International donors meeting in Sweden have promised $500 million in aid for the Palestinian territories. A total of $114m would be spent on humanitarian aid, with the rest going towards the rebuilding of infrastructure and other projects. The UN Aid Chief, who organized the drive hoped that this was a moment to begin moving the Palestinian people forward, out of the deepest despair in which they now find themselves. (BBC)
Pitt Unveils Green Housing Contest Winner for New Orleans
Actor Brad Pitt announced the winners of the Sustainable Design Competition for New Orleans yesterday. Pitt, the design jury chairman, unveiled a ‘green’ housing plan for the city’s Lower Ninth Ward that incorporates the newest sustainable technologies to cut pollution and energy costs by 50 to 60 percent and provides for a community center, walkway and garden…
Pam Dashiell, President of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association where the complex will be built, served as one of the design jury members and described the role of the community process throughout the competition saying, “The amount of community input was incredible; these green building designs breathe new life into our communities.”
Two New York City architects submitted the winning design, of Workshop/APD, dubbed their design Greenola. The plan calls for two multi-family units, six single family houses, services such as child care within a community center, a garden, and a wide pedestrian ramp leading to the adjacent Mississippi River levee.
The idea for the contest, underwritten by Pitt, developed from a conversation between Brad Pitt and Global Green President, Matt Petersen, at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York City in September 2005.
The use of resource-saving appliances and lighting, with solar electricity and hot water heaters, and recycled building materials, will cut pollution and decrease costs to homeowners by 50-60 percent compared with traditional homes.
Global Green USA is currently generating funding partners and developers to begin construction later this year. $100,000 was donated towards the purchase of land in Holy Cross by Trizec Properties Inc. Roughly $3.5 million to $5 million is needed.
Photo: NBC
Basketball Star Sparks Footwear Revolution with NBA-quality Sneakers for Under $15
Growing up in a Coney Island household with parents struggling to make ends meet, Stephon Marbury knows first-hand the pressure kids, parents and playground basketball players feel to spend top-dollar on the latest clothes and sneakers. Today, as a high-profile NBA player, he’s now embarking on a “change-the-world” mission to eliminate that aspect of our culture and the exorbitant price of sneakers.
World’s Biggest Music Company Offers Free Downloads Beginning Dec
Vivendi Universal has signed a deal to make its music catalogue available on a free legal downloads service. Under the agreement, Spiralfrog will offer Universal’s songs online in the US and Canada, and make its money by carrying advertisements on the site. "Offering young consumers an easy-to-use alternative to pirated music sites will be compelling," Spiralfrog CEO Robin Kent said. (BBC)
Need a Lightbulb? Change the World
Compact fluorescent lightbulbs have come as far as cell phones since the mid 80’s while still maintaining their high efficiency. What that means is:
If every one of 110 million American households bought just one CFL bulb, like this dimmable CF Warm Glow
Lightbulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island …
Milwaukee Woman Rescues Butterflies from Development
While bulldozers clear land to create a flood basin, Barb Agnew races to collect monarch eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves, and brings them to an enclosure in the back of her flower shop. She estimates that she’ll rescue about 1,000 monarchs this year. (Seattle P-I)
Significant Coral Reef Regeneration in Arabian Gulf
Researchers studying coral reefs in the Arabian Gulf have found encouraging signs that corals in Abu Dhabi and Qatar are regenerating and the entire range species may be re-established within a decade…
According to the World Wildlife Fund-sponsored coral reef study, at least 18 out of an original 36 species of coral found in the region have recovered from damage suffered due to past climatic events. In particular, Halul in Qatar and Ras Ghanda in Abu Dhabi are two areas where the most vigorous coral regeneration is taking place. Yasat and Dalma islands in Abu Dhabi also recorded good coral growth and high coral cover.
“We are encouraged by the results of the coral reef project,” said Razan Al Mubarak, Director of the World Wildlife Fund office in the United Arab Emirates.
“Assuming no further disturbances to their reef habitat occur, the rate of regeneration suggests that the entire range of the region’s coral species would be re-established within a decade.”
UN Treaty Protects Rights of Disabled
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hailed the agreement reached late Friday on the text of a treaty to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, urging all Member States to ratify the convention and implement it quickly.
Encouraging Sign for Endangered Bird
Nests of the endangered Great Indian Bustard were sighted in the Kutch region of India — after none were spotted last year — providing a ray of hope that the population could rise. (The Hindu)
New Way for Cancer Cells to Commit Suicide
Healthy cells have a built-in process (to) commit suicide if something is wrong, a process which fails in cancer cells. A University of Illinois team created a synthetic molecule which caused cancer cells to self-destruct.
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The study, in Nature Chemical Biology, offers "exciting possibilities" for new ways of treating Cancer. (BBC)
PlayStation 3 Machines To Help Tackle Disease Research
Sony has teamed up with US researchers to provide the spare processing power of Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game system to harness gamers in helping to understand the cause of diseases like Alzheimer’s. "A network of PS3’s will allow performance similar to supercomputers." (BBC)
Yo-Yo Powered MP3 Player Wins Award
From Treehugger comes a report about a yo-yo powered MP3 player. "The inventors estimate that between 10-12 tosses per hour are sufficient for continuous music play. A wireless headset allows the user to listen to music while yo-yoing." Cool.
Philippines Set Tree-Planting Record
A massive tree-planting campaign in the Philippines set a world record of a half million simultaneous plantings along highways. AP reports the participation was phenomenal proving citizen’s interest in cutting air pollution and beautifying the islands…
Inspiration Point: Teen Years are Some of the Best to Parents
I am the director of The Natural Child Project , a psychologist, and author of The Natural Child: Parenting From the Heart. I envision a world where all children are treated with dignity, understanding, and compassion.
When asked about the notorious teen years I am often interrupted midway through my statement, "My son is 15 and has brought me nothing but …"
Judge Rules Bush’s Lax Pesticide Law Illegal
A federal judge in Seattle yesterday overturned new Bush administration rules that weaken the governing of pesticide use and their effect on endangered plants and animals. The court struck down the EPA’s new rules and restored prior standards that provided greater protection to protected wildlife. The judge determined that the rules were “arbitrary and capricious” because they ignored the risks to species and because EPA political appointees ignored the unanimous concerns of its own scientists.
Black Rhino Numbers Up 20 Percent
Black rhino numbers are on the rise in Kenya after years of decline from poaching and habitat loss.
According to officials, the country’s black rhino population has increased 20 percent, from 428 animals in 2003, to 539 animals at the end of 2005…
“This shows a healthy increase that surpassed our targets,” said Dr Taye Teferi, a Conservation Programme Director with the World Wildlife Fund, based in Nairobi. “Considering the intense poaching pressure and the demand for rhino horn, this is no mean achievement.”
The population growth is attributed to improved rhino protection, particularly through managing existing populations and ensuring that their habitats are suitable for foraging and reproducing.
WWF, through its black rhino project, is working with the Kenya Wildlife Service to increase Kenya’s black rhino population to 1,000 by 2020 through the expansion of existing rhino sanctuaries and through the establishment of new protected areas that can accommodate future population growth.
“With increased improvement in wildlife management and monitoring, the black rhino population can continue to show a healthy growth rate for many years to come,” added Dr Teferi. (WWF)
Disney Donates Endangered White Rhinos to Uganda
To boost populations of white rhinos in their native Uganda, Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida sent two of the huge animals on a four-day journey to Africa where they walked on ancesteral soil for the first time. It is hoped the two will breed within a year in their new home, the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. (AP via Washington Post)
Photo by Renaud Fulconis, rhinos-irf.org
Wetlands Restored After 107 Years
"Environmentalists who worked for 30 years to restore a massive California wetland area, watched as the ocean flowed into historic tidal basin Thursday for the first time in more than a century." Not many wetlands have been restored in the world, or in California, "where 95 percent of saltwater marshes have been given over to development." (AP via CBS News)
College Campuses are Going Green
In the state of Washington, colleges are now competing to see which school can become a better friend to the environment. By composting in cafeterias, using solar energy and recycling, faculties at universities are leading the way to a greener future. UW students are even "exploring how to use cooking oil from campus eateries to fuel university cars." (Seattle P-I)
Katrina, Rita Create Unexpected Boom
Despite dire forecasts that Gulf Coast governors would have to slash state budgets in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita one year ago, a new report finds that booming "hurricane economies" have fueled state revenue surpluses across the region. State revenues in hardest-hit Louisiana and Mississippi swelled since the storms…