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Renewable Energy Investment Powers to Record $257 Billion Worldwide

Solar farm - Photo by Convergence Energy, Wisconsin

Solar farm by Convergence Energy in WisconsinTotal investment in renewable power and fuels last year surged by 17% to a record $257 billion, according to a report issued yesterday by the United Nations Environment Programme. India expanded its outlays the fastest in 2011, with an impressive 62% increase, thanks to its National Solar Mission.

The US overtook China in the race to be the lead investor in renewable energy, with a 57% leap in its outlays to $51 billion. But new markets also opened up, bringing the total number of countries installing wind, solar and biomass systems to around fifty.

Clean energy sources have now grown to supply 16.7 % of global energy consumption and, excluding large hydro-electric, account for 44% of all new generating capacity added worldwide in 2011.

Renewable Energy Investment Powers to Record $257 Billion Worldwide

Solar farm - Photo by Convergence Energy, Wisconsin

Solar farm by Convergence Energy in WisconsinTotal investment in renewable power and fuels last year surged by 17% to a record $257 billion, according to a report issued yesterday by the United Nations Environment Programme. India expanded its outlays the fastest in 2011, with an impressive 62% increase, thanks to its National Solar Mission.

The US overtook China in the race to be the lead investor in renewable energy, with a 57% leap in its outlays to $51 billion. But new markets also opened up, bringing the total number of countries installing wind, solar and biomass systems to around fifty.

Clean energy sources have now grown to supply 16.7 % of global energy consumption and, excluding large hydro-electric, account for 44% of all new generating capacity added worldwide in 2011.

‘Huge’ Water Resources Exist Beneath Africa

African-Children-with-food-cups-FFEgov

African kids with water cupsScientists say the notoriously dry continent of Africa is sitting on a vast reservoir of groundwater.

They argue that the total volume of water in aquifers underground is 100 times the amount found on the surface.

The study’s authors hope the new continent-wide maps will open people’s eyes to the potential.

Oil Production Revival Helps Libyans Look to the Future

Flag of Libya 1951

Flag of Libya 1951A reporter traveling through countries of the Arab Spring, recently arrived in Libya and found that country’s oil is once again flowing.

He found that Libya’s oil industry is now back up to 90 percent of its pre-war production, earning the income that gives many Libyans confidence that, despite hardship, they do have a shot at a better future.

UnitedHealth Will Keep Some ObamaCare Reforms Regardless of Supreme Court Opinion

med students via Flickr-CC

med students via Flickr-CCThe nation’s largest health insurance company said it would continue with some of the reforms mandated by the Affordable Care Act regardless of how the Supreme Court rules later this month on the federal healthcare law.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. today announced they would continue to honor some the law’s more popular provisions, including preventive screenings at no cost, the elimination of lifetime limits and keeping young people on their parents’ policies.

Girls in India Rise Above Caste at School for ‘Untouchables’

Indian girls rise above caste - Globe and Mail snapshot

Indian girls rise above caste - Globe and Mail snapshotA girl named Jyoti, from the small Indian village of Daraut, now says she wants to be a police officer like her grandfather. Such ambition is thanks to a residential school for marginalized girls.

In her second year at the school, she has the chance to learn, study, practice art and sports, things she couldn’t do at home.

Marine Stands Guard for 8 Hours at Hospital Room of Dying Boy

Marine stands guard - Riley Hospital for Children

Marine stands guard - Riley Hospital for Children12-year-old Cody Green always admired the strength and courage of the U.S. Marines. Last month, it was the Marines admiring the strength and courage of Cody.

To honor his undaunted optimism and long-time struggle with leukemia, during which he beat the cancer into remission three times, the Indiana fifth-grader was made an honorary Marine.

But that wasn’t enough for Sergeant Mark Dolfini who took it upon himself to drive over to Riley Hospital for Children where the boy was bed-ridden.

He made the decision to stand guard in his dress uniform at Cody’s hospital door all night long, for eight hours straight. It was the night before Cody passed.

Stanford Physicists Make New Form of Matter

photo of nebula in deep space

photo of nebula in deep spaceWithin the exotic world of macroscopic quantum effects, where fluids flow uphill, wires conduct without electrical resistance and magnets levitate, there is an even stranger family of “unconventional” phenomena.

Studying such effects holds enormous promise for the development of such technologies as ultrasensitive microscopes and quantum computation.

After Concussion, Man Becomes Musical Genius

Piano savant -MSNBC video snapshot

Piano savant -MSNBC video snapshotWhen Derek Amato crashed headfirst into the hard bottom of a pool, he was scared about what he might have done to his brain. But amazingly, the accident brought Amato an unexpected gift: it turned him into a musical savant.

Amato now plays the piano like a virtuoso, making up melodies from the patterns of black and white blocks that stream across his brain in endless succession.

While rare, there are at least 30 others around the world who have developed musical abilities after some sort of brain trauma. The condition is called Acquired Savant Syndrome.

(WATCH the video below, or READ the story from MSNBC)

 

After Concussion, Man Becomes Musical Genius

Piano savant -MSNBC video snapshot

Piano savant -MSNBC video snapshotWhen Derek Amato crashed headfirst into the hard bottom of a pool, he was scared about what he might have done to his brain. But amazingly, the accident brought Amato an unexpected gift: it turned him into a musical savant.

Amato now plays the piano like a virtuoso, making up melodies from the patterns of black and white blocks that stream across his brain in endless succession.

Student Engineering Project Helps Girl Feed Herself

Engineering students help student feed herself-JSvideo snapshot

Engineering students help student feed herself-JSvideo snapshotFor their their senior project, six Marquette University engineering students chose to design and manufacture a device that would help a physically-challenged 11-year-old girl to feed herself.

Without the device, Kailyn Pieper has to bring her mouth right down to the table when eating in the school cafeteria with her friends. Without the device, she was dipping her face into the plate.

(WATCH the inspiring video or READ the story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Thanks to Nancy Peske for sending the link!

Kansas Farmer Who Built 150-foot Replica Finally Sees Real Golden Gate Bridge

mini Golden Gate Bridge in Kansas

mini Golden Gate Bridge in KansasFour decades after “a scared 19-year-old kid” rolled over the Golden Gate Bridge on his way to combat in Vietnam, and after promising his wife every anniversary that they’d visit San Francisco, Larry and Barbara Richardson, who have built a 150-foot replica of the Golden Gate Bridge on their Kansas farm, finally came face to face with the iconic landmark.

Turkey Thrives as a Muslim Democracy, Inspiring Beacon Amid Arab Spring

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan -CC

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan -CCAs the Arab Spring has darkened, the Obama administration has built a solid alliance with the prosperous and successful Muslim democracy of Turkey, which is a beacon for the region. The country is a role model for Arabs because it shows that democracy brings dignity, not chaos or extremism. 

At the the World Economic Forum this week, the “Turkish model” was held up as a source for inspiration, a Muslim country whose economy has grown an annual average of 5.3 percent since 2002 and gross domestic product more than tripled.

Silicon Valley Launches $10 Million Seed Fund for African Tech, UN Leaders Pledge 80% Broadband Coverage by 2020

Africa Computer learning in Congo - by IRIN

Africa Computer learning in Congo - by IRINA new seed capital fund committed to finding and investing in high-potential East African “pre-revenue” startups was launched Wednesday in Kenya.

Bringing to the table years of seasoned experience in Africa’s tech scene, the new Savannah Fund aims to find and invest in early stage, web and mobile startups addressing the Sub-Saharan Africa market, offering in the region of $25,000 to $500,000.

The announcement comes the same week a leading UN information and technology agency stated their intention to deliver broadband to 80% of African citizens by 2020.

More Good News On The MBA Job Market

job counselor

job counselorThere’s more good news on the MBA jobs front. A new survey of business schools by the MBA Career Services Council released June 7 shows that the recovery in the job market has spread well beyond the top-ranked schools.

The survey findings show that 51% of responding B-schools report an increase in on-campus recruiting for full-time jobs, while 69% of respondents report an increase in full-time job postings.

Dog Hero in Ghana Rescues Newborn Baby

queensland-cattle-dog

queensland-cattle-dogA farm dog in the west African country of Ghana is being praised as a hero hound this week after saving the life of an abandoned two-week-old baby.

The regional director of health in Ghana told the Ghana News Agency that the dog apparently found the baby under a bridge in the northern part of the country. Rather than abandon (or eat) the vulnerable tot, the dog curled up next to him for the night, refusing to leave his side.

MBTA Workers Rescue Girl’s Beloved Stuffed Bunny (Video)

stuffed animal bunny saved by MBTA workers

stuffed animal bunny saved by MBTA workersMassachusetts Transit workers took time from their busy rush hour jobs to make sure a little girl’s stuffed animal was rescued from a crushing blow by commuter trains Wednesday.

Michelle Carey-Brown’s 3-year-old daughter Riley saw her beloved stuffed animal bunny, Nummy, fall into the pit between the platform and the train. A MBTA worker who has grandkids herself recognized the importance to the child and wanted to help.

She radioed the oncoming train to stop while they retrieved the plush toy as commuters looked on with compassion.

(READ the story from CBS-Boston)

Hero Scales Building to Save Toddler Dangling by Neck (Video)

toddler dangles from neck china rescue

toddler dangles from neck china rescueA little boy in China’s Guangdong province is lucky to be alive after falling through an opening in a fourth-story window ledge, where he dangled by his neck until a brave neighbor came to his rescue.

The man climbed through a window and clung to the grate on the building’s facade until he could push up on the child’s feet.

The heart-stopping scene was caught on video, and featured on a Sina news station.

Hero Scales Building to Save Toddler Dangling by Neck (Video)

toddler dangles from neck china rescue

toddler dangles from neck china rescueA little boy in China’s Guangdong province is lucky to be alive after falling through an opening in a fourth-story window ledge, where he dangled by his neck until a brave neighbor came to his rescue.

The man climbed through a window and clung to the grate on the building’s facade until he could push up on the child’s feet.

The heart-stopping scene was caught on video, and featured on a Sina news station.

Dog Nurses Two Endangered Tiger Cubs in Russia

shar pei

shar pei Two Siberian tiger cubs abandoned in Russia by their mother have found an unusual wet nurse — a wrinkled, sand-colored Shar Pei dog named Cleopatra, a zoo worker said Wednesday.

Officials at the Oktyabrsky resort zoo found the dog, which had recently birthed her own pups, at a local dog training club. She nurses and grooms the cubs as if they were her own.

(SEE the cute photo at NBC)