Al Sharpton and other black activists are angry at hip-hop superstar entrepreneur Russell Simmons for stepping forward to initiate a new dialogue around offensive language in rap and hip-hop lyrics.
In short, Simmons says three words should never be played in songs over the airwaves. “If you want those words go buy them.” There can be “clean versions” that are for sale, which also have the words removed.
A Grand Prix event in St. Petersburg, Florida, donated their leftovers — 5 tons of steak, lobster, shrimp and sandwich trays — to a St. Vincent de Paul charity. “We’ve been unloading for three days,” said Sophie Sampson, the executive director there. “The Indy Racing League Ministry, an organization serving the Grand Prix’s sanctioning body, has been donating unused food to rescue missions for years, and in 2006 gave away about 100,000 pounds in communities where races take place, according to its Web site.” (– St. Petersburg Times)
Just before his death in 2006, Gary Comer, founder of Lands’ End, funded a start-up company to develop ways to pull CO2 out of the air. Last week, Comer’s Global Research Technologies officially introduced its unique CO2 vacuum cleaner in conjunction with Earth Day, placing the Arizona company in a good position to win a $25 million prize offered in February to anyone who could invent such a thing. (The hefty prize was the creation of Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, as a motivation for inventors to devise ways of cleaning the air of existing global warming gases.)
“Your perception determines your experience,” says Rev. Michael Beckwith, one of the teachers writing in the hit book, The Secret. Take responsibility for your life by choosing what you focus on. CBS’s Bill Whitaker questions the truths behind “The Secret” on this video, which was posted on YouTube by CBS — with an option to share.
For more Eye to Eye programs visit CBSNews.com.
On April 23rd eight major UK companies joined with Tony Blair to unveil We’re in this Together, a campaign to provide consumers with compelling products and simple solutions for individuals that make it easier to reduce their CO2 emissions. Together, as citizens, people can watch on the Web site as the amount of global warming gases decrease with each solution implemented…
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled plans on Sunday for a more energy-efficient city where pedestrians would be shaded by more trees while breathing cleaner air. The proposal saves water by rebuilding aging water mains, fosters support for mass transit, creates more energy-efficient buildings and pledges to plant a million new trees by 2017 that will help with pollution by cleaning the air.
The Bush administration will allow Wiccans to choose the pentacle, the symbol of their faith, for inscription on government-issued memorial markers for deceased veterans, it was announced today. Officials dragged their feet on the request for years (and were finally sued) but in the interim approved the symbols of six other religions and belief systems, like the Sikh emblem approved in only a few weeks. Wicca is a nature-based religion grounded in pre-Christian beliefs that honors the Divine as both Mother and Father, encompasses love of Nature and its cycles, and encourages harmony among all humans. (Green Bay Press) Related is a June 13, 2006 GNN story, Christianity Today Stands Behind Wiccan Widow.
Where once a million flamingos awashed the shores in pink along Lake Nakuru, a community is replanting saplings to help rebuild the forests they had burned for farmland in the 1990’s. Realizing the error in judgment they have planted more than 3000 trees since January, and the flamingos are already returning, along with valuable tourist dollars. (Reuters)
Port Phillip in Australia is encouraging people to smile or say "G’day" — the standard Australian greeting — to both neighbors and strangers as they stroll down the street. "Smiling," the mayor says, "encourages people to feel more connected with each other and safer, so it reduces fear of crime — an important element in the quality of life of many neighborhoods." … "Very small positive experiences can make people not only feel better about themselves, but also be more helpful to others." (The Daily Star also mentions a study showing people who find money left in a phone booth are more likely to help others.)
For a happier Earth Day, read four stories from the states, where in Washington, Illinois and Georgia, beautiful areas of the United States are being protected and efforts are being launched to mitigate global warming… Happy day, Earth!
The 1997 Academy Award®-winning documentary, “A Story of Healing,” has been re-released this week under a Creative Commons License, the first time in history that an acclaimed film is being widely distributed over the Internet for free with the message, “Please copy.” The nonprofit group that was the subject of the film recognized that by releasing the film under a relatively free license (strictly for non-commercial use, attribution required and no derivatives allowed) they would encourage people to spread the word about their inspiring charitable work. (And the fact that it’s here on the Good News Network proves they were right.)
Millions of people living in urban slums throughout the world are set to benefit from the pro-poor housing fund set up by UN-Habitat and its partners, a senior UN official said on Friday.
In celebration of Earth Day this Sunday, Office Depot has released the company’s Top Ten Tips for A Greener Worklife. If small businesses improve their environmental performance by checking off as many items from the list as possible, they could save trees, clean the air and save on energy costs.
1. Go for “greener options” in the products you buy. Today’s greener options go way beyond recycled paper. Lots of products today are cost-effective and high quality, but use fewer chemicals, less energy and less materials resulting in lower waste. Try biodegradable packing peanuts, Foray low-odor and non-toxic dry-erase markers, and recycled scissors at www.officedepot.com/buygreen and through their Green Book catalog.
Even though it was not their own generation involved in Nazi crimes against Jews, two dozen German youth worked in Israel donating a year of service in libraries, nursing homes and community centers through a group called Ot Hakapara, Hebrew for “Sign of Atonement.” (AP via Guardian)
After a decade of conservation efforts, the mountain gorillas in Eastern Africa are showing a steady comeback. Results of a survey released today indicate that there are now 340 gorillas within the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, a 12 percent growth over the past decade, indicating a healthy and well protected population, reports the World Wildlife Fund…
249 female cyclists from 30 countries, both Western and Arab, began peddling for peace in northern Syria on April 7 in the third annual Follow the Women – Women for Peace ride. Crowds lined the roads to greet them as they crossed through Lebanon and Palestine. British and Iranian riders formed friendships and the Palestinian team even included 24-year-old Lena Arafat, the daughter of the late Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. Today the women finished the trip in Amman, Jordan. A staff writer for the Daily Star in Lebanon, Iman Azzi, talked to participants and shared her thoughts about the trek for peace…
To preserve dwindling fish stocks, state lawmakers designated 200 square miles of water off Central California as marine reserves that limit or bans fishing. (AP)
Thomas Freidman had a great piece in the New York Times this Sunday promoting a Green New Deal, a dream for a hopeful ideology that can galvanize America. "One day … we will need to find a way to reknit America at home, reconnect America abroad and restore America to its natural place in the global order — as the beacon of progress, hope and inspiration. I have an idea how. It’s called ‘green.’ " (NYTimes)
Every day is Earth Day at Boeing!… Why? Because it puts money in their pocket. "The aerospace company said it earned more than $60 million last year as part of its massive recycling efforts, which included selling scrap metal and hawking used drill bits, safety glasses, wood containers and other excess goods at its six surplus stores in three states." Microsoft, Nordstrom and Costco are also heavily recycling. (Seattle P-I)
Chimpanzees and coffee have more in common than you might think.
It was in Gombe National Park in Tanzania in 1960 that legendary primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall first observed chimps in their natural habitat, the same lush habitat where coffee thrives. Beginning today, coffee lovers will be able to help preserve chimp habitat with each sip of their daily brew. A partnership was launched that will help to save these chimpanzees from the threat of extinction and also uplift their neighbors — the impoverished villagers surrounding the park — at the same time…
