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‘Thin Blue Lines’ Go Big — Blue Stripes Of Support For Police Catching On

By
Terry Turner
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Thin Blue Line screenshot KING

A Washington state man came up with a simple way he and his neighbors could show support for police officers — and he never realized it would spread across the country — and an ocean.

RELATED: Instead of Second Black Lives Matter Protest, They Join Police For a Barbecue

Andy Audette found a roll of blue tape in his garage and turned a strip of it into a “thin blue line” across the back windshield of his truck. He shared the idea on a community Facebook page in Maple Valley, thinking some of his neighbors might join in.

Since then, the simple gesture, based on a 1960s documentary film, “Thin Blue Line” about the struggles officers face every day, is gaining a worldwide following.

CHECK OUT: Look at These Cops Meditating Before They Hit the Streets

“I knew it would take off in Maple Valley,” he said. “I didn’t think it would get much bigger than Maple Valley. When I started getting pictures from Tennessee, Florida, Hawaii, and Australia, that’s when I got pretty excited. That’s when I knew it moved pretty quickly.”

(WATCH the video at KING News) — Photo: KING News

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Children’s Hospital Uses ‘Pokemon GO’ to Get Patients Excited and Out of Bed (WATCH)

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patient gaming on phone Mott Children’s Hospital released

A hospital is using the new Pokemon GO craze to get child patients out of bed and into the hallways for some fun time and physical activity.

“It’s kind of a sneaky way to get kids to exercise,” said J.J. Bouchard, who is employed in the pediatric wing of the Michigan hospital. “It’s getting people to look up from their phones and interact with one another.”

The brand new app is a game that accesses a smartphone’s GPS and camera to allow players to explore their surroundings in search of more than 100 Pokemon creatures. Bouchard said there are several ‘Pokespots’ at the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, where patients can gather to find the cute monsters day and night.

RELATED: Animal Shelter Enlists Help of Pokemon GO Players to Walk Dogs

There’s even a Pokemon “gym”, a spot in the building where Pokemons on different levels and phones can battle each other.

Young patients in the hallways—along with their siblings and parents, because this craze is so popular that whole families are regularly playing now—will stop and chat about the game, instead of keeping silent or solemnly to themselves.

pokemon play-CS Mott Childrens Hospital-released
All photos released from CS Mott Children’s Hospital

“It raises the general atmosphere of happiness here in the hospital.”

MORE: 6 Reasons to Be Happy the New Pokemon App is Taking Over the Streets

(WATCH the video below from Mott Children’s Hospital)

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

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Topaz-Solar-Farm-Calif-released

The San Francisco Chronicle calculated that California’s solar power plants on Tuesday generated enough electricity for more than 6 million homes.

On July 12, several large solar plants in the Golden State briefly produced a record 8,030 megawatts of electricity, according to the California Independent System Operator (ISO), the organization that runs most of the state’s power grid.

That is nearly twice the amount of solar energy produced two years ago — and that is only counting the electricity produced at plants. Thousands of rooftop solar panels around the state have the capacity to produce an additional 50 percent of that record amount.

CHECK OUT: This Solar-Powered Pod Allows You to Live Anywhere Off the Grid, Now For Sale

“There is just over 4,211 megawatts of rooftop solar in California,” Steven Greenly of California ISO told Good News Network. “I can tell you we had a great solar day.”

This solar production record demonstrates that the state is making significant strides toward meeting the state’s goal of reaching 33 percent renewables by 2020.

Solar and wind combined with other renewables, like wind, geothermal and hydro-electricity, provided nearly 29 percent of the electricity needs at Tuesday’s system peak, which occurred at 5:54 p.m. For short periods of time on two days in May, renewables were serving 54 percent and 56 percent of total electricity demand.

RELATED: Austria’s Largest State is Now 100% Powered by Renewables

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Mystery Philanthropist Hides $100 Bills All Over City

By
Terry Turner
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Benny Bills screenshot USA Today Humankind

An anonymous philanthropist has left more than $55,000 hidden around Salem, Oregon, surprising anyone who find his $100 dollar bills hidden in everything from candy bars to baby wipes.

His random acts of monetary kindness has triggered a wave of people paying it forward for others with their lucky finds.

He’s been nicknamed “Benny,” after Benjamin Franklin, who appears on the bills he’s left for strangers to find since, at least, 2013.

People have found the gifts of cash in pockets of clothing, a pink piggy bank purchased for a chile, and pots sold at an art show.

RELATED: Flight Crew and Passengers Do Sweetest Thing for Grandma of Orlando Shooting Victim

Tammy Tompkins found a “Benny” bill in a package of cereal she purchased for baking Christmas treats in 2013. Her husband was sick and medical bills were piling up.

“It just made my day,” she told the Statesman Journal. “I cried happy tears for about an hour and a half.”

Capi Lynn, the newspaper columnist who gave the anonymous “Benny” his name, has been tracking his gifts for years. She says about half the people who find his money pay it forward, mostly to food banks, animal rescue groups, and schools.

CHECK OUT: Waiter’s Response to Customer Eating Without Hands is Food for the Internet Soul

A pair of boys used the $100 bill they found in a store’s toy bin to buy toys for a children’s group. Still others have used their “Benny” bills to for gifts ranging from giving homeless people a few nights in a hotel to a contribution for victims of the Orlando shooting.

(WATCH the video below from USA Today and READ more at the Washington Post) — Photo: USA Today video

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Construction Worker Hides Where’s Waldo on Job Site for Kids in Hospital Windows

By
Terry Turner
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Jason Haney Waldo released Beacon Health System

This construction worker has turned a hospital expansion project into a larger than life game of “Where’s Waldo” to entertain patients at a children’s hospital.

Labor foreman Jason Haney got the idea after hearing about kids at the South Bend, Indiana hospital becoming excited by a snowman erected by workers in the construction yard last winter. This new project would keep them smiling for a long time.

LOOK: J.K. Rowling Shocks Book Club by Showing Up, After Amusing Twitter Exchange

Haney created an eight-foot-tall plywood cutout of Waldo (also known as Wally, in Canada and the UK) featured in the popular picture and puzzle books. Workers hide him in different places around the construction site—and move him whenever they’re notified that a child spotted the location.

Wheres Waldo Construction FB Where's Waldo Memorial Childrens Hospital

Haney has a special connection to the kids at Memorial Children’s Hospital. His own daughter suffered a stroke when she was only three-years-old and needed special care.

Doctors told Haney she might not be able to learn past third grade, but 14 years later she’s graduated high school and plans to study biology and zoology at college.

CHECK OUT: New Best-selling Book Designed to Put Children to Sleep in Minutes

She also helped him create the wooden Waldo, and dad and daughter are already at work on another project to hide around the construction site for kids to find — cut-outs of the cartoon “Minions.”

(READ more at the South Bend Tribune) — Photos: Beacon Health System; Memorial Children’s Hospital, Facebook

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At This Summer Camp, Kids And Cops Build Bonds For Better Communities

By
Terry Turner
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Cop and Kids FB Camp Chance

The “arts and crafts” program at this California summer camp features the art of building relationships between cops and communities, and crafting a brighter future for at-risk kids.

Sixty-five kids, ages 11-13 attended this year’s “Camp Chance,” a free, five-day summer camp designed to build bridges between cops and the most at-risk kids in their districts.

There’s the usual activities like swimming and sports, but the kids also get to hang out with police officers and get to know them better.

Campers got to meet K-9 officers and their dogs, watched a police helicopter touch down in the camp, hang out with firefighters who visited with their trucks, and the see a search and rescue demonstration up close.

RELATED: Police Surprise Humble Boy After Thieves Steal His Xbox

Camp Chance was created by the San Rafael Police Department with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office and the Marin County Office of Education.

Rebecca Kuga, the San Rafael PD youth services supervisor runs Camp Chance. She says when kids are connected with their communities and build relationships with police officers, they’re less likely to be destructive as teens.

Past campers are living proof of that idea.

CHECK OUT: Look at These Cops Meditating Before They Hit the Streets in Canada

Sixteen-year-old David Bosshard attended the camp when he was younger, and was back this year as a counselor. His father has been in and out of jail throughout David’s life, and he credits the camp for giving him a focus for his future.

“The program changed my life,” David told the Marin Independent Journal. “I had no plan as to what my future would be. After my first time at Camp Chance, I knew I wanted to be involved in law enforcement.”

(READ more at the Marin Independent Journal) — Photo: Camp Chance, Facebook

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Shelter Offers “Unadoptable” Feral Cats to Hunt Rats —With Big Success

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In 2016, rat control problems increased 67% due to milder winters and longer breeding seasons. Residents spent thousands of dollars on poison and inspectors, but nothing worked, until they turned to an old-fashioned, non-toxic, solution to the horrific problem.

The Tree House Humane Society began pairing feral cats with people in need of rodent control—and their “Cats at Work” program became a win-win for everyone.

Tree House says it became the country’s first cageless, no kill cat shelter in 1971. While some of the felines brought to the shelter are wild and unadoptable, the cats could still serve a valuable purpose—just by being themselves.

After paying a fee to the shelter, the Empirical Brewing company welcomed two cats to their warehouse where rats had been spoiling grain by endlessly chewing tiny holes in the bags of hops.

WATCH Kitten Escape Pet Store Enclosure to Play With Puppy

A side benefit for employees is the fun and camaraderie provided by the sight of cats at work during the day.

Neighborhoods where rats had run amok are also benefiting from the transplanted colonies of spayed and neutered cats.

The idea has spread to other cities, including Austin, Texas. Two organizations in Los Angeles, including the Best Friends Spay/Neuter Center, have adopted the Tree House program in their own city, placing animals at locations, such as the L.A. Flower Market, transforming them into rodent-free spaces.

Meanwhile, the waiting list at Tree House, which hires out the wild wonders in Chicago, is now 60 days or longer. (Editor’s note: Program details have changed since the publication of this article, so visit TreeHouseAnimals.org for the latest.)

(WATCH the video or READ more at CNN) – Image via CNN video

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Watch a Cat Riding on the Back of Motor Bike — Like a Champ

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Who doesn’t have 30 seconds to watch a cat riding on the back of a motorbike?

Some motorcyclists drive around with their dogs. This man is taking his cat for a ride on his moped.

LOOK: Biker Saves Abused Dog on Side of Road, Gains a “Co-Pilot”

We have no details on why or where. None were provided by YouTuber, GianGiancarlo—but this cat is holding onto the driver like a champ.

(WATCH the video above…) SHARE a Cute Moment of Distraction…

Instead of a Second Protest, Black Lives Matter Joins Police For a Barbecue

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Police Chief Gordon Ramsay-djuan_wash_mashup courtesy

A city in Kansas is proud of their Black Lives Matter protest on Tuesday, during which no one was hurt or arrested, and no property was damaged. Protestors praised the police for their efforts in allowing voices and first amendment rights to be expressed—and things only got better going forward.

Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay says that despite personnel shortages in the department, he will continue to make sure officers are properly trained in cultural competency, while he tries to free up more of officers’ time for community policing.

Plans for another BLM protest on Sunday were changed to a community cookout after leaders met with Ramsay the day after the demonstration. Ramsay said he and the mayor wanted to raise the money to organize a barbecue for the city’s law enforcement professionals and the community at large.

WATCH: Opposing Dallas Protest Groups Find They Want Same Thing; Black & White Hug it Out

“It’s a first step for the community to be able to get to know the officers that work and live around northeast Wichita,” protest supporter Djuan Wash told KSN News.

He believes it’s the first step toward healing and building a bond between those in blue and those who want to end injustice.

LOOK: Photo of Citizens Guarding the Police in Baltimore Riots Brings Needed Hope

Any and all are invited to attend the 6:00 pm cook-out, billed as the ‘First Steps Barbecue’, today at Emerson McAdams Park.

(WATCH the video below from USA News)


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She Offered an Armed Robber a Glass Of Wine, Completely Flipped The Script

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pouring wine puppet sillouette- Manual Cinema:NPR-YouTube

An NPR podcast this week explored what happens when people flip the script, and respond to situations in ways that are completely unexpected.

Particularly interesting was the notion that a 180-degree change in attitude could shift a tense armed robbery in progress, and lead to a complete turnaround in the mind of the assailant.

A mellow Washington, D.C., backyard dinner party was suddenly confronted by a man with a gun pointed at the hostess’s head saying, ”Give me your money, or I’ll f*’ing start shooting.”

They tried to persuade him to change his mind, especially because no one actually had any money, but the situation was escalating.

RELATED: How Successful People Handle Toxic People

Suddenly one of the women did something extraordinary—she offered him a glass of French wine… and that changed everything.

The concept of upending a situation— responding to confrontation with kindness, for instance—is called non-complementarity.

CHECK OUT: The Amazing Tale of A Karmic Pact Fulfilled—I Got The Love I Finally Gave

Psychologist Christopher J. Hopwood says non-complementarity is also great for bettering relationships in your own life.

Alix Spiegel, host the “Invisibilia” podcast, explored the concept on the air in season two, episode five and, later, Manual Cinema brought the excerpted discussion to life with a shadow puppet performance.

(WATCH the video below)

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Photo of Good Samaritan Escorting Shoppers With Umbrella Goes Viral (WATCH)

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Good News Network
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helping shoppers with umbrella kindness-FB Deepak Saini
In times of deep distress, sometimes it’s the smallest acts that can send the most powerful message—and one former reporter snapped a photo in a pouring rainstorm that he thought would be just the tonic for current events.

At a Target store in Kenner, Louisiana, shoppers were waiting out a torrential downpour instead of running to their car when one man began escorting people with his umbrella.

”I noticed this kind gentleman with a big smile on his face, drenched from head to toe, escorting women, mothers and kids to their cars, and helping them unload their groceries,” Deepak Saini told TODAY. “Every time he returned, he said, ‘Who’s next?’ with a big smile on his face.”

So, Saini shot a photo of the good deed, and the image stuck with him for the rest of the week.

He later posted it on Facebook, commenting, “I’m sure he was busy and had his own family to return to. But in that moment, it didn’t matter that he was black and the woman in this picture was white. It was one human helping another.”

INSPIRING: Homeless Teen Bikes 6 Hours To College, Sleeps In A Tent —Determined to Be a Doctor

“Right now we seem so focused on race and are letting ourselves be painfully divided. Kindness is something we all need to give to each other right now and let this man be an example.”

WGNO News in New Orleans spoke with the hero, James Varnado, who said, “People are people… It doesn’t matter if you’re the richest person in the world or the poorest person in the world—somebody needs help? Help ’em.”

(WATCH the video below from WGNO)

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Watch Volunteer Firefighters Rescue a Wild Fox Stuck In Soccer Net

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Good News Network
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fox rescue-New Hope Eagle Volunteer Fire Company-FB

What did this fox say? …’Thank you!’

The poor thing somehow got stuck in a soccer net in a Pennsylvania park.

Police and volunteer firefighters worked to calm the distressed animal until they could free him from the tangled string.

The kind emergency personnel then carried the fox toward the woods so it could scamper off to safety.

(WATCH the video below from Inside Edition) —Photo via New Hope Eagle Volunteer Fire Company

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Gas Station Spreads Joy With Their Witty One-Liners on Welcome Sign

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A gas station in the Seattle, Washington suburb of Wallingford is winning people over with its witty sense of humor.

The Chevron Station at the corner of North 45th and Woodlawn Place North spreads much-needed laughter with every one-liner posted on their 54-character roadside sign.


Each week, the store manager Cassandra Gaspard, places the letters that add up to catchy one-liners like, “Ban Pre-Shredded Cheese, Make America Grate Again” or “My Reality Check Has Bounced”.

WATCH: Determined Dachshund Tries to Pull His Teddy Bear Into a Small Carrier

Some customers would never go anywhere else, as long as Cassandra and her amusing antics await them here.

You can follow the Wallingford sign on Facebook and renew your chuckles weekly.

(WATCH the video or READ more from King-5 News – Note* Auto-playing video so adjust your speakers)

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Kindhearted Brothers Hand Out Brown Paper Bag Lunches To 200 Homeless (Video)

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brothers-lunch bags for homeless-inside edition

Two brothers, Derrell and Kyllon Martin, created ‘The Helping Lunchbox’ to help feed the homeless people in their New Orleans community.

Volunteers help deliver the lunch bags filled with sandwiches, pretzels, and water—along with words of encouragement hand written on each bag to uplift the people living in poverty.

MORE INSPIRATION: 9-Year-old Makes Beautiful Care Packages for Homeless Women

Kristy Lewis Martin, the boys’ mother, says they started the project when the family noticed many people living under the bridge they passed by. Since then, the boys have served over 200 people.

(Watch the video below, from Inside Edition)

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“The Most Amazing Thing” is Happening to Officers, As Strangers Stop to Pray

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Officer Clinton Powell prays with black shopper-FB

Three separate incidents of strangers praying with police officers in Mississippi, Kentucky, and Georgia are reminding people that Americans—black and white—are coming together in the wake of tragedy.

In the photo above, Deputy Clinton Powell who works for the Muscogee County Marshal’s Office in Columbus, Georgia was in a local Wal-mart store when Avery Rosser approached him and began praying with the officer.


Rosser shared the picture last Saturday on Facebook following the recent shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota and Dallas.

Similarly, Rita Baker posted a photo she took in Kentucky while stopped at a traffic light. It showed a homeless man and an officer that appeared to be praying, standing on the side of the road, holding hands with their heads bowed.

“They stood this way for about 30 seconds,” she wrote, but didn’t know anything specific about the situation.

“It speaks volumes to the types of officers we have here at the Georgetown Police Department,” Baker said.

cop prays with man at car-Rita Baker-FB

In Mississippi, Harrison County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Harmon said an older woman stopped him at a gas station and asked to pray with him. He said he was overcome with emotion when others, black and white, joined in.

WATCH: Inmates Break Out Of Jail To Save Life Of Officer Guarding Them

Harmon posted his feelings about the incident in a video: “Had one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I hardly ever post anything job related but this was something I will remember for the rest of my life and I had to share!”

“She comes up to me and says, ‘Your life matters. Can I pray with you?’ ” Harmon, 25, recalled.

“And we prayed. And people joined in. It was the most amazing thing. They were black, white, together. There was no hate. No one was saying anything negative. It was just us praying. And it was amazing.”

SEE MORE Inspiring Stories About Police Officers at Good News Network

“It’s not unusual for people to walk up and say, ‘Thank you for your service.’ People show support every day. But never anything like that,” he added. “I was pretty emotional.”

“Everything going on in this world right now, for somebody to come up to you like that right there, it completely blew me away.”

After his overnight shift ended, Harmon shared the video below in which he recounts the story for a longtime friend and his father.

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A Bolt of Insight Saved Him From Suicide; Now He’s Saving Kids in East L.A. With Meditation

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swami meditating in LA-Hooplaha video

After this Los Angeles man hit rock bottom, with partying, depression, and joblessness, only meditation provided a way out. Now he is taking his mindfulness practice to the city’s most vulnerable kids.

Swami Varadan was born in India and moved to Silicon Valley when he was two-years old. As an adult, he seemed to have it all, working on radio projects with Ryan Seacrest—until he lost it all.

Within the span of a month, after losing his car, his job and his home, Swami had no other choice but to move in with his parents in their small California apartment at the age of 31. Shortly after his arrival, Swami’s uncle, grandmother and best friend passed away.

RELATED: Look at These Cops Meditating Before They Hit the Streets in Canada

After losing his best friend to cancer, Swami fell into a deep depression. Still unemployed, he dove into severely unhealthy patterns and addictions. He was 30 seconds away from suicide, literally walking in front of a train, when he experienced a profound spiritual awakening. He left the train track and promised to better his life, by helping others.

MORE: Quiet Time Program Brings Radical Improvement To Schools Worldwide

The newly jovial Swami is now a meditation and mindfulness teacher in Los Angeles, and he teaches people how to cook Indian food, with his book, 7 Mantras for Success, 7 Recipes for Healing. He’s even back on the radio— this time, passing on advice to others based on his own transformation. Swami’s goal is to bring mindfulness to the masses, specifically focusing on the impoverished and underprivileged. He teaches meditation at The Boys and Girls clubs of East Los Angeles, as well as schools throughout the city.

(WATCH his story in the video below)

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These Folks Worked Together to Claim World Record: 50 Million Trees Planted In One Day

By
Terry Turner
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India continued its massive push to reforest their nation on Monday when men and women in the state of Uttar Pradesh set out together to plant 50 million trees in a single day to improve the environment —and for bragging rights.

The feat would easily break a 2013 world record set by neighboring Pakistan for most trees planted by a team of 300 in 24 hours (847,275).

More than 800,000 turned out to plant the saplings, which were handed out by officials who will be monitored the plantings for growth with the use of aerial photos.

INSPIRING: Village in India Plants 111 Trees Whenever a Girl is Born

A government agency elsewhere in the nation had already claimed the record for most trees planted in 12 hours by a team in multiple locations, according to the Guinness record book. The Forest Department in Madhya Pradesh planted 14,372,801 trees with the participation of volunteers at 9,272 locations in July 2014.

India is spending $6.2 billion for tree planting across the country with a goal of 235 million acres of new forests by 2030.

RELATED: Ex-NASA Engineer to Plant One Billion Trees a Year Using Drones

It will take judges from the Guinness Book of World Records about two months to confirm the final number planted.

(READ more at ABC News) – Photo by Captpiper, CC Help This Story Grow, Share It With Your Friends…

Wildlife Group Buys Exclusive License for Shark Fishing on Great Barrier Reef to Halt the Practice

By
Terry Turner
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Shark cc Kawika Holbrook

A wildlife group has purchased an exclusive commercial license to fish for sharks along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef — just so they can shut down the practice.

The license allows the holder exclusive rights to drag a three-quarter mile long net along the reef. Roughly 100,000 sharks were taken by commercial fishing in the region last year.

The World Wildlife Fund purchased the $100,000 license to protect both sharks and the reef.

The organization cites a 2013 study published in the journal PLOS One that shows when sharks and other predators are removed from a coral reef’s ecosystem, the reefs have a harder time recovering from disease and other threats.

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

The WWF says it especially important to preserve shark populations in light of an unprecedented “bleaching” that’s hit the Great Barrier Reef this year.

“After bleaching, algae spreads,” WWF-Australia’s conservation director, Gilly Llewellyn told The Guardian. “Researchers found that where sharks were removed by overfishing, smaller predators like snapper became more abundant. These snapper kill the algae-eating fish and the algae then overwhelms young coral.”

LOOK: Actor Jared Leto Becomes Global Wildlife Ambassador for WWF

Shutting down shark fishing along the Great Barrier Reef is also expected to save the lives of dolphins, sea turtles, and other marine animals caught in the giant nets.

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Homeless Teen Bikes 6 Hours To College, Sleeps In A Tent —Determined to Be a Doctor

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Fred Barley screenshot WAGA TV

When security officers found a 19-year-old sleeping in a tent on a college campus, they became the first to help, but, soon everyone in town was opening their heart and wallet for Fred Barley.

The homeless student had packed everything he owned into a pair of duffle bags and ridden a small 20-inch bicycle for six-hours in 100 degree heat to get to school. He was registered for his second semester at Gordon College in Barnesville, Georgia and wanted to beat other students into town before all the part-time jobs were taken.

The biology major who wants to be a doctor set up a tent to stay in the bushes on campus until the dorms opened in August. He settled in with just one box of cereal to eat until he found a job.

When campus police officers found him, and heard his story, they wanted to help. The officers put him up for two nights in a motel and the college offered to let him move into his dorm room the following Monday.

CHECK OUT: Homeless Man Hands Out Resumes Instead of Asking for Cash-and Lands Job

But that was just the beginning. When one of the cops told the story to his wife, she shared it on social media and the community started offering help—one person in particular, Casey Blaney. She sought him out at the motel room and his story touched him so much that she went around town and found employment for him, herself.

He’s now a dishwasher at a pizza parlor and needed shorts and shirts for the job, so she took him shopping.

That didn’t satisfy Casey’s desire to help, so she set up a GoFundMe page Tuesday, “Success for Fred”, that has raised nearly $40,000 for the student by this morning. Donations of clothes, shoes, a new bike — even talk of buying him a car — started pouring in.

RELATED: Teen Takes Paralyzed Dad To College, Cares For Him While He Studies

A community Facebook page has posts from people as far away as Michigan and Texas offering help, including free dental care and attorney fees to set up a trust fund so Barley’s money will go toward his education.

“In spite of all the sorrow, sadness, violence and hatred in today’s world….it’s touching to see so many people come together for this young man,” Gina Oakley wrote on the page. “Fred…you are an inspiration to many. Best of luck to you, and may all your dreams come true. You are truly loved.”

In a video thanking people for all their help, the student says he “can’t come up with even half the words” to express his thanks. “I love you all.”

CHECK OUT:  Penniless Artist in India Falls in Love, Rides Bike to Sweden to Be With Her

Before his trip to the school, Fred had been living in a tent 50 miles away. He saw a college education as his way out of homelessness, thinking about it this way:

“I can take it out there, and sleep in a tent without a job, or I can come down here and do something and apply my life and make something better for it,” he told WAGA News.

(WATCH the video below from WAGA News) — Photo: WAGA

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Colombians Are Building Houses With Wasted Plastic—Shaped Into Huge Lego Bricks

By
Joao Freitas
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lego plastic homes in Bogota-eltiempo-dot-com

A group of Colombians are transforming the serious problem of pollution by using plastic waste—and the Lego building model—as a solution for the thousands of people without houses.

The Bogota-based company, Conceptos Plasticos, seeks to reverse the damage that plastic causes to the planet and use it to benefit those most in need. The initiative was born out of Colombian musician Fernando Llanos’s need to build his own house in a difficult-to-access area in the center of the country.

Subsequently, this idea became architect Oscar Mendez’s graduation thesis. After several years of investigation, Mendez materialized a modular brick made of all types of processed, discarded plastic. The system works like Lego and is adaptable to all types of terrain and any climate.

RELATED: Lego Spends Millions To Ditch Oil-Based Plastic

“It has a social impact because in Latin America the housing shortage is terrible,” says Mendez, the owner of the company. “Forty percent of people living in Africa, Asia and Latin America do not have a house.”

He also detailed the environmental and economic importance of using this type of waste to build modular homes.

Photo by Conceptos Plasticos
Photo by Conceptos Plasticos

“In Bogota alone, approximately 750 tons of plastic waste is thrown into the landfill site, of which only 100 are being recycled. We are making 100 homes out of the plastic in Dona Juana (the city’s landfill site), giving value to something that has no market.”

CHECK OUT: App Saves Prescription Drugs From Landfills, Sends to Needy Patients

Conceptos Plasticos’s model home is 40 square meters divided into two bedrooms, a bathroom, living room, dining room and kitchen, and can be put together in only five days by four people who need no previous building experience. The houses are assembled without using any type of adhesive. This makes them portable houses that can be disassembled easily in order to transport and reassemble them.

Oscar Mendez, photo by Conceptos Plasticos
Oscar Mendez, photo by Conceptos Plasticos

And, anyone who’s played with Legos knows how no adhesive is required to build a sturdy structure.

When discussing the cost of making the houses, Mendez said they are a lot more economical than a house built from traditional materials. “We don’t charge per square meter built, but by kilogram (of plastic) processed,” said Mendez.

RELATED: Newly Discovered Bacteria Can Eat Plastic Bottles

One 40-square meter home costs approximately $130 per square meter built. That’s $5200

Learn more at the company’s website (in Spanish only)

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