Couple Finally Opens Mysterious Wedding Gift From 9 Years Earlier

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Sep 20, 2016

Even though they had had their fair share of fights and scuffles, a little wrapped box signed “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 1ST DISAGREEMENT” remained unopened in the Gunn family’s closet.

The box had been a wedding gift to Kathy and Brandon Gunn from their Great Aunt Allison. Aunt Allison and her husband had been married almost 50 years, so the Gunns assumed that there would be some kind of sacred, ground-breaking relationship secret hidden inside.

But even though their first disagreement had came and went, they didn’t want to spoil the importance of the gift.

MORE: He Tracked Down Wife’s Childhood RV to Deliver Beloved Memories

“I honestly think that we both avoided turning to the box, because it would have symbolized our failure,” Kathy explained on Facebook. “To us, it would have meant that we didn’t have what it takes to make our marriage work – and we’re both too stubborn and determined for that. So, it forced us to reassess situations. Was it really time to open the box? What if this isn’t our worst fight? What if there’s a worse one ahead of us and we don’t have our box?!? As my Great Uncle Bill would say, ‘Nothing is ever so bad that it couldn’t get worse.’”

So the gift remained unopened until years later, the couple started pondering what wedding present to give to their friend.

That’s when they remembered Aunt Allison’s box hidden in the closet and they agreed that if they were still together after 9 years, they didn’t need the gift’s help in staying together.

After cracking open the hallowed treasure, the couple couldn’t help but laugh at what they found.

Inside, there were candles, two wrapped wineglasses, and two separate notes attached to two $10 bills: one of the notes told Kathy to go pick up some pizza, while the other was a message to Brandon telling him to go get flowers and a bottle of wine.

LOOK: Wisconsin Man Plants 4-Mile Stretch of Sunflowers in Tribute to Late Wife

Even though the box just contained the beloved tools for a time-honored night in, it also made the Gunns realize that the gift helped them keep their problems in perspective even when times got hard. They didn’t need a grand secret to make it as husband and wife – they just needed each other.

Since opening the present, Kathy wrote an essay about her experience on the Love What Matters Facebook page where it has gotten hundreds of positive comments and shares.

Spread The Love: Click To Share – Photo by Kathy Gunn

New Law Says Au Revoir to Plastic Cutlery in France

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Good News Network

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Sep 20, 2016

France is the first country to ban plastic cutlery, with a law that is expected to go into effect in 2020.

The law, which prohibits plastic plates, cups and utensils, is part of the Energy Transition for Green Growth Act. It emphasizes the principle of a circular economy, which looks at reducing waste disposal. The act previously banned plastic bags in the country’s stores and markets.

French President François Hollande described the ban as an attempt to “make France … an exemplary nation in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, diversifying its energy model and increasing the deployment of renewable energy sources.”

MORE: Device Removes Trash Floating Near The Shore Before it Reaches Sea

There have, however, been some vociferous opponents to the ban. The French environment minister, Ségolène Royal, previously said it was an anti-social concept, since plastic utensils are generally used by low-income families. Eamonn Bates, secretary-general of Pack2Go Europe, which represents European packaging manufacturers, also belongs to this group.

“We are urging the European Commission to do the right thing and to take legal action against France for infringing European law. If they don’t, we will,” he said (James McAuley, Washington Post, Sept. 19).

Reprinted with permission from E&E Publishing

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These 7 Major U.S. Cities Achieved Double-digit Drop in Burglary Rates

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Sep 19, 2016

Many major American cities continue to report overall declines in their crime rate, sustaining a positive downward trend that began the late 20th century.

According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, murder rates have declined significantly in many cities, but so, too, have the burglary rates.

These five cities, each with a population above 500,000, are the most notable for their double-digit drops between the years 2010 and 2014:

Is your city among them? (Three more with smaller declines are listed at the bottom.)

Austin, Texas

Burglaries Down 34%

During the four years surveyed, the city that prides itself on being “weird” has seen a 34% decrease in burglary rates, nearly doubling the success of the first two years (2010-12), when Austin posted a drop of 17%.

Minuteman and Boston Harbor CC Liz West CC Katie Haugland — Boston photos by Liz West and Katie Haugland, CC

Boston, Massachusetts

Burglaries Down 25%

The “Boston Miracle,” began in the early 21st century as a collaboration of police, ministers, and community leaders that helped end a murder wave in the 1990s. Today, a decade later, the city of Boston has cut its burglary numbers by one-quarter.

san-diego-cc-justin-in-sd — San Diego Photo by Justin in SD, CC

San Diego, California

Burglaries Down 20%

The safest large city in California, San Diego, experienced a 20% decline in burglary crimes between 2010 and 2014—a trend that began in 2010-12, when the number dropped 8%.

el-paso-cc-khowaga1 — El Paso Photo by Khowaga1, CC

El Paso, Texas

Burglaries Down 19%

As a border city, El Paso’s law enforcement officers must deal with added illegal immigrants from Mexico and beyond. Contrary to popular belief, though, the influx of immigrants has not led to an increased crime rate because they normally are eager to avoid the police. El Paso has lower crime rates than both Texas as a whole and the rest of the U.S. in general, tallying a 19% drop in burglaries between 2010 and 2014.

New York City Photo by Anthony-Quintano, CC

New York City

Burglaries Down 19%

Despite its designation as the largest city in the country, and its public image as a dangerous place to wander at night, the Big Apple earned bragging rights with its historic drop in murder rates since the 1990s. Likewise, the rate of burglaries reported by its citizens has continued its downward trend through 2015, dropping 19%

Washington, DC

Burglaries Down 18%

As the first female police chief in the nation’s capital prepares to leave office, her record of achievement includes a significant 17% decrease in burglaries reported in Washington, DC between 2010 and 2014.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Burglaries Down 10%

Philadelphia has been working to restore its image as “The City of Brotherly Love”, and if current trends continue, it may live up to that motto. Between 2010 and 2014 the city’s violent crime rates have come down, and the burglary rate is no exception, having dropped 10%.

Other cities that have seen a drop in burglary rates include Los Angeles, Portland, and Denver, which each tallied a decline of 1%.

SHARE the News– Promote the Good… (Top photo, Austin: argash, CC)

Lyft to Have Fully Autonomous Fleet of Self-Driving Cars by 2021

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Good News Network

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Sep 19, 2016

The ride-hailing service Lyft Inc. will have a fully autonomous fleet by 2021, co-founder and President John Zimmer wrote in a blog post this weekend.

In January, Lyft entered into a partnership with General Motors Co. to develop a network of autonomous vehicles.

“Within five years, a fully autonomous fleet of cars will provide the majority of Lyft rides across the country,” Zimmer wrote.

His prediction is in line with what other developers of autonomous vehicles are aiming for. Ford has also said it intends to put its own fleet of truly driverless cars on roads by 2021 (Greenwire, Sept. 15).

MORE: “Uber Against Hunger” Delivers Unused Food To Needy, Hits 1000-Meal Mark

Zimmer’s blog did not stop with aspirations for his own company. In a post filled with predictions about driverless cars, Zimmer wrote that autonomous Lyft rides are the first step to a future without car ownership, which he envisions will come to fruition by 2025.

He described millennials as itching to rid themselves from the “ball and chain” that is car ownership and said autonomous ride-sharing will make doing so practicable.

“The shift to autonomous cars will expand dramatically over the next 10 years, transforming transportation into the ultimate subscription service,” he said.

Zimmer expects that autonomous vehicles will be introduced to the public gradually, writing that companies like Lyft don’t have to wait until autonomous technology can drive the vehicle in all kinds of conditions without human intervention.

In the next five to 10 years, Zimmer envisions a “hybrid” phase in which human drivers share the roads with robotic ones that will only be driving under specific conditions.

“Hypothetically, Lyft could initially have a fleet of autonomous cars that completes rides under 25 mph on flat, dry roads,” he wrote. “Then, we could upgrade the fleet to handle rides under those same conditions, but at 35 mph. And so on and so on, until every kind of trip can be completed by an autonomous car.”

WATCH: Tesla’s New Affordable Electric Car Went on Sale, Website Swamped With Orders

Ultimately, Zimmer writes, the big winners in the transition to autonomous vehicles will be cities, which he describes as being purpose-built to accommodate cars.

“Next time you walk outside, pay really close attention to the space around you. Look at how much land is devoted to cars — and nothing else. How much space parked cars take up lining both sides of the street, and how much of our cities go unused covered by parking lots,” he wrote.

Shared autonomous vehicles could change that, assuming they are constantly occupied shuttling among different customers, so that parking lots become obsolete.

CHECK OUT: Uber, Lyft Drivers Safer Than Average American Driver, Report Says

Zimmer’s vision is not unique.

San Francisco, for example, included using autonomous vehicles as a means to reduce skyrocketing housing prices in its pitch for the Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge (Greenwire, April 1).

“This is really a series of phases to transition us from an inequitable transportation system to a more optimized one based on demand and with more emphasis on active transportation like biking and walking,” Timothy Papandreou, chief innovation officer for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, said this spring. “The more we get people to stop owning cars, to bike and walk and ride or car share when they need, the more we can free up road space for other uses.”

Reprinted with permission from E&E Publishing

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Diego’s Got Game: Fertile Giant Tortoise Has Saved His Species From Extinction

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McKinley Corbley

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Sep 19, 2016

In 1976, the Galapagos giant tortoises were in dire straits – the reptiles had become prey to other animals and their habitat was mostly wiped out. Only 12 female and 2 male tortoises remained on the island.

Meanwhile, Diego from the San Diego Zoo in California, was being flown in to try and save the species.

He may now be 100 years old, but this grandpa’s got game.

Since his return to the Galapagos Islands fifty years ago, this philandering reptile has basically repopulated the entire island of Espanola by siring over 800 offspring, thus guaranteeing the survival of the endangered creatures.

MORE: Manatee Population Has Rebounded 500 Percent, No Longer Endangered

Diego weighs 125 pounds and measures 5 feet long. He lives on Santa Cruz island in a tortoise-breeding center with six other female mates, spending his days… working his magic.

Espanola, the island unique to the Chelonoidis hoodensis species, is now home to over 2,000 of the tortoises. Though records say it used to shelter 5,000, it’s still an extraordinary comeback for an animal that was facing extinction.

(WATCH the video below)

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Police to Adopt Kitten He Rescued Using Partially-Eaten Burrito

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McKinley Corbley

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Sep 19, 2016

This poor little kitten was stranded in the sewers, too scared to seek help and too hungry to budge.

When Officers Jimenez and Corona of the Parlier County Police Department in Parlier, California found the feline in a drainage pipe, they started brainstorming on how to get it out.

LOOK: The Heartwarming Moment When This Swan Was Reunited With Its Rescuer

Finally, the police duo managed to coax the cat out of the enclosure with a partially eaten burrito.

Officer Corona is hoping to adopt the little guy and appropriately name it – you guessed it – Burrito.

Spread This Purrrfect Story: Click To Share – Photos by Parlier Police Facebook

World’s Largest 3D Printer Makes Almost Zero-Cost Homes Out of Mud

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McKinley Corbley

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Sep 19, 2016

With more and more people needing housing around the world, it’s hard to imagine a solution that’s low-cost, environmentally friendly, and easy to build.

But now with the world’s largest 3D-printer, anything is possible.

The WASP – also known as the World’s Advanced Saving Project – is 3D-printing full-sized homes out of mud and clay instead of materials with high-carbon footprints like concrete. The 40-feet tall machine has nearly-finished its first building at a cost of only $53.

The BigDelta printer has been used by Italian innovator Massimo Moretti for the WASP project in order to provide widespread housing for poverty-stricken areas.

MORE: Colombians Are Building Houses Made of Wasted Plastic—Shaped Into Huge Lego Bricks

The mud houses are constructed through biomimicry – an approach that draws inspiration from solutions that are already in nature. The buildings imitate the homes of the mud dauber wasp.

“Clay and straw with no additive can be easily printed in 3d,” Moretti says. “The period of transformation from liquid to solid allows to print around 60 centimeters per day, or even more in the summer (maybe one meter per day). Therefore: two men and one machine can 3D-print a comfortable and healthy shelter in a very short time and with really little money.”

Spread The Positivity: Click To Share – Photos by WASP

Homeless Shelter Rehabs Old Building to Offer Place of Employment to its Guests

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nathanielstrang

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Sep 18, 2016

We all wish to help the community we live in, to give what we can to those less fortunate than us and to support local businesses. But let’s face it, there is only so much time in the day. What if there was an easy way to support sustainability in our community—like going out to eat?

What if simply eating at a restaurant directly supported secure jobs for those who are working hard to get off the streets and get back on their feet? What if the restaurant was fully staffed by people in your community who used to be homeless?

MORE: UK Football Stars Buy Hotel, Invite Homeless to Stay For Winter

The Lighthouse Shelter in Annapolis, Maryland is showing the way, taking a creative approach to getting people off the streets and into a safe and secure place to live and work. Their B.E.S.T program (Building Employment Success Training) pays each member of the program as an intern, while giving them hands-on training in restaurant work and cooking, or building maintenance and landscaping.

It is BEST’s Culinary Arts program that has received the most acclaim. It was developed after the Lighthouse Shelter moved into a new 24,000 square foot facility, and struggled to find a buyer for their old building just a few miles down the road. In line with their vision to create a place of belonging and support the homeless in Maryland’s state capital, the leadership decided to refurbish the old building into a restaurant to be staffed and operated by participants and graduates of their very own BEST program.

The building that will house BEST’s own restaurant is currently under renovation. Upon completion, it will be outfitted and prepared for its grand opening with the help of the Lighthouse Staff and members of the BEST program. It is with this full-circle of support that Lighthouse hopes to create a national model for re-imagining the way we rebuild the lives of the less fortunate. We can only hope that others around the country and around the world will follow in their illuminating footsteps, taking such an innovative approach to providing safe and secure jobs for the homeless.

Serve Up Some Positivity: Click To Share – Photo by Annapolis Lighthouse

Watch This Grandma Scream With Delight When Surprised by Pregnancy Announcement

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McKinley Corbley

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Sep 18, 2016

Momma Lee Kreps got a big surprise for her birthday when she eventually tracked down her gift, which was mischievously hidden in her daughter’s oven.

In a sweet montage published by Sean and Lynn Kreps, the couple sends the soon-to-be grandma on a hunt around their sister’s kitchen in Durham, North Carolina for a special present.

VIDEO: Spunky Grandma Uses Virtual Goggles to Ride Roller Coaster (Hilarious Profanity)

When the senior finally cracks open the oven to find a little wheat pastry sitting on the rack, it takes a few seconds for her to realize what it means – but when she does, the excited granny lets out a shriek of excitement.

The 2013 video, entitled How to Announce a Pregnancy, delighted more than a million viewers on YouTube.

(WATCH the adorable video below)

Spread The Smiles – Click To Share With Your Friends

California Governor Signs Ban on Orca Breeding and Entertainment

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Good News Network

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Sep 18, 2016

Governor Jerry Brown (D) yesterday signed a law banning theme parks and other organizations in California from breeding orcas and using them in entertainment performances.

Starting in June 2017, killer whales in captivity can be used only for “educational presentations.”

The law also makes exceptions for scientific and educational institutions researching or rehabilitating the creatures.

The provision was part of a budget-related bill sent recently to the governor’s desk.

MORE: Ringling Bros. Parades Elephants for Final Time, Retires Them 2 Years Early

SeaWorld, featured in the 2013 documentary “Blackfish,” said in March that it would stop breeding orcas.

–Reprinted with permission from E&E Publishing

Spread The Good News: Click To Share – Photo by Miles Ritter, CC

U.K. to Ban Fishing Harvests in Vast Swath of Its Seas

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Good News Network

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Sep 18, 2016

The United Kingdom plans to ban commercial fishing in roughly 385,000 square miles of ocean around British territories.

Four islands in the Pacific and Atlantic will now have protected marine areas, the government said today.

A no-take fishing zone starts this week for a 320,000-square-mile area around Pitcairn, and a roughly 172,000-square-mile area in St. Helena, which is home to humpbacks and whale sharks, will also be a designated protected space.

Two more areas around two South Atlantic islands will be designated protected by 2019 and 2020.

MORE: Manatee Population Has Rebounded 500 Percent, No Longer Endangered

“Protecting 4 million square kilometers of ocean is a fantastic achievement, converting our historic legacy into modern environmental success,” said Sir Alan Duncan, minister of state for Europe and the Americas.

Although commercial fishing will only be banned in two of the areas, the other zones will still be protected from activities like oil drilling.

The announcement was made at the Our Ocean conference currently ongoing in Washington, D.C., and comes on the heels of President Obama’s designation of a marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean.

(READ more from The Guardian—Reprinted with permission from E&E Publishing)

You Should Dolphinately Click To Share This Good News – Photo by VladUK, CC

Grandma Walks into Music Shop, Stuns All With Drum Skills (WATCH)

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Good News Network

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Sep 17, 2016

This mysterious grandma named Mary blew everyone’s minds when she sat down to play a double-bass pedal for the first time and ended up rocking the whole music store.

The staff of the Coalition Drum Shop in La Crosse, Wisconsin was shocked when the senior started playing the Gretsch Catalina Birch drum kit like a pro.

VIDEO: Grandma Can’t Stop Laughing At Gift of Firefighter “Hunks” Calendar

The store’s video of Mary scored almost 8 million views since it was published three years ago.

The musician could make anyone discard the old adage from The Who, “I hope I die before I get old.”

(WATCH the video below)

Click To Share This Talented Tune With Your Friends…

Company Creates Win-Win by Repairing Good Clothing Destined For Landfills

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McKinley Corbley

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Sep 17, 2016

With landfills filling up around the world, this company is taking their own approach to tackling the mountains trash.

14 million tons of clothing reach the end of its lifecycle atop dump sites each year —often due to small mishaps like missing buttons, ripped seams, or broken zippers.

Renewable Apparel Renewable Apparel cleans and repairs those lightly damaged shirts, pants, dresses, and jackets, which are often major designer brands.

The organization receives the clothing in bulk from partnering groups. Once the articles are cleaned and fixed, they’re sold with a 50-30% discount, with a portion of the proceeds going to the original company, and leaving the customer with an affordable and fully functional piece of fashion.

Another benefit: the textiles won’t end up contributing to climate change as they decompose alongside household garbage.

Nicole and Jeff Bassett, the founders of Renewable Apparel, just reached their crowdfunding goal of $50,000 to build their business this week. Their Oregon-based sustainable factory will start selling the products after their website launches in October.

MORE: Man Creates ‘Shoes That Grow’ So Poor Kids Don’t Outgrow Them

“We love this planet,” reads the Indiegogo campaign bio. “We also love the people who work hard to design and make great things. Little problems like broken zippers and missing buttons should not destroy all the natural resources, time, labor, creativity and care that go into making something. Good clothing should be part of our lives, not our landfill.”

(WATCH the video below)

The Renewal Workshop Indiegogo from Nicole Bassett on Vimeo.

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400 Students Sing Breathtaking Tribute at Window of Teacher With Cancer (WATCH)

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McKinley Corbley

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Sep 17, 2016

When this high school teacher stopped his chemotherapy sessions after a long battle with esophageal cancer, his students wanted to be there for him.

That’s why 400 teens from Nashville’s Christ Presbyterian Academy gathered outside Ben Ellis’s window to sing for him.

Ellis had continued teaching Latin and Bible study even though he was undergoing cancer treatments. When the cancer spread to his lungs, however, Ben concluded his chemo and became resigned to his fate.

VIDEO: Train Commuters Spontaneously Sing Along to Somewhere Over the Rainbow

The school staff heard of the news and organized a singalong tribute at the teacher’s home in Tennessee.

“It was a place where the veil between heaven and Earth felt very thin,’” Christ Presbyterian headmaster Nate Morrow told TODAY. Ben told the students he loved them and that they “need to continue to love each other as well.”

He passed away a few days later.

(WATCH the breathtaking video below)

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Wetlands Once Drained by Dictator Now Thrives as 3rd Most Bio-diverse Spot in World

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Good News Network

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Sep 17, 2016

Romania’s wetlands, once drained for farmland by the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu in the 1980s, are coming back to life thanks to help from local communities, the World Wildlife Fund, and funding from the European Union.

Roughly 2,224 acres (900 hectares) of the picturesque Danube Delta — home to 300 species of birds — have filled with wildlife, after having been reconnected to the network of lakes and streams in the area.

“A lot of birds have migrated to the area, and one doesn’t need to travel long hours any more or go to other lakes to spot the birds,” Mahmudia Deputy Mayor Ion Meuta told Reuters.

MORE: Farmer Returns 700 Acres of California Coast to Native American Tribe

The area around Mahmudia, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the third-most bio-diverse in the world, after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands, according to the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority.

After groups used earth-moving equipment to restore the waterways, government officials moved to protect the area’s endangered wild sturgeon—a species more ancient than dinosaurs—by issuing a fishing ban over the next decade.

WATCH: Boaters Shocked When Clever Seal Hops on Board to Escape Orcas

Open the Waterways of Good News: Click To Share – Photo by Kansas Poetry, CC

The Heartwarming Moment When This Swan Was Reunited With Its Rescuer

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McKinley Corbley

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Sep 16, 2016

Swans are notoriously nasty birds when confronted by humans or intruders – this beautiful bird, however, is the exception.

While filming an episode of the Emmy award-winning series Born To Explore, Richard Wiese traveled to Dorset to visit the Abbotsbury Swannery in the United Kingdom.

Wiese helped nurse and rehabilitate all of the birds, but this one in particular developed a special relationship with the host.

WATCH: Hummingbird Refuses to Leave the Dog Who Saved Her Life

The swan, who was injured after being trapped in a chain link fence, was reunited with her rescuer in the spring.

“I pulled it to my chest and somehow it felt comfortable or safe, and within minutes it just surrendered itself,” Wiese told ABC News. “It literally took its neck and wrapped it around mine. It’s a really terrific feeling when you feel that bond and mutual trust with this non-verbally communicating animal, when the animal realizes you intend it no harm.”

(WATCH the video below)

Click To Share This Amazing Story With Your Friends

Teen Creates ‘Sit With Us’ App For Bullied School Children

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McKinley Corbley

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Sep 16, 2016

Many of us know the feeling of sitting alone in a cafeteria during school lunch time – including 16-year-old Natalie Hampton.

When she first started high school, the teen was constantly ostracized and rejected when she was trying to find a place to sit during the lunch period.

By the time she made friends and settled in at her school in Sherman Oaks, California, she couldn’t help but think about all the other kids suffering in silence the same way that she had.

MORE: Child With Invisible Disability Creates Bathroom Sign With Go-Ahead from Government

That’s why she created Sit With Us – an innovative app that allows children to coordinate safe places to eat and make new friends.

Since the planning takes place in a privatized chat channel rather than in public, teens don’t have to worry about possibly being embarrassed during their search for belonging. Kids can host open lunches as “ambassadors for a Sit With Us club” and get the party started.

“Because the way it was at my old school, I tried many times to reach out to someone, but I was rejected on many times,” Natalie told NPR. “And you feel like you’re labeling yourself as an outcast when you ask to join a table with someone you don’t know. This way it’s very private. It’s through the phone. No one else has to know. And you know that you’re not going to be rejected once you get to the table.”

Since the app was launched on September 9th, Natalie has received an outpouring of gratitude and positive feedback –it is also free to download on The Apple Store.

Don’t Forget About The Friends You Already Have: Click To Spread The Good News – Photo by Carolyn Hampton

Days-old Puppy Rescued From Trash Pile Thanks to Clever Dog

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McKinley Corbley

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Sep 16, 2016

This week-old pup may not have lived past 24 hours if she hadn’t been discovered by a stubborn passing dog named Poppy.

Poppy the terrier was on a walk with her owner when she dashed over to a trash pile and refused to heel when called.

Her owner joined her by the rubbish only to discover her terrier nosing a tiny critter nestled in the garbage.

WATCH: Hummingbird Refuses to Leave the Dog Who Saved Her Life

The puppy fondly dubbed Autumn was taken to the Dublin SPCA in Ireland where she will be properly nursed through her adolescence by a foster family.

“We have no idea why this little pup was abandoned in the way she was but we know it is a miracle she is alive as the place she was left is an empty almost derelict site well away from the public where rubbish is dumped in a corner,” the Dublin SPCA said on Facebook. “Autumn will now go to an experienced foster home and hopefully will grow up to be a happy healthy dog all thanks to Poppy and her vigilant owner.”

Help Your Friends Find The Good: Click To Share – Photo by Dublin SPCA

Breakthrough Discovery Could Use Skin Cells to Erase Parental Infertility

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Frank Phelps

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Sep 16, 2016

Imagine a world in which women desiring pregnancy are no longer reliant on the ever depleting number of ova they are born with. Furthermore, imagine a world in which infertility itself is eliminated entirely thanks to the skin on your bones.

According to the recent discoveries at Bath University, scientists have found that the prospect you have just imagined may not be as far-fetched as you think.

”Our work challenges the dogma, held since early embryologists first observed mammalian eggs around 1827 and observed fertilization 50 years later, that only an egg cell fertilized with a sperm cell can result in live mammalian birth,” says lead scientist and molecular embryologist Dr. Tony Perry.

MORE: Parkinson’s Pen For Patients Who Want to Keep Writing Christmas Cards

Following this dogmatic inquiry, BU researchers were able to create “parthenogenote” mouse embryos; also known as embryos which developed from eggs without fertilization.

The team found that by then injecting the created embryos with sperm, they would transform into normal embryos – some would even mature into healthy offspring. The experiments yielded a 24% success rate, which is an exciting percentage considering it has never been done before.

Parthenogenotes’ properties parallel many of somatic (non-reproductive) cells, meaning that perhaps in the future, all that would be necessary to conceive a child could be skin and sperm cells.

“What we’re saying is that these embryos are mitotic cells – mitotic cells are the type of cell that almost every dividing cell in your body is,” Dr. Perry asserted, “And therefore potentially one day we might be able to extend what we’ve shown in these mitotic cells to other mitotic cells.”

The work that Dr Perry and his team have conducted has birthed a principal building block upon which to base further research.

Once better supported, their findings could provide an alternative route to female infertility, the ability to bring back extinct species from tissue samples, or even grant same-sex couples the ability to conceive a child from their genetic makeups.

Reproduce The Good: Click To Share – Photo by Internet Archive Book Images, CC

Los Angeles Eyeing a Switch to 100% Renewable Power

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Good News Network

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Sep 16, 2016

Los Angeles could be the next California city to set a plan for switching to 100 percent renewable power.

The City Council will vote today on a measure that would have the city’s utility — the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) — study how to get to 100 percent clean energy.

”Climate change is the most significant issue facing the global environment today,” the motion from Councilman Paul Krekorian said. “The city has an opportunity to re-create its utility in a way that recognizes the potential for a fossil-free future, demonstrates global leadership in its commitment to clean energy, and protects ratepayers from the increasing costs of carbon-based fuels.”

LADWP is the biggest municipal utility in the country. It delivers electricity and water to 4 million customers. If the measure is approved, the utility will work with local universities, the U.S. Department of Energy, environmental groups, consumer advocates and others to look at how the utility could switch entirely to clean power.

MORE: California Breaks Solar Record, Generates Enough Electricity for 6 Million Homes

David Graham-Caso, environmental policy adviser for Councilman Mike Bonin, co-sponsor of the motion, said he would be “very surprised” if the measure doesn’t pass with a unanimous vote.

Bonin, who represents the area west of Interstate 405, or the “San Diego Freeway,” said that “much of the gorgeous coastline of the district I represent will literally be underwater within decades if we do not take dramatic action to stop using harmful and climate-polluting fossil fuels.”

“Los Angeles can lead the way and show cities around the country — and around the world — that clean energy is here and ready to power thriving economies,” he added.

The goal is getting off fossil fuels, but the city wants to do it effectively, looking at where Los Angeles could place renewable projects, how much DWP would have to count on contracting for green energy generated outside the city, how much it will cost and how long it will take, said Ian Thompson, spokesman for Krekorian.

It comes as other California cities are making similar moves. San Diego earlier this year approved a plan to move to 100 percent renewable power. It has approved multiple steps that still need to be enacted as ordinances (ClimateWire, April 7). Del Mar, in north San Diego County, also pledged to go all-green, though its plan is more aspirational, with no approved actions to achieve it (ClimateWire, Aug. 8).

Lancaster, in north Los Angeles County, and San Francisco also both aim for full green power.

MORE: Costa Rica Has Been Powered Only By Renewable Energy For 122 Days

“It’s a huge trend,” said Evan Gillespie, the Sierra Club’s My Generation campaign director. “It will be interesting to see how the municipal-level trend percolates up to the state level.”

California’s renewable power goal right now is 50 percent by 2030.

What makes Los Angeles different is that it has its own utility. The other cities aiming for 100 percent green power are using or looking at a mechanism known as community choice aggregation, or CCA. They form a collective to buy power on behalf of residents and businesses and in that way can acquire more clean energy. The power is still delivered by the large utility in each place. Under state law, residents are automatic members of the CCA but can later opt out and go back to the incumbent utility.

That could make it more challenging for LADWP but also give it more flexibility, said Ethan Elkind, associate director of the Climate Change and Business Program at both the University of California, Berkeley’s and UCLA’s law schools.

When you are a municipal utility, you “have a whole range of infrastructure at your disposal,” Elkind said, noting that LADWP can build any needed transmission and distribution lines to make more green energy happen.

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“They’d have a little bit more control over that,” Elkind said. “That means they also have to deal with the costs. They have to think about things like reliability. They’re going to have to think about how handle intermittent renewable energy.”

But a municipal utility also has control over where to plan energy storage and energy efficiency, he said.

“It’s technologically feasible,” Elkind said. “The question is, how much is it going to cost and what are the cheapest ways to get it done, and does it hurt any of the other values we have,” such as power reliability.

The LA City Council’s motion does not include any time frame for when the city would switch to 100 percent green energy.

“We will certainly push the utility and the city to move urgently,” Gillespie said. “There’s some unknowns about how quickly we can do this and what the trade-offs are” in terms of costs to ratepayers and other issues.

“The technology exists today,” Gillespie added. “It’s a question of the time frame by which the city wants to do it.”

LADWP already has been moving away from fossil fuels. It has contracts with coal-fired plants located out of state that end in 2025. However, even after those contracts finish, the utility will still produce more than 7 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, the equivalent of nearly 1.5 million cars on the road each year, the motion said.

“The remaining energy portfolio of the LADWP will be extremely reliant on natural gas, another source of greenhouse gases, and that portfolio will be susceptible to price and supply constraints of the gas market,” it said.

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In fact, the disaster at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in Los Angeles County is expected to be another motivator in passing the motion, Thompson said.

A four-month leak at that facility forced the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents. The Aliso Canyon facility emitted almost 100,000 tons of methane from October through February. The state’s Air Resources Board estimated that the leak added approximately 20 percent to statewide methane emissions during that period (ClimateWire, March 21).

LADWP also has contracts for nuclear power in Arizona that last through 2045, Gillespie said.

Reprinted with permission from E&E Publishing

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