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Man Postpones Retirement to Save Reefs After He Accidentally Discovers How to Make Coral Grow 40 Times Faster

By
McKinley Corbley
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One man’s happy accident has brought new hope to the recovery of coral reefs around the world.

Dr. David Vaughan stumbled upon the groundbreaking discovery as he was working with corals at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida. He had been trying to remove a coral from the bottom of a tank when it broke into a dozen pieces.

To his shock, all of the pieces regrew to the same size in just three short weeks, as opposed to the three years it had taken to grow the original coral.

Ordinarily, it takes coral reefs between 25 to 75 years to reach sexual maturity. This means that it can take up to 6 years just to plant 600 coral – but Vaughan’s process of breaking up corals for reproduction, which is called “micro-fragmenting”, helps them to grow 40 times faster than they do in the wild.

CHECK OUT: Sea Urchins Save Coral Reefs That Humans Nearly Strangled

Furthermore, their tests showed that it works with every single species of coral found in the Florida Reef.

In fact, the method is so efficient, the researchers are reportedly producing coral faster than they can get tanks to hold them.

Vaughan’s team now plans on planting 100,000 corals on the Florida Reef Track by 2019. The researchers also plan on sharing their method with conservationists around the world so they can collectively plant one million corals within the next few years.

(WATCH the exciting BBC interview below)


ALSO: World’s Second Largest Coral Reef Has Just Been Removed From Endangered List

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Does Your Generation Perform More Good Deeds Than Any Other?

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Good News Network
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Millennials may be performing more good deeds than older generations, according to a new survey in the United States.

Although they have a reputation for being entitled, millennials reported doing 339 “good deeds” a month, compared to 208 good deeds for those age 38 and older.

Anything from sending an encouraging text to picking up litter, shopping at small businesses or being a shoulder to cry on, the study tallied positive deeds big and small, and uncovered a lot we have in common.

The survey of 2,000 Americans – 1,000 millennials and 1,000 aged 38 and older – examined where people think they do ‘good deeds’ in their daily life and looked at the commonalities and differences among generations.

RELATED: 18-Year-Old Drives 225 Miles to Make Pizzeria’s First and Only Delivery After Receiving Special Phone Call

Both millennials and older people are logging many good deeds related to being environmentally friendly. Results showed that millennials are more likely to try and be environmentally conscious, but only by a small margin—83 percent vs. 77 percent.

In fact, three-quarters of respondents agreed that they have become more environmentally friendly in the past five years. Avoiding plastic straws was one of the top eco-strategies for older generations, but not for millennials. Recycling also ranked as the most common good deed for those ages 38 and above, compared to millennials who ranked it #9.

“Paradoxically, the ability to make big change comes through small acts,” said Kamie Kennedy, from the organic clothing company Pact, which commissioned the OnePoll study. “When a consumer chooses the eco-friendly option, the manufacturers of those products can aggregate all of that consumer preference and force real change in industries, labor practices and health standards.”

RELATED: Patagonia’s CEO is Donating Company’s Entire $10 Million Tax Cut to Fight Climate Change

Results found that millennials are much more value-driven when it comes to shopping—and they work to avoid businesses that support things they don’t agree with (68 percent vs. 46 percent). Interestingly, but not surprising, millennials are much more likely to agree that the little things they do to improve the world every day cancel out their bad habits (55 percent vs. 30 percent).

Take a look at the commonalities below. We’ve highlighted the good deeds that stand out as unique to that particular generation’s Top 18 good deeds.

MOST COMMON “GOOD DEEDS” FOR MILLENNIALS

  • Sending a kind text
  • Giving a compliment
  • Smiling at a stranger
  • Holding the door open for someone
  • Being a shoulder to cry on
  • Shopping at small businesses
  • Help someone with tech issues
  • Picking up litter
  • Recycling
  • Leave a positive review online
  • Visiting elderly relatives
  • Donating clothes to charity
  • Lending someone a phone charger
  • Giving a dollar to charity when checking out while shopping
  • Giving money to the homeless
  • Give directions when someone is looking at a map
  • Buy organically-sourced food
  • Volunteering for a charity

MOST COMMON “GOOD DEEDS” FOR OLDER AMERICANS

  • Recycling
  • Smiling at a stranger
  • Giving a compliment
  • Holding the door open for someone
  • Sending a kind text
  • Being a shoulder to cry on
  • Picking up litter
  • Shopping at small businesses
  • Giving a dollar to charity when checking out while shopping
  • Donating clothes to charity
  • Visiting elderly relatives
  • Buy organically-sourced food
  • Help someone with tech issues
  • Give directions when someone is looking at a map
  • Avoiding plastic straws
  • Giving up your seat on the train/bus
  • Giving money to the homeless
  • Volunteering for a charity

Obviously, Americans of any age have a lot in common when it comes to ‘doing good’. Maybe these lists will give you ideas about how to brighten your world—and improve the planet— this month.

Inspire Your Friends, Young And Old, By Sharing This To Social Media – Photo by Honza Soukup, CC license

School Installs Vending Machine That Dispenses Free Books to Kids Who Read

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Good News Network
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In a bid to get children more engaged in reading, a New York school has installed a vending machine that dispenses books, instead of snacks.

After one year of fundraising, staffers at the Arthur O. Eve School of Distinction #61 in Buffalo, New York, unveiled the machine in the corner of their library and stocked it with $1,000 worth of books.

Students from kindergarten through 4th grade can earn free tokens for the machine with a classroom rewards system that will incentivize kids to make regular trips to the library and check out books.

WATCH: Viral Video of Street-Vending Boy Speaking Multiple Languages Lands Him and His Siblings Free Tuition

The book titles range from fiction to cultural subjects. According to WGRZ, there is a copy of “Pippi Longstocking” right next to “Hidden Figures”.

“One of the biggest issues we have in this district is literacy. If our children can read, they can survive,” Buffalo School Board member Sharon Belton-Cottman told WBFO.

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NBA Star Gives Heartwarming Response to 9-Year-old’s Letter Asking Why His Shoes Were Only for Boys

By
McKinley Corbley
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When a 9-year-old girl sent a handwritten letter to Stephen Curry, the NBA superstar had the most heartwarming response.

 

Riley Morrison says that she felt compelled to write to the Golden State Warriors point guard after she visited the Under Armour website so she could buy a pair of Curry 5 shoes.

However, she was crestfallen to find that the shoes were only available in “Men’s” and “Boy’s” sizes.

Riley then penned a letter to Curry asking why the shoes were not available for girls.

RELATED: Watch Mother-of-Three Break Record for Fastest Human on a Bicycle – ‘Now I know how Evel Knievel felt’

“I asked my dad to buy me the new Curry 5’s because I’m starting a new basketball season,” Riley wrote. “My dad and I visited the Under Armor website and were disappointed to see that there were no Curry 5’s for sale under the girls section. However, they did have them for sale under the boy’s section, even to customize.

“I know you support girl athletes because you have two daughters and you host an all girls basketball camp,” she continued. “I hope you can work with Under Armour to change this because girls want to rock the Curry 5’s too.”

Not only did Curry handwrite her a letter in return, he also set out to fix the labeling oversight.

In the note, Curry says that the shoes are actually unisex. The athlete conferred with officials about the mistake, and the website now has a girl’s category in the Curry footwear section.

Additionally, Steph sent her a free pair of Curry 5’s and promised to send her one of the first pairs of Curry 6’s, which will be released on Christmas Day under new co-gendered sizing.

WATCH: When Goalie Loses First Game 11-0, His Dad Posts Clip of His Saves and Prompts Outpouring of Support

“I want to make sure you can wear my kicks proudly,” Curry wrote.

As a cherry on top, the Warriors invited the youngster from Napa, California to join them in Oakland on International Women’s Day for a special event.

(WATCH the news coverage below—our international readers can check out the footage on the CBS website) – Photo by Keith Allison, CC

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“December has the clarity, the simplicity, and the silence you need for the best FRESH START of your life.” – Vivian Swift

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “December has the clarity, the simplicity, and the silence you need for the best FRESH START of your life.” – Vivian Swift

Photo: by Philip Edmondson, CC license

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?

Dad is Pleasantly Surprised to Hear That His Toothbrush Holder is Actually 4,000-Year-old Relic

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Good News Network
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SWNS
SWNS

One man’s toothpaste holder could be another man’s 4,000-year-old relic.

At least that’s what Karl Martin was stunned to discover when he found out that his toothbrush jar was actually an ancient relic of Afghanistan.

Since the 49-year-old dad originally picked up the old pottery jar for just $5 at a car boot sale, he has been using it to hold his toothbrush for the last five years.

“It even ended up getting a few toothpaste marks on it,” mused Martin.

MORE: Man Saves Ancient Books From Dumpster Only to Look Inside Months Later and Find Amazing Inscription

But then six weeks ago, the antiques valuer noticed a similar piece of pottery that was being sold in an antiques sale at the auctioneers where he worked.

When he asked a colleague at Hanson’s Auctioneers to examine his pot, he was amazed to hear that it was a genuine antiquity from Afghanistan that dated back to 1900 BC.

“It was bought from a car boot sale in the village of Willington in Derbyshire,” said Martin. “I liked it straight away. I suspected it might be very old but forgot all about it.

SWNS

“Then, one day at work, I was helping Hansons’ antiquities expert … unload a van and noticed some pottery which was similar to my toothbrush pot [so] I rescued the pot from my bathroom and asked him to examine it for me.

“He confirmed it was a genuine antiquity from Afghanistan and dated back to 1900 BC. That means it’s around 4,000 years old – made 2,000 years before Christ was born.

RELATED: Woman Accidentally Buys the Same Book She Sold 5 Years Ago and Finds Mother’s Last Words

“It’s amazing, really. I specialize in British history rather than world history so I wasn’t an expert in this field and was none the wiser. How it ended up at a South Derbyshire car boot sale, I’ll never know.”

James Brenchley, head of antiquities at Hansons Auctioneers, said that the jar came from a Bronze Age civilization of the north western regions of South Asia, and it was most likely brought back to the UK by wealthy travelers.

Martin ended up selling the pot at the auctioneers for $100 (£80) – more than 20 times the amount that he bought it for.

“Not a fortune, but a decent profit,” says Marin. “I feel a bit guilty about keeping my toothbrush in it now.”

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City Will Replace Advertisements With Directions to Shelters for the Homeless in Winter

By
McKinley Corbley
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With winter approaching and temperatures dropping, the city of Stockholm is taking extra measures to protect the homeless during the frigid months ahead.

According to Mitt Stockholm, the Swedish capital will be replacing their electronic advertisements with digital notices that will direct homeless people to the nearest shelter or heating room.

Clear Channel, the marketing agency which manages the city’s billboards and public screens, will be programming their fixtures to automatically show the emergency notices whenever temperatures drop into dangerously chilly territory.

RELATED: Simple Solution Provides the Homeless With Housing and Jobs in One Fell Swoop

Though the emergency notices will be shown across Stockholm, the city is taking extra care to broadcast the digital messages in areas with high concentrations of homeless people.

If the initiative proves to be successful, the project could inspire other cities to implement similar strategies during the icy winter months.

Be Sure And Share The Good News With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by Clear Channel

Watch Trucker Use His Vehicle to Block Traffic So Stranded Motorcyclist Can Move to Safety

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Good News Network
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While blocked traffic is often a cause for road rage and frustration, this trucker was praised for taking up several lanes of traffic on a busy interstate back in 2016.

A Youtube blogger and trucker named Johnny was driving on the bustling Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago when he found himself behind a distressed motorcyclist.

LOOK: 13 Truckers Use Their Vehicles to Prevent Suicide Attempt From Ending a Life

For one reason or another, the motorcyclist was unable to start her bike. With two lanes of busy traffic on either side of her, the biker seemed to be in quite a predicament.

Instead of trying to go around the biker, however, Johnny slowly steered his truck across the right lanes so the woman could wheel her bike to safety on the shoulder.

(WATCH the video below)

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Patagonia’s CEO is Donating Company’s Entire $10 Million Tax Cut to Fight Climate Change

By
McKinley Corbley
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Instead of putting the money earned from their federal tax cuts back into their own pockets, the Patagonia outdoor clothing brand has announced that they will be donating it all to organizations fighting climate change.

According to a letter that was published on the LinkedIn profile of Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario, the company saved $10 million in corporate tax cuts that were implemented last year – and they will be donating it all to groups that are “committed to protecting air, land and water and finding solutions to the climate crisis.”

“In this season of giving, we are giving away this tax cut to the planet, our only home, which needs it now more than ever,” writes Marcario.

“Far too many have suffered the consequences of global warming in recent months, and the … response has so far been woefully inadequate.”

RELATED: Massive Company That Sells Your Favorite Cookies and Crackers Cuts Ties With Palm Oil Firms That Destroy Forests

This is not the first time that Patagonia has gone the extra mile for the environment – in 2016, the company donated all of its Black Friday income to conservation groups; in 2014, the company converted its entire collection to fair trade-certified products; and in 2009, they started paying their employees to bike to work.

More recently, Patagonia made it onto PEOPLE’s list of the 50 best companies that are caring for their communities, employees, and the world – and this $10 million donation is just further evidence that they are definitely deserving of that title.

Pay The Positivity Forward By Sharing The Good News To Social Media – Photo by Drew Smith

When Boy Mails a Birthday Card to His Dad in Heaven, Postman Comforts Him With a Celestial White Lie

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Good News Network
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When a young boy mailed a birthday card to his father in heaven earlier this month, he was surprised – and comforted – to get a response.

Since his father passed away four years ago, 7-year-old Jase Hyndman from West Lothian, Scotland mailed the card as a means of wishing his dad a happy birthday.

Instead of an address on the front of the envelope, however, Jase simply wrote: “Mr. Postman, can you take this to heaven for my dad’s birthday. Thanks.”

While it might seem that the story would end there, assistant delivery office manager Sean Milligan from the UK’s Royal Mail service wrote a response to reassure the youngster that his card was in good hands.

RELATED: Inmates Write Heartfelt Letter to Police Department Offering Condolences for Slain Officer

“Dear Jase,” reads the letter. “While we’ve been delivering your post, we’ve become aware of some concerns.

“So I just wanted to take this opportunity to contact you about how we succeeded in the delivery of your letter, to your dad in heaven. This was a difficult challenge avoiding stars and other galactic objects on route to heaven.”

“I will continue to do all I can to ensure delivery to heaven safely,” it concluded.

CHECK OUT: When Student Accepts Stranger’s Accidental Invitation to a Funeral, She Becomes ‘Brightest’ Part of the Day

Needless to say, Jase and his mother, Teri Copland, were overwhelmed by the compassionate gesture.

“I actually cannot state how emotional he is knowing his dad got his card,” Copland wrote on Facebook, praising Royal Mail UK. “You didn’t have to make the effort to do this you could have just ignored it, but the fact that you have made the effort for a little boy you’ve never met is such a lovely thing to do.

“Royal Mail, you’ve just restored my faith in humanity and thank you – it honestly means the world to him.”

Be Sure And Mail This Sweet Story To Your Friends On Social Media – Photos by Teri Copland

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it, is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day:  “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it, is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward

Photo: by MoneDesign, CC license

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?

Exciting New Study Shows That Zapping the Brain ‘Acutely’ Relieves Symptoms of Depression

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Good News Network
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brain electric CC Allan Ajifo
Written by Stephen Beech / SWNS

This exciting new study says that zapping parts of the brain with electricity could majorly relieve symptoms of depression.

Researchers say they have found an “effective target” in the brain for electrical stimulation to improve the moods of patients suffering from the mental condition.

Their findings, published in the journal Current Biology, show stimulation of a brain region called the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) reliably produced “acute” improvements.

The effects were not seen in patients without mood symptoms, which the researchers say suggests that the brain stimulation works to normalize activity in mood-related neural circuitry.

RELATED: Veterans Are Finding Peace From PTSD Through ‘Float Therapy’

Dr. Kristin Sellers, of the University of California, San Francisco, said: “Patients said things like ‘Wow, I feel better,’ ‘I feel less anxious,’ and ‘I feel calm, cool and collected’. And just anecdotally, you could see the improvements in patients’ body language. They smiled, they sat up straighter, they started to speak more quickly and naturally.”

She added that “although OFC is a more superficial target, it shares rich interconnections with several brain regions implicated in emotion processing,” which made the relatively small brain area an attractive target for therapeutic stimulation.

A team led by Sellers and Dr. Vikram Rao in the lab of Professor Edward Chang studied 25 patients with epilepsy who had electrodes placed in the brain for medical reasons to pinpoint the origin of their seizures.

CHECK OUT: Next Time You’re Feeling Stressed or Anxious, This Study Says You Should Play Tetris

Many of the patients also suffered from depression, which is often seen in people with epilepsy.

With the patients’ consent, Prof Chang’s team took advantage of the electrodes to deliver small electrical pulses to areas of the brain thought to be involved in regulating mood. The researchers then used the implanted electrodes to stimulate OFC and other brain regions while collecting verbal mood reports and questionnaire scores.

“Stimulation induced a pattern of activity in brain regions connected to OFC that was similar to patterns seen when patients naturally experienced positive mood states,” said Rao. “Our findings suggest that OFC is a promising new stimulation target for treatment of mood disorders.”

Previous studies have explored deep brain stimulation (DBS) for mood disorders, but its success depends critically on target selection, as targets in other mood-related areas that are deeper in the brain haven’t always led to reliable improvements.

MORE: FDA Grants ‘Breakthrough’ Status to Psilocybin Mushroom Therapy for Untreatable Depression

For the new study, however, the researchers focused their attention and the electrical stimulation on the OFC, which is a key hub for mood-related circuitry.

Chang said: “The OFC has been called one of the least understood regions in the brain, but it is richly connected to various brain structures linked to mood, depression and decision making, making it very well positioned to coordinate activity between emotion and cognition.”

The researchers say their findings show that mood can be immediately improved by electrical stimulation of a relatively small area of brain, and also add to evidence that mood disorders are the result of dysfunction in brain circuits – but they said that plenty of work remains before DBS could enter routine clinical practice.

RELATED: Doctors Can Now Prescribe Social Activities for Lonely Seniors – and Mailmen Will Help Out Too

Rao said: “Ultimately, it would be ideal if activity in mood-related brain circuits could be normalized indefinitely without patients needing to do anything.”

Dr. Heather Dawes, who helped to oversee the research, added: “The more we understand about depression at this level of brain circuitry, the more options we may have for offering patients effective treatments with a low risk of side effects.

“Perhaps by understanding how these emotion circuits go wrong in the first place, we can even one day help the brain ‘unlearn’ depression.”

Give Your Friends A Positivity Boost By Sharing The Good News To Social Media – Photo by Allan Ajifo, CC

Stuck in Airport for 7 Months, Refugee is Finally Given a Home Half a World Away Thanks to Canadian Stranger

By
McKinley Corbley
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A Syrian refugee who spent seven months living in an airport has finally found a home half a world away thanks to a Canadian woman who helped to sponsor his stay.

37-year-old Hassan Al Kontar is one of many Syrians who fled the country as a means of escaping the war in 2011. He had originally been working as an insurance manager in the United Arab Emirates until they declined to renew his visa. He then tried to stay in Malaysia, but according to the CBC, an unexpected flight cancellation caused his 3-month work permit to expire.

He even made it to Cambodia in a bid to avoid deportation back to Syria, but he arrived at the country only to be sent back to the Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Since leaving the airport would result in his deportation, he had no choice but to live in the “Arrivals” section until he found a country that would accept him.

WATCH: Heartwarming Viral Video Captures Refugee Children Playing in Snow for the First Time

Kontar spent the next seven months documenting his life on social media where he amassed thousands of Twitter followers. He took videos of himself tending to his potted plants, talking about his favorite books and movies, crocheting stuffed animals, and even amused himself by taking the “pet” toys for “walks”.

He used the automated airport walkway as a treadmill and cleaned himself up in the bathrooms. He was given meals by compassionate airport workers. And all the while, he talked about his longing for a country that would accept him.

Meanwhile, a woman named Laurie Cooper from Whistler, British Columbia, saw one of Kontar’s videos and immediately felt compelled to help the man.

“It all seemed impossible: I’m a mom who lives in a little log cabin and he was living in an airport,” Cooper told The Guardian.

Cooper, with the help of her fellow Whistler residents, started rallying for Kontar’s stay. They reportedly managed to raise over $20,000 for his sponsorship and found him a full-time job at the city hotel. Kontar lovingly called them his “Avengers” as a reference to the Marvel superhero team.

LOOK: Gym Gives Free Lifetime Pass to Refugee Boy Staring Longingly Through the Window

As the Canadians gathered their resources, however, they were horrified to hear that Kontar had been arrested by Malaysian authorities and was being held in a detention center, threatened with deportation.

He was there for two months until the Canadian government and a lawyer hired by Cooper quietly negotiated his release.

“I did not believe it until they showed me the ticket,” Kontar told CBC, recalling the moment he was told of his release. “I said until I reach Canada, nothing is sure.”

Finally, after spending nine months without a home, Kontar landed in Vancouver earlier this week where Cooper was waiting at the airport to give him a hug and welcome him to Canada.

“I just feel so grateful that things worked out and that he’s here and that he’s safe,” Cooper told reporters at the airport, as Kontar “fought back tears beside her”.

LOOK: Syrian Refugee Saves Ontario Wedding With Master Sewing Skills

“I never doubted for a moment that we would get him here,” she added.

Kontar is currently staying at Cooper’s house where there is a bed and warm clothes that were donated by community members. When asked about the future, he says that he is excited to acclimate to the Canadian lifestyle – although he also says that he would rather “use a horse” to travel rather than ever set foot in an airport again.

(WATCH the video below) – Photo by CBC

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For the First Time Ever, Developing Countries Added More Clean Power Capacity Than Fossil Fuel

By
McKinley Corbley
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PublicDomainPictures, CC license

This exciting new report shows that – for the first time ever – clean energy has won out over fossil fuels in developing countries.

Out of the 186 gigawatts of new power capacity that was built in developing nations in 2017, over half of it was wind and solar power.

According to the report, BNEF’s annual Climatescope survey, developing nations even added more clean energy capacity than richer countries that previously cautioned them to avoid pursuing alternative energy technologies because they were too expensive.

In total, developing nations contributed 114 gigawatts of clean energy capacity compared to 63 gigawatts that were added by wealthier nations.

RELATED: ‘City of the Future’ is First Solar-Powered Town in America – and It Was Created by a Former NFL Player

“This marks a remarkable turnabout from a decade ago when the world’s wealthiest countries accounted for the bulk of renewable investment and deployment activity,” reads the report. “Developing nations at the time were viewed as holding enormous promise only; wind, solar, geothermal and other clean technologies were regarded as too expensive for mass deployment.”

By accounting for clean energy investments and installations from 103 countries, Climatescope ranks Chile as the leading champion of renewable energy with India following closely behind in second place after they jumped up from its fifth place ranking in 2016.

MORE: The Hoover Dam Could Soon Be Turned into a ‘Giant Battery’ for Renewable Energy

The report goes on to detail how new coal power has fallen by almost half since it peaked at 97 gigawatts in 2015.

The exciting data proves that – contrary to what wealthier countries might say – developing nations are the ones driving down clean energy costs and making them more competitive against fossil fuels.

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Watch 50-Year-old Daredevil Become First Woman to Wingsuit Over Antarctica

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Good News Network
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This 50-year-old Australian just became the first woman to wingsuit above the frigid terrain of Antarctica.

Heather Swan first got into extreme sports after she attended an inspirational lecture from extreme sports junkie and wingsuit record holder Dr. Glenn Singleman in 1995.

23 years later, Singleman is her husband and full-time adventuring partner.

Now, the couple embarks on dozens of record-breaking stunts. In addition to setting the record for jumping out of the plane 12,000 feet above Union Glacier last month, they also performed the first and only wingsuit voyage of the Grand Canyon in 2015 and broke the record for the highest base jump in a wingsuit after they jumped from Mount Meru.

RELATED – Watch Mother-of-Three Break Record for Fastest Human on a Bicycle: ‘Now I know how Evel Knievel felt’

When Red Bull asked her whether women in sports encourages other females to participate, she said: “You want to see people like you doing it, and that becomes much more inspiring. Especially for the little girls.

“When I was growing up, we only saw men doing sports, competing in the media. It’s still the case in extreme sports, and if you look at the major news channels. I think that does have a huge impact,” she added.

(WATCH the video below) – Photo by Caters News

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“When an emotional injury takes place… trust that nature will do the healing and the pain will pass. You will be stronger, happier, more sensitive and aware.” – Mel Colgrove

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day:  “When an emotional injury takes place… trust that nature will do the healing and the pain will pass. You will be stronger, happier, more sensitive and aware.” – Mel Colgrove

Photo: by Nathan Walls, CC license

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?

Businessman Hands Out $1,000 Checks to Every Student and Staffer of Wildfire-Affected California School

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Good News Network
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When a 90-year-old businessman heard about the devastating effects that the Paradise wildfires had on the city’s high school students, he took it upon himself to fly into into town with gifts in tow.

Bob Wilson, who is a restaurant owner and real estate developer based out of San Diego, went to Paradise High School earlier this week with two briefcases filled with checks.

Each check was worth $1,000 – and he gave one to every single high school student and staffer.

With a student body of 980 students and 105 employees, including janitors, teachers, and bus drivers, Wilson gave away a staggering total of $1.1 million.

RELATED: When Stranger Finds Lost Wallet on Airplane, He Returns It to Owner With Even More Cash Inside

Wilson had originally been planning on working with local nonprofits to distribute the cash in the form of gift cards, but he eventually settled on hanging out the checks so the students could spend the money more freely.

“I made the decision within two or three minutes of reading the news, that I would like to give these kids something,” he told NBC News. “So they could have some good times and I could put a smile on their faces and maybe lift their spirits.”

(WATCH the inspiring news coverage below) – Photo by KPIX

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Police Officer Praised for Spending Hours Looking After Children While Mom Filed Domestic Violence Report

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McKinley Corbley
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Police officers are always protecting and serving the community in different ways – and this cop is being praised for offering two helping hands to a mother in need.

Officer Robert Lofgran of the West Jordan Police Department in Utah was on hand earlier this month when a young mother and her children entered the station to file a domestic violence report.

As she filed the report, Lofgran offered to look after her kids. He reportedly “spent hours” holding the woman’s baby and caring for the other youngsters.

The station clerks were so touched by Lofgran’s gesture, they snapped several photos of him holding the infant and posted them to the police department’s Facebook page.

RELATED: Policeman Moved by Plea for Parenthood Adopts Baby of Drug-Addicted Homeless Woman

“Our records clerks caught Officer Lofgran during a call detail the other day,” says the post. “Officer Lofgran helped watch over the children while this mother got the help she needed for that day. He spent hours on this call. Thank you for your service!”

Since it was published to social media, the photos have been shared hundreds of times.

Sgt. Alex Earelli told CTV News that he was especially proud of Lofgran’s gesture because his officers are always showing “kindness and support… in all their calls” and “those are the type of values we’re trying to represent.”

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After Dedicating 16 Years of His Life to Mangroves, Man Has Helped to Plant 2 Million Trees

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Mangrove trees are an essential source of resources for humans and animals alike – and despite how deforestation has put the trees in a precarious position, one man has dedicated his entire life to protecting them.

Douglas Thisera, also known as the “Mangrove Master”, has planted over 2 million mangrove saplings across his home country of Sri Lanka in a bid to preserve the precious foliage.

“I love mangrove forests very much,” Thisera told Great Big Story. “I can compare my attachment to mangroves like the connection between a tree and its bark.”

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Thisera first learned about the importance of mangroves when he began work as a fisherman at 11 years old. All of the crabs, shrimp and fish that he depended on for his own livelihood depended on mangroves as their source of food and shelter.

Though Thisera has been working in conservation since 1992, he has spent the last 16 years planting the saplings and organizing community projects to protect mangrove forests from being torn down for industrialization purposes.

(WATCH the video below) – Photo by Great Big Story

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Back Pain May Soon Be a Thing of the Past After Scientists Successfully Implant Lab-Grown Spinal Discs

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Good News Network
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Back Pain-CC Esther Max

This exciting new study says that you may soon be cured of that awful ache in your back.

According to the study from Penn Medicine, scientists believe we will soon be able to grow new spinal discs from a patient’s own cells as a means of replacing the deteriorated ones that cause back and neck pain.

For the first time ever, spinal discs that were grown from stem cells were successfully implanted and provided long-term function in the largest animal model ever evaluated for bioengineered disc replacement.

The soft tissues in the spinal column, the intervertebral discs, are essential for the motions of daily life, such as turning your head to tying your shoes. At any given time, however, about half the adult population in the United States is suffering from back or neck pain, for which treatment and care place a significant economic burden on society—an estimated $195 billion a year.

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While spinal disc degeneration is often associated with that pain, the underlying causes of disc degeneration remain less understood. Today’s approaches, which include spinal fusion surgery and mechanical replacement devices, provide symptomatic relief, but they do not restore native disc structure, function, and range of motion, and they often have limited long-term efficacy. Thus, there is a need for new therapies.

Tissue engineering holds great promise. It involves combining the patients’ or animals’ own stems cells with biomaterial scaffolds in the lab to generate a composite structure that is then implanted into the spine to act as a replacement disc. For the last 15 years, the Penn research team has been developing a tissue engineered replacement disc, moving from in-vitro basic science endeavors to small animal models to larger animal models with an eye towards human trials – “optimistically” in the near future.

“This is a major step: to grow such a large disc in the lab, to get it into the disc space, and then to have it to start integrating with the surrounding native tissue. That’s very promising,” said Robert L. Mauck, co-senior author of the paper, which was published in Science Translational Medicine. “The current standard of care does not actually restore the disc, so our hope with this engineered device is to replace it in a biological, functional way and regain full range of motion.”

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Researchers demonstrated successful total disc replacement in the goat cervical spine. They chose the goat because its cervical spinal disc dimensions are similar to humans’ and goats have the benefit of semi-upright stature. Eight weeks after the implant, MRI results suggest that disc composition was maintained or improved, and that the mechanical properties either matched or exceeded those of the native goat cervical disc.

“When you look at the success in the literature from mechanical devices, I think there is a very good reason to be optimistic that we could reach that same success, if not exceed it with the engineered discs [in humans],” said Harvey E. Smith, MD, co-senior author and clinical lead on the study.

The research team credits the success of the work to the multidisciplinary and translational approach they’ve taken since it began at Penn Medicine, which is home to the many experts from the different departments and schools who were involved in this project.

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The next step will be to conduct longer-term studies to further characterize the function of the engineered discs in the goat model, the authors said, as well as model the degeneration of spinal discs in humans and to test how their engineered discs perform in that context.

“There is a lot of desirability to implant a biological device that is made of your own cells,” Smith said. “Using a true tissue-engineered motion preserving replacement device in arthroplasty of this nature is not something we have yet done in orthopaedics. I think it would be a paradigm shift for how we really treat these spinal diseases and how we approach motion sparing reconstruction of joints.”

(Source: Penn Medicine News)

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