Two United Nations food agencies are putting together a $10.2 million package to help Haitian farmers devastated by recent hurricanes.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) made the announcement in a statement Monday. The FAO says the aid, which includes a package for seeds and other supplies, should help small farmers whose harvests were wiped out earlier this year.
Crowds came to a sea turtle sanctuary in the Mexican state of Chiapas to help set some 7,000 hatchlings off on their journey into the sea.
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Bangkok Hospital Medical Centre has received an award naming it the Best Global Hospital, at a ceremony in Chicago. The hospital is the only facility outside the US to receive an award at this prestigious event.
HealthLeaders Media announced Bangkok Hospital the award winner in July. Jim Molpus, the Editor-in-Chief, says that the aims of the awards are to make leaders mutually accountable for their hospital’s results. The areas of excellence span from patient satisfaction, to financial performance.
AT&T has announced that they are now offering free Wi-Fi access to iPhone subscribers across the U.S.
FREE AT&T Wi-Fi access is now available for Apple iPhone at thousands of hotspots nationwide, including hotels, bookstores, universities, and all Starbucks.
Customers can locate Wi-Fi spots with AT&T online or can locate a Starbucks spot with this tool.
The Toronto Zoo wants to build a $13 million facility that would turn “zoo poo” into electricity. The staff believes that animal dung can power the facility.
The call for an on site anaerobic digester – using methane gas from animal waste to produce power – is part of the zoo’s new push to become “carbon-neutral.” (The Toronto Star)
Officials from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico have pledged to support a plan to save an endangered porpoise found in one area of Mexico but considered of concern to the entire continent. The vaquita marina species found in the upper Gulf of California is considered to be “critically endangered”.
Since 2002, when the company first shared its water usage data with the public, Coca-Cola has improved its water-efficiency by 20 percent. In the past year, the number has continued to drop, with a 2 percent improvement. That is among the top green highlights in this year’s Coca-Cola Sustainability Review, which the company released this week. (Environmental News Network)
Mystery surrounds the appearance of a giant Lego man which was found on a beach in Brighton and Hove, England. Officials said a mysterious 6-foot-tall statue made from Lego blocks and covered in Dutch writing washed up on a beach. (Full story at BBC w/ photos)
In another effort to defuse sectarian tensions in Lebanon and to build working relationships, the country’s top rival Sunni and Shiite Muslim leaders met in a landmark session on Sunday.
A social entrepreneur and creative maverick has set a huge goal for his company: raising one million dollars for the Sierra Club, and one million pairs of socks for the homeless with an online sockathon on Saturday.
Diogenes Ruiz’s Sock-athon will launch a quality line of organic and recycled fiber Sierra Club logo socks with a “Buy one, GIVE one Free” policy; for every pair of socks sold, a pair will go to the National Coalition for the Homeless; and 10% of all proceeds will go to the Sierra Club.
Even while Americans are reeling from bad economic news, most donors plan to give to charity in coming months, an online survey finds. History bears that out.
51 percent plan to donate to nonprofit groups via the Internet during November or December. Sixty-seven percent of those will donate the same amount or more than last year. Thirty-three percent say they’ll be giving less. (Read the full story in Christian Science Monitor)
Nike unveiled a line of more eco-friendly products on Tuesday which aim to use more sustainable, recyclable materials that should also translate into better profit margins for the future.
The goal of Nike Considered Design is to create performance innovation products that minimize environmental impact by reducing waste throughout the design and development process, use environmentally preferred materials, and eliminate toxics.
A woman who was held as a slave in Niger — where slavey is illegal, but still persists — won a lawsuit against the government over its failure to protect her. The landmark settlement, which awarded the woman $12,000 (the equivalent of a fortune in Niger), also paves the way for others in West Africa to similarly use the courts to force governments into enforcement of their own laws. (Read full story at BBC News) Thanks to Bill F. for submitting this good news!
Nevada, with abundant land and sunshine is becoming a hot bed for the solar industry. The result is green jobs and billions of investment dollars that are boosting this desert economy. (Environmental News Network)
An Internet industry code of ethics intended to safeguard online freedom of speech around the world is to be adopted this week by technology titans including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, companies long criticized by human rights groups for their business dealings in China.
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Perhaps because New York City is the financial capital of the world, anxiety about the economy is everywhere. In Starbucks people sit grimly reading the Wall Street Journal and every lurching move of the Dow causes a collective panic or sigh of relief. . . In this environment how can positive psychology help?
An oral vaccine for diarrhea reduced hospitalizations of children with rotavirus by more than 70 percent in some parts of the United States, saved money and protected even unvaccinated children by by cutting the number of infections in the community that kids can pick up and spread, researchers reported on Saturday.
A former Colombian lawmaker kidnapped in 2000 by FARC leftist rebels has escaped with help from one of his captors. The former guerilla will be rewarded by the government and sent with his family to settle in France. The hostage had not been allowed to talk for years.
While the misfortune of others lured hundreds of bargain hunters to the foreclosure auction, a Dallas woman bought a stranger’s foreclosed home… and gave it back to her. She had seen a woman in the hallway sobbing… (Read the story at Fox) Watch the video below.
In Australia a terrier has surprised and delighted fire-fighters by refusing to leave a litter of newborn kittens caught in a raging house fire. Smoke in the Melbourne house was so thick that, at first, firefighters thought they had spotted a soft toy. On closer inspection it was revealed that they had found Leo the dog, who had refused to leave the house choosing instead to guard a cardboard box containing 4 new-born kittens.
