“At one point, he slept in a trash bin to stay warm outside of Jackson, Miss. Today this eleven-year-old is student of the year,” thanks to hard work and a caring relative. “There were times when he told me he’d like to go back to living on the streets because it was easier for him.” (AP)
Smokies To Rid Areas Of Nonnative Plants
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park received special funding this year to remove nonnative plants from 11 wetlands, a Knoxville newspaper reported. If left unchecked, invasive plants introduced here, often by accident — like Kudzu, a fast-growing Asian vine that now smothers some seven million acres in the south — will continue to overtake native species upsetting the delicate balance in America’s most visited National Park. (AP)
Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet
It hit Ray Anderson like a spear in the chest: “I was running a company that was plundering the earth,” he realized. “I thought, ‘Damn, some day people like me will be put in jail!’” "Today, Interface, the carpet tile company he founded, is on a path to be a sustainable operation that takes nothing out of the earth that cannot be recycled or quickly regenerated, and that does no harm to the biosphere." (Enjoy, the NY Times)
Happiness on Your License Plate
Caroline Miller, besides being a coach and motivational speaker, is also known as “the license plate lady” to her children’s friends who have become accustomed to riding in a car with the mom who suddenly yelps at the sight of a unique vanity plate. Sometimes a camera is thrust into their hands with instructions to zoom in and snap a picture. Caroline uses license plates as a teaching tool about the power of words in shaping our moods…
NYC’s Yellow Cabs to Go Hybrid Within 5 Years
Every yellow taxi cab in New York city will be a fuel-efficient hybrid by 2012, and in the meantime, better gas mileage will be phased in, Mayor Bloomberg announced today. Air quality in the city will certainly improve, global warming slowed. Passenger comfort will be the cost. (CBS-2 NY)
Finding Airfare Bargains Easier With New Websites
New websites, like the easy to use farecast.com, will help you find the lowest of the low airfares, even forecasting when fares will rise or fall. They suggest that you can still find low fares even within 21 days of your flight. (KCAL-TV)
New Fuel for 21st Century – Aluminum Pellets?
Aluminum pellets combined with water may be the answer for automakers who have been searching for an easy way to produce hydrogen as fuel for their environmentally-friendly prototypes. Jerry Woodall, a professor at Purdue University, accidentally discovered the potential energy source when he was cleaning a crucible containing aluminum with water…
NIKE Donates Shoes to Every Teen in New Orleans
The Nike Summer Shoes program kicked off in New Orleans, La., yesterday with a free pair of shoes for every middle and high school student in the city, a donation of more than 13,000 pairs of trainers and high tops. At a gymnasium ceremony, piles of shoe boxes coaxed excitement from teens, many of whom had lost everything in the hurricane two years ago…
18 Year-Old Has Climbed ‘7 Summits’ (Video)
“An 18-year-old California woman has reached the summit of Mount Everest, becoming… the youngest person to scale the highest peaks on each of the seven continents.” (AP)
More info at 7summits.com; Click Read more below to see the video about the adventurous teen who is now off to college…
13-Year-Old CEO Mixes Fun with Science
“The buzz on the expo floor of the big technology conference yesterday was about Silicon Valley gaming startup Elementeo and its precocious 13-year-old founder and chief executive, Anshul Samar. ‘We inject fun into education,’ the fast talking entrepreneur confidently proclaimed, touting his new fantasy role-playing board game which he believes will change the way kids learn chemistry.” (VentureBeat) For example, a card representing Sulfur (right) is a character in an army of chemical elements and compounds that players command. Thanks for the story idea, Nic!
UN to Plant 9 Million Trees in Refugee Areas
The United Nations refugee agency has pledged to plant more than 9 million trees this year in areas of human displacement where refugees have used the trees, wood, bark and leaves for survival. The effort will be coordinated with the UN Billion Trees Campaign, which has already planted 14 million seedlings since November…
French Rapper Relishes Moral Role at Multi-Ethnic Concert
France’s Metisses Music Festival seeks to promote social and cultural crossovers in what often feels like an ethnically divided nation. One fast-rising star performing here is Abd Al Malik, a French rapper of Congolese origin whose background and music embodies the spirit of the festival — Rap with a conscience. (BBC) Thanks to Andrew for the link!
15,000 Children Sing for Sick Boy at Shea Stadium
A charity group called Songs of Love has recorded 12,000 original songs personally for sick children, including this song for seven-year-old Ronald Sterling, who loves baseball but can’t go to the ball park. 15,000 kids who were gathered in a baseball stadium in New York City sang the song just for Ronald, led by Bob McGrath, host of the TV series Sesame Street… Their voices rang out from the stands, ”Ronald Sterling, you’re a grand-slam home run, you’re our champion.”
South African Corporations Thinking Green
South African banking giant ABN AMRO says climate change is a big factor in choosing who to do business with in the future. "If they are engaged in businesses we don’t agree with, we do not deal with (them)… these include oil, gas, nuclear, gambling, animal testing, building dams and logging." This will be the first year that South Africa will participate in the Corporate Carbon Disclosure Project and, along with Brazil, the only developing nations to do so. (Mail and Guardian)
First Time in 50 Years, Peace Train Crosses Korea
For the first time in more than half a century, trains crossed from South to North Korea on Thursday through a sunny opening in Cold War politics. Launched by a “celebration with fireworks, bands, balloons and hundreds of people waving the ‘unification’ flag,” the peace train represented new hopes for peaceful reunification of the divided country.” (Wash Post) UPDATE: 21 May- Similarly, commercial shipping began to open up on the peninsula when a North Korean cargo ship arrived in South Korean waters for the first time in more than 50 years on Sunday.
Billions of Dollars Pledged to Cut Urban Energy Use
"Sixteen of the world’s biggest cities, five banks and one former president have pledged to invest billions of dollars to cut urban energy use" and ease global warming… "Participating banks would provide up to $1 billion each in loans that cities or private landlords would use to upgrade heating, cooling and lighting systems in older buildings." Savings accrued through reduced energy costs, typically 20–50 percent, could be used to pay the money back. (NY Times)
Success Coach Provides Inspiring Advice in Online Videos
Start succeeding now! Get a jumpstart on your motivation and attitude from Robin Sharma, a success coach who provides little bursts of inspiration via video. I’ve selected eight good ones to spark your next project or change…
He reminds us, in short pithy statements, what it takes to win and how to become the successful people we were meant to be. Learn how to Concentrate to Win, Beat Procrastination, and Be Stretched Daily. Sharma quotes the great masters, as well as current business successes, like an executive from Liz Claiborne who advises, “Let people see you sweat.”
Sharma is author of the new book, The Greatness Guide: Powerful Secrets for Getting to World Class. Watch his video below about how he beats procrastination.
Superman’s Kryptonite Found?
Dr. Chris Stanley was enlisted as an expert when workers in a Serbian mine found a mineral they could not identify as any previously known. The chemical formula, sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide, was not referenced in the scientific literature, but it was referenced in literature — specifically that of science fiction. A Web search by Dr. Stanley revealed that the new mineral closely matches the chemical composition of kryptonite as described in the latest Superman film…
The chemical formula of the new mineral was written on a case containing kryptonite that Lex Luthor had stolen from a museum in the film Superman returns. The sole difference seems to be that Superman’s kryptonite also contains fluorine whereas the new mineral does not.
According to the comics and films, kryptonite is supposed to be green, glowing and radioactive, however the real mineral is white, powdery and non-radioactive, although Dr. Stanley, a mineralogist at London’s Natural History Museum, claims that it does fluoresce a pinkish-orange color when exposed to ultraviolet light. Even if the fluorine were present, as in the kryptonite of lore, the mineral would remain white and non-radioactive.
The new mineral was recently put on display at Belgrade’s Museum of Natural Sciences and visitors turned out in large numbers to catch a glimpse of it. Green lighting ensured the mineral took on the green hue of legend, a sight that conjured a world stranger than fiction.
The mineral, discovered by the mining group Rio Tinto, is to be formally named Jardarite after the name of the place where the mine was located in Serbia.
The commercial value of the mineral and its potential usage is not clear until further testing is done and the amount of the mineral deposit is assessed. Both boron and lithium are commercially viable elements used in industry to produce various products such as borosilicate glasses and lithium batteries.
Michael Little works in analytical chemistry and has almost 20 years experience in the research based pharmaceutical industry. Michael resides in Laval, Quebec, with his wife and three children. Michael has written occasional science articles for GNN since 2007.