Wal-Mart Stores committed to reduce its global plastic shopping bag waste by an average of 33 percent per store by 2013. This is expected to eliminate more than 135 million pounds of plastic waste globally. To help reach this goal, Wal-Mart will reduce the number of bags given out by its stores, encourage the use of reusable bags and give customers the ability to continue recycling plastic shopping bags. The announcement was made at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting.
Wal-Mart to Cut Global Plastic Shopping Bag Waste
On Texas Prairie, Wind Power is Resurgent, Boosting Economy
Today, West Texans love the wind!
Wind farms are transforming the rural area’s economy as well as its treeless horizon, while delivering electricity to nearby cities. (Full story in Reuters news)
$4.5 Billion Pledged to Send Kids to School
A coalition of governments, charities and U.N. agencies pledged $4.5 billion on Thursday in an effort to get all the world’s children in school by 2015. (Associated Press via MSNBC )
Sahara Solar Scheme Could Power Poor West Africa
West African legislators worried by climate change and soaring energy costs want regional leaders to back plans to harness sun and wind energy that experts say could bring electricity to some of the poorest people on earth. ‘We have the natural resource—enough sunshine that can supply our total power requirements,’ an energy expert on the Ghana parliament told Reuters. (Full story on Reuters)
Anti-Poverty Summit Raises $16 Billion- $3 Billion for Malaria (with Video)
Despite current financial woes, a UN summit called to rev up the war on global poverty raised a total of roughly 16 billion dollars, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said. “We have full commitment from many countries in pledges to help the world’s poor.”
On the malaria front, participants committed around three billions dollars for a program to save more than 4.2 million lives between 2008 and 2015. (Thanks to Bill F. for the news tip)
Fast Food Operator Kicks In $80 Million to Help Feed Schoolchildren
Lunches for over 200 million hungry schoolchildren in the developing world will be delivered, thanks to a commitment of $80 million by leading restaurant company YUM! Brands.
The pledge to the UN World Food Program was made during the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York, which coincides with the UN high-level event on the Millennium Development Goals– the eight targets for slashing poverty, hunger, illiteracy and other socio-economic ills by 2015.
Josette Sheeran, the chief of YUM! Brands, the parent firm of TACO Bell, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken, said, “This incredible expression of generosity shows what can be done when the private sector joins with a major humanitarian agency to help meet the needs of some of the world’s most vulnerable children.”
Tiny Remote Controlled Planes Move Blood Samples From Remote Villages (Video)
Tiny remote spy planes used during wartime have now been modified to transport medical samples to and from remote areas. Watch this from New Scientist
Chrysler Joins Electric Car Race – What are the Standings?
Automakers in the US led by General Motors and Toyota are racing to bring rechargeable electric cars to the mass market in response to increasing customer and regulatory demands for improved fuel economy and low emissions, reported Reuters. “On Tuesday, Chrysler unveiled three electric car prototypes and said it would bring one to market by 2010.” Reuters provides in this article a neat rundown on electric vehicle progress at each of the six major automakers in the U.S.
McCartney Lights Candle for Peace in West Bank (w/ Video)
Beatles star, Sir Sir Paul McCartney makes a surprise visit to the West Bank and lights a candle for peace “for all the people in the world, but especially for Israel and Palestine.” McCartney will play his first ever concert in Israel today, on the occasion of the Jewish state’s 60th birthday.
(Below the video, read the story about preparations for the concert)
Thanks to Bill F. for the news tip!
Colombia Making Citizens Safer, Reintegrating Former Terrorists
Colombia’s citizens have shed their fear and have more confidence in the State, thanks to the consolidation of democracy and security following years of fear imposed by terrorists, the South American nation’s President said yesterday at the UN General Assembly.
Over two-thirds of the 60,000 terrorists who had “ravaged the country at the start of the new administration” have turned their back on criminal activity and are taking part in a reintegration program, said Colombia’s president Álvaro Uribe Vélez.
Solar Stocks Set to Shine After Senate Measure
The U.S. Senate’s passed a bill that would extend $18 billion in tax credits for renewable energy for eight years. The measure, which is expected to be approved by the House of Representatives and President Bush, gives businesses a 30 percent tax credit to offset the development costs of solar and other clean energy projects. (Environmental News Network)
Georgia Superintendent Proves She is Smarter Than a 5th Grader, Donates $1M Prize to Schools
Georgia Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox proved she is smarter than a 5th grader by winning $1 million for her school system on the third season debut of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” on Fox Friday night. The good news is the decided to donate her winnings to three schools for blind and deaf students. (Read the blog and story at USA Today)
Nine Reasons to Love the United Nations
The Nations of the world can gather this week with pride on the occasion of the 63rd session of the General Assembly of the UN in New York City, having together achieved great progress this summer in bringing peace, stability, fun, and health to millions of the least fortunate people around the world.
Take a look at this impressive handful of beneficial programs launched and conducted this year by the UN to help women create jobs, aid hurricane victims, fight malaria, preserve ancient Egyptian history, broker peace deals and spread laughter, as well as school lessons), to child refugees (thanks to Clowns Without Borders).
US Supreme Court Stays Execution of Georgia Death Row Inmate
Vigils around the state of Georgia were cancelled and replaced by celebrations as the US Supreme Court granted a last-minute stay of execution to Troy Davis, an inmate on death row in Georgia who was due to be put to death tonight. Seven out of nine witnesses who gave evidence at Davis’ original murder trial had recanted or changed their testimony — the backbone of the prosecution’s case. which could produce no murder weapon, fingerprints or DNA. (More at Yahoo News)
Giant Mirrors Tap Sun, Subsidies in Europe’s Clean Power Bid
Solar power, properly harnessed, could solve the world’s energy problems. In the race to produce energy from the sun’s rays, Europe’s first commercial solar-thermal-electricity plant is at the forefront of a growing movement for green power. In Seville, in the south of Spain, 624 moving mirrors reflect sunbeams onto a 115-meter-high white tower that uses the concentrated heat to boil water, making steam that spins an electric turbine 97 times a second. (A Bloomberg Exclusive)
Thanks to Sun Star for the tip!
Cheap Cervical Cancer Test is Boost for Poor Countries
A simple and affordable test for cervical cancer, designed for countries that don’t have the money for expensive labs, could strike a massive blow against the disease called the “silent killer” of women, doctors said on Sunday. In rural China the test was 90% effective.
Tyler Perry Donates Food for More Than 1,000 Families
Tyler Perry, the writer-director-actor of popular films aimed at black audiences, volunteered at a homeless shelter and food pantry, unloading and packaging food he donated to feed more than 1,000 Atlanta area families. (Read the full story at USA Today)
A ‘Miracle Tree’ That Could Feed Sub-Saharan Africa
The moringa’s leaves and seedpods deliver extraordinary nutrition: Ounce for ounce, a Red Cross official said, moringa leaves contain more beta carotene than carrots, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, more Vitamin C than oranges, and more potassium than bananas. Its protein content is comparable to that of milk and eggs, and its leaves are still available for harvest at the end of the dry season, when other food may be scarce. (Read the full story in the Christian Science Monitor)
Global Warming Law Will Boost California Economy, Study Finds
Two years ago California passed a landmark law requiring a 25 percent cut in industrial greenhouse gases by 2020, and some critics said the move would hurt the economy. Now, two studies released this week by the California Air Resources Board, claim that implementing the emission-cutting measures under the pioneering law would actually benefit California’s economy as well as the public health. (Full story at Christian Science Monitor)
Mexico Combats Police Corruption with Mortgages
What are the benefits of sub-prime mortgages on the culture of bribery south of the border? Give the Mexican police force access to home mortgages to help fight widespread corruption in its ranks. So goes the thinking of a new pilot program designed to “keep them out of the pockets of organized crime”. Officers and prison guards in Michoacan state can now benefit from special deals to finance new home ownership. (Associated Press via Yahoo News)