Today, environmentalists are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the founding of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, but all citizens should take a moment to appreciate the breadth of this federal agency’s achievements over such a short span of time.
EPA has protected — and many times brought back from the brink — the air that we breathe, the water we drink, and the ecosystem that keeps us and our animal friends alive.
President Nixon created the agency that would ban DDT, phase out leaded gasoline, halt the use of cancer-causing PCBs, and launch the Brownfields Program to clean up abandoned, contaminated sites, returning them to productive community use. It curbed Acid Rain and — under George W. Bush — established new regulations requiring truck diesel engines and fuel to be 90 percent cleaner.
”Over its 40-year history, the EPA has evolved into the world’s preeminent environmental regulatory agency through a balanced, three-pronged strategy, combining excellent science, regulatory enforcement, and engagement of all stakeholders in developing new solutions to environmental problems,” said Walter Isaacson of the Aspen Institute.
President Johnson declared that, “Either we become a nation wearing gas masks, or we clean up the air.”
(Watch an excellent video montage of news headlines that highlights the US environmental movement of the last 40 years.)
Today, environmentalists are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the founding of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, but all citizens should take a moment to appreciate the breadth of this federal agency’s achievements over such a short span of time.
EPA has protected — and many times brought back from the brink — the air that we breathe, the water we drink, and the ecosystem that keeps us and our animal friends alive.
The third busiest Atlantic storm season officially drew to end on Tuesday but the United States shoreline and its key energy producing hubs were mostly untouched by any of the year’s major storms, thwarting meteorologists’ predictions that as many as five storms would strike American coastlines.
Cracker Barrel will soon feature electric vehicle chargers in their parking lots. Their “old country stores” will jettison into the 21st century as part of a pilot project to install ECOtality chargers, at 24 of their restaurants across Tennessee.
Customers can be charged-up within 30 minutes, as part of ECOtality’s bid to bring charging stations to more places around the country.
African nations can break dependence on food imports and produce enough to feed a growing population within a generation despite extra strains from climate change, according to a study unveiled today.
All it would take is more research into new resistant crops, support for small-scale farmers and greater involvement by national leaders in the sector of transportation.
Few things rile a teacher more than seeing a pupil chewing gum in class, but a primary school in southern Germany is now actively encouraging them to do so — in order to improve their grades.
He’s the city’s newest hero, but Carlos Flores said it didn’t feel real until he was reunited Monday with the man he saved from an oncoming No. 6 train and saw he was okay.
“People kept asking me if I felt like a hero,” Flores said. “I didn’t feel like a hero. But to see you – I feel better now,” Flores, 36, said.
The Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to launch the biggest overhaul of the nation’s food safety laws since the 1930s. The bill passed 73 to 25 and would give new authority to the Food and Drug Administration and — for the first time – sets safety standards for imported foods.
The law would place new responsibilities on agri-business to prevent food contamination, like those which responsible for recent egg and spinach episodes.
Small and local farms may be exempt from the final bill’s provisions.
President Obama is optimistic the House will pass a similar bill.
Private sector employers added 93,000 jobs in November, the largest number in three years. Small businesses were responsible for 58% of the hiring, with 54,000 of those jobs offered by businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
(READ more numbers at ABC News, or the small biz gains in CNN)
The former Soviet republic of Belarus announced today that by 2012 it will give up its stockpile of material used to make nuclear weapons.
It is a significant step toward keeping nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists, and follows similar commitments made by other former Soviet republics, including Kazakhstan.
I had intended for weeks to write on the Editor’s Blog about the significant speed increase we’ve achieved for the Good News Network viewers. Thanks to subscription fees from our fans, even the smallest amount of $2.00 per month, I was able to invest in a new fully dedicated server, which has delivered whizzing speeds since November 1.
It took a full month for me to get here and post this, but, did you notice how fast the site became around the start of November? Now, all the files and processes occur on my very own server, not shared with any other site. . . A terrific improvement.
Thanks to all my supporters! We are busting the myth, proving that Good News really DOES sell!
(Look for a great give-away – offering 25 free Gift Subscriptions – coming in December to social network hubs of Facebook and Twitter.)
You wouldn’t expect a landfill to be a place where you could turn something (with a high yuck factor) into a thing of beauty. But decorative tile maker Paul Burns saw an opportunity. He’s taking discarded porcelain toilets and using them to make lovely tile.
You wouldn’t expect a landfill to be a place where you could turn something (with a high yuck factor) into a thing of beauty. But decorative tile maker Paul Burns saw an opportunity. He’s taking discarded porcelain toilets and using them to make lovely tile.
The Troubled Assets Relief Program, which was widely reviled as a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street titans, is now expected to cost the federal government a mere $25 billion – the equivalent of less than six months of emergency jobless benefits.
A new report released Monday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that the cost of TARP has plummeted since its passage in October 2008.
The turnaround is due mostly to the financial success achieved by GM, AIG and the big banks.
On November 13, unsuspecting shoppers got a big surprise while enjoying their lunch. More than 100 choir participants joined in this Christmas singing flash mob.
The flash mob was organized at the Welland Seaway Mall by Alphabet Photography to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
An extraordinary cache of hundreds of works by Pablo Picasso, which were unknown for more than a half century, was introduced to the art world by an unassuming retired French electrician.
Art experts suspected they were forgeries, but on close examination many of them were found to carry a numbering system known only to the painter.
The Obama Administration this week designated more than 187,000 square miles along the north coast of Alaska as “critical habitat” for the polar bear, safeguarding under the Endangered Species Act lands and waters in the U.S. that are vital to the polar bears’ survival.
The habitat rule comes in response to an ongoing lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace against the Department of the Interior on behalf of the threatened species. Under current law, federal agencies are prohibited from taking any actions that may harm or damage critical habitat. The new designation would likely add restrictions to any future offshore drilling for oil and gas.
The Obama Administration this week designated more than 187,000 square miles along the north coast of Alaska as “critical habitat” for the polar bear, safeguarding under the Endangered Species Act land and waters in the U.S. that are vital to the polar bears’ survival.
The habitat rule comes in response to an ongoing lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace against the Department of the Interior on behalf of the threatened species. Under current law, federal agencies are prohibited from taking any actions that may harm or damage critical habitat. The new designation would likely add restrictions to any future offshore drilling for oil and gas.
A woman whose group has rescued more than 12,000 women and girls from sex slavery has been named the 2010 CNN Hero of the Year.
Anuradha Koirala was chosen by the public in an online poll running for eight weeks on CNN.com. She won the majority of two million votes cast, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper revealed that result at the conclusion of the fourth annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute.”
“Human trafficking is a crime, a heinous crime, a shame to humanity,” Koirala said earlier in the evening after being introduced as one of the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2010. “I ask everyone to join me to create a society free of trafficking. We need to do this for all our daughters.”
Koirala was introduced, and then embraced, by actress Demi Moore, who along with her husband, Ashton Kutcher, created DNA, The Demi and Ashton Foundation, which aims to eliminate child sex slavery worldwide. “Every day this woman confronts the worst of what humanity has to offer,” Moore said of Koirala. “She says, ‘Stop. Stop selling our girls.’
”Since 1993, she has helped rescue more than 12,000 women and girls. Through her organization Maiti Nepal, she has provided more than a shelter for these girls and young women, she has created a home. It is a place for them to heal, go to school, learn a skill, and for some who are infected with HIV/AIDS, it is the place where they can spend their days surrounded by love.”
Koirala will receive $100,000 to continue her work with Maiti Nepal, in addition to the $25,000 awarded to each of the top 10 Heroes honored.
The top 10 CNN Heroes, chosen from an initial pool of more than 10,000 nominations, were each honored with a documentary tribute and introduced by a celebrity presenter, including Halle Berry, Jessica Alba, Kid Rock, LL Cool J, Renee Zellweger, Gerard Butler, Kiefer Sutherland, Marisa Tomei, Aaron Eckhart and Holly Robinson Peete.
(WATCH the video wrap-up of the show below, and watch the entire show rerun this weekend – See Showtimes) – And, learn more about 9 more heroes below the video…
Here are the other nine 2010 top CNN Heroes in alphabetical order:
Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega founded a hospital in Juarez, Mexico, that cares for about 900 people daily — regardless of their ability to pay. Despite the escalating violence in the city, the 74-year-old travels there several times a week to make sure residents get the care they need. Learn more about Guadalupe
Susan Burton was once caught in a cycle of addiction and incarceration. Today, her nonprofit A New Way of Life Reentry Project provides sober housing and other support services to formerly incarcerated women in California. Learn more about Susan
With her weight-loss challenge, Shape Up Vicksburg, Linda Fondren is helping her Mississippi hometown battle the bulge. Through free fitness activities and nutrition classes, residents have lost nearly 15,000 pounds to date. Learn more about Linda
Narayanan Krishnan brings hot meals and dignity to India’s homeless and destitute — 365 days per year — through his nonprofit Akshaya Trust. Since 2002, he has served more than 1.2 million meals. Learn more about Narayanan
Since 1992, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow has dedicated his life to helping people in need. Today, his program, Mary’s Meals — run from a tin shed in the Scottish highlands — provides free daily meals to more than 400,000 children around the world. Learn more about Magnus
Harmon Parker is using his masonry skills to save lives. Since 1997 he has helped build 45 footbridges over perilous rivers in Kenya, protecting people from flash floods and predatory animals. The bridges also connect isolated villagers to valuable resources. Learn more about Harmon
Aki Ra is helping to make his native Cambodia safer by clearing land mines — many of which he planted years ago as a child soldier. Since 1993, he and his Cambodian Self Help Demining organization have cleared about 50,000 mines and unexploded weapons. Learn more about Aki Ra
Evans Wadongo, 23, invented a way for rural families in Kenya to replace smoky kerosene and firelight with solar power. Through his Use Solar, Save Lives program, he’s distributed an estimated 10,000 free solar lanterns. Learn more about Evans
Since 2005, Texas home builder Dan Wallrath has given injured Iraq and Afghanistan veterans homes of their own — mortgage-free. He and his Operation Finally Home team have five new custom homes under construction. WATCH his moving video below, or see more at GNN here…
A woman whose group has rescued more than 12,000 women and girls from sex slavery has been named the 2010 CNN Hero of the Year.
Anuradha Koirala was chosen by the public in an online poll running for eight weeks on CNN.com. She won the majority of two million votes cast, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper revealed that result at the conclusion of the fourth annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute.”
