunteers.

They recently deployed to Dallas, Texas, where a severe cold weather event left millions without electricity, water, or food—and began serving meals yesterday.

“When our friends at Gateway Church called to ask for our help, we immediately said ‘yes,’” said the group on their website.

“We’ve now transported our commercial-grade resources, including industrial power generators and water filtration systems, to serve the residents of the Dallas/Fort Worth area as they recover from this vicious winter storm.”

Founder Gary LeBlanc was spurred to action by what he witnessed while volunteering in his hometown of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. “The devastation was so intense and widespread. I saw first-hand the incredible difference a hot meal could make.”

But with 35 years in the hospitality industry he was disturbed by the quality of food being served.

“I became inspired to the point of distraction by the idea of serving high-quality food in a disaster zone. Little did I know how far that distraction would lead… and Mercy Chefs now has three mobile kitchens and two refrigerated trailers.”

“To hit this milestone–10 million meals–is simply remarkable,” said LeBlanc. “This past year has been devastating for so many people, and we feel blessed to have been able to play a small role in bringing people comfort through food. We could not have gotten here without our incredible staff, volunteers, and donors answering the call to serve others.”

The group uses coronavirus response distribution locations it has set up around the country, where Mercy Chefs works with food distributors and volunteers to supplement the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program with more meals.

Mercy Chefs also has served free food to hospital workers in recent months who are on the front lines of the pandemic throughout Hampton Roads, Virginia, and Panama City, Florida.

In addition to COVID-19 relief, Mercy Chefs deployed to places in 2020 following natural disasters, including Hurricanes Hanna and Laura, the derecho in Iowa, and the recent tornado in Alabama. Mercy Chefs repeatedly has returned to Panama City to serve those still affected by Hurricane Michael.

To support and learn more about Gary and his Mercy Chefs, visit www.mercychefs.com.

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This Week’s Inspiring Horoscopes From Rob Brezsny’s ‘Free Will Astrology’

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Good News Network

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Feb 20, 2021

Our friend Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week beginning February 19, 2021
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Ancient Greek playwright Euripides was popular and influential—and remains so to this day, 2,400 years later. But there’s a curiously boring aspect in five of his plays, Andromache, Alcestis, Helen, Medea, and The Bacchae. They all have the same exact ending: six lines, spoken by a chorus, that basically say the gods are unpredictable. Was Euripides lazy? Trying too hard to drive home the point? Or were the endings added later by an editor? Scholars disagree. The main reason I’m bringing this to your attention is to encourage you to avoid similar behavior. I think it’s very important that the stories you’re living right now have different endings than all the stories of your past.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Atheists like to confront religious people with accusations like this: “If God is so good, why does he allow suffering in the world?” Their simplistic, childish idea of God as some sort of moral policeman is ignorant of the lush range of rumination about the Divine as offered down through the ages by poets, novelists, philosophers, and theologians. For example, poet Stéphane Mallarmé wrote, “Spirit cares for nothing except universal musicality.” He suggested that the Supreme Intelligence is an artist making music and telling stories. And as you know, music and stories include all human adventures, not just the happy stuff. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Aries, because the coming weeks will be a favorable time to honor and celebrate the marvelously rich stories of your own life—and to feel gratitude for the full range of experience with which they have blessed you. PS: Now is also a favorable phase to rethink and reconfigure your answers to the Big Questions.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Blogger Rachel C. Lewis confides, “I love being horribly straightforward. I love sending reckless text messages and telling people I love them and telling people they are absolutely magical humans and I cannot believe they really exist. I love saying, ‘Kiss me harder,’ and ‘You’re a good person,’ and, ‘You brighten my day.'” What would your unique version of Lewis’s forthrightness be like, Taurus? What brazen praise would you offer? What declarations of affection and care would you unleash? What naked confessions might you reveal? The coming days will be a favorable time to explore these possibilities.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
It’s a good time to become more of who you are by engaging with more of what you are not. Get in the mood for this heroic exercise by studying the following rant by Gemini poet Adam Zagajewski (who writes in Polish), translated by Gemini poet Clare Cavanaugh: “Read for yourselves, read for the sake of your inspiration, for the sweet turmoil in your lovely head. But also read against yourselves, read for questioning and impotence, for despair and erudition, read the dry, sardonic remarks of cynical philosophers. Read those whose darkness or malice or madness or greatness you can’t yet understand, because only in this way will you grow, outlive yourself, and become what you are.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
You’re on the verge of breakthroughs. You’re ready to explore frontiers, at least in your imagination. You’re brave enough to go further and try harder than you’ve been able to before. With that in mind, here’s a highly apropos idea from Cancerian novelist Tom Robbins. He writes, “If you take any activity, any art, any discipline, any skill, take it and push it as far as it will go, push it beyond where it has ever been before, push it to the wildest edge of edges, then you force it into the realm of magic.” (I might use the word “coax” or “nudge” instead of “force” in Robbins’ statement.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
In her story Homelanding, Margaret Atwood writes, “Take me to your trees. Take me to your breakfasts, your sunsets, your bad dreams, your shoes. Take me to your fingers.” I’d love you to express requests like that. It’s a favorable time for you to delve deeper into the mysteries of people you care about. You will generate healing and blessings by cultivating reverent curiosity and smart empathy and crafty intimacy. Find out more about your best allies.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
You’re about to reach the end of your phase of correction and adjustment. To mark this momentous transition, and to honor your ever-increasing ability to negotiate with your demons, I offer you the following inspirational proclamation by poet Jeannette Napolitano: “I don’t want to look back in five years’ time and think, ‘We could have been magnificent, but I was afraid.’ In five years, I want to tell of how fear tried to cheat me out of the best thing in life, and I didn’t let it.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
It’s not a good time for you to be obsessed with vague abstractions, fear-based fantasies, and imaginary possibilities. But it is a favorable phase to rise up in behalf of intimate, practical changes. At least for now, I also want to advise you not to be angry and militant about big, complicated issues that you have little power to affect. On the other hand, I encourage you to get inspired and aggressive about injustices you can truly help fix and erroneous approaches you can correct and close-at-hand dilemmas for which you can summon constructive solutions.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
“The most beautiful things are those that madness prompts and reason writes,” declared author André Gide. As a writer myself, I will testify to the truth of that formulation. But what about those of you who aren’t poets and novelists and essayists? Here’s how I would alter Gide’s statement to fit you: “The most beautiful things are those that rapture prompts and reason refines.” Or maybe this: “The most beautiful things are those that experimentation finds and reason uses.” Or how about this one: “The most beautiful things are those that wildness generates and reason enhances.” Any and all of those dynamics will be treasures for you in the coming weeks.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
The poet Nayyirah Waheed has some advice I want you to hear. She writes, “Be easy. Take your time. You are coming home to yourself.” I will add that from my astrological perspective, the coming weeks will indeed be a time for you to relax more deeply into yourself—to welcome yourself fully into your unique destiny; to forgive yourself for what you imagine are your flaws; to not wish you were someone else pursuing a different path; to be at peace and in harmony with the exact life you have.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
“The chief object of education is not to learn things but to unlearn things,” wrote author G. K. Chesterton. He was exaggerating for dramatic effect when he said that, as he often did. The more nuanced truth is that one of the central aims of education is to learn things, and another very worthy aim is to unlearn things. I believe you are currently in a phase when you should put an emphasis on unlearning things that are irrelevant and meaningless and obstructive. This will be excellent preparation for your next phase, which will be learning a lot of useful and vitalizing new things.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) ultimately became one of the 20th century’s most renowned composers. But his career had a rough start. Symphony No. 1, his first major work, was panned by critics, sending him into a four-year depression. Eventually he recovered. His next major composition, Piano Concerto No. 2, was well-received. I don’t anticipate that your rookie offerings or new work will get the kind of terrible reviews that Rachmaninoff’s did. But at least initially, there may be no great reviews, and possibly even indifference. Keep the faith, my dear. Don’t falter in carrying out your vision of the future. The rewards will come in due time.

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

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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New XPRIZE Funded by Elon Musk Will Award $100 Million For Top Carbon Removal Ideas to Address Climate Crisis

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Good News Network

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Feb 20, 2021

Elon Musk XPrize Carbon Capture mashup website — XPRIZE Elon Musk

The largest incentive prize in history was announced this month to inspire innovators to develop and scale carbon removal solutions that combat climate change.

The nonprofit XPRIZE, which sponsors design competitions to solve humanity’s greatest challenges, will award $100,000,000 for the top 3 carbon removal innovations.

The contest, funded by Elon Musk is looking for the best solutions that can pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or oceans and lock it away permanently in an environmentally benign way. To win the competition, teams must demonstrate a rigorous, validated scale model of their solution at a level of carbon removal of 1 ton of CO2 per day, and further must demonstrate to a team of judges the ability of their solution to economically scale to gigaton levels.

The objective of this XPRIZE is to “collectively achieve the 10 gigaton per year carbon removal target by 2050, to help fight climate change and restore the Earth’s carbon balance.”

“We want to make a truly meaningful impact. Carbon negativity, not neutrality. The ultimate goal is scalable carbon extraction that is measured based on the ‘fully considered cost per ton’ which includes the environmental impact,” said Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. “This is not a theoretical competition; we want teams that will build real systems that can make a measurable impact and scale to a gigaton level. Whatever it takes. Time is of the essence

Peter Diamandis, the Founder and Executive Chairman of XPRIZE said, “We want to see them built, tested, and validated. We hope this XPRIZE will activate the public and private sectors to get involved in the same way that the $10M Ansari XPRIZE brought about the commercial spaceflight industry.”

“For humanity to reach the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the Earth’s temperature rise to no more than 1.5˚(C) of pre-industrial levels, or even 2˚(C), we need bold, radical tech innovation and scale up that goes beyond limiting CO2 emissions, but actually removes CO2 already in the air and oceans. If humanity continues on a business-as-usual path, the global average temperature could increase 6˚(C) by the year 2100.”

The full competition guidelines will be announced on April 22nd, 2021, which is also Earth Day. On that same day team registration will begin and the competition will last for 4 years through Earth Day 2025.

The $100 million in prize purses will be distributed in the following manner, under these guidelines:

The 15 top teams selected will receive $1 million each, and $80M awards will be distributed as follows: Grand prize Winner (1st Place) wins $50 million, 2nd Place takes home $20 million, and 3rd Place gets $10M.

A total of twenty-five $200,000 student scholarships will also be distributed to student teams competing.

Teams can submit entries across natural, engineer and hybrid solutions. Judges in the competition will evaluate the teams based upon four basic criteria:

A working carbon removal prototype that can be rigorously validated capable of removing at least 1 ton per day.
The team’s ability to demonstrate to the judges that their solution can economically scale to the gigaton level.
The main metric for this competition is fully considered cost per ton, inclusive of whatever considerations are necessary for environmental benefit, permanence, any value-added products; and
The final criteria is the length of time that the removed carbon is locked up for. A minimum goal of 100 years is desired.

“Our Earth’s changing climate is a fundamental threat to humanity. But it’s not too late if we take action NOW,” said Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPRIZE. “By partnering with Elon and the Musk Foundation, the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition is inviting the teams to make history and become our climate heroes by reshaping our future.

MORE: MIT Engineers Unveil ‘Revolutionary’ Carbon Capture Tech to Absorb CO2 Using ‘Significantly’ Less Energy and Money

The group calls it a great fit for carbon removal because there are so many ways to pull CO2 out of the air and our oceans. “We expect to see approaches like engineered direct air capture, mineralization and enhanced weathering, natural solutions based on plants, trees, or ocean-focused solutions. We want as many viable scalable demonstrations now so we can all help the best solutions get to deployment as soon as possible.”

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National Love Your Pet Day: People Will Do Just About Anything For Their Pups Says New Survey

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Good News Network

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Feb 20, 2021

dog smiling pubdomain pexels-Anna Shvets — Anna Shvets

From snake attacks to jumping into oncoming traffic, one in three dog-owners have put themselves in harm’s way to save their four-legged friend, a new survey found.

In a new poll, Americans say they’ve pulled off some daring rescues—climbing scaffolding at construction sites and diving into frozen pools—to save their dogs.

One dog owner reported getting in between their hound and another angry canine, while another took an electric shock from exposed wiring before their pup got too close.

In advance of National Love Your Pet Day on February 20, a study of 2,000 American dog-owners examined all the ways respondents show their love for their pooch and found that 72% said they would gladly put themselves in harm’s way to save their dog.

It’s no surprise since nearly four in five (78%) consider them a full-fledged member of the family.

For some it could be the most important relationship in the household. Of those respondents married or in a relationship (79%) over half (53%) admitted to kissing their doggie more than their partner.

The survey commissioned by JustFoodForDogs and conducted by OnePoll revealed that three in five adults surveyed (61%) concluded they prefer their dog to some people they know.

Forty-seven percent said they knew the names of the dogs in their neighborhood but not their owners.

All this quality time with Fido had some respondents saying they have been accused of spoiling their dog (70%), but they don’t care.

65 percent think of spoiling their pooch as a form of self-care—and 63% reported they are better about scheduling their dog’s vet appointments than their own doctor visits.

Results also explored the little ways respondents show their affection for their dog. Half of the group let their dog sleep in bed with them and have no problem with them lounging on the couch. One in three (34%) even let their four-legged friend follow them into the bathroom while using the toilet or showering.

Howling Holidays

A third of respondents (34%) said they’ve cooked a Thanksgiving meal just for fido—and don’t want to leave them out of the other major holidays either.

Forty-seven percent have dressed up their pup for Halloween and included their dog in the holiday photoshoot (also 47%). A quarter of these dogs have their own Christmas stocking, too.

One in four (28%) bought their dog a Valentine’s Day gift to show their love and 37% have thrown them a birthday party.

WATCH: Clever Australian Shepherd Appears to Outsmart Owner, So He Can Get Two Treats

Over half have cooked meals specifically for their dog and seven in ten want their pooch to eat just as well if not better than they do.

“The survey results reflect what we see every day: people view their pets as members of their family,” said Shawn Buckley, Founder of JustFoodForDogs. “Our pets bring us so much joy, and while they ask for little in return, we only want the best for them and cooking a nutritionally-balanced meal from fresh whole food demonstrates just that.”

TOP ACTS OF LOVE FOR A DOG

Let them sleep in bed with owner 49%
Get up on the couch 46%
Make them their own dinner with human food 46%
Let them sit on owner’s lap 44%
Let them into the bathroom while owner uses toilet or showers 34%
Purchased custom decorations that look like their dog 31%
Made Christmas/holiday cards that feature the dog 28%
Let them take up more room on the bed/couch than owner 26%
Share water with the dog 13%

TOP METHODS TO CELEBRATE WITH A DOG

Dressed up dog in a Halloween costume 47%
Included dog in holiday photoshoots 47%
Thrown their dog a birthday party 37%
Made dog a Thanksgiving dinner 34%
Bought their dog a Valentine’s day gift 28%
Dog has their own Christmas stocking 27%

SHARE With Your Own Story of Love on Social Media for Love Your Pets Day…

“At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough.” – Toni Morrison

Quote of the Day

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Good News Network

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Feb 20, 2021

woman overlooking valley nature exercise beauty-Dannii Coughlan — -Dannii Coughlan

Quote of the Day: “At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough.” – Toni Morrison

Photo: Dannii Coughlan

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

D-Day Hero’s Lost Postcard Finally Delivered to his Family 77 Years After Being Sent

By

Andy Corbley

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Feb 19, 2021

Bill Caldwell supplied Family of Bill Caldwell (1) — Bill Caldwell

In 1943, Royal Navy Bill Caldwell wrote a postcard to his uncle Fred, enclosed it in an envelope with a picture, and instructed the Royal Mail to “post early in the day.”

77 years and 7 months later, and that same postcard has finally arrived at the Liverpool doorstep of his family home to the shock and delight of his children.

The Royal Mail admitted they hadn’t the faintest idea of why it took so long for delivery, but posited that perhaps it had been found and reposted by someone.

Having joined on to train with the HMS Raleigh stationed at Torpoint, Cornwall, Caldwell’s first message back from the military was simple, and typical of a man who his children remember as someone who didn’t ever send letters or postcards.

“Well I am in blue at last. I did not think it would be like this—you don’t get much time for yourself, do you?

“But I like it alright.

“I will write a letter to you all when I get half a chance so will you hold on a bit? I have 19 weeks here yet.

“Give my love to everyone. Love, Bill.”

The most surreal thing

Caldwell would go on to man a minesweeper during the D-Day landings, travel all over the Pacific, visit Japan, and carry prisoners of war back to Australia. His naval career concluded with four medals.

MORE: These Women Have Been Penpals for 70 Years, Forging a True Friendship From 10,000 Miles Away

“It was the most surreal thing on a Friday night to suddenly read a postcard that dad had written 77 years ago when he was training to be a sailor in the Navy,” his daughter Joanna Creamer told the BBC.

None of his six children live in the family home, but a distant relative, the stepson of their cousin Dan—Caldwell’s nephew, does. It was this stepson who alerted Dan, who sent a picture of the postcard to one of the children, Jane, who shared it in a family WhatsApp group.

Another of Caldwell’s daughters, 58-year-old Elizabeth, said, according to Yahoo!, “It’s a crazy story and it’s hard to believe. My mum wrote letters and postcards but Dad never wrote. To actually see his handwriting was beautiful.”

“He had such an impact on us and our kids he was such a great role model,” Elizabeth added. “Mum wrote on his gravestone ‘A Liverpool gentleman’ and that’s what he was. He would give anyone the time of day and that’s why it’s so magical to get this glimpse of him.”

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Get Paid $3,200 to Create Art on This Remote Michigan Island for 3 Weeks

By

Judy Cole

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Feb 19, 2021

rabbit island residency supplied rabbit island residency — RabbitIsland.org

If you’re an artist who’s always dreamed of getting your Gaugin on with an immersive island getaway where you can fully indulge yourself in all things nature, you just might be in luck.

Located a few miles east of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior, Rabbit Island may not be Tahiti, but it does boast 91 forested acres of practically pristine paradise and the call for its annual artist’s residency program is now open.

Three lucky applicants will score three-week residencies scheduled to take place sometime from mid-June to mid-September of this year.

If that’s not inspiration enough, the Rabbit Island Foundation is also offering a $3,200 stipend to sweeten the pot. (Past recipients have used the funds to facilitate research, cover travel expenses, purchase supplies, and procure materials.)

Per their website, the Rabbit Island Residency, launched in 2010 “is a platform to investigate, expand, and challenge creative practices in a remote environment. By living and working on Rabbit Island residents engage directly with the landscape and respond to notions of conservation, ecology, sustainability, and resilience.”

Rabbit Island is comprised of a native ecosystem that’s never been developed or subdivided—and is held in trust so that it never will be. Bald eagles share the tree-filled landscape with indigenous reptiles, nesting birds, salamanders, salmon, and native lake trout.

While it’s a glorious untamed environment, it’s likely not suited to anyone who can’t do without creature comforts, doesn’t have previous camping experience, or can’t cope with the whims of changing weather. (Intermittent wind and rain are normal; water temperature ranges from 48° to 68° F; air temperature ranges from 40° to 90° F.)

Resident accommodations come in the form of two multi-purpose three-sided shelters as well as tents and camping gear. The only fully enclosed space is a wood-fired sauna.

Wifi/cell phone service? Check. Kitchen and library? Check. Open-air studios with tools and equipment? Check. Indoor plumbing? Can you say, “outhouse?”

LOOK: Mississippi City Will Pay You a Monthly Stipend and Relocation Costs to Move There

To commemorate and promote the residency, the Rabbit Island Foundation annually creates a publication featuring the work and research of each resident and also promotes extensively via its social media channels and online archive.

Not a Post-Impressionist? No worries. The call is open to “visual artists of all disciplines, as well as writers, poets, architects, designers, musicians, filmmakers, composers, and choreographers.” In addition to individual applications, small collaborative groups are also encouraged to apply.

Interested creative types who think communing with nature would be the perfect way to get their artistic juices flowing can check out the Rabbit Island 2021 Residency Program Application Guide for more details.

CHECK OUT: 91-Year-Old Lands Her Dream Job as a Designer in Silicon Valley

The submission deadline is March 14, 2021, and there’s a $20 (USD) entry fee. All entries must be tendered via Submittable. Good luck!

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Volunteers in Texas Saved Thousands Of Sea Turtles From The Shocking Cold Weather

By

Andy Corbley

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Feb 19, 2021

In the midst of a mind-bogglingly severe cold snap, heroic efforts are being made in Texas by warm-blooded animals to save thousands of their cold-blooded neighbors who lack the ability to fend off the freezing temperatures.

Volunteers at Sea Turtle Inc. rehabilitation center and among the local community on South Padre Island in the Gulf have so far rescued more than 4,900 sea turtles from death by “cold stunning”—an event that causes the turtles to fall into comatose if the water drops below 50° Fahrenheit.

My mom is retired, & she spends her winters volunteering at a sea turtle rescue center in south Texas. The cold snap is stunning the local turtles & they’re doing a lot of rescues. She sent me this photo today of the back of her Subaru. It’s *literally* turtles all the way down. pic.twitter.com/xaDRNjLDoQ
— Lara (@lara_hand) February 15, 2021

The normally balmy lagoon off the south tip of Texas is a place where sea turtles live year-round, a rarity for the migratory species, but the area lost power earlier in the week.

Volunteers’ efforts had by Tuesday already managed to scoop up 1,700 turtles, lining them up in rows on tarps in a nearby convention center that was donated for an emergency space. The community tried to help the turtles out of their comatose state by warming them in kiddy pools. By the end of the day there were 3,500 turtles in the makeshift I’T’CU.

Meanwhile in the Gulf, Texas game wardens used patrol boats to fish out hundreds more that had lost the ability to move their flippers in the cold water. According to an update by Wendy Knight, executive director of Sea Turtle Inc, another thousand cold-stunned turtles had been brought in, including one that was 150 years old and weighed 400 pounds.

Texas Game Wardens assigned to Cameron county rescued 141 sea turtles from the frigid waters of the Brownsville Ship Channel and surrounding bays. The sea turtles were transported via the PV Murchison, operated by Sgt. Game Warden Duke and B/M Bowers-Vest. pic.twitter.com/LqFBrElTog
— Texas Game Warden (@TexasGameWarden) February 17, 2021

“The love and support of people who just want to help things that can’t help themselves is overwhelming,” Knight told NPR.

“It is a huge, huge community effort,” Gina McLellan, a 71-year-old retired professor and volunteer, told The Washington Post. “We very often don’t even think about the [cold’s] impact on animals, because we’re so worried about our own electricity and water. With this kind of event, it’s a classic display of humanity toward animals.”

SpaceX to the rescue

SpaceX’s Boca Chica launch facility came Tuesday night and delivered a massive commercial generator to Sea Turtle Inc, which they used to power the heating of their enormous tanks and the equipment in their hospital.

“This kind of reach out from our community sponsors at SpaceX, there are no words to explain the gratitude we have,” Knight said on a Facebook video update. “They came to us in our darkest hour of need, and got us a generator that was complex to find, and even more complex to wire into our system.”

SpaceX employees actually rescued nearly another thousand turtles all on their own.

MORE: New Technology for Saving Endangered Sea Turtles Uses Decoy GPS Eggs to Catch Poachers – And it Works

After the power came back, Knight discovered that the storm had damaged or ruined all 10 of the heaters and coolers used for the large community tanks, and so Sea Turtle Inc. has started a fundraiser so that they can make repairs or afford replacements. They’ve currently raised 25% of their target goal.

We have surpassed more than 4,900 cold-stun sea turtles in the largest recorded cold-stun event in history. These endangered sea turtles are our number #1 priority your support and encouragement has been overwhelming. Donate here to support our efforts: https://t.co/9ajzm5oTTv pic.twitter.com/dEqu4Q8xtS
— Sea Turtle, Inc. (@SeaTurtleInc) February 19, 2021

Yesterday, Knight gave another video update in which she described Thursday as “a calm quiet day” at the makeshift hospital for the cold-stunned turtles.

She noted that they had lived through the largest cold-stunning event in recorded history, and it would have been “Armageddon” if not for the enormous influx of volunteer time, money, and other resources. Cheers to everyone who got involved with this herculean effort to help the sea turtles.

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Villagers Create Amazing Nighttime Window Displays to Cheer Up Neighbors – 500 So Far (LOOK)

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Good News Network

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Feb 19, 2021

window light art cotwalds SWNS featured — SWNS

Cotswold villagers have been busy creating colorful nighttime window displays to cheer up the neighbors’ who are on their daily walks during lockdown.

Around 500 windows in the picturesque English town of Wotton-under-Edge have been transformed, with residents decorating their windows in bright, ornate, and often touching designs.

It all started when hundreds of families signed up for the Wotton Window Wanderland event. This year’s theme? Celebrating community. The aim? Raising people’s spirits during the pandemic.

Organized by Martin Clarke, this is thought to currently be the country’s biggest outdoor art show.

People hope their parade of ‘painted’ windows will inspire other places around the world to put on their own Covid-safe, community-friendly art galleries.

We’ve curated photographs of some of our favorite artworks below—and you can see all of the designs on the event’s Instagram page.

If you’d like to learn how to make similar window displays, you could look up Japanese paper lightbox art online (there are tutorials on Pinterest). Get ready to be inspired.

Tribute to one of the NHS Heroes…

Birds in flight and happy times…

The simple things that matter…

Honor the arts…

The healing power of nature…

And, pets peering out the window…

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See How a Teacher Broke the World Record for Largest Single Drawing Made By One Person

By

Andy Corbley

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Feb 19, 2021

crayola ideaworks big drawing released crayola — Crayola

A Philly art teacher has set a new world record—creating the largest single drawing by an individual at 6,509 square feet.

At the Crayola IDEAworks exhibition, Dyymond Whipper-Young has made her piece 400 square feet larger than the work of previous world record holder—Italian artist FRA!—who completed a drawing in 2020 that was 6,100 square feet in size.

The IDEAworks exhibition is being held at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and tests visitors’ creativity by using Crayola products to sketch, draw, and doodle the answers to questions like how to regenerate a coral reef and how to build a sustainable town.

“I really believe that creativity is in all of us, and with this exhibition, the drawing, the purpose is to inspire people to find their own creative pulse,” said Whipper-Young, who took an impreessive 63 hours, spread over five days, to complete the piece. “I’m… super grateful to be able to showcase my own art as well.”

(WATCH the video below to see how Whipper-Young made her *giant* mark.)

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“With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.” – Dalai Lama

Quote of the Day

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Good News Network

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Feb 19, 2021

Quote of the Day: “With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.” – Dalai Lama

Photo: Oliver Sjöström

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?