Hooray! A Diet Cheat Day Can Help You Lose Weight: Here’s How To Own It

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Jul 17, 2015

For a time, homelessness may have kept them from sharing the same nest, but these two songbirds have built a bond that’s totally unbreakable.

In exchange for a few enchanting melodies, a parrot rescue organization offered Wende Harston, a homeless jazz singer, a refuge for Sam, her favorite bird.

Restaurant Invites Only the Homeless for 5 Nights of Dining in Baltimore

The Gabriel Foundation offered Sam a place to rest his pipes—among 1,000 other rescued birds—while Harston stayed in her RV on the streets of Denver, Colorado. The two reunited several times a week to “get out of their respective cages,” and Wende found an audience among the rest of the birds, who liked to sing along.

Don’t worry, though. This story has a happy ending: Wende and Sam have found a place to live and are happily nesting together.

(WATCH the video above from USAToday)

Jew Saved From Nazis Now Helps Christians Flee ISIS to Repay ‘Debt’

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Jul 16, 2015

A 95-year-old Jewish publisher saved from Nazi-occupied Austria as a child is now funding the flight of Syrian Christians who are seeking refuge from ISIS.

Lord George Weidenfeld says he has “a debt to repay” after Christian Quakers and the Plymouth Brethren helped him escape to Britain in 1938.

Last Friday, the Weidenfeld Safe Havens Fund supported the transport of 150 people flown by privately-chartered plane from Syria to Poland. The fund aims to provide 12 to 18 months of paid support for up to 2,000 Christians in Syria and Iraq seeking refuge from the extremist group’s persecution.

His work was inspired by the late Sir Nicholas Winton, who helped save 669 mostly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia at the start of World War II.

(READ more at The Independent) – Photo: YouTube

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Road Paved With Recycled Plastic Would Snap Together Like Legos

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Jul 16, 2015

Plastic litter along roadsides may soon be used to make new roads. A company in the Netherlands has come up with a plan to replace asphalt and concrete with recycled plastic.

The “PlasticRoad” material by KWS Infra promises two benefits for the environment — not only would it reduce plastic waste headed for landfills, it would also cut carbon emissions from the alternative oil-based asphalt.

Teen’s Device to Clear Plastic Garbage from Oceans is Almost Ready

The company says PlasticRoad should last three times as long as conventional road materials and hold up in temperatures as hot as 176 degrees or cold as -40. It would be made in prefabricated sections at a factory, hauled to the construction site and snapped together like Lego blocks.

It would also be easier to repair by simply pulling out a damaged section and replacing it with a new one — just like with building blocks.

The city of Rotterdam, Netherlands, is taking the idea seriously, planning to test it in a “street lab” demonstration sometime within the next three years to see how well the plastic road materials work.

New Green Overpass Will Let Wildlife Cross 6 Lanes of Highway

A professor in India has also proposed building roads from recycled plastic waste, while Dutch innovators have also experimented with other road surfaces, including a bike path embedded with solar cells to generate electricity.

(READ more at NBC News) — Illustration: KWS Infra, Released — Story Tip: s ghent

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After Epic Battle, Real-Life ‘Hobbit House’ is Saved from Demolition

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Jul 16, 2015

A young couple can keep their unique home and continue to live off the shire – er, land – in the rolling Welsh countryside.

Charlie Hague and Megan Williams built their eco-home in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with their own hands, using only natural, local materials. Hague, who is a carpenter and sculptor, said they designed the turf-roofed house to live a self-sufficient lifestyle with their 3-year-old son, Eli.

But because the family failed to apply for planning permission before building, authorities ordered the home to be bull-dozed.

After a 3-year-long legal battle and online campaign, the couple finally won an appeal to keep their home, after meeting special government guidelines for affordable and sustainability living.

Living on the Land, Eco-Friendly Circus Tour Inspired by Tolkien

The nickname “Hobbit House” developed without any official relation to the Tolkien characters, but looks like it could easily belong to a group of halflings from Lord of the Rings.

The couple was able to win approval based on the One Planet Development rules for people in the UK who want to live and work on their own land, while benefiting the local economy and environment. With Hague’s woodworking business, income generated from renewable energy on site, and sales of fruit from the property, they qualified.

“We are delighted. We are very happy and very excited we can carry on doing what we want to achieve living on the land,” Williams told The Guardian.

(TOUR the house below or READ more at The Guardian) – Photo: Charlie and Meg’s Roundhouse, Facebook

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How to Use Your Coffee Break At Work to Meditate

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Deborah Linehan

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Jul 16, 2015

Let’s face it: the pressure to develop a meditation practice to alleviate stress can, ironically, stress you out even more.

Meditating for 30 minutes immediately upon waking just isn’t going to happen for many of us…so why not try meditating at work?

You don’t even have to close your eyes to do it.

Instead of checking Facebook on your coffee break, try one of these techniques during the day and you could literally change your life.

Sitting In Your Cube Meditation

You might be surprised to learn that not all types of meditation require the eyes to be fully closed.

In some forms of practice like Zazen meditation, it is common practice to sit with the eyes about halfway closed. Try doing this for 5 minutes at a time: sit in your office chair with a straight back and your feet flat on the floor and focus your eyes on a fixed spot in front of you—the months-old dirty fingerprint on your wall is likely the best spot.

Now, place your attention on your breath. Notice when sounds, or a sense of discomfort, or activity in the periphery, have hooked your attention and pulled your mind off into a to do list. When this happens, and it invariably will, gently guide your focus back to your breath. Try doing this for 5 minutes at 3 pre-set times during your workday.

Use a timer app on your phone like insighttimer.com to keep track so you don’t have to watch the clock.

Trash Room Next to Service Elevator Meditation

I initially found this room whilst searching for a place to take a private phone call.

Open office plans leave no consideration for the person who wants to be alone, but I found this rarely trafficked area on my office floor to be an oasis for spiritual time in corporate America.

Turns out, the only folks I ever saw when I was using the space to meditate were the Muslim elevator operator who regularly gave me the thumbs up sign, and my mailroom guy who happens to be fully immersed in Japanese Martial Arts. It’s amazing the deep connections you can make with people when you are in the process of taking care of yourself.

This can be a 15-minute guided meditation using audio on your phone. Set your timer app for 15 minutes, straighten your back, close your eyes and focus on your breath. Try a 10 – 15 minute guided meditation or insight talk from great apps like Headspace and Dharma Seed – or podcasts like Radio Headspace, Tara Brach or Dharmapunx NYC. Meditation music is also useful to drown out any background noise and focus you back inward.

Note: this meditation can be alternately be done in the archive room, the supply closet or, with a little bribery to the IT department in the form of home baked cookies, the server room.

Bodhisattva: The Uppermost Stairwell Meditation

Just ride the elevator to the top floor, find the door to the stairs, and walk up as high as you can go. Bring a bottle of water and your cell phone.

If might be hot if you’re in a skyscraper, so opt for a lower floor. Nobody is likely to bother you while you’re in the zone.

Tip: recurring reminders in your calendar help you to remember to take these time-outs.

And if anyone catches you, just tell them you’re increasing your productivity, because meditation will help you do that, too.

Photos CC: Mark Sebastian, honeyab, Dushan Hanuska.

Deborah Linehan is a mindfulness meditation facilitator, personal development coach and humorist living in New York City.

Store Manager Camps in Parking Lot To Serve Meals to Battling Firefighters

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Jul 16, 2015

As wildfires rage in the forests of northern Saskatchewan, one store manager has decided to keep her doors open to feed hungry firefighters, even if it means sleeping in her camper to do it.

As long as local firefighters continue working to save “the most beautiful part of Saskatchewan,” Margaret Floch says she will fight for them, too.

“It’s not just for me, it’s for the entire community,” Floch told CBC News.

Heroic Dog Buries Her Nine Puppies to Save Them from Fire (WATCH)

Her generosity and community spirit have inspired the locals and kept morale up through trying times. Though her store has lost money, she and a handful of her employees have been using food they couldn’t sell to feed hungry firefighters — including an outdoor barbecue for 300 heroes over the weekend.

This past Saturday the #LaRonge Co-op Marketplace was able to host a burger #BBQ for EMS personnel. #skfires pic.twitter.com/uw8c0sHCnb
— Prince Albert Co-op (@PA_Coop) July 13, 2015

The Saskatchewan government‘s Facebook page has shown images of firefighters using the store’s parking lot as a staging area as they set out to battle the fires around the town of La Ronge.

We’re hoping for grey skies in town as light rain is expected in the area for the next few days—meanwhile, Floch’s employees have started restocking their shelves.

(READ more at the CBC) — Photo: Saskatchewan Government, Facebook — Story Tip: Murray Lindsay

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JetBlue Stocks Vending Machines with Free Books for Kids in Need

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Jul 16, 2015

Kids who feel like snacking on some food for thought can simply punch A3 for a serving of Dr. Seuss at free vending machines full of books.

JetBlue airlines has partnered with Random House Children’s Books to help bridge the literacy gap facing children in a low-income neighborhood of Washington D.C. by loading up three vending machines full of storybooks.

Through a rotating selection of books switched up every two weeks–and no limit on the number of titles children are allowed to take– 100,000 books will make it into the hands of kids in Anacostia.

In the last five years JetBlue has donated over $1.25 million worth of books to help kids in need but this is the first time the Soar with Reading program has utilized specially designed vending machines to do it.

The book machines were placed in a church, a grocery store, and a Salvation Army store earlier this month.

Scholastic Donates 1 Million Books for American Kids in Poverty

Other cities are going to receive 100,000 books too. An online poll is letting voters choose which city will get win the next distribution.

Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City and Fort Lauderdale are all vying for the prize by holding regional reading programs and events throughout the summer.

(READ more at WTOP) – Photo: JetBlue

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You Have to Sea it to Believe it: New Superfood Ocean Plant Tastes Like Bacon

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Jul 16, 2015

What grows quickly in tanks, qualifies as a superfood, and is environmentally friendly?

Believe it or not, if you guessed bacon, you are not entirely wrong.

After 15 years of growing the super-seaweed, researchers at Oregon State University have patented a new strain of dulse, red marine algae that looks like translucent red lettuce.

The real kicker is that once it’s cooked, it actually smells and tastes like bacon, too.

Take a Bite Out of Bad Cholesterol: Eat An Avocado Every Day

OSU researchers say their variety can be eaten fresh and is packed with protein, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants – with twice the nutritional value of kale. Other wild strains of dulse, growing along ocean coastlines, are normally used in a dried form for cooking or nutritional supplements.

Several Portland-area chefs are now testing the new dulse in their kitchens, and some predict bacon-flavored seaweed ‘farming’ could become a potential new industry for Oregon. (MBA students at the university are working on a marketing plan for pitching to the food industry soon.)

(WATCH video below from KPTV or READ more from Oregon State) – Photo: Oregon State University

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Nike Partners With Disabled Teen to Create Easy-Entry Shoe

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Jul 15, 2015

When a teenager with cerebral palsy wrote to Nike requesting a shoe he could put on himself, the company decided to ‘Just Do It’.

When he was 16 years old, Matthew Walzer asked the athletic apparel company to develop a shoe for people like him with disabilities, who have trouble tying shoelaces.

To his surprise, a 23-year-old Nike product manager called, saying that he, too, has cerebral palsy and a passion for sports. As GNN reported in 2012, Nike’s designers were inspired by the young man’s letter, and worked with Matthew for the next few years on a lace-free prototype that he could easily slide on and off. The footwear features a wrap-around enclosure that opens the back of the shoe for those with limited hand function.

A Beautiful Day in Sports: NFL Team Signs Disabled Player

“When I put the shoes on every morning, they give the greatest sense of independence and accomplishment I have ever felt in my life,” Matthew replied to Nike.

The new design also includes the same ankle support as Nike’s Lebron James’s line – Matthew’s favorite NBA basketball player.

Later this month, Nike will outfit U.S. basketball teams participating in the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games with the new Zoom Soldier 8 FLYEASE shoes.

The shoes hit the market mid-July, just in time for Matthew to bring multiple pairs of the kicks back to his friends at college.

(WATCH the video below) – Photos: YouTube, Nike

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‘Playgrounds’ Designed for Seniors Help Keep Them Active, Sharp

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Jul 15, 2015

With an aging population in Spain, health professionals are looking for ways to keep its elderly citizens active and healthy.

No longer resigned to a park bench while they watch grandchildren have all the fun, ‘playgrounds’ for seniors are popping up all over the country.

The activities were designed to help keep motor skills sharp and mental abilities keen, while offering the added benefit of keeping seniors socializing. Therapies include exercising with hand pedals, crossing plank bridges, and navigating brain teasers.

Seniors Get a Lift Whenever Farm Animals Come to Visit

“Kids can also have fun here,” physical therapist Paz Vidal told Public Radio International. “The parks help create family cohesion. And it’s intergenerational.”

Across the ocean, the health care company Humana and the non-profit group KaBOOM! have joined forces to build 50 similar playgrounds in the U.S. to offer the same benefits to Americans.

(WATCH the PRI video) – Photo: PRI video

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After Year of Rehab, Sea Turtle Returns to Ocean Under a Rainbow (WATCH)

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Jul 15, 2015

Even the sky seemed to be smiling as a loggerhead sea turtle returned to the ocean after 14 months of rehabilitation.

As she crawled across the beach and slipped under the waves, a rainbow broke out behind the rescuers who’d nursed the turtle back to health.

A crowd of spectators gathered around the group as they released the turtle, named Volusia.

Boaters found her struggling to breathe and keep her head above water in May, 2014. They alerted a turtle rescue group which brought her to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Black Cat Becomes A Nurse, Tending to Every Wounded Animal

Exams showed Volusia had pneumonia and too much air in her body cavity which caused a buoyancy problem. CMA’s turtle team released some of the air and spent more than a year getting her ready for life back in the ocean.

“Everyone was so respectful and I think a few of us had tears or goose bumps as she crawled into the water,” Kathy Doddridge, one of the volunteers for Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch wrote on Facebook.

(WATCH the video from Bradenton Herald) — FB Photo: Kathy Doddridge & Karen Riley-Love, Island Turtle Watch

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Harper Lee Novel, Watchman, Released After 50 yrs of Anticipation

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McKinley Corbley

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Jul 15, 2015

Scout and Atticus Finch are back!

To Kill A Mockingbird, one of the most celebrated pieces of American literature, finally has its sequel in the form of Go Set A Watchman; a novel meant to further explore the Southern family we came to know and love so well.

Until now, the author had never published anything following the success of Mockingbird.

Harper Lee’s manuscript for Watchman, having been unearthed by her lawyer in 2014, was reportedly hidden amongst Lee’s possessions ever since Mockingbird’s publication in 1960. The sequel released this Tuesday was written as the original first draft to Mockingbird with the future intention of a trilogy.

101-Year-Old Woman Gets House Back Thanks To Mitch Albom

At the ripe old age of 89, Harper Lee has not been engaged in any publication activities or book tours. However, her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama has been celebrating the release of their heroine’s novel with gusto and public readings on many street corners, ever since the midnight release party on July 14.

(READ more at The Guardian)

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Nat’l Give Something Away Day: New Delivery Service Helps Move Donations

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Jul 15, 2015

Ever find yourself with bags full of stuff you want to get over to your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, homeless shelter, or other charity, but don’t have a car or the time?

Look no further than Roadie. This “Uber for stuff” is a nationwide network of drivers willing to transport your stuff for you.

Through August 3, users across the country—they have drivers in every state—can use the code GOODKARMA to have the full cost of the “Gig” taken care of.

Trader Joe’s Exec Opens Nonprofit Grocery Store As a Low-Budget, Healthy Option

To apply it, select Enter Promo Code on your Member Profile page and punch it in.

I decided to take the app for a spin for myself, and was successfully able to hand off three bags of books, two lamps, and two large mirrors to a very nice guy named Ryan.

The app is generally best for smaller or medium-sized items, at least here in New York City, because most of the Roadies are average folks with normal-sized cars.

As for the larger stuff I’m still looking to haul—a dresser, an armoire, and night stand—I’ve had a few people comment or text me and then vanish into the night, but I haven’t given up yet.

After the promotion ends, rates are reasonable—it’ll most likely cost you less than $20 bucks to move clothes, books, or toys over to a local charity. Just think of it as an extra donation.

For more on Roadie, visit their website.

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New York Man Offers Weary Subway Riders a ‘Date While You Wait’

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Jul 15, 2015

A new form of speed dating has emerged in New York City’s underground tunnels.

A few weeks ago, 28-year-old Thomas Knox set up a folding table, two chairs and a sign that read, “Date While You Wait” on a busy subway platform in Manhattan.

The Brooklyn native says he was just looking for a new, fun way to meet people who want to chat, maybe play a board game, or just forget about their commute for a few minutes while waiting for their train.

Knox says he isn’t necessarily looking for love – but more of a positive social interaction – and says he’s had dozens of interesting speed dates.

New Dating Site Hooks Up Volunteers Who Are Looking for Love

“I just want you to have a conversation. Talk to me, tell me a little bit about yourself, tell me how your day went,” Knox told WCBS-TV. “I feel like I’ve had some really good connections, one on one.”

The location for Knox’s pop-up dating project remains secret until he reveals his choice of subway stop at the last minute on social media.

According to The New York Times, he’s been invited to share his ‘Date While You Wait’ concept in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and the U.K., and plans a tour of New York’s boroughs this fall.

To keep up with Knox’s adventures, check out Date While You Wait on Facebook.

(WATCH the video below from WCBS-TV or READ more from The New York Times) – Photo: Date While You Wait Facebook

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Prince William Makes History by Taking a Job– AND Donating His Full Salary

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Jul 14, 2015

The royal pilot is making history by working as a civilian – and by giving away his earnings to charity.

Prince William started his new job as an East Anglian Air Ambulance pilot on Monday, working four days on, four days off, so he can balance work, family and royal obligations.

The second-in-line to Britain’s throne will donate his post-tax salary – estimated at about £30,155 per year – to a yet undisclosed charity. The prince says his new position as a medical emergency helicopter pilot is a natural progression from his service as a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue pilot.

“I feel doing a job like this really helps me to be grounded and that’s the core of what I’m trying to become,” Prince William told CTV. “I’m trying to be a good guy, to do what I can and trying to be a decent individual.”

According to Kensington Palace, the 33-year-old father of two is the first member of the Royal Family in direct succession to the throne to take a civilian job.

(WATCH video below or READ more at CTV) – Photo: CTV video

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Landmark Iran Nuclear Deal Reached, Built on Permanent Verification

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Jul 14, 2015

After weeks of marathon negotiations and years of diplomacy, Iran and the world’s six major powers announced a deal in Vienna this morning that will prevent Iran from becoming the tenth country to possess a nuclear bomb.

“Today, because America negotiated from a position of strength and principle, we have stopped the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East,” said President Obama, who believes that he and his allies got every single one of their bottom-line demands met.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who worked for two years to get the deal he sought, said, “All of us – not just the United States, but France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, China, and the EU – were determined to get this right. And so we have been patient, and I believe our persistence has paid off.”

Germany Turns Military Bases into Rare-bird Nature Reserves

The agreement marks the first White House success in dealing with Iran since the 1979 revolution there when hostages were seized at the American Embassy in Tehran.

The deal, which will result in the eventual lifting of many of the economic sanctions against Iran, will allow broad United Nations inspections to monitor, permanently, both declared and suspected nuclear facilities, even after the deal expires.

“Contrary to the assertions of some, this agreement has no sunset. It doesn’t terminate,” said Kerry in a detailed statement. “Some of the provisions are in place for 10 years, others for 15 years, others for 25 years. And certain provisions – including many of the transparency measures and prohibitions on nuclear work – will stay in place permanently.”

Israel Loves Iran: The Facebook Campaign That Launched a Love Avalanche

He went on:

“Our quarrel has never been with the Iranian people, and we realize how deeply the nuclear-related sanctions have affected the lives of Iranians. Thanks to the agreement reached today, that will begin to change. In return for the dramatic changes that Iran has accepted for its nuclear program, the international community will be lifting the nuclear-related sanctions on Iran’s economy.

And the relief from sanctions will only start when Tehran has met its key initial nuclear commitments – for example, when it has removed the core from the Arak reactor; when it has dismantled the centrifuges that it has agreed to dismantle; when it has shipped out the enriched uranium that it has agreed to ship out. When these and other commitments are met, the sanctions relief will then begin to be implemented in phases.”

(READ the full report by Robin Wright in the New Yorker or WATCH the Obama speech below)

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Japan’s Abandoned Golf Greens Find New Life As Solar Power Farms

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Jul 14, 2015

Japan’s abandoned and bankrupt golf courses are getting a “Mulligan” — a second chance — as solar power stations.

The Kyocera Corporation announced last week it will turn a former golf course in Kyoto, pictured at left, into the 23-megawatt solar farm shown in the artist’s rendition above.

The new station will generate enough electricity to power 8,100 homes when it goes online sometime in 2017.

Japan experienced a “golf boom” in the 1990s, building more than 2,000 new courses in just a few years; but the fad passed as quickly as it started, causing golf courses to go bankrupt and leaving hundreds of them abandoned across the countryside.

As it turns out, golf courses are the perfect place to build solar farms — the wide-open spaces get plenty of sun, making them prime real estate for the installation of solar panels along former fairways.

Slam Dunk for Team Green: Adidas Creates Shoe From Ocean Waste

Kyocera also plans to join several other companies in building a second 92-megawatt solar plant on a golf course that was never completed in Kagoshima Prefecture.

Because the U.S. is also home to several golf courses that closed during the 2008 recession, cities in Florida, Utah, Kansas and Minnesota are discussing ideas for turning many of those into solar power stations as well.

(READ more at the Independent) — Photos: Kyocera Corporation, Released

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Jobless Teen Singer Donates $10,000 Competition Prize to Homeless Shelter

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Jul 14, 2015

A singer who slept outside during a talent competition to save on hotel costs was so inspired by the homeless men he befriended that he donated his grand prize winnings to a local shelter.

Christian Hudson, a 19-year-old from Airdrie, ultimately beat out 11 other top finalists to win the $10,000 top prize at the Calgary Stampede Talent Search in Alberta, Canada.

During the competition, Hudson spent the night outdoors in a sleeping bag by a river and made friends with the men he met there.

He decided before he won that he would donate the prize money.

Homeless Man Turns in $2,000 He Found, Then Donates Reward Cash

“It was inspired right from the moment I met these people,” he told the Calgary Herald. “There was this one guy who seemed a totally normal guy and told me about his past. If what he told me about his past was true, then the things that were surrounding him never happened to him he’d be just like me. He’d be a regular guy who could work a regular job.”

In order to participate in the competition, the young man had to quit his job. He currently has no steady income at the moment, but still plans to donate the money to the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Center, a nearby homeless shelter.

(WATCH video below or READ more at Calgary Herald) – Photo: CTV video

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Bear Cub Climbs In a Raft Longing To Be Rescued in River

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