Quote of the Day: “The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order.” – Alfred North Whitehead
Photo: by Abigail Keenan – public domain
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?
A new piece of legislation introduced and passed in Virginia’s State House aims to optimize solar and offshore wind resources as a way of replacing fossil fuels like coal, to offer cleaner—and cheaper—energy to the population.
The Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) is the largest sustainable energy bill ever introduced in the commonwealth. The bill moves to transition Virginia’s energy economy to 100% renewables by 2050—one of Governor Ralph Northam’s campaign pledges.
The two affected power companies, Dominion Energy and American Electric Power, have until 2045 to retire electric generation powered by fuels that emit carbon dioxide as a byproduct.
Companies that fail to meet these 100% renewable timelines will have to pay a deficiency tax or purchase carbon offset certificates.
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To try and safeguard workers from being laid off due to these deficiency costs, or to provide opportunities for workers who do lose their jobs, the VCEA would take some of the deficiency payments and deposit them into a fund that would finance new training programs for a renewable energy workforce for the modern grid.
“Beginning in 2026 and every three years thereafter, the Commission is required to adjust the required energy efficiency goals for the successive three years,” reads the legislation. Efficiency is part of the VCEA plan to reduce power costs for middle and low-income houses in the state, which legislators hope will amount to $3,500 dollars in savings over 30 years.
Furthermore, monthly rate caps of 6% for power will be placed on low-income earners and families as part of the Percentage of Income Payment Program that will help ensure the grid transition doesn’t burn the pockets of Virginia’s most financially vulnerable.
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The VCEA wants to expand consumer ownership and decentralization of the grid by encouraging more rooftop PV solar panels. This will help speed the transition to 100% renewable by reducing grid demands and increasing grid robustness.
The reason rooftop solar can contribute to these goals is by allowing homeowners to generate some of the power they need, while sending the rest into the grid. Each time a new house is powered by solar panels, more renewable energy is available to everyone else in the grid, representing something similar to the Social Security welfare system, but for electricity.
This has the added benefit of increasing grid durability, since there will be many-fold more generators of power for plants to draw from decreasing the chance that things like natural disasters—the 2011 Virginia earthquake, for example—will topple the grid and knock out power for everyone.
According to Lake Research Partners, 73% of Virginians want state lawmakers to move towards advanced energy investments outlined within the VCEA, and it makes good economic sense for the average family in one of the union’s wealthiest states.
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A surgical procedure that was just undertaken at the Beilinson Hospital in Israel could change the way cancers are treated.
For the operation, a man’s lung was removed, cleaned of cancerous tumors, and placed right back again—something that’s only been done a few times in history.
The patient, who was in his mid-40s, was hospitalized after a tumor in his left lung blocked the main artery, leading to its collapse. Upon admittance to the Rabin Medical Centre in Petah Tikva, doctors originally thought that his lung would need to be re-sectioned while he embarked upon the dangerous road of waiting for a transplant.
However, the new procedure has the benefit of not only avoiding the sometimes years of deterioration that patients in need of lung transplants have to endure before a suitable donor is found, but also saves them from the ravages of chemotherapy.
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A large team of surgeons, anesthesiologists, and technicians were prepared for and participated in the surgery, one that requires several hours and is exceedingly complex.
“If we were to have simply cut out the lung alone, awaiting a transplant, the patient’s condition would continue to be life-threatening,” Dr. Yuri Faischowitz, Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Unit at Beilinson told Dr. Itai Gal of Ynet News.
During the operation, the man continued to breathe out of his good lung while his other was disconnected, cleansed from the tumor, and reconnected after inflating it as a way of making certain it was still working and the tissue was still healthy.
“The new method may change the way patients treat cancer in the world,” says Prof. Dan Arav, who participated in the surgery along with Faischowitz. And it can be applied to other organs and other forms of cancer.
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Lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, but death rates of the malady have gone down worldwide since the 1990s. This new procedure may offer hope to patients who would have have had few options before.
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Many people would be familiar with the idea of Native American-owned casinos—but what about movie studios?
Last year, the Tesque Pueblo Tribe of New Mexico was looking to move out of their old casino building into a bigger space—and while in the process, they realized the 75,000-square-foot facility that they were leaving behind would make a perfect movie studio.
Thus was born the first ever Native American-owned production studio and location set in history: Camel Rock Studios—where the Tom Hanks post-Civil War drama News of the World was filmed
Located in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico, the beautiful plot of Tesque Pueblo land has now been the backdrop for over 20 films that needed its rolling desert hills, including Cowboy and The Man from Laramie.
The Pueblo of Tesuque Development Corporation has invested $50 million in expanding the facilities at Camel Rock Studios to include a movie ranch with standing sets, prop studios, a filming-equipped water tank, and 1,000 parking spots, which anyone who has been part of a movie production would agree is a huge plus.
“Casinos, inherently, if you take out all the games, are big empty spaces,” Timothy Brown president and CEO of the Pueblo of Tesuque Development Corporation told Variety. “So we had an events center that we did concerts in and large parties that was a big vacant space. Once we removed all the casino equipment and furniture from the casino area, that became another large vacant space, and then with any business we had an entire administrative area with cubicles and offices that became perfect for their offices to move in.”
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Along with Hollywood’s enduring love of western films, Camel Rock and the Tesque Pueblo Nation are looking to take advantage of a filming boom in New Mexico, with recent successes behind shows like Breaking Bad luring more projects to the area.
“You don’t realize it but this area looks like a lot of places in the world…especially the Middle-East, with the mountains and how rugged it is,” Brown added, explaining the Tribe’s thinking.
Netflix even made Albuquerque its U.S. production hub, purchasing Albuquerque Studios as part of a plan to spend $100 million in filming and production for original material in the state over the next 10 years.
MORE: One of Largest Native American Tribes Just Voted to End Their 100-Year Dependency on Coal
Pueblo of Tesuque Governor Robert Mora, Sr. said that he hopes the economic benefit from the studio will go toward much-needed healthcare projects for the Tribe, such as a universal coverage option.
“The other thing I’m hoping is that one of the big film companies will find a good home here so they’re not searching for locations. Here you have one-third of New Mexico to work with,” said Mora.
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A Chinese company has shipped crates containing tens of thousands of respirator masks to Italy in her time of need.
And it has done so with the artistic flair of a true Italian romantic.
Consumer technology giant Xiaomi mailed the shipment to the Italian Civil Protection Department, and they stapled to the side of the crates an ancient line of poetry from the Roman philosopher Seneca:
We are waves from the same sea, leaves from the same tree, and flowers from the same garden.
Siamo onde dello stesso mare, foglie dello stesso albero, fiori dello stesso giardino
The European country has had a terrible time of the pandemic, and Xiaomi International (pronounced Sheeow-mee) announced the donation on its Facebook page March 5, saying the company felt a responsibility to a market which had welcomed them so warmly when the smartphone maker expanded into Italy two years ago.
“Since we arrived two years ago, we have felt loved and deeply integrated into the life of the country. This is also why we felt the duty to support Italy in the management of the COVID-19 epidemic, by donating a first important quantity of FFP3 masks.”
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They also uploaded the photos showing the lovingly prepared crates in their post.
The company’s chief financial officer called it a “source of great pride” to be able to offer the help, and praised the Italian government’s “excellent job for the benefit of the whole community.”
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Medical shortages of masks, test kits, respirators, and other goods are one of the major reasons why a country might find it difficult to control an outbreak, and the quality of the FFP3 masks sent from Xiaomi are the most effective available.
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As a particularly mystical part of Great Britain that is home to a rich collection of folkloric fables (they even have a dragon on their flag), Wales is exactly the place you’d want to go if you were looking to find an enchanted woodland.
Now, a new initiative led by Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford is set to turn a large part of Wales back into the kind of magical place described in their beloved history.
The Welsh government is now working to plant a national forest that would run the length and breadth of the land, connecting existing protected woodland environments with large scale tree-planting projects meant to restore natural Wales and fight climate change.
“We have a responsibility to future generations to protect nature from the dangers of our changing climate, but a healthy natural environment will also offer protection to our communities from the dangers we ourselves face,” Drakeford said.
Additionally, ancient hardwood forests of Europe provide other valuable ecosystem services like the storing of carbon from the atmosphere in their roots. These deep root systems also secure the soil and prevent erosion which can degrade local waterways and shorelines.
The forests will also provide habitat for endangered iconic Welsh animals, like the black grouse, Scottish wildcat, red squirrel, and the magnificent capercaillie.
“The National Forest will be a Wales-wide asset, and communities across the country will be able to take part,” said Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government Hannah Blythyn.
The inspiration for the project was drawn from a hiking trail that attracts millions of tourists every year called the Wales Coast Path—and the maps will be drawn up over the coming months by businesses, landowners, and other interested parties.
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£5 million ($5.7 million) has been allocated to complete the project, while another £10 million will go towards accompanied tree-planting programs through the Glastir farm grants program.
The Glastir Grants are one of a number of pieces of legislation meant to put a stop to diminishing natural wilderness, resources, and wildlife in the country while also attempting to modernize the agricultural sector in the face of a changing climate.
Farmers can apply for Glastir grants if they undertake tree-planting operations, or projects that prevent flooding, secure and regenerate soil quality or wildlife, or improve the farming and husbandry standards for domesticated animals and plants—and even when they restore heritage tourism opportunities.
RELATED: Scientists Use Recycled Sewage Water to Grow 500-Acre Forest in the Middle of Egyptian Desert
Mr. Drakeford visited Gnoll Country Park in Neath, where the UK’s Woodland Trust is currently creating the largest new woodland in the charity’s history called the Brynau Wood, saying it will be an “amazing place for people to enjoy healthy outdoor exercise” as well as a mark towards a “healthier, more resilient environment”.
This is just one of a handful of large-scale projects aimed at restoring or protecting Welsh wilderness. Last week, work began on planting 1 million seagrass seeds off the Welsh coast in order to restore Welsh seagrass beds—a coastal marine plant that soaks up many times more carbon than trees.
“While the plan to create a National Forest for Wales is a Welsh government initiative, the Woodland Trust is very much in support of this,” Rory Francis, Communications Officer at Woodland Trust told GNN. “We were actually working to promote the idea even before the Welsh government and the First Minister personally, adopted the idea.”
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Brynau Wood is not Woodland Trust’s first foray into Welsh forests. In 2016 they purchased one of the country’s oldest woodlands, the Coed Felinrhyd rainforest in Snowdonia, an ancient oak forest dating from the last ice age and named in Mabinogion—the 12th century Welsh mythological story.
Woodland Trust also manages another forest called Coed y Felin, a new native-species woodland where announcement of the project was celebrated on March 12, as an example of what kind of forests will be included in the national forest.
Speaking to BBC, Prof. Mary Gagen, a climate scientist at the University of Swansea said that the national forest project was a genuinely positive announcement.
MORE: In World’s First Telethon to Fight Climate Crisis, Denmark Raises Millions to Plant Trees
“But what’s great is that this project also looks at habitat restoration, at retaining the trees we have at the moment, protecting our ancient forests and connecting areas so wildlife can use them,” she said.
Currently the government plans to start planting at a rate of 4,900 acres a year, increasing quickly to 10,000 acres per year.
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Quote of the Day: “Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?” – Friedrich Nietzsche
Photo: by Juan Gomez – public domain
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?
Anyone who pays attention to mainstream media, especially these days, has experienced “scaremongering”—but what about “caremongering”? Even as I write this article my spelling software suggests that I change caremongering into scaremongering—because there has never been such a word.
Well that’s no longer the case, since Toronto residents Mita Hans and Valentina Harper set up the first of what now totals 35 Facebook “Caremongering” groups to help out people in Canada during the coronavirus epidemic in Halifax, Ottawa, Ontario, and Annapolis County, Nova Scotia.
People are joining the groups to either ask for help or offer help—particularly to people most susceptible to or most at-risk of the more serious symptoms of COVID-19.
Between the 30,000 caremongers of the 35 groups, a “Candemic” attitude has served to reinforce the image of the Canadian kindness.
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“Scaremongering is a big problem,” Harper tells the BBC. “We wanted to switch that around and get people to connect on a positive level, to connect with each other.
“It’s spread the opposite of panic in people, brought out community and camaraderie, and allowed us to tackle the needs of those who are at-risk all the time—now more than ever.”
On the Toronto Caremongering Facebook group, 10,000 members regularly write either one of three typical posts: #ISO which stands for “in search of,” #OFFER posts, where people offer goods or services to people trapped in self-isolation, and #SHOPS which gives info about shops that are open or stocked.
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However, there are also discussion posts like introductory video that Harper posted earlier this week about how learning the Cree language can be something that people can do while self-isolating.
“I think there is an international belief that Canadians are so nice,” she said. “And I think there is something Canadian about this because as our population is small as a country, there is a tendency to look out for each other, even if there are a few bad apples who buy all the toilet paper!”
This is just one of many positive stories and updates that GNN is churning out with their COVID-19 news coverage this week. Click here to see more uplifting coverage.
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Heeding health officials’ orders to #StayInYourHouse, you may be, at this point, only telling inside jokes. (Hah!)
But with his 51 million fans on Twitter, Jimmy Fallon was able to pull in responses from all over the globe for his Tonight Show #Hashtags segment, even though he is stuck at home— and he got some of the funniest responses, to date.
While sheltering in place, Fallon has begun producing homemade episodes for YouTube, calling them Tonight Show: At Home Edition. They feature camerawork by his wife, and occasional segments with his two young daughters. (Not only is he raising people’s spirits, he has also raised tens of thousand for a different charity each day, starting with FeedingAmerica.org.)
For his home edition of #Hashtags, Jimmy tweeted to fans asking them to describe their quarantine in six words. Fallon kicked off the hilarious social media trend by describing #MyQuarantineInSixWords: “Fine. You can paint daddy’s nails.”
@Richachoubey joined the fun by summarizing her days at home this way: “Yes Netflix, I am still watching”.
LOL. Here are some of the other brilliant #hashtags from pent-up folks on Twitter…
Oh, how we can RELATE!
And, perhaps the best of all, by MunaNawabit1: Very close to befriending a volleyball. 🤣
MORE LAUGHS: Watch Jimmy Kimmel Prank His Staff By Moving His New Wax Museum Replica Around the Building!
Thanks to Jimmy and The Tonight Show for the images—and making us laugh our sorrows away. See the thread, which is still going strong on Twitter, for more laughs.
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12 innovators have joined food and beverage leaders to tackle one the largest sources of unrecyclable waste: the takeaway coffee cup.
Each year, 250 billion to-go cups that serve coffee and tea from places like Starbucks are produced to satisfy the world’s love of hot drinks on the run. These fiber cups have a thin plastic lining to prevent leaks, and keep water from absorbing into the material—but that also removes any opportunity for the cups to be biodegradable.
The materials are recyclable that create these goblets of goodness and convenience—but only if separated—and combined with the low demand for such resources means it is worth next to nothing.
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In response to this massive challenge, NextGen Consortium, a multi-year partnership led by Starbucks and McDonald’s launched their first big initiative—NextGen Cup.
The first step in NexGen Cup was an open design competition where innovators submitted ideas for sleeves, straws, cups, lids, liners, and other components of the hot-cold fiber takeaway coffee cup that would make it reusable, recyclable, or biodegradable, to eventually be available on a massive scale.
The 12 winners, announced in February 2019, shared a prize of $1 million, as well as personalized scaling-up, growth, and logistical support from members of NextGen Consortium which include other massive companies like Wendy’s, Nestle, and Closed Loop Partners.
Last month they launched two pilot programs at independent coffee shops in California. In one case, customers in San Francisco and Palo Alto were given “smart” reusable cups made mostly from recyclable plastic and printed with RFID chips or QR codes for tracking. They could then drop their empties into collection containers at key locations, for washing and reuse. The tracking can help determine where there is the greatest need for collection containers, and how many are not using them.
RELATED: Lithuania Crowned Best European Recycler After Using an Expansive Program
Like a bike share program but for coffee cups, Cup Club is already replacing millions of takeaway cups in the UK, while Recup in Germany, has implemented a deposit-system that simply adds a small extra fee to any coffee cup which is returned to the buyer after the cup is deposited in any registered collection point.
The second test launched in California is using new compostable and recyclable single-use cups in Oakland.
The NextGen Cup challenge winners included entire take-away cup systems like Game Changer Cup from Finland and Earth Cup from France, and others who tackled the issue of creating a more sustainable or biodegradable cup liner, like Colombier BioBarrier Coating from the Netherlands, and US/Belgium partnership Solenis LLC.
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It’s perhaps a bizarre and somewhat arrogant habit we humans have developed; surrounding our houses with a plant species that isn’t native, doesn’t produce food, and usually requires expensive and sometimes unsustainable amounts of water to keep alive.
We’re talking about lawns, of course; and because 2019 was one of the hottest summers on record, here are some useful tips to getting the most out of your lawn while saving yourself the most money on water and minimizing your impact on local water resources.
Wherever you are in the world, there are plants that have adapted to grow and thrive in the soil and climate you reside in.
For instance, I grew up in zone 7 (find your U.S. zone) in the U.S. mid-Atlantic states, and our back yard (in full sun) was planted with zoysia grass. It tolerates drought and foot traffic from kids and volleyball games, without needing large amounts of fertilizer or much watering at all. It is thick and luscious, and it turns the color of straw in the winter.
Therefore, if you want to save water and still keep your lawn healthy, select a species of grass native to your region, as they will be most resilient to changes in temperature and moisture.
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Alternatively, you can try planting grass species that evolved in regions that receive very little water. In Arizona, residents of Phoenix who prefer a green lawn use midiron grass or Bermuda grass species. The Arizona capital regularly sees temperatures in triple digits, and gets a measly 8 inches of rain a year so drought tolerant grasses help residents save water. Kentucky blue grass is another variety that’s good—especially for seasonal climates that also occasionally suffer droughts.
If you’re trying to create a healthy garden that you don’t have to water often, the U.S. has 18,000 species of native plants, 16,500 of which will flower during the year. Take advantage of this natural diversity and specialization and find which flowers are native to your area with a simple Google search.
Flowering plants have evolved to deal with the challenges of the climate they live in, so not only will they be more resistant to local weather patterns, but more favorable to local species of bees and other pollinators!
In USDA-backed research looking at the limits of utilizing trees for energy efficiencies, researchers found that one large mature tree shading a house can have a “net cooling effect of 10 room-sized air conditioners operating 20 hours a day,” and can save 20 to 50% of the energy used to cool your home. Furthermore, in winter the effect is much the same—by dispersing chilly winds with its branches, large sheltering trees can help reduce your heating costs.
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If these shade tree benefits can be achieved on a home, why not also a garden? If the species you are growing in a pot or in your lawn do well in partial sunlight, consider shading them with a tree, the lack of evaporation from the sun’s heat or from blustery winds will reduce the amount of water they lose.
Saving money and local water resources can be as easy as getting a little smarter with your lawn watering habits. For starters, avoid watering your lawn from 12 noon to 6 pm—the hottest time of the day. Instead, get up around 6 to 8AM, or do so at night. This will prevent the water you use from drying out in the sun and wind.
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Other than that, adjust your sprinkler head so it doesn’t hit the sidewalk, and mow your lawn often. Grass that’s allowed to grow too tall begins to focus its energy elsewhere, resulting in stunted growth and room for weeds to grow. Finally, be careful not to over-water your lawn, as most only need 1 inch per week, spread over a 2-3 days.
Rather than always using the water that comes from the pipes, water that falls from the sky costs nothing and doesn’t deplete any local aquifers. In an area where it does rain sparingly, purchase a rain barrel to collect rain that’s not falling on your lawn or garden to water them with later.
Many cities and counties will pay you to buy a rain barrel or simply distribute one for you if you ask. Check your local regulations and see if they have a rain barrel program. If they offer you a rebate or tax credit for purchasing one go out and buy a pressurized rain barrel system with a cistern or other cool features—it’s on the state’s dime anyway.
This kind of delivery mechanism for your lawn irrigates the roots of the grass directly, rather than relying on the water to come down through the earth. Less water therefore is needed to nourish your lawn because less is wasted from evaporation. While you could hire a contractor to install a drip irrigation system, it makes for an interesting DIY project over a weekend.
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Quote of the Day: “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams.” – Jonas Salk (invented polio vaccine)
Photo: by Spencer Kelly – public domain
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?
Episode #3 of our quarantine-inspired good news podcast: Geri and Anthony talk about the unique ways people are getting toilet paper; the Starbucks-evidence of progress in China; a breakthrough in faster testing for coronavirus; quality quarantine tips for things to do at home—and other good news.
Listen and Subscribe to Episodes on iTunes—or Spotify, here — or, on Podbean…
Email Us: To be on the show or share good news for broadcast: [email protected]
Sign Up for the Good News Morning Email: gnn.to/jolt.
(Guru artwork: JackBurdenDesign.com)
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The Lesson: A strange experiment in wildlife behavior turned into a jaw-dropping lesson on the importance of reassessing our predispositions towards new ideas. In this presentation, Joshua Klein talks about how building a vending machine for crows has helped to teach people about the empowerment of embracing diversity—particularly biological diversity—as we navigate the ever-changing world together with our animal counterparts.
Notable Excerpt: “It turns out, we’ve been finding more and more that crows are really intelligent. Their brains are in the same proportion as chimpanzee brains are. There’s all kinds of anecdotes for the different kinds of intelligence they have. For example, in Sweden, crows will wait for fishermen to drop lines through holes in the ice. And when the fishermen move off, the crows fly down, reel up the lines, and eat the fish or the bait. It’s pretty annoying for the fishermen.”
The Speaker: Joshua Klein is a fervent hacker of all things—including animals and people and the way they behave. After years of pursuing his fascination for crows, he created a vending machine that mutually benefits him and his feathered friends by training them to collect coins in exchange for peanuts. His CrowBox design has tremendous implications for human-animal relationships in the future—and you can even build your own CrowBox using the free, open source instructions on his website.
Podcast: TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas in the form of short, powerful talks and ideas delivered in 18 minutes or less. TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged; today, it covers every topic ranging from science and business to global issues and current events in more than 100 languages. To learn more about TED, check out their website, TED Talks library, Facebook, or YouTube channel.
(WATCH the incredible lecture below)
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Although these popular television shows are filmed with fake medical professionals, they do use real medical supplies—which is why the production crews are donating it all to real hospitals and firefighters combatting the COVID-19 outbreaks.
In an Instagram post from the Ontario Fire Department, firefighters can be seen holding several boxes of protective face masks that were donated by firefighting TV drama Station 19 earlier this week.
Medical supplies from the set of Grey’s Anatomy are also reportedly being donated to hospitals in Los Angeles.
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“At Station 19, we were lucky enough to have about 300 of the coveted N95 masks, which we donated to our local fire station. They were tremendously grateful,” Krista Vernoff, the showrunner for both series, said in a statement to TV Guide.
“At Grey’s Anatomy, we have a backstock of gowns and gloves which we are donating as well,” she added. “We are all overwhelmed with gratitude for our healthcare workers during this incredibly difficult time, and in addition to these donations, we are doing our part to help them by staying home.”
According to TV Guide, Vancouver-based medical drama The Good Doctor is working with local government officials to donate an undisclosed amount of medical supplies from their film set to hospitals and organizations in need.
How @Greysabc and more medical shows are helping healthcare workers amid coronavirus pandemic https://t.co/5GVq9tSerN pic.twitter.com/eNLcZiEAkS
— TV Guide (@TVGuide) March 19, 2020
Atlanta-based TV show The Resident has already donated a heap of unused gloves, gowns, and face masks to the Grady Memorial Hospital.
Hospital rheumatologist Dr. Karen Law thanked the television crew for the donation in an Instagram post that has now been shared hundreds of times.
CHECK OUT: 10 Positive Updates on the COVID-19 Outbreaks From Around the World
“Yesterday, I had a serious discussion with the residents about how, though supplies are low, a magical shipment of masks is unlikely to arrive,” she wrote. “And yet, a magical shipment of masks DID arrive, in the form of this very generous gesture. This kind of community support means so much to our #frontlineproviders who are making many sacrifices to staff our hospitals and care for our community.”
“Thank you, [The Resident] and [Fox TV] for being helpers. We needed this kind of good news today,” she added.
This is just one of many positive stories and updates that are coming out of the COVID-19 news coverage this week. For more uplifting coverage on the outbreaks, click here.
Help Your Friends See The Good News By Sharing This To Social Media – File photo by US Air Force / Senior Airman Nancy Hooks
Hospitals can be scary places for children to endure even without leaving the hallways—those MRI scanners, however, could make it into a real nightmare.
Magnetic resonance imaging tests and CT scans require children to lie still on a metal bed for anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, and the machines usually make loud noises that frighten young patients. Anywhere from 80 to 95% of patients under the age of nine require sedation in order to undergo the ordeal.
For industrial designer Doug Dietz, witnessing the trauma of the young patients was more than he could bear. He first saw the horror it caused one child when he designed an MR scanner for the University of Pittsburgh Hospital.
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“I see this young family coming down the hallway and I can tell as they get closer that the little girl is weeping. As they get even closer to me, I notice the father leans down and just goes ‘remember we talked about this, you can be brave’,” said Dietz in a statement.
As he looked at the room with his precious MR machine, he realized why the child was so scared.
“The room itself is kind of dark and has those flickering fluorescent lights … that machine that I had designed basically looked like a brick with a hole in it.”
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The experience did have a positive outcome, however—it inspired Dietz to create the MR Adventure Discovery Series.
In partnership with GE Healthcare and the University of Pittsburgh Hospital, Dietz redesigned the rooms with the MR scanners to feature “adventure” environments that excited kids, rather than scared them.
The adventures include aromatherapy, calming decorations, and in some cases, disco-ball bubbles that transport patients to another, more imaginative world where simple commands to get the scan done accurately become part of the adventure. In one of the Adventure Series, children are asked to lie down inside of a canoe.
WATCH: Entire Football Stadium Wave to Sick Kids in Children’s Hospital Next Door
“They tell children to hold still so that they don’t rock the boat, and if you really do hold still, the fish will start jumping over the top of you,” Dietz explains.
The Coral City Adventure in the emergency room gives children an underwater experience. It has a disco ball that makes light-like bubbles around the room; children get into a yellow submarine and listen to the sound of harps whilst the procedure takes place. The Cozy Camp adventure gives children the chance to be scanned in a specialized sleeping bag, under a starry sky in an impressive camp setting.
Dietz says that the satisfaction that he gets from the children’s reactions made all of his hard work worth it.
“There is nothing like one of your main customers telling you this is a great idea,” Dietz said in a TED talk. “That probably was the biggest reward I could ever have.”
(This article was originally published by GNN.org in November, 2017.)
(WATCH the video below)
Click To Share The News With Your Friends — Photo by University of Pittsburgh Hospital
If you’re practicing social distancing amidst the COVID-19 outbreaks, there are dozens of virtual animals to keep you company during your time at home.
Here are just a few of the zoo and aquarium livestreams that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own sofa.
1) BELUGAS AND OTTERS AND PENGUINS, OH MY!: The Georgia Aquarium has a number of live video streams which allow internet users to enjoy the daily goings-on of the facility’s resident African penguins, beluga whales, sea otters, and barrier reef-dwellers.
2) JELLY CAM: The Monterey Bay Aquarium website has a similar line of marine livestreams, although their website also boasts a jellyfish livestream—and it’s surprisingly enchanting.
3) GIANT PANDA CAM: What better way to while away your time at home than keeping an eye on giant pandas Tian Tian and Mei Xiang at the Smithsonian National Zoo in DC?
4) BALD EAGLE NEST CAM: This livestream—which is also filmed in Washington DC—captures the daily nesting activity of two bald eagles named Mr. President and First Lady.
5) GIRAFFES GALORE: In Texas, the Houston Zoo webcam allows you to check up on the resident giraffes—and you can even control the angle of the webcam from your computer.
6) HUMMINGBIRD WATCHING: An anonymous California homeowner set up an online livestream for Bella—a hummingbird that has been returning to the same tree since 2005.
7) MAN’S BEST VIRTUAL FRIEND: This livestream from the Warrior Canine Connection allows users to admire puppies that are training to be service dogs for veterans.
8) ADMIRE THE ANIMALS OF AFRICA: As a means of raising awareness on the problems of poaching, the Tembe Live Wildlife webcam monitors a popular watering hole that is often visited by elephants, giraffes, and buffalo in the bushlands of Africa.
9) SENIOR DOG STREAM: If you’re not already hip to the awesome activities at the Old Friends Senior Dogs Home, this livestream allows you to get a sneak-peek inside the retirement home for elderly pups.
10) CRITTERS FROM DOWN UNDER: The Melbourne Zoo recently kicked off their #AnimalsAtHome livestream initiative by installing active webcams in their lion, snow leopard, giraffe, and penguin enclosures.
Be Sure And Share These Helpful Tips With Your Quarantined Friends On Social Media…
This 15-year-old girl is helping to protect some of California’s most vulnerable people from the dangers of the novel coronavirus outbreaks.
Shaivi Shah has rallied her fellow honor society students into helping her give away more than 250 low-cost “sanitation kits” to homeless shelters around Los Angeles.
Each kit contains hand sanitizer, lotion, antibacterial soap, and handmade reusable face masks to help homeless people stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the Tesoro High School student already has an impressive track record for charity work, she says that she was inspired to pursue this particular labor of love after hearing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent speech on addressing the state’s homelessness crisis.
“They don’t have necessities right now that are crucial to remain clean and stay germ-free,” Shaivi told CNN. “It’s important for people to step in and just do whatever they can, even if it helps just one person.”
Shaivi has since launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise additional funds for expanding her initiative outside of Los Angeles. The page has already raised more than $13,000 in nine days.
Clean Up Negativity By Sharing This Inspiring Story With Your Friends On Social Media…
Quote of the Day: “Your choices of action may be limited—but your choices of thought are not.” – Esther Hicks
Photo: by Tim Gouw – public domain
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?
As supermarket shelves around the world are cleared of hand sanitizer and toilet paper amidst the COVID-19 outbreaks, businesses are taking it upon themselves to share their wealth with community members in need.
Atlanta-based marketing firm Trevelino/Keller is just one of many companies that have temporarily closed down during the quarantine. With storage closets filled with enough toilet paper for 1,000 employees, the company decided to give away all of their TP for free.
The company has since launched the Toilet Paper Exchange—an employee-run initiative to distribute the toilet paper to the community through “Toilet Paper Tosses”.
Company employees have already given away heaps of toilet paper by hosting drive-thru giveaways during which they maintain social distancing by hurling rolls of TP through peoples’ car windows
In Wisconsin, the Milwaukee-based Mequon Pizza Co. has taken a similar approach by giving away free rolls of toilet paper with their pizza deliveries.
“Our regular, massive shipment was just delivered so for every large pizza you purchase we will give you a free roll of Cottonelle, 2-ply toilet paper, if you need it! Just ask,” the restaurant wrote on Facebook. “If you need toilet paper, rolls are available for purchase (limit 6) at our cost of $1.”
While other individuals and restaurants from New York to San Francisco have also started their own toilet paper exchanges, they are all hoping to inspire other people to take similar action in their own neighborhoods.
This is just one of many positive stories and updates that are coming out of the COVID-19 news coverage this week. For more uplifting coverage on the outbreaks, click here.
Multiply The Good By Sharing The Positive Story With Your Friends On Social Media…
