In the first three months of 2015, wind farms in Scotland produced a record amount of electricity, enough to power 960,000 Scottish households for an entire year, according to government data released Thursday.
In 2014, Scotland satisfied nearly half of its total energy consumption with renewable sources like wind, solar and hydro-electric. Elsewhere, the statistics reveal renewables generated 19.6 per cent of UK electricity in 2014 and hit a record 22.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, according to Business Green.
Growth in Scottish renewables is running into stiff headwinds, however, with the UK announcing recently a cut to financial subsidies for the offshore wind farms.
It still may taste “magically delicious,” but Lucky Charms will soon undergo a makeover that could change the look of its yellow moons, pink hearts and green clovers.
To keep up with consumer demand for natural ingredients, the General Mills company announced this week a commitment to removing artificial flavors and artificial colors from the rest of its cereals by the end of next year. Instead of dyes like Red No. 40 and Yellow No. 6, the company will use natural sources to color its popular breakfast foods.
This is good news because artificial dyes, which are essentially petroleum by-products, have been linked to attention problems and hyperactivity in children. General Mills joins a host of companies, like Nestle and Kraft in a race toward healthier foods.
“We’ve continued to listen to consumers who want to see more recognizable and familiar ingredients on the labels and challenged ourselves to remove barriers that prevent adults and children from enjoying our cereals.”
To get the familiar red, yellow and orange colors in Trix cereal, for instance, the company will be using spice extracts–annatto and turmeric– and fruit and vegetable juice, from sources like beets and berries.
General Mills Cereals plans to have more than 90 percent of the portfolio free of artificial colors and flavors by the end of 2016. Trix and Reese’s Puffs will be among the first to change, while cereals that contain marshmallows, like Lucky Charms, will take longer.
In January, 2014 General Mills turned to all non-GMO ingredients for it’s Cheerios brand. It has converted its entire line of Big G cereals so that whole grains are the first, most prominent, ingredient and, by 2011, the company had lowered sugar levels in all cereals advertised to kids so they contained 10 grams of sugar or less per serving.
Soon after pizza lover Phil Solorzano opened his family’s fourth restaurant in a Florida beach town, he started a “Pie It Forward” movement that is making a huge difference for those who are short on cash.
On April 29, after a customer didn’t want the drink that was included with his meal at Solorzano’s Late Night Pizzeria, Phil agreed to simply “give it to the next guy.”
Following the kindness model started by a Philadelphia pizza shop, a sticky note was placed on the Coke machine behind the counter so a future customer could have that drink instead.
“We had our first ‘Pay It Forward Wall’ situation when this kid who lost his wallet needed some food,” Phil said. “He couldn’t believe we did this.”
The wall had 15 stickers on it by the end of the first night, and the ‘Pie it Forward Wall’ was born.
Customers are also donating their money for extra slices of pizza, and even dropping as much as $100 in the store’s Paypal account so that anyone without cash can enjoy the Italian style cuisine. Phil estimates the donations have already totaled thousands of dollars in the two months since that first drink was paid forward.
The restaurant, at 6670 Superior Ave in Sarasota, is also using the program to give away its own pizza.
We are the real deal, straight out of Hoboken New Jersey, like Sinatra –Phil Solorzano
“We’re taking this to the next level,” the New Jersey native declared.
“We don’t just do it in the store,” he told Good News Network. “There’s a couple spots in the city with a lot of homeless people, so when pizza is about three hours old, I throw it in the box and get in my pizza truck and take it to them.”
“There’s so many positive vibes from everyone. Everyone’s talking about it. Every day people come to work, and everyone’s happy,” he said. “We’re never gonna stop doing this.”
The businessman has applied for a trademark on #PieItForwardWall and has set up a Fundly account if you’d like to donate.
(WATCH the WFLA video below) – Story tip from Carilyn
An Iraq war veteran is on a different type of tour these days – traveling the country to find healing…through hugs.
Ian Cooke suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder since returning from his deployment in Iraq, and says he’s discovered a unique method of recovery.
Four months ago he left his Portland, Oregon home to start the Human Hug Project – a mission to spread love to others through a simple embrace.
So far, Cooke and his friends have traveled more than 25,000 miles across the country, visiting different Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, and hugging whoever is willing to hold onto a stranger.
“A hug is something I was so disconnected from, for so many years, that it’s kind of my new medicine”, Cooke told WRTV. “And it starts to take the pain of those memories and instead replace that with a sense of brotherhood and appreciation and it gives you hope.”
Beautiful acts of kindness and compassion often surface in the wake of tragedy, and that is what’s happened in Charleston, South Carolina over the past week, throughout the community and beyond.
“You know, the antidote for hate is love,” said Minister Joyce Wright at a prayer vigil Monday attended by members of both black and white churches. “The cure for hate is togetherness.”
Instead of retribution, Alana Simmons, whose grandfather was killed in the church shooting, is calling for compassion on social media by creating a powerful hashtag: #HateWontWin. She, along with her family, is asking everyone to post pictures that depict people spreading love and compassion to demonstrate that human beings are capable of “more than hate.”
“We are here to combat hate-filled actions with love-filled actions,” Simmons told the New York Times. “And that is what we want to get out to the world.”
Families have responded by writing songs of hope, painting pictures, and delivering flowers. A 7-year-old girl who lives just miles away from Emanuel AME Church, is honoring the victims through her artwork, while a white singing group in North Carolina has recorded a song called, All Good People.
Other local children have shared their messages of love and support for the victims and their families, bringing flowers, posters and artwork to a growing memorial at the base of the church.
The Mother Emmanuel Hope Fund, a website set up by the city of Charleston to collect donations, has raised nearly $700,000 for funeral expenses for the victims and for the AME Church.
The NFL football team Carolina Panthers donated $100,000 to the fund. Team owner Jerry Richardson sent a letter asking that $10,000 go to each of the families and that the remaining $10,000 be used for a memorial at the church.
Chris Pratt inspired zookeepers everywhere to post photos of themselves imitating the actor’s now infamous “raptor-taming” stance from his most recent movie, Jurassic World.
His most captive audience to date, though, may be the children at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who received personal instructions on how to move, firsthand.
Anson Lemmer, 19, wrote his own headline when he remarked to fellow Uncle Pizza coworkers, “I left a pizza boy…and returned a pizza man!”
When the Glenwood Springs, Colorado delivery boy arrived at his last stop of the night, he found the customer outside of his home, blue in the face and unconscious.
The Red Cross training Lemmer received at age 12 immediately came in handy, and he managed to keep the man alive until paramedics arrived on the scene. Thanks to Lemmer, the man is expected to make a full recovery.
(WATCH the video below from KDVR and READ the full story at the Post Independent.) —Photo: KDVR
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The NBA draft may have just wrapped, but 8-year-old Zeke Ortiz is coming for them—and one day, he may be their first deaf player.
Recently, Zeke, who lives in Frederick, Maryland, left his deaf team to join a more competitive league. Now he is the only player on the team who is hearing impaired.
His dad, Tony, who is also deaf, started coming to every game and has begun interpreting for his son.
Zeke’s coaches started uses drawings and gestures to communicate, and the kids on the team have even developed their own sign language.
The youngster is well on his way to all-star status: this weekend, he will be playing with his team in the National Championships.
(WATCH the video from NBC above)
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13-year-old Matthew Tillyer, who’s been paralyzed for two years due to complications from pneumonia, recently won first place for turning his wheelchair into a Star Wars TIE Fighter for a costume contest in California.
The young fan’s Twin Ion Engine replica also won the admiration of from the 501st Legion, a global Star Wars costuming group.
Matthew, however, was missing a pilot’s uniform, and word of that quickly spread across the Empire. Thankfully, a team of 501st members collected armor and parts to make the costume and surprised him with it last weekend.
“At first I thought there was just some 501st event going on,” Matthew told Huffington Post. “I was speechless with excitement. I was screaming on the inside but couldn’t say anything.”
Matthew was also presented with an honorary TIE pilot certificate and a special patch for his uniform, and the group raised $1,500 to help cover his medical expenses.
A YouCaring page has been set up to raise funds for his treatments, and a Facebook page for Matthew includes photos from the surprise and words of encouragement from fellow Star Wars fans.
(WATCH video below or READ more at Huffington Post) – Photo: Prayers For Matthew Tillyer Facebook
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Homeless kids across the country face unimaginable obstacles when it comes to something as simple as trying to attend school each day.
Fortunately, one school in San Diego is helping relieve that burden by providing stability and a number of special resources for its students.
The Monarch School is one of a few schools in the United States that caters specifically to kids who are homeless, giving them access to showers, laundry facilities, meals, after school programs, and, of course, a full roster of academic classes.
“How can children focus on school if their tummies are growling, their shoes don’t fit, and they don’t even know where they are going to be sleeping the next day?” Michelle Candland, a Rotary club member, told The Rotarian.
The Monarch’s doors first opened to children in 1987 under the combined auspices of the San Diego County Office of Education and the juvenile court system. Back then, kids had to make their way through crowds of panhandlers and drug dealers to get inside the door of the two-room store front.
Thanks to the efforts of Cortland and the local Rotary club, the school eventually moved into a 10,000 square foot warehouse. Classrooms were crowded, though, so the Rotary club got behind a 15-million-dollar fundraising effort, bought the old San Diego Housing Commission building, and set about upgrading the 51-thousand square foot facility.
As the environment improved, so did attendance. Students’ scores on the California Academic Performance Index are slowly creeping up, and grades are improving.
Monarch School has been described as “public service at its best” by outside agencies. The name “Monarch” was chosen by the students, referencing the action of a butterfly emerging from a cocoon.
Getting stuck behind a high-and-wide truck on a two-lane road has its hazards—fortunately, Samsung has developed new technology for a Safety Truck, which gives the illusion of being transparent.
Actually, the technology is comprised of a four-panel screen mounted on the back of the trailer. A live video is streamed to the screens from a wireless night vision camera in the front of the truck, so drivers behind can see what the truck driver sees: oncoming traffic.
The folks at Samsung think the safety screen will stop drivers from moving into an on-coming traffic lane to see what’s ahead.
“This allows drivers to have a better view when deciding whether it is safe to overtake a truck,” wrote Samsung on their blog. “Another advantage of the Safety Truck is that it may reduce the risk of accidents caused by sudden braking or animals crossing the road.”
The prototype was tested in Argentina, which has a high rate of head-on vehicle collisions with its many two-lane roads.
On Throwback Thursday, we’ve got a video you may have missed from 2012…
It was race day at Colonial Hills Elementary School in Columbus, Ohio, and 11-year-old Matt Woodrum, who has cerebral palsy, was trailing behind his classmates. He was determined to finish the 400-meter race, though, and kept on going.
Along the way, gym teacher John Blaine decided to catch up with him, and that teacher started a field-wide movement that is sure to move you, too. Check it out in the ABC News video above to see it all unfold.
Nine-year-old Gabrielle Garcar wanted an iPad more than anything. Because her family is struggling financially, she set up a lemonade stand outside of her grandmother’s Ohio condo in hopes of raising the money herself.
When 22-year-old sheriff’s deputy Zak Ropos stopped by for a cup of the sweet stuff and learned what the little girl wanted to do with the money—use the device for schoolwork, and to play games on—he pulled her mother over and told her he’d check to see if the old iPad he had at home was still useable.
It wasn’t. But instead of calling it a day, he bought her a brand new one.
“She’s 9 years old and she’s willing to work for what she wants, and I found that very admirable of her,” Ropos told TODAY.com. “I knew her lemonade stand wasn’t probably going to bring in enough money for a tablet.”
Ropos is surprised his actions have become so widely celebrated—the photo above got 2 million views on the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page—especially since, he said, he works with lots of generous cops, including two deputies who bought a boy a bike to help him get to soccer practice and a lieutenant who recently donated $200 to a needy family.
(READ more at TODAY.com) — Photo: Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Facebook
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A Buffalo, New York teenager who was told she’d never be able to talk has found her voice – and it’s pitch-perfect.
19-year-old Amber Simone was born with a birth defect that required surgeries at just six months old – operations that doctors warned would potentially affect her ability to speak.
Amber’s surprising recovery saved her voice, and a friend recently recorded her singing at a pool party, and posted the video. Nobody expected it to get over two million views between Facebook and YouTube.
When the folks at Edgar’s Mission in Australia found little Soda Pop, she was not in good shape.
The lamb seemed very determined to live, though, and Pam Ahern, Founder and Director of the animal rescue, was determined to find a way that could help her walk again.
Pam fashioned a tote bag with four holes in it, one for each leg, and held little Soda Pop up as she tried to help her gain strength in her legs.
Within a few days, the little lamb seemed happier after all the nursing and all the little kisses Pam gave her.
“Her wonderful story is an important reminder that our greatest glories lie not in falling, but in rising every time we fall,” said Pam.
By the end of the week, Soda Pop triumphed and was walking on her own.
We’re all familiar with KIND Bars, the tasty snacks that brag about their “ingredients list that you can pronounce.”
What you may not know is that they’ve been running a campaign that has resulted in over one million acts of kindness as part of their #kindawesome initiative, which celebrates random acts of kindness from strangers.
The incentive? Free KIND bars, of course, and a voucher for you to pass along to a fellow do-gooder.
For the last twelve years, KIND Bars Founder and CEO, Daniel Lubetzky, has been working to bring kindness to all corners of his community. The corporation has done everything from backing a nonprofit every month with $10,000, to setting up “flower walls” in the city so strangers can pick a flower and pass it on to someone who needs a smile.
The #kindawesome campaign was born because Daniel also believes that everyone’s kindness should be rewarded.
If Daniel or a KIND employee sees someone performing an act of selfless kindness, they will celebrate the gesture by giving them a voucher for a free KIND Bar, along with another voucher to pass on to someone else. Twitter and Instagram are all flooded with hash-tagged pictures and stories about the contagious feelings of happiness that were born.
Daniel credits the inspiration for the movement to his father, telling USA Today that while his dad was in a concentration camp during the Holocaust, a German soldier took pity on his hunger and threw a potato at his feet. Daniel says that he was always very touched by this story, and that it must have taken a lot of courage for a soldier to show kindness to his enemy.
If you know of someone that could use some recognition for their kindness, send an email to [email protected] and tell them all about it.
(WATCH Daniel talk about his passion for kindness in the video below)
Be Kind Enough to Share the Story With Your Friends… (below)
Rikers Island has quite a rap sheet these days, but for many of its female inmates, it’s a whole other song and dance—especially when Kate Mulgrew, who stars in the popular Netflix series “Orange is the New Black” comes by.
New York’s Stella Adler Studio of Acting has been coaching women there to act, dance and write and read poetry. So far, 300 women have completed the six-month program since it launched in December. The first round of classes culminated with a moving performance called, “Our Circle,” which played to an audience of fellow prisoners, guards and guests who gave them a standing ovation.
Mulgrew was in that first audience, and was so moved by the performance she met with prisoners individually afterwards.
Rikers womens’ uniforms are grey, but they were permitted to don pink t-shirts for the show.
The women say the opportunity to express themselves through theater definitely helps with their rehabilitation.
“I can honestly say this program has given me my human back,” inmate Latanya Jones told the Oneida Daily Dispatch. “It’s made me remember that this is not forever. It’s just for right now.”
A formerly homeless young man has taken to his mother’s sewing machine to design special pieces for those who are still struggling.
Inspiration first struck as Xavier Elliott, 10, watched his mother, who runs a veteran support group, sew a purse.
“I think the idea came to him from everything we have endured and wanting to make a difference for other people,” Stephanie Elliott told the Huffington Post.
Xavier, who previously spent some time in a homeless shelter with his family, started out by using his own allowance to foot the cost, and has since received a number of monetary and material donations—along with several offers of new sewing machines—after his story was broadcast by local Phoenix television stations.
According to the Elliott Family Charity Facebook page, he is being treated to a fashion camp where he can learn how to design clothing from professionals, and may even get an invitation to appear on the Ellen Degeneres show.
In addition to clothing, Xavier wants to make tote bags so homeless kids have a place to put their clothing.
(WATCH the video below from KPNX-TVor READ more at Huff Post) – Photos from Elliott Family Photos, FB
Teddy will only drink water from a crystal glass with ice cubes, loves the labels on his toys, and enjoys a good underarm tickle. But this huge dog didn’t always have it so good.
When Teddy arrived at Annie Blumenfeld’s home in Fairfield, Connecticut after being rescued from a high-kill shelter in Texas, he was infected with heartworm disease, the treatment for which is expensive and sometimes life-threatening.
Fortunately, after a month of treatment, Teddy made it out on the other side, happy and healthy. But it wasn’t enough for Annie to just breathe a sigh of relief—she wanted to help more dogs avoid the same fate.
Annie, then just an eighth grader, created nonprofit Wags 4 Hope to help spread awareness of heartworm disease and help animal shelters pay their medical bills.
To fund that mission, she paints beautiful watercolor and acrylic portraits of people’s pets, which go for about $30 apiece. So far, she’s painted over two hundred of them, donating them to silent auctions and handing them over to excited pet parents who have commissioned them. Coupled with additional donations from supporters, she has raised over $40,000 to date.
“Many people stop Teddy all the time when I walk him, and I always explain how he was rescued and his story,” she said. “A lot of these pet owners had never heard of heartworm disease, so I always try to get the word out even on walks.”
She also worked with her state representative for over a year and half on a bill called HB-5422, An Act Concerning Awareness of Heartworm Disease and the Standard Dog Licensing Form, which requires the dog licensing form to confirm whether a dog has received the correct preventative medications.
“I had watched many committee meetings on TV before I even had this idea, since they always seemed so interesting, with all of the different points of view,” she said. “But I didn’t know what to expect.”
She proposed the bill in January 2014, and the Connecticut Agriculture Department decided to make the change in December 2014. Next, she plans to lobby for this change to be made in southern states, where heartworm is most prevalent.
Right now, Wags 4 Hope is a one-woman show–and a lot of work. In addition to painting portraits and pushing for new legislation, Annie takes “pet responsibility crafts” to local libraries to teach kids how to properly care for their pets.
Annie helps local kids learn about pet care through arts and crafts.
She also started a Wags 4 Hope club at her high school, Fairfield Ward. Together, those 50 students raise funds for local shelters and rescues by holding bake sales and donation drives. Ideally, she says, Wags 4 Hope clubs will soon be operating in a number of different schools.
To keep up with this devoted dog advocate and all their future successes, follow Annie and Teddy on Facebook.
(WATCH Amy testify in the video below):
Paws and Reflect, Then Share This Story With Your Friends….
