For most of the last century, the United States dominated global manufacturing. Recently though, the nation has lost many factories to cheaper labor markets overseas. But there are heroic holdouts.
There are still US manufacturing plants scrappy enough to compete in the face of overseas competition. From compact disks to bowling balls, from sparklers to pianos, and even sneakers, here’s a look at 10 companies worth celebrating.
The Elders, a group of notable statesmen brought together by Nelson Mandela in 2007 and currently chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, has decided to elevate the problem of child marriage, a harmful tradition that robs 10 million girls every year of their childhood.
As Desmond Tutu says, we know from our own experience that great change can happen in a single generation. That’s why The Elders were inspired to launch Girls Not Brides, a new global partnership that brings together grassroots, national and international organizations committed to ending child marriage.
There was positive corporate news reported Friday alongside U.S. retail sales gains.
Consumers spent more on autos, clothing, and furniture last month to boost consumer spending 1.1 per cent — the largest gain in seven months, the Commerce Department said.
The news indicated to some that the world’s largest economy might not be in as much trouble as feared earlier.
Business inventories also increased suggesting companies were confident enough in the economy to keep stocking their shelves.
(READ the AP story in NPR)
At her Stanford commencement ceremony in 2005, Kamael Sugrim listened intently to Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
A year after he was first diagnosed with cancer, Jobs told the graduates that death is life’s change agent.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And, most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”
Sugrim, a business grad, had her future life of prosperity assured, but Jobs’ words never left her. She took them to heart and changed her life to follow her bliss and help poor kids excel in Asia.
WATCH the video from MSNBC…
(You can see the inspiring commencement address at bottom, or read it at the Guardian)
At her Stanford commencement ceremony in 2005, Kamael Sugrim listened intently to Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
A year after he was first diagnosed with cancer, Jobs told the graduates that death is life’s change agent.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And, most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”
Young Indonesians are breathing new life into their polluted concrete capital city with little more than buckets of soil and seeds.
A group of mostly young professionals, known as Gardening Indonesia, has joined the global urban farming movement, converting vacant patches of land between Jakarta’s skyscrapers into lush green vegetable gardens.
On Hugh Jackman’s 43rd birthday Wednesday, the actor followed in the footsteps of Paul Newman launching a food and beverage company with 100% of profits going to charity.
It was the Australian actor’s visit to Ethiopia with World Vision that planted the seed for a new coffee/chocoalate import business.
He struck up a friendship with Dukale, a local coffee farmer, after meeting his family and friends and working on the farm. Jackman saw how a community could benefit from the growth of a single entrepreneur.
On Hugh Jackman’s 43rd birthday Wednesday, the actor followed in the footsteps of Paul Newman launching a food and beverage company with 100% of profits going to charity.
It was the Australian actor’s visit to Ethiopia with World Vision that planted the seed for a new coffee/chocoalate import business.
He struck up a friendship with Dukale, a local coffee farmer, after meeting his family and friends and working on the farm. Jackman saw how a community could benefit from the growth of a single entrepreneur.
Sean (Diddy) Combs has given an emergency $60,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem, which was on the brink of going broke until the hip-hop mogul came through with the cash.
The nonprofit was debating whether to close one of its four sites uptown or cut back on sports and tutoring programs throughout Harlem.
Virgin Atlantic Airways and LanzaTech are developing an aviation fuel that will cut in half the carbon footprint of conventional flights.
Instead of using plant stock for the fuel, waste gases are being captured from steel mills. The gases, which would otherwise burn up in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, are fermented and chemically converted into jet fuel.
A test facility is already in operation in New Zealand.
Virgin, the first commercial airline to test a bio-fuel in flight, plans to begin using this new fuel in two to three years, with a ‘demo’ flight planned in 12-18 months.
The months of the year have never looked so good as in this glorious calendar with outdoor photos of 12 life-saving firemen. The best part is, their shirts came off for charity: 12 charities chosen by the firemen, including one heart-warming camp for child burn victims, will receive all the profits sales of the 2012 calendars.
Lieutenant Jeremy Finney is inspired by the benefits coming from this calendar of muscle-bound fire fighters. Finney became director recently for a camp that brings joy to children and teens who have been burned in fires. An article in the Tampa Tribune yesterday, Kids Get Shirt Off His Back, gave Jeremy a chance to tout his camp, along with the fundraising calendar.
“Let’s face it, kids can be cruel,” he says. “Camp Hopetake gives them a chance to socialize where they’re not outcasts. After all the physical pain, which I can’t even fathom, they have to endure the physical, emotional and psychological scars.
“I’m sorry, I tear up when I talk about it. I’m extremely passionate about this camp. When the kids come together, you can just watch them flourish.”
Finney and other firefighters take the children on a weeklong whirlwind tour each June, with trips to the beach, Adventure Island, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios and more. It costs more than $1,000 a child, and that’s where the calendar comes in.
If you live in the Tampa, Fla area, stop by the firemen’s museum tonight (Oct. 13) for an all-you-can-eat 3-hour event featuring music, drinks and autographs from Mr. July. Tickets are $25 each and calendars will be available.
The calendars, called Nation’s Bravest: Firefighters Unite 2012, are purchased at cost by firefighters unions, then sold for $19.95, with the profits all going to the charities.
Please support the effort by purchasing (perhaps a few Christmas gifts?) at the website: www.nationsbravest.com.
(WATCH Mr. Tampa’s visit with the local Fox morning show)
The months of the year have never looked so good as in this glorious calendar with outdoor photos of 12 life-saving firemen. The best part is, their shirts came off for charity: 12 charities chosen by the firemen, including one heart-warming camp for child burn victims, will receive all the profits sales of the 2012 calendars.
Lieutenant Jeremy Finney is inspired by the benefits coming from this calendar of muscle-bound fire fighters. Finney became director recently for a camp that brings joy to children and teens who have been burned in fires. An article in the Tampa Tribune yesterday, Kids Get Shirt Off His Back, gave Jeremy a chance to tout his camp, along with the fundraising calendar.
“Let’s face it, kids can be cruel,” he says. “Camp Hopetake gives them a chance to socialize where they’re not outcasts. After all the physical pain, which I can’t even fathom, they have to endure the physical, emotional and psychological scars.
“I’m sorry, I tear up when I talk about it. I’m extremely passionate about this camp. When the kids come together, you can just watch them flourish.”
Finney and other firefighters take the children on a weeklong whirlwind tour each June, with trips to the beach, Adventure Island, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios and more. It costs more than $1,000 a child, and that’s where the calendar comes in.
If you live in the Tampa, Fla area, stop by the firemen’s museum tonight (Oct. 13) for an all-you-can-eat 3-hour event featuring music, drinks and autographs from Mr. July. Tickets are $25 each and calendars will be available.
The calendars, called Nation’s Bravest: Firefighters Unite 2012, are purchased at cost by firefighters unions, then sold for $19.95, with the profits all going to the charities.
Please support the effort by purchasing (perhaps a few Christmas gifts?) at the website: www.nationsbravest.com.
(WATCH Mr. Tampa’s visit with the local Fox morning show)
Bertie County, North Carolina is the poorest county in the state, with residents who are largely obese and have no access to fresh food. It’s also home to some students whose motto might be, “Build it and they will come.”
The students who came up with the idea of building a pavilion in which farmers could sell produce had no design or building experience. “Some had never even held a hammer.”
But a high school teacher taught the students how to lay out projects, how to use shop equipment–essentially, everything they needed to know to go out and build.
And, the pavilion turned out to be quite beautiful.
(WATCH time lapse construction video – READ the story from Fast Company)
In a significant milestone for global health, the number of people getting sick with tuberculosis has dropped for the first time, while the death toll from the disease reached its lowest level in a decade, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Globally, the TB death rate dropped 40 percent in 2010 compared to 1990, and all regions except Africa were on track to reach a 50 percent mortality decline by 2015.
An economist turned builder, is constructing a house made entirely from American-made products — from the bathtub right down to the nails, screws and bolts.
In total, the cost of the house is nearly identical to one using foreign made materials. It might end up being 1 to 2 percent more expensive, but built with better materials, using nails that won’t rust, for instance.
The Montana man is convinced that if every builder bought just 5 percent more American materials it would create 220,000 jobs.
And, now, thanks to an ABC News broadcast, builders are responding, rallying to buy more products, such as Moen faucets, and the word is spreading.
An economist turned builder, is constructing a house made entirely from American-made products — from the bathtub right down to the nails, screws and bolts.
In total, the cost of the house is nearly identical to one using foreign made materials. It might end up being 1 to 2 percent more expensive, but built with better materials, using nails that won’t rust, for instance.
The Montana man is convinced that if every builder bought just 5 percent more American materials it would create 220,000 jobs.
And, now, thanks to an ABC News broadcast, builders are responding, rallying to buy more products, such as Moen faucets, and the word is spreading.
Proving that no place on Earth is safe from the ever-gazing eye of the Internet, researchers have installed a webcam pointed at the 29,000-foot peak of Mount Everest.
A high-definition Mobotix camera, powered by a single solar panel, smashed the previous record holder for “world’s highest webcam” by a full kilometer, residing at a dizzying 18,618 feet above sea level.
It turns out that people with Asperger’s Syndrome make great software debuggers.
Raised to popular awareness by movies like “Rain Man” starring an autistic savant played by Dustin Hoffman, people with Asperger’s syndrome are often smarter at complex mathematics and tedious computer troubleshooting skills than ordinary programmers.
A Chicago based non-profit company now trains highly-functioning autistic people to be software testers. These focused debuggers are used by large clients like Oracle and Microsoft and have proven to be so good in fact that companies are now recruiting them to meet demand.
An Indonesian woman has developed micro-hydro projects that have already delivered electricity – and all that comes with it – to half a million Indonesians.
The charismatic director of the People Centered Business and Economic Institute (IBEKA), loves to be out in the villages. But lately she spends much of her time in the U.S., drumming up donor support in an effort to get power to the other 90 million Indonesians who are still without it.
From the moment Tawakul Karmen took off her veil in front of television cameras five years ago, she has been a force of change in Yemen. And now the activist has been recognized around the world with a Nobel Peace Prize. Meet the woman who started the entire peaceful protest movement in the Arab world.
Protesters in Change Square, the main grounds of the Yemen revolution, rejoiced as news that their lady hero Tawakul Karman was chosen as one of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners. Cheers filled the air.
