Pesky Packing Peanuts Find New Purpose As Powerful Batteries

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Apr 1, 2015

Packing peanuts may protect your fragile shipments, but they can damage a fragile environment. Now, scientists have found a way to crush them, bake them and recycle them into fast-charging, long-lasting batteries.

Vilas Pol, a scientist at Purdue University in Indiana, came up with the idea while he was unpacking equipment for a new lab.

“We were getting a lot of packing peanuts in all these boxes,” Pol said.

He found out that only about 10% of the polystyrene and starch peanuts were recycled in the U.S. The rest rot in landfills, leaking harmful chemicals and detergents into the environment.

Pol put his team to work on finding a new use for the pesky peanuts.

The Purdue team crushed the peanuts and cooked them with other chemicals at 1,100 degrees. This created carbon microsheets and nanoparticles. These are similar to the graphite used to make parts of most rechargeable batteries — only better.

It’s much thinner, allowing batteries to store more electricity.

In tests, the packing peanut batteries showed at least 13% higher storage capacity than most commercial batteries on the market today— and they charged faster, too.

“The process is inexpensive, environmentally benign and potentially practical for large-scale manufacturing,” Vinodkumar Etacheri told a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Denver, where their findings were unveiled.

The team built coin cell batteries— similar to watch batteries — for their tests. But they say they can easily scale up the process to build bigger ones and could have their products on the market in as little as two years.

(WATCH the video below or READ more from Perdue University)

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Passenger’s Thank You Note to Pilot Proves We’re All In This Together

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Apr 1, 2015

A passenger’s note to an airline flight crew, thanking them for a safe flight, is going viral in the aftermath of the Germanwings crash in the French Alps.

“Thank you for taking me home. Thank you for doing so safely,” the woman, identified only as Bethanie, says in the handwritten note. “Thank you for allowing me to live the life I do in Spain and split my time with my family in England too. You make the excitement I feel now to see my family possible.”

Pilot Jai Dillon tweeted a photo of the letter, with the caption: A letter given to a colleague from a passenger onboard his aircraft… Providing proof that we’re all in this together.

The writer wanted to “extend a compassionate hand,” in the wake of the Germanwings crash that killed 150 people.

Photos by Jai Dillon, via Twitter (click to enlarge)

“I understand an event so horrific as this one affects those with your responsibility more than others,” the note reads. “And maybe sometimes a kind word, random but heartfelt, can make a difference.”

The out-of-the-blue thank-you note is a welcome message to pilots, who rarely have a chance to see or interact with the people whose lives they’re responsible for, especially in the post-9/11 security environment.

“You’re making a massive difference and you’re the reason I can smile tonight,” Bethanie’s note concludes. “Take care and spread love.”

The love is spreading across the world. Dillon’s Tweet alone has been retweeted more than 3,000 times.

Story tip from Andrew Norris

Stray Dogs Instinctively Attend Funeral Of Woman Who Fed Them

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Good News Network

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Mar 31, 2015

Before her death, Margarita Suarez of Cuernavaca, Mexico, had established a daily routine of feeding 20 local stray dogs and cats. It earned her a loving reputation that continued days after her death.

In return for her kindness, a pack of those dogs assembled outside of the funeral home and trailed behind her coffin as she was carried in, holding vigil throughout the ceremony.

(READ more of the story from Dodo)

Slow and Steady Mars Rover Finally Completes Red Planet Marathon

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Terry Turner

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Mar 31, 2015

A time of 11 years, two months isn’t much to brag about if you’re running the Boston Marathon. It’s pretty good if you’re on Mars.

NASA’s “Opportunity” rover has finally traveled 26.2 miles from its landing site — the length of a standard marathon race — across the surface of Mars.

“This is the first time any human enterprise has exceeded the distance of a marathon on the surface of another world,” John Callas, Opportunity’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement.

Blasted daily by cosmic radiation, plugging along in 175 degree heat and riding out the blinding, red sands of Martian dust storms, Opportunity has been slowly roaming the Martian surface since January, 2004. Not bad, considering it was originally designed for a short, 90-day mission.

Beagle Crater on Mars-ExplorationRover-Cornell_JPL_NASA — Beagle Crater on Mars, Exploration Rover (Cornell, JPL, NASA)

The rover has reached the edge of Endeavor Crater, a place dubbed “Marathon Valley” in honor of Opportunity’s endeavor.

And even though it took 11 years, it’s still a world record time for a marathon. If the world you’re talking about is Mars.

Photo credit: Mars Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASA

Terminally Ill Homeless Man and Dog Gifted With Apartment, Pet Food

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Good News Network

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Mar 31, 2015

It all started with one good deed that led to an even bigger one, which resulted in a life-changing one, all in the name of helping homeless people with pets, who aren’t allowed in shelters because of their animal companions.

Break.com, an online site that showcases funny videos, planned to surprise the Louisville pet hero Beth Green. She has been giving dog food and blankets to these human-pup families throughout the sub-zero winter. While preparing to donate a year’s supply of dog food to the Kentucky do-gooder, the video team heard a heart-breaking tale and decided to go big on their “prank”, just in time for April Fools Day.

While the show’s host Tom Mabe, was collecting footage of Beth’s volunteer organization, My Dog Eats First, he was introduced to a homeless man named Ricky who sacrifices everything for his 12-year-old dog Buddy. “I’ll do without”, said Ricky. “I’ll feed him before I feed myself.”

Not the Usual Homecoming Video: Wife Surprises Returning US marine

Ricky and Buddy had been living together for years in a car, but were forced to separate once Ricky was hospitalized for cancer. After hearing he only had six months to live — and against the recommendations of the hospital staff — Ricky discharged himself to live again with Buddy on the streets.

Beth’s group did her best to keep the pair in a pet-friendly motel, but the money ran out.

After hearing the sad story, Mabe pulled some strings and with his video crew recording it all, brought Ricky to an apartment and announced that the newly-furnished place was to be his — a warm home for the companions to rest during their final chapter.

Tom Mabe learned something during this latest prank, too.

“I used to get really upset when I would see a homeless person with a dog. I would think, ‘You can’t take care of yourself, how are you going to take care of a dog?'” he said. “But after spending a lot of time with them I realize they take great care of the dogs and it gives them something to be accountable for…it really gives a homeless person purpose.”

“We are keeping in touch with Ricky,” Mabe told the Good News Network, “and he has a tough road ahead of him, but he and Buddy are in a comfortable environment now.”

(WATCH video surprises below)

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What This Boy Did For Sick Girl At Hockey Game Has Everyone Cheering

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Mar 31, 2015

When seven-year-old Alyx Delaloye left chemotherapy for a Winnipeg Jets hockey game earlier this month, she couldn’t have known that an entire city was about to rally around her, including one particularly generous boy named Keaton.

Earlier this year, Alyx was given a standing ovation when her family was shown on the Jumbotron screen during a game. She and her mother had been holding up a sign that read, “Chemo by day, Jets by night,” and once players on both the Jets and Dallas Stars saw them up on screen, they began banging their sticks on the ice. The crowd, too, gave a standing ovation.

Two weeks ago, the Jets invited Alyx and her family back, and that’s when nine-year-old Keaton Hamin chose his own moment to shine.

Ohio State Football Team Acts as Loving Family to Boys With Incurable Illness

When one of the players handed Keaton an autographed hockey stick, Alyx promptly ran down the aisle to take a look. Moments later, after she returned to her seat, Keaton went in search of Alyx and handed her his prize.

Alyx, who was clearly shocked, thanked Keaton with a big hug.

The boy told the CBC, “It was really exciting when I got the stick, but right away my instinct knew I had to give it to Alyx.”

Keaton’s dad, Ken Hamin said his son’s actions made him feel good and “super proud.” Not to be outdone, Mr. Hamin gave the whole Delaloyes family tickets to another Jets game that would follow Alyx’s next round of chemo, and the two families attended together.

The Winnipeg club had a surprise waiting for young Keaton. Before the game, he was handed a brand new, autographed hockey stick from the Jets — a way of saying thanks for his generosity.

(WATCH the full story below, from CBC’s The National) – Photos via JetsTV

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Cafe Serves Up Second Chances to Homeless Youth in Denver

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Mar 30, 2015

The Purple Door Coffee shop, celebrated on Yelp for its stellar French espresso and unique house blends, is considered one of Denver’s best—and not just because of the beans.

Here’s the scoop: the shop’s owners, Madison Chandler and Mark Smesrud, opened their “royal” purple doors two years ago with the intention of employing and supporting homeless youth.

“We believe that every human being has incredible value,” says Smesrud in their company video. “And it’s not defined by their successes or failures.”

Once the teens are hired, they are also taught job skills like customer service, financial skills like budgeting, and coping techniques to manage their emotions.

Now in their second year serving fair trade coffee at 2962 Welton St., Chandler and Smesrud continue to learn along with their pupils.

“The hardest part of this job for me has been how to balance pushing someone to become better and being gracious to them when they fail,” Chandler told KUSA-TV in Denver.

Their success in creating a nurturing environment has empowered Purple Door employee Jenna Williams, 23, who had been struggling with homelessness and drug abuse since age 15. Thanks to the experience gained at the coffee shop, she’s been able to secure a full-time job at Starbucks.

“The Purple Door Coffee family gave me a chance no one else would,” Williams told KUSA.. “It’s all about love. We’re not just a business. We’re not just a coffee shop. We are a family.”

We’ll drink to that.

(WATCH the video from Purple Door Coffee below)

Charities Win With Every Bite of 350-Pound Easter Egg (Video)

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Terry Turner

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Mar 30, 2015

Not only is the Easter egg (below) impressive in its size, but every inch of this seven-foot chocolate wonder is being sold to benefit a UK charity.

Britons love their chocolate Easter eggs. They eat about 80 million of them a year, accounting for almost 10% of chocolate consumed all year in the UK.

One week before Easter, a Lincolnshire chocolatier created the 350-pound egg using the equivalent of 16,000 king-sized candy bars.

“A four-year-old lad who saw it just couldn’t take it in,” said the maker, Jan Hansen. “He couldn’t understand you could have an Easter egg so big.”

Hansen plans to break up the giant egg after Sunday and sell pieces to raise money for a local hospice in memory of his late brother.

Until then, it’s taking up a corner of his shop, towering over customers and the curious. People are traveling to Hansen’s shop in the tiny village of Folkingham to take a look, and to take in the aroma.

“The smell’s amazing,” an unnamed visitor told the BBC. “When you come in, the chocolate hits you.”

Oversized Easter eggs are something of a UK tradition, particularly at Betty’s, a Yorkshire bakery and chocolatier that has been constructing twelve-pound hollow chocolate eggs since 1919.

At a foot-and-a-half tall, with hand decorated flowers, these sweet treats could feed several families of chocolate lovers. A new video shows how they are lovingly constructed.

(WATCH the videos below) – Story tip from Kelly Harrington

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Fire Extinguisher of the Future is ALL About That Bass

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Good News Network

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Mar 30, 2015

Could this be the end of old-school fire extinguishers? These college kids seem to think so.

A pair of engineering students at George Mason University in Virginia have built a device that puts out fires by literally “dropping the bass” on blazes. The sound waves create pressure that robs a fire of oxygen, snuffing it out.

Scientists have been experimenting for years with the idea of using sound to fight fires, but these two students have figured out how to build a lightweight and portable device that makes “sonic firefighting” practical.

“It’s low-frequency sounds—like the thump-thump bass in hip-hop that works,” Viet Tran said, adding that rappers may soon be called to put out fires in the future.

Tran, along with his friend, Seth Robertson, spent $600 of their own money building a sonic fire extinguisher. The cylindrical prototype uses low-frequency sounds to put out fires, and Tran thinks the device could be built into stovetop hoods to put out kitchen fires.

“Eventually, I’d like to see this applied to swarm robotics,” he said in a YouTube video. “It’d be attached to a drone and that would be applied to forrest fires or building fires where you wouldn’t want to sacrifice a human life.”

Beyond that, the sky’s not even the limit: the engineering students see their device as standard issue on space missions.

“In space, extinguisher contents spread all over. But you can direct sound waves without gravity,” Robertson points out.

The two college seniors have applied for a provisional patent which gives them a year to talk up the invention and test market.

In the meantime, please continue to call 911 in the event of an emergency— don’t just crank up the tunes.

(WATCH the video demonstration below)

Why These Old Ladies Want You to See Them Nearly Naked

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Good News Network

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Mar 30, 2015

These aren’t your father’s pinup girls.

Actually, maybe they are.

This 2015 calendar, called Pleasant View, Pleasant Point is stocked with photos of lovely ladies like Dottie Rutter, pictured enjoying a bubble bath and chocolates, with lingerie close at hand. At 87 years old, she’s the youngest of all the Pleasant Point models.

Earlier this month, she and several other residents at the nursing home just outside of Akron, Ohio got together and decided to strip down to their skivvies in the name of charity—and fun.

“I had a lot of fun doing it, something to make everybody laugh and everybody happy. I enjoyed it very much,” Velda Vogt, a resident of Pleasant Pointe Assisted Living, told Fox 8 Cleveland.

The calendars sell for $12 and all proceeds will be donated to the Magic City Kiwanis Esther Ryan Shoe Fund, an organization that helps provide shoes for children in need.

95-Year-old Smashes 200m World Record: ‘Bodies Can be Rebuilt at Any Age’

Other seniors who participated said they found the experience “exhilarating” and it helped them feel young again.

“I was October, and I’m 90; I’ll be 91 in May,” Regina Genet, a resident at the Barberton facility, told Fox 8.

“It seems like everything we do is involving around being old and everything…This just made me feel, ‘Oh, here I am young, having a good time, and I don’t care about anything else.’”

(WATCH the video below or READ more from Ohio.com)

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Risking Injury From Talons and Beaks to Rescue Birds of Prey

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Mar 30, 2015

Larry WhiteEagle-Fisher is certain that his Native American heritage is the source of his passion for birds of prey, and every day he cares for the injured ones like they’re family.

“They’re our brothers,” he told the Good News Network. “You can’t just leave them lying on the side of the road; you wouldn’t leave your brother or sister if they were injured.”

Squirt-Educational Barred Owl-ThunderEagleWildlife — “Squirt” their educational barred owl

At his farm about an hour southwest of Richmond, Virginia, Larry and his wife Karen are the rarest sort of wildlife rehabilitators, taking in owls, hawks and eagles — most of them injured by cars. Their non-profit organization, Thunder Eagle Wildlife, is currently caring for seven owls, six of which were hit by cars.

Administering medical care to animals with such sharp talons and beaks, requires a lot of patience and tolerance. Even though Larry has been handling owls since he was five or six years old — taught by his grandmother to care for them whenever they fell out of nests or appear injured — he has been cut and bitten many times.

“There’s always a risk when dealing with claws and talons,” he said with a chuckle. “You can’t get mad about it, because they don’t always know you’re trying to help them.”

Going to Mouse School

The youngest fledglings that come to the farm eventually need to be put through “Mouse School” so they can gain hunting skills. They are placed in an enclosed area with a live mouse.

There are no lessons or grades in this school, Larry said. “Their mothers and fathers don’t teach them how to hunt — it’s Nature.”

No Rhinos Poached in Nepal, First Time in 29 Years

They raise mice at the farm and also get donations from a lab in Maryland that gives them the “control group” mice.

Teaching Humans, too

Larry is amazed by the number of people who have never seen a live hawk, owl or eagle. One of the missions of Thunder Eagle Wildlife is to take live owls to schools and libraries and conduct educational programs. From their base in Mckenney they traveled to 26 locations around the state last year showing off three different owls native to Virginia.

“We had an adult at one of our programs ask how many teeth the owl had,” admitted Larry.

“If we paid more attention to animals, it makes life less complicated,” said the Army veteran who is of Apache and Cheyenne heritage. “They are all messengers.”

The couple’s goal for Thunder Eagle Wildlife, which also rescues songbirds, small mammals and waterfowl, is to expand their facilities to include extra large raptor cages, but for that they need funding.

On their website’s Wish List they’ve listed needed supplies for those who want to give in-kind donations— everything from used towels to gauze sponges to fencing lumber. And the Paypal donation button at the bottom will except tax-deductible cash donations.

(Learn more in this news article from the Progress-Index) – Photos by permission from Thunder Eagle Wildlife Facebook page

How One #Hashtag Created a Movement to Stamp Out Hunger

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Good News Network

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Mar 30, 2015

Hashtag Lunchbag, a nonprofit that began with a few brown-bag lunches for the homeless on Skid Row, has spread to 100 cities and five continents.

#HashtagLunchbag was born on Christmas Day 2012 in a Los Angeles apartment with just a small group of friends. The intent was simple, to prepare and deliver a hearty and well-balanced meal to our local homeless community.

“We all chipped in a few bucks before taking a quick trip to the grocery store and purchasing a few goodies. We invited over a few more friends to help assemble the lunch bags, blasted some music, and then hit the streets.”

“Before we knew it, other friends starting requesting invites to the next outing,” says their website, www.hashtaglunchbag.org.

(WATCH the video below from NBC) – Photo #HashtagLunchbag via Facebook

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Car Accident Secretly Foretold a Better Life for Teen Victim and Driver

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Mar 29, 2015

Jeff Wilson wanted to die.

For, at least, several days after he hit a fellow student with his car in high school, the California teen was devastated to his core.

Tammie Baird, a freshman, wasn’t badly hurt, having only chipped an ankle bone. But in a surprising twist of fate, the shocking moment when Tammie flew over Wilson’s car, placed her on a unique career path no one could have foreseen.

20-something years later, out of the blue, she wrote an email to Jeff telling him her good news:

“You may have been the first person to hit me with your car, but you weren’t the last,” she began.

“I became a stunt woman, and now, what I’m known for in my industry is car hits.”

14 Yrs After Receiving Shoe box Gift, Filipino Girl Marries Boy Who Sent it

“I just really felt like I had to let you know that,” Baird told Wilson in a meeting they recorded for StoryCorps.

People often say to the stunt woman, “Wow, you do car hits? How did you get so good at it?”

She always replies, “Well this guy hit me my freshman year walking to school.”

Orphans Win Fishing Tournament, Bring $250,000 Home to Share

The car accident may have changed Jeff’s life for the better too. He became a surgical technician, doing a lot of orthopedic surgery. Many of those patients are the result of car accidents, and he feels good helping to make them whole again.

(LISTEN to their interview or READ more at NPR) – Photo credit: drivebybiscuits1 (flickr, CC)

Monkeys Give WAY Too Many Hugs to Animal Rescuers in Peru

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McKinley Corbley

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Mar 29, 2015

While in Peru on a volunteer mission to improve an animal rescue reserve deep in the jungle, Trevor King found some unlikely friends in the mischievous monkey residents occupying the little piece of heaven.

King and his cohorts hiked many miles through the dense hills of Ayahuasca— crossing the same river 14 times— to help with construction at the monkey shelter known as Cerelias. The reserve has been eager to install sustainable items like a two-story dry toilet, shower, and rain catchers to make it completely self-sufficient. Construction was scheduled to start shortly after the volunteers’ arrival, but the travelers had no idea what monkey business awaited them.

trevorKing-monkey-submitted — Trevor King getting some ‘monkey love’

The reserve is home to several different species of monkeys rescued from all over the Peruvian Amazon. Some had been housed as pets by owners who found them too much trouble, some were circus animals, while others sustained injuries in the wild and are being nursed back to health. While awaiting their integration back into the forests, the primates are given free run of the Cerelias compound. The volunteers were taken aback by the energetic, inquisitive animals that were eager to socialize with their new friends — especially while the humans were trying to work!

“Not one person was exempt from having monkeys randomly jump on their backs while working,” exclaimed King on his blog. “It wasn’t uncommon to shovel once, have a monkey jump on your head, move the monkey out of the pit, shovel twice, have a monkey jump on your back, and so on.”

“Tools that were put down were quickly scooped up by curious monkeys and then bartered back with bits of banana.”

Watch Amazing Video of the Lion Whisperer Hugging Big Cats

As Trevor continued work at the site, with volunteers from HUGS (Humans Unifying Global Solutions), he learned to ignore the frustrations of trying to work around the monkeys, and instead focus on how fun loving his new friends were.

“I had an insight that these monkeys were the physical manifestation of the ‘monkeys’ I carry around my own back from time to time,” he wrote. “I realized that instead of being annoyed by them (as I often am), I could choose to see them as playful and good-natured.”

He also told Good News Network that since leaving the animal rescue property, the monkeys have played havoc with the new shower and sink. “I will be back there again in two weeks to install netting around the structure to protect it from curious monkeys.”

Watch the video below, made by Trevor’s housemates, showing their monkey encounters.

Trevor King, of Burlington, Ontario, has been helping clients in the health and wellness field for over 10 years as the owner of Act Now Fitness, and as a practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming and Faster Emotionally Focused Transformations. He is currently in Peru for 3 months to gain further insight as to how to live harmoniously with his environment.

(Learn how you can help Cerelias on their blog, or website / Trevor’s Photos used with permission )

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Strangers Rally Behind Teen Bullied Over Prom Dress, She Pays it Forward

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Good News Network

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Mar 29, 2015

A teenager who posted pictures of a dress online so she could sell it, had to defend herself against some faceless cyber-bullies calling her ugly and fat. But the Tennessee Facebook community came to her defense, not only by posting sweet compliments on her beauty, but donating thousands of dollars for a new spring dress for her senior prom.

In January, in the town of White House, Kristen Layne decided to try to sell last year’s prom dress online to help raise money for a new dress to wear this year at the school’s annual prom.

After posting the pictures on “For Sale in Sumner County, TN”, two men started making ugly comments about her weight and looks.

She bravely replied, “Can you please stop with the comments? Sorry I don’t have the best body. Sorry that I’m not pleasing to your eye.”

In Age of Bullying, Special Needs Student Elected Prom King at Inclusive School

Soon, others began defending her, writing positive comments, and donating money to her online dress fund.

When the story began spreading online, about how the town raised $400 to buy the new formal wear, her dress fund took off, with donations from huncdreds of strangers who were touched by her spirit.

As of today, $6,375 has been donated and the size 26 purple dress was donated, too. Kristen paid it forward to a friend in need of a prom attire.

She also bought a new gown for another girlfriend, saying, “She didn’t have the money to buy the one of her dreams so, I went and bought it for her… Thank you guys. I helped 2 young ladies have a wonderful prom. ”

(READ the story from KSL) – Story tip from Darryl

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WWII Vet Leaves $3.3 Million to Skid Row Charities

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Good News Network

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Mar 28, 2015

During the next several weeks, more than $3 million will be given to skid row charities that care for the poorest residents in downtown Los Angeles.

The cash comes courtesy of a reclusive World War II vet with a frugal personality born of the depression and a heart full of compassion for the downtrodden.

Delmer Kallberg died about a year and a half ago at 98, and after willing a share of the money to his son and $500,000 to a local veterans hospital, he left the rest to be “distributed to the various charitable organizations on the so called skidrow.”

When some of the 30 charity leaders, which will each receive $100,000, asked to know more about the generous donor they never met, Jeffrey Kallberg wrote a brief biography about his father. It ended with this:

“My father was not a man who made friends easily. But he felt strongly that one of the purposes of his life was to fight for the ‘little guy’ (as he termed the most indigent of his clients), and it was in this realm that he most easily allowed his humanity to show through.”

(READ the story in the LA Times)

60 Years Later, Student Makes Amends for Stealing From School

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Good News Network

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Mar 28, 2015

An anonymous letter arrived at Helper Middle School in Utah last week that contained a confession.

“One warm spring day, as school was concluding, Mr. Iverson set down a box of sandpaper outside the shop door. He went back inside the building an dI absconded with the box.”

“Over the years, I knew (my) actions were immature and dishonest,” read the letter.

Inside the envelope, which had a St. Louis postmark and no return address, there was also a cashier’s check for $100 meant “as a replacement for the sandpaper.”

Principal Mika Salas told KSL news, “I just thought it was so neat.”

(WATCH the video below or READ the story from KSL) – Photo by KSL

Story submitted by Darryl

Late UNC Coach Dean Smith Left Surprise in His Will For Each Player

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Good News Network

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Mar 28, 2015

Legendary North Carolina Coach Dean Smith, who took his college basketball team to two NCAA championships, always coaxed the best out of his players. Now, a month after his death, he has issued one final ‘thank you’ to every full-time player who ever hit the court for him.

Trustees of Smith’s estate mailed out $200 checks to 180 players with an accompanying letter that read, “enjoy a dinner out compliments of Coach Dean Smith.”

400px-Michael-Jordan-Dean-Smith-CC-Zeke_Smith — Michael Jordan with Dean Smith (Zeke Smith, 2007, CC)

Player Brad Daugherty said on ESPN that he would ignore the coach’s orders to spend the money on dinner out: “Nope, I’m going to get it matted and framed, and stick it on my wall so I can look at it every day.”

Buzz Peterson, a teammate of Michael Jordan’s when they played for Smith, was in awe of the gesture, according to ESPN. “I saw the check, and was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. This is unbelievable that he would do this for us.'”

Smith was known for teaching his players to show respect for others during his 36 years coaching at UNC. And Coach Smith respected his players, pushing them to succeed in their studies just as they succeeded on the court. While the average graduation rate for NCAA Division I basketball players was 70% in 2013, student athletes who played for Smith had a 96.6% graduation rate over the course of his career.

And the lessons of respect he taught still resonate with his former players.

Serge Zwikker, who played for Smith from 1993-1997 said the $200 check is unlike any other money he has received.

“I don’t think I can cash this,” he told ESPN. “If anything, I will donate it to a good cause.”

Teen Track Star Carries Fallen Opponent Across Finish Line

Smith, who died February 7 at the age of 83, was a giant in basketball circles. In addition to one of the most impressive records in NCAA history, the four-time National Coach of the Year led the U.S. basketball team to a Gold Medal in the 1976 Olympics, earned a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame and was remembered for contributions to the Civil Rights movement. He was buried at Old Chapel Hill Cemetery on the UNC campus.

(WATCH the video below from WNCN) – Story tip from Mike McGinley

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Milestone in Race to Save Finless Porpoise, 10 Years From Extinction

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Good News Network

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Mar 27, 2015

Four Yangtze finless porpoises were released into their new home today, marking the start of an ambitious project to help save the critically endangered species from extinction.

The freshwater porpoises – part of an estimated population of just 1000 – were captured in Poyang Lake in eastern China before being safely moved 400 km to the He-wang-miao/Ji-cheng-yuan oxbow reserve, where they will start a new population.

Four other finless porpoises from Poyang Lake are also being translocated to a second location, the Tian-e-Zhou Oxbow Nature Reserve, to boost the genetic diversity of its small population.

“Based on current numbers and rate of decline for this subspecies, the Yangtze finless porpoise will likely be extinct in the next 5-10 years,” said Dr Wang Ding, Researcher at the Institution of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Science, which is leading the translocation project. “To prevent the finless porpoise from suffering the same fate as the Baiji Dolphin, which is now extinct in the Yangtze River, we must focus on translocation, while also working to conserve the porpoise’s natural habitat.”

WWF China CEO Lu Sze Ping called it a historic moment. “By conserving the finless porpoise, we are also helping to conserve the ecosystem of the Yangtze River.”

WWF has been working with the Chinese government and partners for years to protect and enlarge finless porpoise habitats, studying and preparing the new site, as well as training the staff.

A thriving new population is critical to the species’ survival because its numbers are falling by up to 13.7% per year due to the environmental impact of human activities along the Yangtze including shipping, sand mining, dredging, pollution, and illegal fishing.

The omens for success are good following the success of a previous translocation in the 1990s, under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture.

In the following 20 years, while finless porpoise numbers plummeted in the main river, the population in the Tian-e-zhou oxbow slowly increased to 45, with up to six babies now born each year. But the oxbow is approaching its carrying capacity, another reason why the new porpoise expansion site is so vital and timely.

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The He-wang-miao/Ji-cheng-yuan oxbow is home to 34 fish species and boasts good quality water and the right environmental conditions for the porpoises.

This week’s translocation is the first step in a long process with hopes that the He-wang-miao/Ji-cheng-yuan oxbow could eventually be home to 100 Yangtze finless porpoises. Together with Tian-e-zhou oxbow, the new site will form part of a network of finless porpoise reserves that will not only protect viable populations but also allow individuals to be exchanged between them to maintain the species’ overall genetic diversity.

“Conserving this beautiful species is not an overnight task but we hope that today’s milestone will mark the start of a bright new chapter for the finless porpoise and a healthier Yangtze,” said Malini Thadani, Head of Corporate Sustainability, Asia Pacific at HSBC, which has supported WWF’s work along the Yangtze for over a decade.

All Photo credits: WWF (top) KentTruog

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Hero Librarian to Receive Lemony Snicket Prize For Work During Riots

By

Kristy Cooper

-

Mar 27, 2015

The most effective superheroes, like Super Man’s alter ego Clark Kent or Spiderman’s Peter Parker, often are the most unassuming.

As the director of Ferguson, Missouri’s tiny library, Scott Bonner is this year’s recipient of the Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity.

When the city erupted in riots on August 9, 2014 following the shooting of an African-American teenager by a police officer, the district schools closed amid the civil unrest.

Only a few blocks from the combustible protests, Bonner, as the city’s only librarian, demonstrated commitment to families by not closing his doors. He hung a simple sign out front saying, “Stay Strong Ferguson. We are Family.”

He collaborated with teachers, churches and volunteers to offer educational programming and provide a safe place for up to 200 kids a day. The library urged children to check out “Healing Kits” that included books dealing with trauma, and included a stuffed animal gift.

After tweets about Bonner’s dedication went viral, the Ferguson Public Library received more than $175,000 in donations.

The humble librarian, who was hired the month before, insists he was just doing his job.

“We feel that he has been the ultimate example of humility, integrity, and dignity in the face of adversity,” said Dora Ho of the Los Angeles Public Library and chair of the jury that selected Bonner.

The award was established by noted author Daniel Handler of the best-selling Lemony Snicket series of children’s novels. It has a cash prize of $10,000 and includes an “odd, symbolic object from Mr. Snicket’s private stash.”

Plus, Bonner will get a certificate, to which Handler joked to The Guardian, “…which may or may not be suitable for framing.”

On June 28th, Handler, along with award-winning author Jaqueline Woodson, will honor Bonner at the American Library Association’s annual conference in San Francisco.

Bonner is taking all of the notoriety in stride. In response to winning, he wrote on his Twitter account, “Ha! Thanks. But, if I’m a superhero, then so is any local librarian, so go to the library and let them teach you to fly.”

(WATCH an ALA interview with Scott Bonner below) – Photo Credit: ALA

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