A man’s decision not to end his terminally ill bulldog’s life ended up saving his own.
Scott Seymour said his dog, Brittney, awakened him with her barking early Saturday in time for both of them to escape from his burning house in Grand Rapids.
Dying Bulldog Saves Owner From Fire
NH University Uses Landfill Gas to Power Green Graduation
The University of New Hampshire is the first in the nation to receive most of its heat and electricity from landfill gas. It showcased the achievement at the eco-themed graduation ceremony Saturday.
The university has celebrated its efforts to be green by using gas from a landfill to power the loudspeakers at its commencement and turning leftover food from the ceremony into compost.
Americans Honor War Dead on Memorial Day
President Barack Obama is among the Americans observing Memorial Day, a national holiday to honor those who have died in military service to the country.
The president will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Military Cemetery just outside Washington, D.C. The cemetery holds the remains of more than 300,000 people, including veterans from all the nation’s wars.
Parades, ceremonies and motorcycle events are also being held across the United States.
Passenger Spots Leaking Jet Fuel, Averts Mid-Ocean Crash
Staff Sgt. Bartek Bachleda spotted a fuel leak during take-off and possibly saved the lives of more than 300 airline passengers in route to Japan last week.
After alerting the aircrew, the ranking pilot made a decision to divert the flight to San Francisco.
The captain said they would have never made it to Japan if it wasn’t for the passenger’s insistence that an emergency situation was developing.
Photo: Staff Sgt Bachleda took this video image showing a fuel leak on a civilian aircraft on a flight from Chicago to Narita airport.
(Read the story in Japan Today)
Chipotle to Expand Local Produce Program
Chipotle Mexican Grill will expand its local produce program this summer, buying 10 percent more seasonally available produce than last year.
Chipotle expects its program, the first of its kind for any national restaurant chain, to have more than 25 local farms in its network that will supply some of the romaine lettuce, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, red onions and/or oregano served at the 860-plus Chipotle restaurants nationwide.
U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Drop in 2008
The government reported Wednesday that energy-related carbon dioxide emissions declined by 2.8% last year compared to 2007, the largest annual drop since the government began regular reporting of climate-changing greenhouse gas pollution.
The decline was attributed to a 2.2% drop in energy consumption, largely because of high gasoline and diesel prices last summer and the sharp economic decline in the last half of the year.
Key US Economic Index Up First Time in 7 Months
The index of leading economic indicators — forecasting conditions in the next three to six months — increased 1.0 percent in April, rising for the first time in seven months.
It was the biggest gain since November 2005, an indication that the world’s biggest economy is poised for modest growth later this year, the Conference Board said Thursday.
Seven of the index’s 10 components were pointing up.
“We expect another sharp increase in the index for May,” said one economist.
Western Saharan Refugees Reach out to World via Video
In the Dakhla refugee camp in the middle of the Algerian desert, refugees from Western Sahara have found a way to feel less isolated, thanks to multimedia classes and equipment from Spanish filmmakers. New technology allows them to communicate via Internet video with family who’ve fled to Europe and Morocco, which annexed their homeland three decades ago.
Montreal Inaugurates Largest Bike-Sharing Program in North America
Montreal inaugurated North America’s first large-scale bicycle-sharing system this week. 30 times larger than the program in Washington, DC., tourists, shoppers and commuters can jump on bikes like taxis, traveling between 300 stations citywide.
Pay $5 per day, at any of the solar-powered bike stations — or ride 30 minutes for free. Annual memberships are just $78.00 (Canadian).
The program is called BIXI — a word, created by the mayor, using bicycle and taxi. It was inspired by existing public bike systems like the successful program in Paris. Yet BIXI represents a major step forward for bike sharing schemes.
Abandoned Rail Line Ready for Bikes, Walking in Detroit
An abandoned depressed former rail line, , officially opened to the public this week as a 1.2-mile biking and walking path and a vision of what Detroit may one day offer throughout the city.
The Dequindre Cut is the latest in a growing network of greenways — nonmotorized community links — that eventually could encompass 100 miles of such trails throughout Detroit.
The president of the nonprofit Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, said the Dequindre Cut’s opening shows reason for hope in Detroit. “Many people didn’t think it would happen. It has,” she said.
(Continue reading in the Detroit Free-Press)
Pup Falls into Drain, Rescue Begins (Video)
A tiny puppy walking the neighborhood in Omaha, Neb., gets trapped in a storm drain, prompting a full-scale rescue by local animal officials.
Cookie the shitzou ended up safe in his family’s arms.
Watch the video below, or at the News Room…
New Technology Reduces IED Bomb Effectiveness by 20 Percent in One Year
Troops are emerging unscathed from IED explosion, thanks to the MRAP, a new armored vehicle capable of withstanding very large blasts. The vehicle is one of many innovations the United States military has developed to stay ahead of the insurgents in Afghanistan.
Child Deaths Worldwide Drop by 28 Percent Over Seven Years
Deaths of children under five years of age have plummeted by almost one third since 1990, the United Nations World Health Organization said yesterday.
28 percent fewer young children worldwide died in 1997 than the number estimated to have died in 1990, according to “World Health Statistics,” WHO’s first progress report on the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the eight globally-agreed anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.
“The decline in the death toll of children under five illustrates what can be achieved by strengthening health systems and scaling up interventions, such as insecticide-treated mosquito nets for malaria and oral rehydration therapy for diarrhoea, increased access to vaccines and improved water and sanitation in developing countries,” said Ties Boerma, Director of WHO’s Department of Health Statistics and Informatics.
The sharp decline worldwide came as an estimated 9 million young children died in 1997, down from 12.5 million estimated in 1990.
Mothers in Crisis Turn to Temporary Parents
After resolving to leave a violent partner, single moms want to make a fresh start. But they feel trapped tending small children if they have no family support or child care.
A nonprofit group, Safe Families for Children, allows such women to get on their feet without having to worry about what would happen to their children.
Safe Families places these children with volunteer families, on a temporary basis — from one day to a year or more. Parents can approve the caretakers, see their children whenever they want and get them back with no courts involved.
This unusual offer of extended respite to overwhelmed parents is part of a broader national trend in child welfare to keep many cases out of the courts and foster care systems.
Read the full story in the New York Times – Photo courtesy of Sun Star
Thanks to Kiama for submitting the link!
Luggage Comes Home After Miracle Landing
Passengers on a US Airways flight that ditched in the Hudson River in New York are starting to get their luggage back – dried, cleaned and neatly packed. The plane had sunk with their personal belongings.
Many thought they would never see their possessions again. But this month, thanks to a concerted effort by US Airways, Flight 1549 passengers are starting to get special deliveries of FedEx boxes containing over 36,000 dried and cleaned belongings, including wallets, handbags, coats, cameras, jewelery, clothing, important papers and even toothbrushes rescued from the waters of the Hudson.
Sweden Helps South Korea Convert Food Waste into Biogas
The South Korean city of Ulsan has allowed water generated from processing food waste to run off into the ocean, which can generate methane gas harmful to the environment.
Now, with the help of a Swedish company, it is going to start converting that waste water into biogas, a type of clean fuel that can be used as power to heat buildings and even power vehicles.
Former Gang Members Turn Lives Around Working Green Jobs
Former gang members have united to turn their lives and their communities around through programs offered by Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles. From gang member to green collar, Homeboy gives ex-gang members green-tech job opportunities as solar installation technicians.
Former foes can now be found car pooling together every morning.
Largest Solar Array in Southeast Powers Up in Sunshine State
The Sunshine State has begun to turn some of those Florida rays into energy with the unveiling yesterday of the largest rooftop solar installation in the southeastern US atop the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.
Solar panels spanning the length of five and a half football fields will generate 1,300 megawatt-hours of electricity each year – greatly reducing the carbon footprint and electricity costs of the second largest convention center in the US.
The power generated from the roof panels would offset the center’s $12 million annual energy bill, and at some point, may begin to return electricity to the local grid during the same peak hours when air conditioners strain energy supplies.
Yankee Home Run Thanks to Young Girl’s Bracelet
Last Friday, after visiting a young girl in the hospital in need of a transplant, Yankees player, Brett Gardner, was given a Project Sunshine bracelet. The young girl told him, if he wore it, he would hit a home run. And he did.
That night, he hit an inside the park homerun, only his second homerun in his over 200 major league at-bats. That same night, the little girl received her new heart, and underwent surgery.
(Read more in the New York Post)
Thanks to Joseph W. for submitting the link!
Canada Allots Almost $1Billion to Carbon Capture
The Canadian government announced details of the C$1 billion ($860 million) clean energy fund it promised in February. The lion’s share of the cash will support the development of carbon capture and storage projects to cut carbon-dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants and oil sands operations.