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Your Weekly Horoscope: A ‘Free Will Astrology’ From Rob Brezsny

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Our partner Rob Brezsny, who has a new book out, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of December 2, 2023
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Sagittarian poet Nina Cassian said, “I promise to make you so alive that the fall of dust on furniture will deafen you.” I think she meant she would fully awaken the senses of her readers. She would boost our capacity for enchantment and entice us to feel interesting emotions we had never experienced. As we communed with her beautiful self-expression, we might even reconfigure our understanding of who we are and what life is about. I am pleased to tell you, Sagittarius, that even if you’re not a writer, you now have an enhanced ability to perform these same services—both for yourself and for others.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
“Sometimes I get lonesome for a storm,” says Capricorn singer-songwriter Joan Baez. “A full-blown storm where everything changes.” That approach has worked well for her. At age 82, she has released 30 albums and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has recorded songs in eight languages and has been honored by Amnesty International for her work on behalf of human rights. If you’re feeling resilient—which I think you are—I recommend that you, too, get lonesome for a storm. Your life could use some rearrangement. If you’re not feeling wildly bold and strong, maybe ask the gods for a mild squall.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Science educator Neil deGrasse Tyson tells us that water molecules we drink have “passed through the kidneys of Socrates, Genghis Khan, and Joan of Arc.” The same prodigious truth applies to the air we breathe: It has “passed through the lungs of Napoleon, Beethoven, and Abraham Lincoln.” Tyson would have also been accurate if he said we have shared water and air that has been inside the bodies of virtually every creature who has ever lived. I bring these facts to your attention, Aquarius, in the hope of inspiring you to deepen your sense of connectedness to other beings. Now is an excellent time to intensify your feelings of kinship with the web of life. Here’s the practical value of doing that: You will attract more help and support into your life.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
I am saying a prayer for you. I pray to the Fates that you will not accept lazy or careless efforts from others. You won’t allow their politeness to be a cover-up for manipulativeness. I also pray that you will cultivate high expectations for yourself. You won’t be an obsessive perfectionist, but will be devoted to excellence. All your actions will be infused with high integrity. You will conscientiously attend to every detail with the faith that you are planting seeds that will bloom beautifully in the future.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
As a child, I loved to go to a meadow and whirl around in spirals until I got so dizzy, I fell. As I lay on the ground, the earth, sky, and sun reeled madly, and I was no longer just a pinpoint of awareness lodged inside my body, but was an ecstatically undulating swirl in the kaleidoscopic web of life. Now, years later, I’ve discovered many of us love spinning. Scientists postulate humans have a desire for the intoxicating vertigo it brings. I would never recommend you do what I did as a kid; it could be dangerous for some of you. But if it’s safe and the spirit moves you, do it! Or at least imagine yourself doing it—like the Sufi Whirling Dervishes who use spinning as a meditation.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Your power creature in the coming weeks will not be an eagle, wolf, bear, or salmon. I don’t advise you to dream of being a wild horse, tiger, or crocodile. Instead, I invite you to cultivate a deep bond with the mushroom family. Why? Now is a favorable time to be like the mushrooms that keep the earth fresh. In wooded areas, they eat away dead trees and leaves, preventing larger and larger heaps of compost from piling up. They keep the soil healthy and make nutrients available for growing things. Be like those mushrooms, Taurus. Steadily and relentlessly rid your world of the defunct and decaying parts—thereby stimulating fertility.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Gemini novelist Geraldine McCaughrean wrote, “Maybe courage is like memory—a muscle that needs exercise to get strong. So I decided that maybe if I started in a small way, I could gradually work my way up to being brave.” That is an excellent prescription for you: the slow, incremental approach to becoming bolder and pluckier. For best results, begin practicing on mild risks and mellow adventures. Week by week, month by month, increase the audacious beauty of your schemes and the intensity of your spunk and fortitude. By mid-2024, you will be ready to launch a daring project.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Cancerian neurologist and author Oliver Sacks worked with people who had unusual neurological issues. His surprising conclusion: “Defects, disorders, and diseases can play a paradoxical role, by bringing out latent powers, developments, and evolutions that might never be seen in their absence.” In not all cases, but more often than seemed reasonable, he found that disorders could be regarded as creative—”for if they destroy particular paths, particular ways of doing things, they may force unexpected growth.” Your assignment is to meditate on how the events of your life might exemplify the principle Sacks marvels at: apparent limitations leading to breakthroughs and bonanzas.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
I am falling in love with how deeply you are falling in love with new ways of seeing and understanding yourself. My heart sings as I listen to your heart singing in response to new attractions. Keep it up, Leo! You are having an excellent influence on me. My dormant potentials and drowsy passions are stirring as I behold you waking up and coaxing out your dormant potentials and drowsy passions. Thank you, dear!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Virgo journalist Sydney Harris offered advice I suggest you meditate on. He wrote, “Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” I bring this to your attention because now is a favorable time to take action on things you have not yet done—and should do. If you put definitive plans in motion soon, you will ensure that regret won’t come calling in five years. (PS: Amazingly, it’s also an excellent time to dissolve regret you feel for an iffy move you made in the past.)

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
In contrast to false stereotypes, Medieval Europeans were not dirty and unhygienic. They made soap and loved to bathe. Another bogus myth says the people of the Middle Ages believed the Earth was flat. But the truth was that most educated folks knew it was round. And it’s questionable to refer to this historical period as backward, since it brought innovations like mechanical timekeepers, moveable type, accurate maps, the heavy plow, and illuminated manuscripts. In this spirit, and in accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to strip away misconceptions and celebrate actual facts in your own sphere. Be a scrupulous revealer, a conscientious and meticulous truth-teller.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Scorpio poet John Berryman said, “To grow, we must travel in the direction of our fears.” Yikes! I personally wouldn’t want to do that kind of growth all the time. I prefer traveling cheerfully in the direction of my hopes and dreams. But then I’m not a Scorpio. Maybe Berryman’s strategy for fulfilling one’s best destiny is a Scorpio superpower. What do you think? One thing I know for sure is that the coming weeks will be an excellent time to re-evaluate and reinvent your relationship with your fears. I suggest you approach the subject with a beginner’s mind. Empty yourself of all your previous ideas and be open to healing new revelations.

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“Wise sayings often fall on barren ground, but a kind word is never thrown away.” – Sir Arthur Helps

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Credit: Thomas Bennie

Quote of the Day: “Wise sayings often fall on barren ground, but a kind word is never thrown away.” – Sir Arthur Helps

Photo by: Thomas Bennie

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

New Google Geothermal Electricity Project Could Be a Milestone for Clean Energy

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Andy Corbley
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Fermo Energy's Google Geothermal Energy Plant - released
Fermo Energy’s Google Geothermal Energy Plant – released

An advanced geothermal project funded and developed by Google has begun pumping carbon-free electricity onto the Nevada grid to power the company’s data centers there.

Geothermal energy was once confined in theory to areas of geothermal activity, but if one drills deep enough, there’s extreme heat from the planet’s core essentially everywhere to be harnessed to make steam and drive turbines to create carbon-free electricity 24 hours a day when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.

For this reason, Google made an early bet on this enhanced geothermal technology, and partnered with the Utah-based Fervo Energy, which uses drilling techniques from the oil and gas industry to create a first-of-its-kind power plant in Nevada.

GNN reported that initial tests in July showed that the technology was working, in which the hypothesized 3.5 megawatts were indeed being delivered.

A borehole was made 8,000 feet into the desert plains before being extended horizontally 3,000 feet. A second, shallower tunnel was drilled above it. As cold water is pumped into the lower shaft, heat causes it to rise through cracks in the rock created by fracking into the upper shaft, a process which heats it well above supercritical temperatures of 200°F.

Once topside, the superheated fluid boils another well of water to create steam to drive a turbine and power Google’s Henderson City data center with a combination of storage and solar power.

MORE GEOTHERMAL INNOVATIONS: After Fracking is Halted, the Site’s Drill Hole is Now A Source of Clean Geothermal Energy

MORE GEOTHERMAL INNOVATIONS: The Perfect Energy Source Is Already Here – Endless Geothermal Is Poised for Release From Deep in the Earth

“We’re really hoping that this could be a springboard to much, much more advanced geothermal power available to us and others around the world,” Michael Terrell, who leads decarbonization efforts at Google, told AP.

The backing has spurred on Fervo Energy to greater heights, and the company recently completed the drilling phase for a 400-megawatt energy project in Southern Utah.

While Google has only started with this project in Nevada, there’s potential for geothermal to grow. The company recently announced a partnership with Project InnerSpace, a leading non-profit organization dedicated to the global development of geothermal energy, to accelerate the adoption of geothermal energy.

WATCH the story below from Google… 

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NASA Turns Light into Sound Frequency Creating a Milky Way Symphony (LISTEN)

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Andy Corbley
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The bright spot on the right is hot gas in infrared light, marking the approximate location of the galaxy's supermassive black hole. X-ray: NASA / CXC / SAO; Optical: NASA / STScI; IR: Spitzer NASA / JPL-Caltech
The bright spot on the right is hot gas in infrared light, marking the approximate location of the galaxy’s supermassive black hole. X-ray: NASA / CXC / SAO; Optical: NASA / STScI; IR: Spitzer NASA / JPL-Caltech

A collaboration between NASA and musicians has seen a photograph of the Milky Way from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory turned into a musical piece after they matched the wavelengths of light to wavelengths of sound in order to show our home galaxy in a whole different light—namely a musical one.

While astronomers working with Chandra weren’t chilling out to the lo-fi beats of the Milky Way (feat. Supermassive Black Hole) when they took the photograph of the galactic center, it did dawn on them that they were producing a pretty false image, since they were imaging X-rays that can’t be seen by the human eye.

It’s been standard practice to color code various wavelengths of light, even if those don’t correspond to light our eyes would actually perceive, in order to disseminate X-ray space photographs to the public.

This time, Kimberly Arcand, an expert in astronomy visualization at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, collaborated with several musicians to create a musical guide to interpreting the contents of the photograph.

The galactic center is just the most recent and expressive musical track, but many other features and regions of space have been “sonified” with the help of astrophysicist and musician Matt Russo, and sound engineer Andrew Santaguida who together run a project called System-Sounds that sonifies astronomical data.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Revolutionary Music Therapy Helps Paralyzed Man Walk and Talk Again – It ‘Unlocked the Brain’

These include famous sights like the Crab Nebula, the Carina Nebula, Messier 104, and the WD2 star cluster.

In each one of these beautiful images, optical, infrared, and X-ray light has its own track, some represented by strings, others by bells and chimes, and others by synths.

MORE COOL SPACE STUFF: Spacecraft ‘Hack’ Results in Never-Before-Seen Views of Our Sun – LOOK

In the galactic center piece, a piano is used for infrared, and with eyes closed a layman might consider it a more avant-garde contemporary piece, or Claude Debussy fiddling with a new idea.

It’s important to remember that if you turned on your monitors and stuck a microphone in the middle of the galactic center, there wouldn’t be any music. These sounds are auditory matches of the visual wavelengths picked up by the telescope. It’s important to remember because the sounds seem unmistakably right a home within the image.

LISTEN to the ensemble piece below, and follow the link to hear more… 

SHARE This Brilliant Collaboration With Your Friends Who Love Music… 

Free Engagement Ring to Couples Who Include Cats in Their Plans for Wedding Proposal in December

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Andy Corbley
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credit Felix Cat Insurance
credit Felix Cat Insurance

With December being the most popular month for engagements and gift-giving, a cat-loving company is holding a contest to see which happy couples can come up with the most inventive and heartwarming way to include their cat in a marriage proposal.

To the winner goes the cost of the engagement ring up to $4,750, and Felix Cat Insurance has several ideas to get prospective proposers thinking.

They suggest having your kitty walk into the room toting a ring on its collar, or some variation on the theme.

Starting today, anyone planning to propose this December can privately share their engagement plans at FelixPurrfectProposal.com, including how their kitty will be involved in the memorable milestone moment.

The cat insurance brand will then select one lucky winner and their furry friend to receive the cost of an engagement ring, and a celebratory package of cat treats, a plush champagne toy, and festive feline accessories should the kitty want to dress up for the special occasion.

“Our felines are family members and just like your closest friends and family, we want to include them in celebrating meaningful moments like this,” said Jamie Maxfield, Marketing Director and Brand Expert at Felix Cat Insurance.

“Planning for the future can also bring challenges, which is why we’re spreading holiday cheer by easing the expense of this life milestone as you, your partner, and your furry friend embark on your new life together. Not only is Felix here to ease the expense of this core life event, we can also be there every step of the way afterwards.”

The contest is not available in Washington or Puerto Rico, and the drawing will take place on December 22nd.

KNOW Someone Looking To Pop The Question? Send Them This Story ASAP…

Teen Creates LEGO Charity to Collect and Wash Old Bricks to Give Away New Sets–For 3,000 Kids So Far

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Andy Corbley
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Charlie Jeffers repurposing LEGOS –Pass the Bricks
Charlie Jeffers repurposing LEGOS –Pass the Bricks

Charlie Jeffers has been playing with LEGO since he was 4 or 5 and credits one of the most famous of all toys for helping him learn math and engineering concepts, and how to be focused, flexible, and creative.

It occurred to him that many kids don’t have access to play tools like LEGO, and their emotional and cognitive development suffers as a result.

The senior at Redwood High School in Marin County, California, realized that by getting LEGO into the hands of kids who can’t afford the name-brand toys, he can also avoid them ending up in landfills.

He launched Pass the Bricks in 2020 to address both of these issues. He and his volunteer-based team repurpose used LEGO bricks into new original sets for kids in marginalized communities who don’t know about them or can’t afford them.

Pass the Bricks has an open model program template with four key steps: collect used LEGO bricks, sanitize and sort them, create new sets with the used bricks, and deliver the sets to kids in marginalized communities.

The team distributes the sets to kids in need directly or through partnerships with 11 various nonprofit organizations.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: 9-Year-old’s Lemonade Stand Raises $2,000 For Shelter Cats After He Saw They Had No Toys

One in particular that’s flourishing is Jeffers’ ongoing relationship with multiple chapters of the Boys and Girls Club of America. As part of these ongoing relationships, Pass the Bricks delivers a specific number of sets every month (i.e., 50 sets per month to Boys and Girls Club in San Francisco), which the nonprofit can include in its larger deliveries to kids and families in need.

To date, the organization has delivered over 3,055 sets to kids in need, and people immediately see the value in it.

“We sent our Lego bricks to Ecuador with my son’s middle school some years back. I love to think of kids there playing with them,” said Paola, a neighbor of Jeffers who contributed to the project.

Some of his new sets are quite innovative, like the “Superman Would Like Just One Day Off” set, featuring a grumpy Clark Kent in bed with his suit hanging in the closet, or the “Droid Escape Pod,” which is a faithful representation of the spacecraft used by R2-D2 in the opening scenes of the first Star Wars Film.

Charlie Jeffers repurposing LEGOS –Pass the Bricks

With over 20 volunteers, Jeffers’ has expanded the program in their communities in San Francisco, Marin County, Portland, Austin, DC, Richmond, and Los Angeles, and is now looking to scale the program further to create as much impact as possible.

MORE INNOVATIVE CHARITIES: Never-Ending Literary Treasure Hunt Has Kids Finding Hidden Books, Reading, Then Re-Hiding Them for Others

He’s created an easy-to-use program template with clear instructions on how to facilitate the program out of one’s home. His ultimate goal is widespread behavior change so that every LEGO brick has a second life and that as many kids as possible get access to this incredible play tool.

Anyone looking to donate their old LEGO should contact Charlie on his website.

SHARE This Inspiring Young Man’s Work With Your Friends… 

“Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

Photo by: Ben White (cropped)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Aurora Borealis May Be Visible in U.S. Northern Tier Tonight, NOAA Announces

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Good News Network
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By Luke Stackpoole
By Luke Stackpoole

The U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center run by NOAA has just predicted a visible aurora borealis may appear in the northern US tonight, after observing several solar flares kicking up over the last few days.

These flares, known as coronal mass ejections, are what cause the geomagnetic storms which we see as green lights in the sky from the surface.

At the moment, the NOAA Aurora Forecast can’t say for sure if they will appear south of Northern Canada, but if this were to change, it would likely appear in the northernmost states east of the Rockies.

The magnetic field redirects incoming solar wind, which is made up of charged particles, towards the north and south magnetic poles.

The colors are dependent on the particles being ejected by the sun. Nitrogen shows up as red, while the classic green color is because of oxygen.

SHARE This With Your Friends In The Northern States Immediately!.. 

Secret Donor Gives and Gives for 25 Years–$2.3 Million to Fund Education and Support for Poorer Families in China

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Andy Corbley
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The anonymous donations have been used to create education opportunities for disadvantaged children. Jerry Wang - Unsplash
The anonymous donations have been used to create education opportunities for disadvantaged children. Jerry Wang – Unsplash

The year was 1999, and on a late November day the volunteers at the Ningbo Charity Federation in Eastern China found a strange letter addressed to them from an individual referred to only as shun qi zi ran, translated roughly to “let nature take its course.”

Inside was 50,000 Chinese RMB, or around $7,000 in remittances—payments typically sent from a person back home to their family from a foreign country.

Next year, the same letter came from ‘let nature take its course,” and the year after that, and the year after that; each one filled with money.

Three weeks ago, another letter came totaling 1.08 million RMB ($150,000) across 100 different remittance certificates. It marks the fifteenth million sent to the charity—more than $2 million—across 25 years of anonymous giving.

“He sent us a letter. I remember he said in it, ‘I will not do bad things and will also not speak about the good things I did. Just let nature take its course,’” Gao Peng, secretary-general of the Ningbo Charity, was quoted as saying.

“So we respected his wish and did not try to find him. We also followed his request of using his donations for education.”

MORE POSITIVE NEWS FROM THE EAST: New Tallest Tree in Asia–a 335-Foot Cypress Shows There’s Plenty Left in the World to Discover

Mainland China banking regulations stipulate that cash transfers of over $1,500 require identification, and so the donor used remittances to circumvent the rule and maintain his anonymity.

The donations stretch back to a time when China was far poorer than it is today, with a GDP one-third that of Japan and one-ninth that of America.

MORE GIVING: The Values of Giving, Compassion and Family, Flourishing Across the World: Survey Shows

Ningbo Charity has said they used the money over the years to build several schools for underprivileged children in the Province of Zhejiang.

Chinese culture is nothing if not particular, and stories of anonymous donors are not uncommon. They often trend online, in fact, and South China Morning Post referred to a story from central China’s Hebei Province where a senior care home received several donations totaling around $875,000 from an “old friend.”

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Looking On the Bright Side of Life Could Help Cut Your Risk For Dementia

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Andy Corbley
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Nathan Dumlao - Unsplash
Nathan Dumlao – Unsplash

A study of the ‘big five’ personality traits has found that positive, extroverted, and conscientious people are less likely to get a dementia diagnosis than those with neurotic or negative personality traits.

Scientists from Northwestern University and the University of California, Davis said that the difference wasn’t due to pathological changes, but rather how traits allow some people to better navigate dementia-related impairments.

Although there have been studies trying to link personality to dementia, these have been small and only in specific populations.

Leveraging as much of this existing literature as possible, the team analyzed data from eight published studies involving more than 44,000 people, of whom 1,703 developed dementia.

They looked at the ‘big five’ personality traits of conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, neuroticism, and agreeableness along with subjective well-being, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction.

They then compared these traits to clinical symptoms of dementia such as performance on cognitive tests and brain pathology at autopsy.

“We wanted to leverage new technology to synthesize these studies and test the strength and consistency of these associations,” said first author on the study Emorie Beck, assistant professor of psychology at UC Davis.

“If those links hold up, then targeting personality traits for change in interventions earlier in life could be a way to reduce dementia risk in the long term.”

This is important science, as the sciences in general, from medicine to history, are in a well-documented “reproducibility crisis” where between 50 to 90% of all scientific studies are non-reproduceable, and therefore of low or questionable value.

Using different methods to analyze existing literature is a good way to test its veracity.

Writing in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, Professor Beck said that people who score high on conscientiousness may be more likely to eat well and take care of their health, which results in better health in the long term.

She and her team found that high scores on negative traits and low scores on positive traits were associated with a higher risk of a dementia diagnosis. High scores on openness to experience, agreeableness, and life satisfaction had a protective effect in a smaller subset of studies.

However, no link was found between these personality traits and actual neuropathology in the brains of people after death.

People who are conscientious and orderly may be resistant to the effects of dementia. credit Scott Evans – Unsplash

“This was the most surprising finding to us,” said Beck. “If personality is predictive of performance on cognitive tests but not pathology, what might be happening?”

MORE NEWS LIKE THIS: Good Morals in Stories Play a Positive Role in Shifting Values of Teens, Study Finds

“A possible explanation is that some personality traits could make people more resilient to the damage caused by diseases such as Alzheimer’s.”

People with high levels of some traits may find ways, even subconsciously, to cope with and work around impairments; for example, conscientiousness is associated with a strong work ethic, orderliness, and sense of responsibility that could in theory allow some people to work through the early stages of dementia.

The team also showed that some people with quite extensive physical symptoms in the brain can show little impairment on cognitive tests. So they looked at other factors between personality and dementia risk and neuropathology, including age, gender, and educational attainment.

“We found almost no evidence for effects, except that conscientiousness’s protective effect increased with age,” said Beck.

MORE POSITIVE MINDSET STUDIES: Those Who Think Positively About Aging Are More Likely to Regain Memory, Landmark Study Shows

It is hoped the study might provide the first steps into finding out what causes the condition to manifest itself and what could prevent this from happening.

Could you be resistant to dementia through your personality? There are a number of big 5 personality trait tests on the internet for free that can give you a sense.

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Couple Plants 2 Million Trees in 20 Years to Turn Destroyed Forest Back Into a Wildlife Haven

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Andy Corbley
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By Sebastião Salgado
By Sebastião Salgado

In 2001, the legendary photojournalist Sebastião Salgado had a dream of restoring the forest near his home in the state of Minas Gerais. Now 20 years later, his family property is a biodiverse paradise.

His work over long years saw him, his wife Lélia, and volunteers plant 20 million trees from 290 different species across over 1,500 acres of desiccated hillsides, recreating a natural forest ecosystem into which rare animals have now come to live.

Salgado’s story is a famous one. The photojournalist documented some of the most dramatic events of human misery of the 20th century. He authored half a dozen books, exhibited his photos around the world, and was the subject of a documentary Salt of the Earth. 

When he came home in 1998 after reporting on the exodus of the Rwandans into the Congo, the land around his family home had been completely destroyed.

“The land was as sick as I was—everything was destroyed,” Salgado told the Guardian back in 2015.

“Only about 0.5% of the land was covered in trees. Then my wife had a fabulous idea to replant this forest. And when we began to do that, then all the insects and birds and fish returned and, thanks to this increase of the trees I, too, was reborn – this was the most important moment.”

Tree cover surveys – Instituto Terra

That same year, he and Lélia founded Instituto Terra, which focuses on environmental restoration and sustainable rural development in the Rio Doce Valley. Located in Southeast Brazil, it makes up a part of the other other great landscape of the country—the Atlantic Forest biome, which is far more temperate than the Amazon or the Pantanal, and far more threatened.

OTHER BRAZIL NEWS: Brazil’s President Makes Good on Campaign Promise to Evict Miners from Indigenous Reserves in the Amazon

Today, the property is officially titled Private Reserve of Natural Heritage Bulcão Farm, and hundreds of animal species have returned to the Rio Doce, including ocelots, purple-breasted parrot, and the Atlantic titi.

173 bird species alone have been identified; you can listen to some of their squawking here. Interested conservationists can donate to Salgado’s project on his website or even schedule a visit to the reserve.

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“The undertaking of a new action brings new strength.” – Richard L. Evans

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Good News Network
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Eddie Kopp

Quote of the Day: “The undertaking of a new action brings new strength.” – Richard L. Evans

Photo by: Eddie Kopp

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Complete Stegosaurus Fossil Found With Skin Still On in Northern China

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Andy Corbley
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Provided to Chinadaily by researchers.
Provided to Chinadaily by researchers.

One of the great dinosaur centers on Earth has produced another marvel, as a complete Stegosaurus skeleton with fossilized skin imprints has been unearthed in China.

The animal was discovered in 2017 in the Fengning Manchu Autonomous County in Northern China’s Hebei Province along with a primitive ancestor of Triceratops. Years of painstaking excavations revealed their nearly complete skeletons.

The Stegosaur measures 5 meters in length, or around 15 feet, and is so well preserved that a mineralization of its skin was created alongside its bones.

“The hard parts, such as bones and teeth of dinosaurs, are relatively easy to form fossils, but the soft parts, such as skin and muscle, are easy to rot, and the conditions for forming fossils are extremely harsh,” explained Zhang Fucheng, a professor at the Institute of Geology and Paleontology of Linyi University who also leads the research team.

Gou Ying, an associate professor at the institute, said that their paper on the discovery details that the skin of the Stegosaur was scaley, and that this helped lock moisture in its body allowing it to adapt and survive in dry climates much the same as today’s squamates like lizards and snakes.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Portuguese Man Accidentally Finds 82-Foot-Long Dinosaur in His Backyard

The climate of Hebei at the time of the mid-Cretaceous was favorable to life, and rich forests with riverine ecosystems dominated the area which today is mostly grassland.

Provided to Chinadaily by researchers.

As is often the case with well-fossilized dinosaurs, remarkably serendipitous events marked its demise. It was probably drinking at the side of a lake or a river when it died. Then some force shifted its body from the exposed land into the deeper water, after which a nearby volcano seems to have erupted and buried the dino and the body of water in layer after layer of ash.

MORE DINOS FROM CHINA: A Kind of Cretaceous Crane Enters Fossil Record as Long-Legged Wading Dinosaur Found in China

Dating back to the Cretaceous period to around 130 million years ago, it’s the first Stegosaurus discovered in Northern China, while the primitive triceratops ancestor will help fill gaps in the fossil record of China’s ceratopsids.

“The well-preserved bones of this specimen will provide important evidence for further study of the evolution of the primitive ceratopsid dinosaurs,” Zhang further noted.

SHARE This Awesome Discovery With Your Friends… 

World’s 1st Electric Flying Passenger Ship Completes Tests Ahead of Production and Service in 2024

By
Andy Corbley
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The Candela P-12 - credit CANDELA
The Candela P-12 – credit CANDELA

A 30-seat hydrofoil ferryboat is set to enter mass production ahead of its introduction into the Stockholm transportation network next year.

It’s the world’s first electric flying passenger ship, and it recently completed all tests with flying colors, delighting the manufacturer, Candela Technology.

During its first flights, Candela P-12 confirmed its top speed of 30 knots, (35 mph) a record for electric passenger vessels. With a range of up to 50 nautical miles, it is also the first electric ship with the practical endurance to cover most coastal transport needs.

Tests also confirmed the minimal wake, which opens up for exemptions from speed limits, as the P-12 will neither erode coastlines nor damage docks and moored ships, even at full speed.

“The P-12 will let you use these waterways as green highways, enabling fast intra-city connections,” states company president Gustav Hasselskog. “Whether it’s public transport fleets, VIP services, or private customers, it will revolutionize how we travel on water.”

The P-12 employs computer-guided hydrofoils to elevate its hull above water friction. When on its foils at speeds over 18 knots, the Candela P-12 consumes 80% less energy than traditional high-speed vessels.

MORE EV INNOVATION: Swedish Firm Will be Mailing Flat-Packed Car with Top Speed of 55 for Urban Commuting

This innovation addresses the primary challenges that have hindered the widespread adoption of electric, fast vessels to date: limited range and slow speeds due to the excessive energy consumption of conventional hulls.

Priced at €1.7 million, the 30-seat Shuttle variant of the P-12 matches the cost of similar-sized ICE vessels and is priced significantly lower than other electric options.

MORE COOL HYBRID WATERCRAFT: Incredible World First Electric Seaglider Vehicle Ready For Production After Successful Test

Once in service, operators can expect reduced ‘fuel’ costs by up to 90% compared to diesel vessels. The C-POD motors require minimal servicing, and the vessel is designed for single-crew operation, which further slashes costs.

In total, the P-12 is expected to cut costs per passenger kilometer by up to 50%, achieving a similar operational per-passenger economy as a hybrid electric bus.

WATCH the P-12 in action…

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Teen Brings Drowned Toddler Back to Life on Thanksgiving While Adults Watch Stunned (WATCH)

By
Andy Corbley
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Atkinson family
Atkinson family

A California high-schooler is being hailed as a hero after administering CPR to save a little girl.

Surrounded by adults, it was the 15-year-old Madison Atkinson who stepped forward to save her cousin, a 3-year-old who had seemingly drowned in the pool.

It was Thanksgiving when the Atkinson family was together with their relatives for the day. Losing sight of 3-year-old Maxine, they thought she was playing with the other kids, when she had actually wandered outside to the pool.

Surveillance camera footage captured the moment when Maxine falls in the pool, and later when Uncle Damien sees her floating face down and rushes in to pull her out, calling for help while he does it.

“I saw that he was trying the Heimlich,” Madison told ABC 7 news. “But I knew in that case you needed CPR because she didn’t seem like she was breathing. I told everyone I knew CPR and it calmed everyone down.”

It didn’t take long for the girl to be revived, and for the two families to thank their lucky stars Madison had learned CPR in class.

SIMILAR: Wendy’s Worker Saves Customer’s Life: ‘I was like, ‘Girl, you know how to do CPR; get over there’

“I’m literally watching a 15-year-old girl basically bring back our niece, a 3-year-old, to life,” Damien Gilbert said. “It was something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

CPR can take less than an afternoon to learn, and it can save the life of anyone, even an elephant, and even after it has been performed for hours on a person with no pulse.

WATCH the story below from ABC 7… 

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All 41 Workers Rescued From Collapsed Tunnel in India Himalayas After 17 Days Trapped

By
Andy Corbley
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Endoscopic flexi camera reaches workers trapped in tunnel in Silkyara rescue operation - Released by Uttarkashi District Information Department
Endoscopic flexi camera reaches workers trapped in tunnel in Silkyara rescue operation – Released by Uttarkashi District Information Department

All 41 construction workers trapped in a tunnel under construction in the Uttarakhand State of India have been rescued.

Cameras, politicians, and flower garlands were awaiting them when they finally emerged to the cheers of an awaiting crowd.

Like the Chilean miners, or the Thai cavers, there’s something about workmen trapped underground that captures the world’s attention, and it happened again when a November 12th landslide caused a portion of the 2.2-mile tunnel to collapse, blocking a section of the path as long as 2 football fields to the exit.

They survived on food and oxygen sent in through narrow steel pipes, while more than a dozen physicians were monitoring their health through various sensors.

“This was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years,” said Nitin Gadkari, the minister of road transport and highways, on X.

The workers escaped the tunnel via narrow steel pipes that had been pushed into the debris through hand-drilled tunnels.

Last Friday, the drilling machine used to create the path for the pipes broke, and from then until Tuesday, teams worked on through the night in shifts using hand drills. By Tuesday they had drilled through over 100 feet of rubble.

ANOTHER MOUNTAIN RESCUE: Pakistani Man is True Hero in Dramatic Cable Car Rescue After Youths Were Stranded 15 Hours–WATCH

One rescuer told the New Delhi Television that the workers rushed over and hugged him when he came through the pipes, and after they all got out, a small tent community of the workers’ families and loved ones were there to greet them.

The tunnel was being built to connect various Hindu pilgrimage sites across the Himalayas.

Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the government will provide financial assistance of one lakh rupees, (about $1,200) to all the workers trapped in the tunnel. They have been admitted to a hospital, the bills for which will also be taken on by the local government.

WATCH the moment when the workers finally emerge… 

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“Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished.” – Og Mandino

By
Good News Network
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By Dylan Sauerwein

Quote of the Day: “Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished.” – Og Mandino

Photo by: Dylan Sauerwein

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Birth of Rare Eastern Black Rhino is Cause for Celebration–Watch the Amazing Birth Caught on Camera, With Only 1,000 in Wild

By
Andy Corbley
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New female Eastern black rhino – Chester Zoo / SWNS
New female Eastern black rhino – Chester Zoo / SWNS

Keepers at Chester Zoo were left thrilled following the safe arrival of a new eastern black rhino calf when mother Zuri gave birth in the daylight, allowing the staff to record the occasion.

Rhino experts say it’s unusual for a calf to be born in daylight, which gave keepers the unique opportunity to witness its 2:45 p.m. arrival after a 15-month pregnancy.

The eastern black rhino is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). One of three black rhinoceros subspecies, fewer than 600 of which are now found across Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda.

Conservationists believe the birth of a healthy calf will help global efforts to prevent the species from disappearing altogether.

“We’d been eagerly awaiting this birth for 15 long months and, as it’s quite unusual for a rhino to give birth in daylight hours, we really didn’t expect it to happen right in front of us as we were going about our day,” said the zoo’s rhino team manager Emma Evison.

“To be able to witness the calf safely entering the world, in front of our very own eyes, was just the most incredible privilege. She’s very inquisitive and full of energy, which is just brilliant to see.”

MORE ZOO BIRTHS: Oklahoma Zoo Forecasts ‘Cloudy with a chance of cute’ After Rare Clouded Leopard Kitten Born

“This precious newborn’s arrival is another positive step in safeguarding the species, which is what the endangered species breeding program in European conservation zoos that we’re a leading part of is striving to do,” continued Evison, who added that a group of black rhinos born and bred in the program have already been relocated to protected areas in Africa.

But this is just one way in which Chester Zoo has been helping rhino conservation. They’ve also developed a unique way of pairing rhinos in the hopes they will mate.

MORE NEWS LIKE THIS: Incredible Birth of Endangered Baby Rhino is Captured on Zoo’s Cameras, and Galloping Within Minutes (WATCH)

“We’re home to the UK’s only zoo-based animal endocrine lab where we’ve developed the skills and techniques to track rhino hormones by closely analyzing their dung,” said Mike Jordan, director of animals and plants at the Chester Zoo.

“This has helped us to massively improve the chances of a successful mating and further increase numbers of this Critically Endangered species.”

“The technology is so precise that we’re now transferring it to a specialist lab that we’ve helped to create in Kenya which is helping rangers and vets there to boost the wild population,” he said.

WATCH The sweet moment below… 

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An IV Bag for Disasters That Doesn’t Need Gravity Scoops Up 2023 James Dyson Award for International Effort

By
Andy Corbley
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The Golden Capsule - James Dyson Foundation, released
The Golden Capsule – James Dyson Foundation, released

A team of South Korean student inventors has been awarded the 2023 James Dyson Award for an air pressure-controlled IV bag that will allow rescuers in disaster situations much more flexibility when administering live-saving fluids and drugs.

Their inspiration was the Turkish-Syrian earthquakes in February 2023, which resulted in over 55,000 casualties, with a further 100,000 injured.

Throughout the evacuation process, medics had to move through harsh environments while holding up several IV packs in their hands for their patients.

The team from Hongik University in Seoul designed The Golden Capsule, a non-powered and hands-free IV device that uses elastic forces and air pressure differences rather than gravity. This means that medics in disaster zones do not have to hold up IV packs while transporting patients, and electricity is not required to control the infusion rate.

“The team has identified the limitations of existing IV injection methods, which rely on gravity and electricity, in disaster zones. Their Golden Capsule offers a much more practical, hands-free solution, using a pressurized bladder, which can be positioned anywhere, such as strapped to the patient’s side,” said Sir James Dyson, Founder and Chief Engineer at Dyson.

SEE THE OTHER WINNERS: Young Inventor Surprised With 2023 Dyson Award for ‘The Life Chariot’ Designed to Save Lives in Ukraine

“This slowly deflates, pressurizing the drip into the patient, leaving medics free to perform other life-saving work.”

“It became evident that the existing IV setups became highly impractical,” said one of the students in a video, who added she first had the idea when she herself had been hospitalized and found it really inconvenient to move around with an IV.

SEE THE OTHER WINNERS: 470,000 Glass Bottles Turned into Coating for Slashing Heat – Just Won a 2023 James Dyson Award

The team will continue to conduct prototype improvements and user tests in collaboration with medical experts to ensure The Golden Capsule’s functionality in various emergency scenarios and hospitals. In the future, the team plans to bring their invention into mass production.

WATCH this sweet video of Sir Dyson delivering the happy news… 

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Jobs, Not Jail: A Judge Was Sick of Sending Kids to Prison, So He Found a Better Way

By
Andy Corbley
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Founder Judge John Phillips - credit Rancho Cielo, screengrab
Founder Judge John Phillips – credit Rancho Cielo, screengrab.

By the year 2000, Judge John Phillips had long since lost count of the number of minors he had sent through the California penitentiary system for crimes committed during a violent, unguided, and hopeless adolescence.

“You send these young people to prison, and they learn to become harder criminals,” he said once.

In 2003, he set out to find a better way—to get kids in an environment of support where they could pass through these difficult years with a hand on their shoulder. Phillips started Rancho Cielo at the base of a hill in the town of Salinas, utilizing an old juvenile detention center ironically, and with a board made up mostly of county supervisors, judges, and law enforcement leaders.

Rancho Cielo is a vocational training facility, culinary academy, and private school that only works with at-risk youth or youth living below the poverty line of $19,000 a year for a family of four.

At first, the organization running it would only take in adolescent offenders, but as the 21st century marched on, Salinas took several turns for the worse, and in 2015 saw more underage murders than anywhere else in the nation.

credit – Rancho Cielo, screengrab.

The strategy changed, and Rancho Cielo would be out frequently passing by high schools, county jails, juvenile detention centers, homeless shelters, and foster homes, always asking if it were possible to take in the worst of the worst, hoping to interrupt the course of these youths’ lives and turn them toward a brighter future.

To that end, Rancho Cielo has a wide variety of programs, much of which is hands-on and kinetic, from the carpentry and construction program and vintage car repair, to beekeeping and equestrian care.

MORE SECOND CHANCES: Judge Gave Drug Dealer a Second Chance. 16 Years Later He Swears Him In As a Lawyer

Experts and industry professionals frequent Rancho Cielo to share their knowledge; like Tom Forgette who teaches the auto and diesel repair shop, and Laura Nicola, co-manager of the ranch restaurant, whose other job is at the James Beard Award-winning La Bicyclette.

“Upstairs,” traditional high school level classes are held for academic topics like writing and mathematics, usually to prepare students for a GED or community college admission. This is paired with additional preparatory courses like resume and cover letter writing and interview skills.

The Drummond Culinary Academy at Rancho Cielo.

In my other school, it was all reading and writing,” 17-year-old Omar Amezola told USA Today’s Elizabeth Weise. “Here the teachers are more chill, you don’t have to stay in your seat all day, you can do things that are hands-on—it’s cool.”

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Millionaire Builds 99 Tiny Homes to Cut Homelessness in His Community–He Even Provides Jobs On Site for Them

Each year, 220 students attend Rancho Cielo, and while some don’t make it, 84.8% of first-time offenders who enroll at Rancho Cielo never re-offend, compared to the 40% recidivism rate in the county.

While all this tutoring, diversity, and infrastructure seems financially unsustainable, it costs just $25,000 to put a kid through Rancho Cielo, compared to the $110,000 it costs to house them in prison.

WATCH a mini-doc below… 

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