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Coastal Living is Linked With Better Mental Health, Particularly for Poorer Homeowners

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Living close to the sea could support better mental health in England’s poorest urban communities.

According to a new study published today in the journal Health and Place, researchers from the University of Exeter used survey data from nearly 26,000 respondents in their analysis, which marks one of the most detailed investigations ever into the wellbeing effects of being beside the sea.

After taking other related factors into account, the study revealed that living in large towns and cities near to England’s coastline is linked with better mental health for those in the lowest earning households.

Approximately one in six adults in England suffer from mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, and these are far more likely in people from poorer backgrounds. The findings suggest that access to the coast could help to reduce these health inequalities in towns and cities close to the sea.

RELATED: Watching Birds Near Your Home is Good For Your Mental Health

The research used data from the Health Survey for England and compared people’s health to their proximity to the coast; from those living less than 1 kilometer away, to those more than 50 kilometers (31 miles) away. Its findings add to the growing evidence that access to blue spaces—particularly coastal environments—might improve health and wellbeing.

Dr Jo Garrett led the study and believes the results could have important implications, she said: “Our research suggests, for the first time, that people in poorer households living close to the coast experience fewer symptoms of mental health disorders. When it comes to mental health, this ‘protective’ zone could play a useful role in helping to level the playing field between those on high and low income.”

The report represents the first time the benefits of coastal living have been demonstrated at such a detailed level according to income, and comes as Natural England prepares to open access to all of England’s Coast Path by 2020. With everywhere in England within 70 miles of the sea, more people could harness the wellbeing benefits of living near to the coast thanks to improved access.

RELATED: Want Instant Pain Relief? New Report Says You Could Go For a Swim in Cold Water

Dr. Mathew White, environmental psychologist at the University of Exeter, said: “This kind of research into blue health is vital to convincing governments to protect, create and encourage the use of coastal spaces. We need to help policy makers understand how to maximize the wellbeing benefits of ‘blue’ spaces in towns and cities and ensure that access is fair and inclusive for everyone, while not damaging our fragile coastal environments.”

This work is part of the BlueHealth project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program.

Reprinted from the University of Exeter

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Bar Employees Spend a Month Taking Down Dollar Bill Decor to Collect $15,000 for Hurricane Dorian Relief

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McKinley Corbley
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It has always been a tradition for customers at the Siesta Oyster Bar to contribute to the restaurant’s decor by attaching dollar bills to the wall.

However, the staffers have been working tirelessly over the course of the last month to remove the makeshift wallpaper so they can donate it all to hurricane relief in the Bahamas.

Since Hurricane Dorian blew through the islands last month, the staffers have collectively taken down over $15,000 in dollar bills.

It’s apparently taken a lot of hard work to gently remove all of the “hardcore staples” from the wall without hurting the money, but the employees say that they have successfully removed about 90% of the bills.

LOOK: Canadian Supermarket Proves a Little Humor Can Go a Long Way to Help Save Ourselves From Plastic Bags 

Not only that, general manager Kristin Hale told Weather.com that other customers have been inspired to make additional donations of their own.

“They come in and see what we’re going and give us a $20 bill … or a $10 or a $5,” she told the news outlet.

The bar also helped to raise another $10,000 by holding a collaborative fundraiser with some of the other local businesses in Siesta Key Village earlier this month.

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“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi (born 150 years ago today)

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Quote of the Day: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi (born 150 years ago today)

Photo: by sanchantr – CC license on Flickr, cropped

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

 

On 95th Birthday, Jimmy Carter is Still Proving Age is No Obstacle as He Builds Homes for Humanity

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McKinley Corbley
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Today is the 95th birthday of former US president Jimmy Carter—and despite how he has not served in office for almost four decades, he is still working tirelessly to improve the country.

Born on October 1st, 1924, Carter has now lived longer than any other US president in history. The title used to be held by the late George H.W. Bush before he passed away in November 2018 at 94 years and 171 days old.

Even though Carter made headlines back in March for surpassing Bush’s record at 94 years and 172 days old, this is not his first news appearance in the last few years.

Carter, who is also one of the few American presidents to have ever received the Nobel Peace Prize, was recently responsible for creating a new health clinic in a small town that had been without a physician for four months; he leased out a portion of his own property in order to launch a solar farm powering half of his hometown; and his charity has been a major contributor in making guinea worm the second disease to ever be eradicated.

RELATED: Jimmy Carter Delivers a New Clinic to Small Town That Has Been Without a Physician

Additionally, Carter was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma in 2016—and even though he was undergoing treatment, he still spent his time building homes for the needy through Habitat for Humanity. Thankfully, his immunotherapy treatments proved to be successful and he was declared cancer-free several months later.

Carter and his wife Rosalynn have volunteered for the housing organization for 36 years, during which time they have helped build thousands of homes. Furthermore, they now plan on celebrating Mr. Carter’s birthday by attending yet another annual Habitat for Humanity construction event in Nashville next week.

“Both President and Mrs. Carter are determined to use their influence for as long as they can to make the world a better place. Their tireless resolve and heart have helped to improve life for millions of the world’s poorest people,” said a Carter Center spokesperson in a statement.

(WATCH Carter explain his passion for the project in the 2016 interview below)

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Watch ‘Superhero’ Woman Rescue Trapped Deer From Not One, But Two Different Fences in a Matter of Minutes

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McKinley Corbley
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This Georgia woman is about to get her own superhero movie after she came to the rescue of a doe in distress—not once, but twice in just a matter of minutes.

Chloe Dorsey had been out for a morning jog in Stone Mountain Park last week when she came across a deer that had gotten its hips stuck in between the bars of a metal fence.

Since she was unable to help the critter push through the rungs, Dorsey managed to pull the two poles apart so it could run free.

To Dorsey’s exasperation, however, the doe only ran several hundred more feet before it got stuck in between the bars of yet another fence.

MORE: Watch Rollercoaster Passenger Use His Astonishing Catlike Reflexes to Catch a Stranger’s iPhone in Mid-Air

“You need to learn how to jump, boo!” chides Dorsey as she hikes over to the doe once more. “What is gonna happen when I’m not here?”

When the second fence proves to be more difficult to pry apart, Dorsey becomes increasingly nervous about the deer’s fate—but she still continues to persevere.

After pulling at the bars several more times, millimeter by millimeter, Dorsey jumps over the fence—and although her landing may not have been the most graceful hurtle in history, it startles the deer just enough for it to successfully run away from the loosened fence poles.

CHECK OUT: Airman Who Was Traveling to Receive Heroism Award Nonchalantly Saves a Choking Baby on the Way

As the liberated doe rejoins the rest of the herd nearby, Dorsey jokingly yells after them: “Y’all need to show her how to jump!”

Since publishing the videos to social media, Dorsey has become an internet sensation. She also wrote that she was more than happy to help the distressed animal, although she explains that had only been cracking jokes about the deer’s plight out of anxiety for its freedom.

“The second time was more frightening than the first. We were both scared for each other…!” she wrote on Instagram. “I’m so happy I was at the right place at the right time!”

(WATCH the video below)

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EU Approves Groundbreaking New ‘Right to Repair’ Laws Requiring Appliances to Be Easier to Fix

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In a continued effort to reduce European’s carbon footprint and make energy bills cheaper for consumers, the European Union has just passed groundbreaking new “right to repair” legislation for products such as refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, and televisions.

Improving the eco-design of products contributes to implementing the “Energy efficiency first” principle of the EU’s Energy Union priority.

For the first time, the measures include requirements for repairability and recyclability, contributing to circular economy objectives by improving the life span, maintenance, re-use, upgrade, recyclability, and waste handling of appliances.

“Right to repair” legislation is becoming increasingly popular as consumers across North America and Europe have vocalized their frustration over household appliances breaking down shortly after their warranties expire. Since repairing broken appliances is usually more costly than replacing it, thousands of products are simply sent to the landfill.

MORE: National Suicide Prevention Hotline is Getting Its Own 3-Digit Number in the US

According to BBC, more than 20 US states are currently working on the approval of their own “right to repair” legislation—but now, the European Commission estimates that their two newly-approved measures, together with the energy labels adopted in March, will deliver 167 TWh of final energy savings per year by 2030.

This is equivalent to the annual energy consumption of Denmark and corresponds to a reduction of over 46 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. These measures are also expected to save European households €150 ($163) per year on average.

These savings come on top of those achieved by the existing eco-design and energy label requirements, which are expected to deliver yearly energy saving of around 150 Mtoe (million tonnes of oil equivalent) by 2020, roughly equivalent to the annual primary energy consumption of Italy. For consumers, this already means an average saving of up to €285 ($311) per year on their household energy bills.

CHECK OUT: European Parliament Approves Sweeping Ban on Single-Use Plastics, a ‘Victory for Our Oceans’

“Whether it is by fostering repairability or improving water consumption, intelligent eco-design makes us use our resources more efficiently, bringing clear economic and environmental benefits,” said European Commission Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness Jyrki Katainen. “It is with concrete steps such as these that Europe as a whole is embracing the circular economy to the benefit of citizens, our environment and European businesses.”

Following today’s adoption, the legislation will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in the coming weeks and will enter into force 20 days later.

RELATED: Another Victory Against Plastic—These Water Brands Will Soon Be Packaged in Aluminum Cans

Commenting on the adoption of the measures, Monique Goyens, Director general of the European Consumer Association, said: “The new repair requirements will help improve the lifetime of everyday appliances that currently fail too quickly. It is crucial we bin the current ‘throwaway’ trend, which depletes natural resources and empties consumers’ pockets.

“The EU has started with five products that most consumers own at home and we strongly encourage legislators to make more product categories repairable,” she added.

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Stranger Who Taught Grieving Man to Tie a Tie for Dad’s Funeral Attends the Service to Pay His Respects

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McKinley Corbley
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Photo by Sherri Butcher

A heartwarming new friendship has blossomed between two strangers thanks to a simple necktie bringing them together in a time of grief.

Kevin Butcher and his wife Sherri had been shopping for neckties at a Walmart in Milford, Ohio so he could wear it to his father’s funeral later in the week.

After they had picked out the proper attire, they both realized that neither of them knew how to tie a tie.

Kevin then noticed that one of his fellow shoppers, an older man who had been browsing some nearby toy shelves, was wearing a tie—so he approached the man and asked for help.

MORE: Crane Operator Makes Heartwarming Pact With Dying Man Who Had Been Watching Him Work Every Day

“We both thought he might think we were crazy… but we were both so wrong,” Sherri later recounted on Facebook. “This sweet man did not hesitate when Kevin explained why he needed help and proceeded to put the tie around his neck. He joked with him about [how it] might take all day to get it right… but he was determined.”

“After a few tries of getting the right length, he gently pulled it back over Kevin’s head and thanked HIM for letting him do this!! He reached to shake hands with him and then pulled Kevin in close to hug him and tell him how sorry he was to hear about losing his dad.

LOOK: Dozens of Bikers Visit the Lemonade Stand of the Girl Whose Mother Helped Them One Year Ago

“He looked at me and said ‘take good care of him’ and he walked away,” Sherri continued. “Kevin and I both walked away quietly as we were both having a hard time fighting back the tears.”

Despite how touched they were by the emotional exchange, it would not be their last encounter with the man. After Sherri wrote about the experience on Facebook, local reporters were able to identify the man as Howell Hackler. They then orchestrated a tearful exchange between him and the Butchers the very next day.

 

“Meeting these two guys again—it’s great because I didn’t ever think I’d see [them] again,” Hackler told WKRC.

Several days later, the Butchers arrived at the funeral of Kevin’s father only to find that Hackler had stopped by to pay his respects and say a prayer for the family—and they were overwhelmed with gratitude for the support.

“There are just no words to explain how Kevin and I felt this morning,” Sherri wrote in a separate Facebook post. “This man is an absolute ANGEL on Earth!!!!”

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Kroger Donates $500,000 Facility to Rival Grocery Store So Community Won’t Be Left Without a Supermarket

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McKinley Corbley
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Rather than leave a community without a grocery store, the Kroger supermarket chain is donating one of their closed stores to a competing company.

After Kroger closed their Orange Mound location in Memphis, Tennessee back in February 2018, local residents were forced to travel to the Kroger location in Union, which can be a tedious 30-minute bus ride with groceries in hand, according to the Memphis Business Journal.

Community leaders then threatened to boycott the chain unless they were given another fully-serviced grocery store to suit their needs.

LOOK: Supermarket Praised for Replacing Plastic Produce Packaging With Banana Leaves

WMC reporters say that shortly after Kroger representatives closed the location, they had tried to pass on the property to Superlo, a family-owned grocery store chain with several local branches in the city. Unfortunately, Superlo had just opened another branch in the city and they did not feel fiscally comfortable with opening yet another store.

After more than a year of financial preparation, however, Kroger representatives say that they are now donating the $500,000 facility to Superlo.

Superlo representatives say that they hope to have the store up and running again by December 1st.

(WATCH the news coverage below) – Photo by WATN

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“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Quote of the Day: “I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne

Photo: by Jennifer 真泥佛 * Taiwan – CC license on Flickr, cropped

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

 

After Recovering From Suicide Attempt, Man Now Finds Joy in Erasing Hateful Graffiti

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Good News Network
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It has been only about five months since Dennis Bonifan tried to commit suicide—but now, he has found an unlikely new source of therapy in graffiti.

However, Bonifan isn’t the one responsible for spraypainting the streets; instead, he is taking it upon himself to clean up racist and hateful vandalism.

Bonifan, who suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, is the owner of B&D Powerwash and Painting Services in Swanton, Ohio.

He was first inspired to start volunteering his time and resources last week when he saw a Facebook post about how someone had spraypainted several swastikas onto a nearby street.

MORE: Judge Sentences Teen Vandals to Reading Books About Racism – and It Apparently Worked

He then grabbed his powerwasher and erased the hateful graffiti free of charge—and he has continued to spend his free time after work cleaning up other offensive acts of vandalism around the city.

“It’s very rewarding to be able to do something and then put a smile on my face … it actually helps my mood a lot,” Bonifas told WTVG in the interview below.

If any Ohio residents know of any other areas of vandalism that are in need of attention, he is encouraging social media users to contact him via his company Facebook page.

(WATCH the news coverage below) – Photo by WTVG

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New Blood Test Can Detect Dozens of Different Cancers With 99.4% Accuracy

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Photo by Senior Airman Julianne Showalter / US Air Force

A new series of tests is now showing that this exciting blood test can screen for numerous types of cancer with a stunningly high degree of accuracy.

The test, developed by GRAIL, Inc., uses next-generation sequencing technology to probe DNA for tiny chemical tags (methylation) that influence whether genes are active or inactive.

When researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute applied the test to nearly 3,600 blood samples—some from patients with cancer, some from people who had not been diagnosed with cancer at the time of the blood draw—the test successfully picked up a cancer signal from the cancer patient samples, and correctly identified the tissue from where the cancer began (the tissue of origin).

The test’s specificity—its ability to return a positive result only when cancer is actually present—was high, as was its ability to pinpoint the organ or tissue of origin, researchers found.

RELATED: Researchers ‘Shocked’ by Discovery That ALS-Diseased Neurons Show Incredible Resilience if Given Glucose

The new test looks for DNA, which cancer cells shed into the bloodstream when they die. In contrast to “liquid biopsies,” which detect genetic mutations or other cancer-related alterations in DNA, the technology focuses on modifications to DNA known as methyl groups. Methyl groups are chemical units that can be attached to DNA, in a process called methylation, to control which genes are “on” and which are “off.” Abnormal patterns of methylation turn out to be, in many cases, more indicative of cancer—and cancer type—than mutations are. The new test zeroes in on portions of the genome where abnormal methylation patterns are found in cancer cells.

“Our previous work indicated that methylation-based assays outperform traditional DNA-sequencing approaches to detecting multiple forms of cancer in blood samples,” said the study’s lead author, Geoffrey Oxnard of Dana-Farber. “The results of the new study demonstrate that such assays are a feasible way of screening people for cancer.”

In the study, investigators analyzed cell-free DNA (DNA that had once been confined to cells but had entered the bloodstream upon the cells’ death) in 3,583 blood samples, including 1,530 from patients diagnosed with cancer and 2,053 from people without cancer. The patient samples comprised more than 20 types of cancer, including hormone receptor-negative breast, colorectal, esophageal, gallbladder, gastric, head and neck, lung, lymphoid leukemia, multiple myeloma, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer.

MORE: After 68% of Patients Were Cured of PTSD in Phase-2 Trials Clinics May Soon Offer MDMA Therapy

The overall specificity was 99.4%, meaning only 0.6% of the results incorrectly indicated that cancer was present.

Furthermore, the sensitivity of the assay for detecting pre-specified high mortality cancers (the percent of blood samples from these patients that tested positive for cancer) was 76%. Within this group, the sensitivity was 32% for patients with stage I cancer; 76% for those with stage II; 85% for stage III; and 93% for stage IV. Sensitivity across all cancer types was 55%, with similar increases in detection by stage. For the 97% of samples that returned a tissue of origin result, the test correctly identified the organ or tissue of origin in 89% of cases.

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Detecting even a modest percent of common cancers early could translate into many patients who may be able to receive more effective treatment if the test were in wide use, Oxnard remarked.

Dana-Farber investigators presented the results of the multi-center trial during a session at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2019 Congress earlier this week.

Reprinted from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Cure Your Friends Of Negativity By Sharing The Good News To Social Media — Representative photo by Senior Airman Julianne Showalter / US Air Force

Girl Left Heartbroken By Toy’s Disappearance is Stunned When It Reappears in the Woods 14 Years Later

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McKinley Corbley
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It has been 14 years since Plurna the stuffed cat first went missing from Emily Bauer’s sandbox.

At the time, Emily had only been 4 years old when her beloved toy disappeared—but the pain of its disappearance had never quite healed until Plurna miraculously reappeared earlier this week.

According to Emily’s mother Susan Wise Bauer, Plurna’s disappearance had become a legendary part of the family’s history at their home in Charles City, Virginia. She still remembers the day that Emily lost Plurna—and the frantic search and rescue mission that follow.

“We searched and searched,” Bauer wrote in a Facebook post. “We combed the yard and looked under the house. We even dug up the whole sandbox. No Plurna.

MORE: When Little Girl’s Beloved Toy Disappears, Grocery Store Workers Sift Through Landfill Until They Find It

“Emily was DEVASTATED. Tears for weeks. Intermittent tears for months. I’m not kidding you—I wouldn’t have mentioned Plurna to her even now that she’s eighteen, because of the deep well of pain and loss associated with the disappearance of Plurna.

“In fact, when we visited old friends on the West Coast last week, we were telling when-the-kids-were-little stories, and Plurna was prominently featured,” she added.

So imagine Bauer’s shock when she was suddenly approached by her farm manager saying that he had found a little stuffed cat as he was putting up new fencing for the goats on their 100-acre property.

CHECK OUT: Surgeon Finds Fame When His First Tweet is About Stitching Up Little Boy’s Teddy Bear Before Operation

Despite how he had found the toy covered in moss and dirt at the base of the tree, it was unmistakably Plurna.

Not only had she survived 14 years in the woods, she was also entirely intact.

Still “gobsmacked” by the discovery, Bauer and her husband excitedly brought the toy up to Emily’s room—and the 18-year-old was speechless.

WATCH: Wife Quits Her Job As Couple Spends 57 Tireless Days Searching for Their Dog in Mountain Town—See the Reunion

Emily then spent the next few hours using a pair of tweezers to pluck out all the moss and roots from Plurna’s fur before giving her a proper bath—and despite how she says that the toy still smells like dirt after its ordeal in the woods, she is almost as good as new.

Bauer later posted the heartwarming story to Facebook where Plurna’s photos have now been shared thousands of times.

“It’s not a miracle—I don’t want to overstate this story—but all of our jaws are hanging open,” wrote Bauer.

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These Simple, Wearable Devices Use a Laser to Prevent ‘Freezing’ Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

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McKinley Corbley
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This simple little device is helping to tackle one of the most frustrating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease—and its creators have just been awarded more than $1 million to help finance its distribution.

Danish entrepreneur Lise Pape was inspired to develop the Path Finder device after her own father developed Parkinson’s in 2014. The contraption, which is attached to a patient’s shoe and shines a laser onto the floor, helps to prevent “freezing of gait”: a common symptom of the disease which makes the patient feel as if they are unable to walk.

“People describe it as this feeling of being glued to the floor and being unable to step forward with their feet, despite having the intention to do so,” said Pape. “In fact, 70% of all falls in Parkinson’s are thought to be due to this symptom.”

MORE: Years After She Smells Parkinson’s Disease on Her Husband, Woman is Now Paving the Way for Early Detection Test

Surprisingly, researchers have found that it is easy for patients to avoid this symptom if they have a visual pattern for them to follow as they walk. That’s why Pape designed the Path Finder laser pointer to display a bright green line in front of the wearer’s feet.

Not only do studies show that the laser device helps to reduce the frequency of freezing episodes, they also say that the Path Finder reduces the length of the episodes as well.

Since Pape launched her Walk With Path company in 2017 as a means of distributing the devices throughout Europe, they have been given to individuals and healthcare systems in Norway, Denmark, Canada, and the UK.

WATCH: Success of Advanced-Stage Parkinson’s Treatment is ‘Beyond Researcher’s Wildest Dreams’

Additionally, Pape and the Path Finder were just awarded this year’s €1 million ($1.09 million) Horizon Prize for Social Innovation from the European Union.

The prize will now help her bring the Path Finder to the US market and expand distribution throughout the rest of Europe. The devices are currently being sold on the company website for up to £474 a pop.

Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science, and Innovation, handed over the prizes at the European Research and Innovation Days in Brussels this week, saying: “These innovations make a real difference for our senior citizens by helping them maintain an active social life as well as their autonomy.

“These projects also demonstrate how EU support opens the door to new innovative businesses and inspires cooperation between innovators and organizations from civil society, and the private and public sectors. This is a great benefit to all of us.”

(WATCH the video below)

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Police Officer Captures Breathtaking Video of Homeless Woman Singing Opera in the Los Angeles Subway

By
McKinley Corbley
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A homeless woman with the voice of an angel has captured the hearts of internet viewers after an awestruck police officer published a video of her singing onto social media.

The officer from the Los Angeles Police Department had been stationed at the Wilshire and Normandie Purple Line station earlier this week when he heard a nearby homeless woman performing an enchanting rendition of Puccini Aria on the platform.

After pulling out his phone to record a video of the woman, he published it to the police department’s Twitter page where it was later viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

As the video was shared across the internet, the woman was eventually identified as 52-year-old Emily Zamourka: a Russian woman with no traditional vocal training, although she was classically trained on piano and violin.

Zamourka later told reporters that she usually makes money by playing the violin, but her precious $10,000 instrument had been stolen three years ago.

Since she has also been coping with undisclosed health problems, she has been sleeping—and singing—on the streets until she can get herself back into permanent housing.

She also only recently discovered that the video had made her an overnight internet sensation—but she now hopes that her newfound fame will help her to get off of the streets sometime in the near future.

UPDATE: A Flood of Generosity and Singing Offers Flow in for Homeless Sensation From Subway

Michael Trujillo, a Los Angeles consultant who set up a GoFundMe campaign for the musician after hearing her story on the news, is now working with his local councilman’s office which is in touch with the woman, to ensure that the donations help to get Zamourka off the streets; already, he says that the Downtown Women’s Center is working on getting Zamourka into temporary housing.

(WATCH the news coverage below)

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“You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” – Pema Chödrön

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Quote of the Day: “You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” – Pema Chödrön

Photo: by Capt_tain Tom – CC license on Flickr, cropped

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

 

Largest Purchase of Electric Vehicles in History: Amazon Orders 100,000 EV Delivery Vans

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Amazon has just placed an order for 100,000 electric delivery vans—a purchase that is now going down in history as the largest for electric vehicles in the world.

The first of the vans are set to hit the roads in 2021 with 10,000 new EVs purchased from Rivian, Tesla’s sustainable automotive rival. The full fleet is expected to hit public roads before 2030.

For perspective, WIRED says that FedEx uses 85,000 motorized vehicles while UPS uses 123,000 cars, vans, tractors, and motorcycles for their global deliveries—only 10,000 of which are reportedly “alternative fuel and advanced technology.”

The $440 million investment is expected to save 4 million metric tons of carbon per year by 2030.

The announcement comes as a byproduct of Amazon partnering with Global Optimism and their newly-established Climate Pledge: a commitment to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early. This week, Amazon becomes the first signatory of this pledge, which calls on participants to achieve net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Accord’s goal of 2050.

LOOK: World’s Largest Electric Vehicle is a Dump Truck That Doesn’t Even Need to Be Plugged in for Recharging

The initiative was applauded by UN officials who met last week in New York City for International Climate Week.

“Bold steps by big companies will make a huge difference in the development of new technologies and industries to support a low carbon economy,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s former climate change chief and founding partner of Global Optimism. “With this step, Amazon also helps many other companies to accelerate their own decarbonization. If Amazon can set ambitious goals like this and make significant changes at their scale, we think many more companies should be able to do the same and will accept the challenge. We are excited to have others join.”

 

Two years ago, Amazon made a long-term commitment to power its global infrastructure with 100% renewable energy. Amazon is now pledging to reach 80% renewable energy by 2024 and 100% renewable energy by 2030 on its path to net zero carbon by 2040.

To date, Amazon has launched 15 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects that will generate over 1,300 MW of renewable capacity and deliver more than 3.8 million MWh of clean energy annually—enough to power 368,000 U.S. homes. Amazon has also installed more than 50 solar rooftops on fulfillment centers and sort centers around the globe that generate 98 MW of renewable capacity and deliver 130,000 megawatt-hours
of clean energy annually.

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Amazon is also launching the Right Now Climate Fund, committing $100 million to restore and protect forests, wetlands, and peatlands around the world in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, which will help to mitigate millions of metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere over the lifetime of the project, and create economic opportunity for thousands of people.

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Wife Quits Her Job As Couple Spends 57 Tireless Days Searching for Their Dog in Mountain Town—See the Reunion

By
McKinley Corbley
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Against all odds, a beloved border collie has miraculously been reunited with her owners who spent 57 days searching for her in a rural region of Montana.

Carole King and her husband Verne had traveled all the way to Kalispell from their home in Spokane, Washington so they could enjoy a relaxing 4-day getaway in the sprawling mountain wilderness.

However, their vacation turned into a harrowing search and rescue mission after they returned to their dog-friendly hotel on July 20th only to find that their 7-year-old border collie named Katie had disappeared from their room.

The Kings immediately canceled their return trip home so they could stay in Kalispell and search for Katie. For several weeks, they would stay out until 4AM calling her name; they distributed hundreds of fliers throughout the community; they published her picture on social media channels and Facebook groups; concerned local citizens helped them comb the countryside—but they still couldn’t find Katie.

After a few weeks with no success, they bought motion-triggered cameras and animal cage traps that were baited with Katie’s favorite food. They even bought night vision goggles after one of their newly-made friends in Kalispell suggested that Katie may be moving around at night—but still no luck.

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At one point, Carole traveled back home to Spokane so she could go back to her job as a mail carrier; but when they declined her request to take additional time off to keep searching, she quit.

“Katie was just more important to me,” Ms. King told the New York Times. “I just said, ‘I’ll finish this week, and that’s it.’”

Upon returning to Kalispell once more, Verne took her place at their home in Washington so he could continue looking after their other pets. Thankfully, a local family in Montana had offered to host them until they found their dog, and Carole continued the search with the help of the friendly mountain community.

WATCH: Dog That Shoplifted a Book on ‘Abandonment’ is Given the Love It Was Asking For

By the time September rolled around, Carole began to lose hope. She missed her home, husband, and pets, but Verne and the Kalispell residents encouraged her to continue looking for one more week.

She then received a call from a resident who said that he had seen a border collie in his yard. Carole and her friend visited the property, but found nothing—until they ran into a pair of hikers who pointed out a border collie that had been resting under a nearby tree. When Carole called Katie’s name, the dog ran bounding into her arms.

LOOK: After Spending 7 Years in Hawaii Shelter, Dog Finally Adopted By Couple Visiting From Michigan

“All I could think about was, ‘I’m done. I got her,’” Carole told The Times. “I was crying, I was holding onto her, wrapped her up in a bear hug. I couldn’t get her in the car fast enough to close her in so I wouldn’t lose her again.”

Though Katie had lost 15 pounds from her stint in the wild, she was in relatively good health—and she was overwhelmed with joy when she was finally reunited with Verne back in Washington.

Carole now hopes that their story will inspire other pet owners to never give up on their missing animals.

(WATCH the heartwarming reunion in the news coverage below)

Be Sure And Share This Pawesome Rescue Story With Your Friends On Social Media…

1,200 Schoolchildren Descend on Belgian Beach to Fight Marine Litter

By
Good News Network
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On a sunny morning last week, 1,200 students between the ages of 8 and 14 headed to the beach to undertake the biggest pollution clean up ever seen in the historic Belgian coastal city of Ostend.

A collective of teachers from 26 catholic schools launched the initiative with a commitment to providing their pupils with the tools and knowledge to help them live in a world where the environment is cared for.

A representative of the Flemish Minister of the Environment, Koen van den Heuvel, applauded their “Oceans of tomorrow” project, which was developed in partnership with the University of Antwerp to teach 8,000 local children about the importance of clean seas over the course of a year.

And, to make it fun, they brought along a support staff of blue Smurfs.

After a morning spent collecting litter from the city’s shore, the children enthusiastically welcomed a costumed mascot of Neptune, the Greek god of freshwater and the sea. Arriving with Emma Plasschaert, a Belgian World Sailing Champion, they spoke to the kids about plastic pollution that they have witnessed in the seas, and encouraged the children to adapt lifestyles that include reusable water bottles and textile bags.

“Youth play a lead role in the fight for our planet,” said a representative from the United Nations Regional Information Centre, Marian Blondeel, during a press conference in Ostend. “By joining their forces, youth, ministers, the European Union, the United Nations— and the Smurfs—can speak with a stronger, unified voice.”

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Positive Signs Already Abound

Hunt Safrankova, head of the UN’s Environmental Protection office in Brussels, highlighted some positive signs that suggest we are moving in the right direction. For example, more than 60 countries have joined UNEP’s Clean Seas campaign to fight marine plastic and more than 100,000 people worldwide have taken the Clean Seas pledge, promising to reduce their own plastic footprints.

Some 127 countries (including coastal states like Australia, Bali, Kenya, Tanzania, Hawaii, and some parts of India) have adopted legislation regulating plastic bags. In the Belgian Flanders region, authorities recently set a target of reducing litter leakage to the marine environment by 75%—and the children’s volunteer clean-up serves as additional inspiration for businesses to minimize plastic packaging.

WATCH: Students Design Beach Vacuum That Can Suck Up Microplastics While Leaving All the Sand

The Ostend beach clean-up action was part of the #EUBeachCleanUp public information campaign that culminated around 21st September, International Coastal Clean-up Day.

Source: the United Nations Environmental Program

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“You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you… however hard the path. Aim high.” – E. O. Wilson

By
Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you… however hard the path. Aim high.” – Edward O. Wilson, biologist, author and humanist

Photo: in Colorado, by Sathish J – CC license on Flickr

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

 

Little Girl Abandons Her Birthday Party So She Can Help Rescue a Stranded Motorcyclist 3 Hours Away

By
McKinley Corbley
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Rather than spend her sixth birthday at an amusement park, this little girl abandoned her pre-planned birthday party so her and her father could assist a motorcyclist in need.

Sammy Flynn and her father Richard had been celebrating her special day at the Wild West Town theme park in Union, Illinois last month when he got a call about a biker whose motorcycle had broken down three hours outside of town.

This is not the first time that Richard has gotten an automotive call for help; he is one of the co-founders of WAR Performance, a motorcycle repair shop based out of Marengo.

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“We have really tried to instill that we always help others and that is what our business is about,” Flynn told Good News Network.

So when Flynn got news that there was a biker in need of help, he worried about interrupting his daughter’s birthday at the theme park. Instead, the youngster insisted on continuing with the rescue operation.

“They had called everyone they could think of but no one would come out to help them. We had only been at the Wild West Town theme park for 10 or 15 minutes when I got the call,” Richard told GNN. “She said that we should never leave anyone behind and she was willing to miss her party.”

Sammy was repaid for her kindness only weeks later when the motorcyclist returned to her family’s repair shop to give her a thank you gift for her compassion—and all the motorcyclists in Marengo that heard about it came together to sing Happy Birthday to her. The organizers of the Wild West theme park even volunteered to throw her another birthday party free of charge.

MORE: Park Rangers Hailing Little Girl as a ‘Steward’ of Nature After She Returned a Rock With an Apology Note

Although the gifts have meant the world to Sammy and her family, Richard says he is ultimately grateful for this mishap so he could witness his daughter’s good deed.

“I was just so proud of my daughter that day—and since then, she always asks if she can come with on pickups to help people out,” says Richard. “She is learning early on that giving is so much better than receiving.”

Rev Up Your Biker Friends By Sharing The Sweet Story on Social Media…

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