Destruction of the world’s rain forests has declined by 25 percent in the three most important regions — the Amazon, the Congo and the Borneo Mekong — during the last decade, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
Elementary School Focusing on Fitness Sees Improvement in Discipline
A school’s “mileage club” started in 2009 with the idea of handing out charms as an incentive for kids to run during recess has surprised everyone.
Officials at Orchard Grove Elementary in Frederick, Maryland report that as kids ran, fitness scores rocketed and disciplinary problems dwindled.
Army Sergeant Home on Leave Breaks up Bank Robbery
A buff Army sergeant has been honored by cops in Florida for foiling a bank robbery while on vacation with his family.
Sgt. Eddie Peoples, 34, was at a Bank of America before a fishing trip with his two sons when a gunman walked in and demanded cash from the tellers.
The decorated Iraq vet played it cool until the thug pointed the gun at his son.
The NHS is Right – Growing Your Own Food Can Help Depression
The news that the NHS is piloting an eight-week course in gardening and vegetable growing to help combat depression is very welcome.
The process of growing some of your own food can have a restorative effect on mental health. Being part of the natural world, sowing, watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting and eating the plants helps to re-establish one’s individual connection with our planet, its seasons and rhythms.
There is, too, enough light exercise to boost endorphin levels.
A Victim of 9/11 Hate Crime Now Fights for His Attacker’s Life
Rais Bhuiyan, shot in the face by Mark Stroman in a shooting rampage motivated by the 9/11 attacks, is now leading the effort to prevent his attacker from being executed next month in Texas. He cites his Muslim faith as a key reason for his campaign for a commutation of Storman’s death sentence.
Bhuiyan began collecting signatures late last year on a petition asking the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute Stroman’s death penalty sentence to life in prison without parole through his website, World without Hate.
4-year-old Painter Debuts in New York Gallery (Video)
Aelita Andre is a Russian abstract painter who has already been compared to Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Jackson Pollack — and she is just four years old.
Her parents both paint as a hobby and from the start gave her all the canvas and tubes she needed to express to her heart’s content. Anyone who watches the little girl paint can tell she loves to fling the colors and tell her own stories.
The surrealist painter had her first show when she was one year old and has another show in New York on June 4.
WATCH the video below and read more about her at the website: www.aelitaandreart.com.
4-year-old Painter Debuts in New York Gallery (Video)
Aelita Andre is a Russian abstract painter who has already been compared to Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Jackson Pollack — and she is just four years old.
Her parents both paint as a hobby and from the start gave her all the canvas and tubes she needed to express to her heart’s content. Anyone who watches the little girl paint can tell she loves to fling the colors and tell her own stories.
Overcoming a Disability, Young Artist Raises $220,000 for Charities
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honors outstanding young do-gooders in America each year. Ten middle and high school students selected this year from more than 29,000 applications each received a $6,000 cash prize and $5,000 donation to the charity of their choice.
One inspiring winner is a young artist Jeffrey Hanson, a junior at Horizon Academy in Roeland Park, Kansas, living with neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition that causes severe loss of vision.
He has raised more than $225,000 for various charities by selling and donating original paintings and other artistic creations over the last five years.
(READ Jeffrey’s story in USA Today) – Read about more winners here…
Oyster Mushrooms Can Break Down Disposable Diapers in 4 Months
Disposable diapers are one of the biggest contributors to overflowing landfills, piling up at a rate of 1 ton of trash per kid per year. And the worst part is the time it takes for disposable diapers to break down — 500 years.
But now, a scientist named Alethia Vázquez-Morillas from the Autonomous Metropolitan University in Mexico City has found a way to turn that 500-year span to a mere 4 months, by using oyster mushrooms to accelerate the breakdown.
2nd Ecomagination Contest to Reward Innovative Green Ideas With Funding
General Electric is again giving eco-entrepreneurs a chance to take their ideas to the next level. GE’s ‘Eco-magination’ contest is encouraging socially responsible businesses to submit their ideas on how to accelerate green technology with the chance at receiving funding for their projects.
The first installment of the $200 million challenge — the “Powering the Grid” competition — wrapped up last November, with 12 ideas each receiving $100,000 in funding. GE was so impressed with one company’s idea that they recently announced plans to acquire the provider of real-time power line monitoring technology.
Simple Test For Babies Could Help Spot A Virus That Damages Hearing
About 1 in 150 babies are born infected with a common virus that can cause permanent hearing loss, but newborns aren’t routinely tested to see if they have it. That could change if a pediatrician at the University of Alabama in Birmingham has his way.
He’s the leader on a new study that found that a simple saliva test can identify babies at risk.
Despite Spell Check, Interest in Spelling Bees Is Way Up
You might think that spell check technology would make us less likely to care about developing our spelling abilities. But, since its widespread adoption in the mid-1980s, participation in the Scripps National Spelling Bee is up 74 percent.
The crack spellers are doing last minute studying in Washington, DC today and 65 percent of this year’s participants are public school students. (Five of the last six national champions are, too.)
To watch them in action, check out this year’s championship match on ESPN on tonight.
(READ the full story by Liz Dwyer)
Van Gogh Painting Comes to Life in Potted Plants at National Gallery in London
For the first time ever, a painting is being made into a ‘living wall’ outside the National Gallery.
With more than 8,000 live plants, General Electric has brought a masterpiece to life with a version of Van Gogh’s famous painting A Wheatfield, with Cypresses as part of the Gallery’s carbon reduction plan.
Situated on the western side of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, the painting will be grown throughout the summer and autumn, remaining in place until the end of October 2011.
Van Gogh Painting Comes to Life in Potted Plants at National Gallery in London
For the first time ever, a painting is being made into a ‘living wall’ outside the National Gallery.
With more than 8,000 live plants, General Electric has brought a masterpiece to life with a version of Van Gogh’s famous painting A Wheatfield, with Cypresses as part of the Gallery’s carbon reduction plan.
Situated on the western side of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, the painting will be grown throughout the summer and autumn, remaining in place until the end of October 2011.
Happier Regions Recover Fastest From Recessions: Study
If you are happy, your state is likely to recover from the recession more quickly.
That’s the finding of new research that determines that economic recessions are weaker, expansions are stronger, and recovery is faster in U.S. states where people are more optimistic.
The research findings, from the University of Miami School of Business Administration, are particularly unique because they reflect a cause and effect between happiness and economic prosperity, not an effect where economic prosperity is making people happier.
Kia Motors America Achieves All-Time Record Sales With U.S. Made Cars
Unprecedented growth continued for Kia Motors America in May with the brand posting its best-ever monthly sales of 48,212 units – a 53 percent increase from May 2010, and a 2.4-percent increase over the previous record set last month.
The Korean car company’s year-to-date sales in the U.S. are up 44 percent over last year, boosted in part by a vehicle built in America, its best-selling Sorento.
Chiefs, Rams Players Lend Hand to Tornado Recovery Effort in Joplin
Both NFL football teams in Missouri swooped into Joplin last week, lifting spirits and clearing clogged yards and roads.
The Kansas City Chiefs had invited fans to donate supplies and water and cash, and the club was stunned at the outpouring it saw from the community.
The team mobilized the greater Kansas City area, loading up six semis of water (187,490 bottles, by their count) and relief supplies, along with $35,000 from the club and $21,000 of private donations.
Safety Net Repaired After Hurricane Katrina – Inspiring Town!
Working together to help their community, the Rotary clubs in Slidell, Louisiana, helped renovate and reopen more than a dozen social service facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Moderate Drinking Helps Middle-Aged People Live Longer, Study Shows
A new study shows that moderate drinking — one to two drinks per day — helps older and middle-aged adults to live longer than those who abstain from alcohol altogether.
The researchers identified the sweet spot for living longer to be linked to moderation (not surprisingly). Moderate drinkers lowered their risk of death by 49 percent compared to non-drinkers, and by 42 percent over heavy drinkers.
The controlled study spanned 20 years and accounted for variables like socioeconomic status, health habits and levels of physical activity among the abstainers and imbibers. Compared to the moderate drinkers, who had been drinking currently or formerly for 20 years, abstainers in the study sample included many former problem drinkers and individuals with more health problems and health risk factors (such as more cigarette smoking) compared to moderate drinkers.
Despite the health benefits of moderate drinking, Holahan emphasizes the need for common sense. One or two drinks a day may be beneficial for some, but drinking a lot more can be dangerous, he said.
“Older persons drinking alcohol should remember that consuming more than two drinks a day exceeds recommended alcohol consumption guidelines in the United States and is associated with a higher risk of alcohol use problems,” Holahan said.
Photo credit: Marcomaru via Morguefile.com
Moderate Drinking Helps Middle-Aged People Live Longer, Study Shows
A new study shows that moderate drinking — one to two drinks per day — helps older and middle-aged adults to live longer than those who abstain from alcohol altogether.
The researchers identified the sweet spot for living longer to be linked to moderation (not surprisingly). Moderate drinkers lowered their risk of death by 49 percent compared to non-drinkers, and by 42 percent over heavy drinkers.