For years, the story told about the Amazon has been one of destruction. But in Brazil the environmental battle is actually being won.
In 2004 the nation declared it would cut deforestation by 80% by 2020.
Seven years later, it has almost reached its goal. The latest figures, released just weeks ago, show that 2011 had the lowest rates of deforestation since records began three decades ago.
Learn how they did it…
(READ the feature story in the BBC)
The book, Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom, is a beautiful collection of heartwarming animal tales that features cross-species bonding. A cat and a bird. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster.
Watch five of the best videos involving animals and humans protecting each other, befriending and even shopping in unexpected ways.
An orangutan leaped at the chance to throw its long arms around a vagabond dog that had wandered from the woods. Within hours, the two were inseparable.
(National Geographic, April, 2011)
Steve Hartman updates us on the elephant-dog friendship that blossomed in an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. A story of compassion between the most unlikely of friends.
For nearly a decade, Tara the elephant had been best friends with a dog named Bella — a mutt who wandered onto the sanctuary grounds and into the heart of the gentle giant.
Although the last chapter of this story is sad, the same compassion that warmed your heart the first time will surely make you smile again. (November, 2011)
In a Buffalo, NY cemetery, a mother goose has lost her lifelong mate and was left alone to tend her nest. She spends the day sheltering her eggs from the cold spring air.
The loss of her male partner now makes her vulnerable to any would-be predators who choose to approach the nest. But, in an unlikely twist of fate, an adult deer has taken over the role of protector.
There’s no known way that a deer and goose can communicate, yet somehow the deer has come to understand the need of the nesting mother. (April 2011) READ the story at WGRZ-TV
Last summer, Michael Fishbach and his colleagues were on a small boat when they encountered a humpback whale entangled in a fishing net and on the verge of death.
Fishbach and Gershon Cohen founded The Great Whale Conservancy to help and protect whales, but never before had they been able to directly save one themselves.
With just a small knife and little time, the three men took over an hour to untangle the complex web of nylon netting. When finally the whale was freed, its display of joy is obvious, captured on video taken by another passenger. (July 2011)
Lala, the 10 year old King Penguin is so smart – he walks to the fish store every day with his little backpack to the shop. (February, 2011)
SHARE the Inspiring Stories With Friends…
A Swedish woman who lost her wedding ring 16 years ago was flabbergasted when she found it again, around a carrot growing in her garden, media reported Saturday.
Lena Paahlsson had taken off the white gold ring before a Christmas baking session with her daughters in 1995, but it had disappeared from the kitchen counter where she placed it.
Rapper, Kid Cudi is mourning the death of a fan of his, Ben Breedlove, an 18-year-old who died of a heart attack. Breedlove recorded a video before he died, talking about his near death experiences, one of which included Mr. Cudi.
In a blog, Cudi wrote:
“I am so sad about Ben Breedlove. I watched the video he left for the world to see, and him seeing me in detail, in his vision really warmed my heart. I broke down… This has really touched my heart in a way I cant describe…Thank you for loving me. To Ben’s family, you raised a real hero, he’s definately mine. You have my love.”
The book, Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom, is a beautiful collection of heartwarming animal tales released in 2011 that features cross-species bonding. A cat and a bird. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster.
Watch five of the best videos from 2011 involving animals protecting each other, befriending and even shopping in unexpected ways.
Is one of your New Year’s resolutions about spending money more wisely?
Financial analyst Vera Gibbons offers a number of tips that might help you to survive a holiday debt hangover, some of which will give you cash in your pocket right now — redeeming reward points on your credit card, changing your withholding allowance in your paycheck, selling unused gift cards, and refinancing your mortgage.
A Boston area mom who relented to get a puppy after her children begged to bring him home a year ago, is thankful she did after the 15-month-old dog saved her family from a house fire.
The pup, a dark-haired goldendoodle, began barking to shake the heavens and woke her at 4:00 a.m. just in time for the family to escape the raging blaze.
Another decision, to allow the kids to sleep next to the Christmas tree, may also have saved lives. The flames were engulfing the walls just below the girls’ bedroom.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of 30 blue-chip U.S. stocks, finished 2011 with a gain of 5.5 percent, the third consecutive year that the bellwether index has finished in positive territory.
Taken together — from the beginning of 2009’s trading through yesterday’s final 2011 session — The Dow is up 39.21%.
Millions now know his name. After cheating death three times, Ben Breedlove, 18, finally lost his life on Christmas day, but not before leaving a touching last message recorded for YouTube telling of his near-death experiences and how at peace he finally felt with his fatal heart condition.
The Austin teenager lived an active life and in his video message, recorded just a week before his final heart attack, he said he had lived a life he was proud of. His parents feel blessed by the secret video left behind and say it has helped them be strong knowing how fulfilled he was.
WATCH the video report from MSNBC (top)
See the final video from Ben.)
Millions now know his name. After cheating death three times, Ben Breedlove, 18, finally lost his life on Christmas day, but not before leaving a touching last message recorded for YouTube telling of his near-death experiences and how at peace he finally felt with his fatal heart condition.
The Austin teenager lived an active life and in his video message, recorded just a week before his final heart attack, he said he had lived a life he was proud of. His parents feel blessed by the secret video left behind and say it has helped them be strong knowing how fulfilled he was.
Academics have spent decades studying in great detail whether responsible companies are also more profitable companies, and three decades of evidence suggest that ‘betterness’ yields greater equity returns, asset returns, and profitability.
Researchers found that responsibility was significantly positively correlated with financial performance: “corporate virtue,” in their words, “is likely to pay off.”
In 1997, soon after Steve Jobs returned to the company, Apple officials contacted Stanford University and offered to donate a storehouse of materials Apple had been collecting to the school’s Silicon Valley Archives.
Two moving trucks full of documents, software, videotapes and marketing materials will help historians, entrepreneurs and policymakers understand how a tiny startup launched in a Silicon Valley garage became a global technology giant.
The Colombian city of Medellin has opened a giant outdoor escalator for residents of one of its poorest shanty towns. The escalator is divided into six sections that transform a 35 minute climb into a 6 minute ride.
Previously the residents had to walk the equivalent of a 30-story building to get to and from the city center.
Regular readers of the Good News Network know about these four major areas where global progress is heartening: War is on the decline, poverty is shrinking, women around the world find their lot improving and democracy is spreading.
Some might argue that the glass half-full perspective stretches credibility: “Only pessimists are regarded as intellectually serious,” lamented New York Times columnist David Brooks a few years ago. But in this cover story, the Christian Science Monitor follows the indicators where they lead — without opinion or predilection entering into the equation.
Regular readers of the Good News Network know about these four major areas where global progress is heartening: War is on the decline, poverty is shrinking, women around the world find their lot improving and democracy is spreading.
Some might argue that the glass half-full perspective stretches credibility: “Only pessimists are regarded as intellectually serious,” lamented New York Times columnist David Brooks a few years ago. But in this cover story, the Christian Science Monitor follows the indicators where they lead — without opinion or predilection entering into the equation.
Annette Dove had no idea that an NBC Nightly News segment would cause an avalanche of donations for her Pine Bluff program that feeds and tutors hundreds of Arkansas children after school.
It was Chelsea Clinton’s debut as a “Making A Difference” reporter, when she returned to her home state and found this inspiring story.
In an update 2 weeks later, Clinton reported that NBC viewers sent $200,000 in donations to the TOPPS program as a result of the broadcast.
Ms. Dove was able to provide holiday gifts and meals for 167 families beyond her normal clients, ensuring a happy Christmas for many more in the rural Arkansas town.
(WATCH the update below, from NBC)
Annette Dove had no idea that an NBC Nightly News segment would cause an avalanche of donations for her Pine Bluff program that feeds and tutors hundreds of Arkansas children after school.
It was Chelsea Clinton’s debut as a “Making A Difference” reporter, when she returned to her home state and found this inspiring story.
In an update 2 weeks later, Clinton reported that NBC viewers sent $200,000 in donations to the TOPPS program as a result of the broadcast.
Ms. Dove was able to provide holiday gifts and meals for 167 families beyond her normal clients, ensuring a happy Christmas for many more in the rural Arkansas town.
Americans are hopeful for what 2012 will bring for their families and the country, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.
Overall, 62 percent of those surveyed say they’re optimistic about what 2012 will bring for the country. And for themselves and their families, Americans are even more positive, with 78 percent telling pollsters they are personally hopeful about the year ahead.
On Christmas morning, conservationists in Malaysia airlifted a young Sumatran Rhinoceros — one of the world’s most endangered animals — from an area where she had no hope of ever seeing another rhinoceros.
After monitoring her isolation for years, the Sabah Wildlife Department and Borneo Rhino Alliance flew the female rhino, named Puntung, to a forested reserve where she would encounter a potential partner.
“This is a fantastic gift for our uphill battle in ensuring the survival of this truly unique species and wonderful timing with Christmas, a time to give thanks for our blessings,” said Laurentius Ambu the Director of the SWD.
On Christmas morning, conservationists in Malaysia airlifted a young Sumatran Rhinoceros — one of the world’s most endangered animals — from an area where she had no hope of ever seeing another rhinoceros.
After monitoring her isolation for years, the Sabah Wildlife Department and Borneo Rhino Alliance flew the female rhino, named Puntung, to a forested reserve where she would encounter a potential partner.
“This is a fantastic gift for our uphill battle in ensuring the survival of this truly unique species and wonderful timing with Christmas, a time to give thanks for our blessings,” said Laurentius Ambu the Director of the SWD.
