Long-Term Transportation Bill Passed by US Congress, First In A Decade

By

-

Dec 4, 2015

Last night, the U.S. Congress achieved something that has been unattainable for more than a decade. It passed a five-year transportation bill that finally delivers long-term national funding for roads, bridges, and mass transit. The “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act” (H.R. 22) restores certainty to a national transportation program that has been strung along by more than 35 stopgap short term extensions.

The $305 billion legislation, which will govern federal policy through 2020, reflects a bipartisan compromise the Obama administration “always believed was possible.”

GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

Business groups and members of Congress praised the legislation for creating construction jobs, improving freight delivery and streamlining government regulation.

“Today is a monumental day for the U.S. Congress, working Americans and the entire equipment manufacturing industry,” Association of Equipment Manufacturers President Dennis Slater said in a statement.

“Cities desperately need long-term certainty in their transportation planning and funding. We can’t fix the bridges or roads that millions of Americans use every day without it,” said Clarence E. Anthony, CEO of the National League of Cities. “Together, we can build a world-class transportation infrastructure that will connect, empower and build a foundation for future growth in cities across the nation.”

The FAST Act calls for spending approximately $205 billion on highways and $48 billion on transit projects over the next five years and includes a number of programs relevant to city infrastructure:

The program that provides funding for walking and bicycling infrastructure directly to local leaders, is now a part of the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program and its funding has been increased from $835 million to $850 million.

Additional money for bridges and transit, especially buses—a critical lifeline for cities—has been increased, with locally-owned bridges now eligible for more than $22 billion in federal funding under the National Highway Performance Program.

New access to federal financing is available for innovative transit projects and the minimum project size has been lowered from $25-$50 million to $10 million for projects with significant local government involvement, making it much easier for projects outside of major metropolitan areas to apply for low-cost federal financing.

Both chambers of Congress passed it overwhelmingly, with the House voting 359-65 and the Senate, 83-16. The bill will be paid for with gas tax revenue and a package of $70 billion in offsets from other areas of the federal budget, according to The Hill.

(Photo by Neil Kremer, CC)

$700 Tip Leads to Rehab Support For Humble Pizza Delivery Man (WATCH)

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 4, 2015

Little did they know about his struggles with addiction, when an Ohio church congregation, in a random act of kindness, tipped a delivery driver $700 for one pizza.

Churches have been surprising pizza drivers lately with large tips — teaching their members a lesson about generosity. But the congregation at Life Point Church in Mentor ended up learning more about miracles when they saw what their gift eventually manifested. That one act of kindness early on a Sunday morning has snowballed into a life-changing event for 22-year-old Jeff Louis.

NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

When he left the church on November 22, he recorded a tearful video, talking about his efforts to stay clean, how he was working so hard to do the right thing, and how much the gesture meant to him.

“It just really, truly amazes me that people who don’t even know me, just wanted to help me that much,” he says. “I’m blessed.”

More than a million people have watched his YouTube video since then. Among them were the people who operate Cliffside Malibu in California — one of the most beautiful drug treatment centers in the America.

They surprised Jeff by offering to pay 100% of his rehabilitation and therapy costs, which can run as high as $88,000 a month.

CHECK OUT: Instead of Offering Pocket Change, This Man Changed Homeless Vet’s Life

Jeff flew there yesterday, on the latest leg of his life-altering journey that began with a Sunday Morning delivery which turned into a take-out order of redemption.

(WATCH the video by Jeff Louis below) – Photo: Jeff Louis video

Send Your Friends A Slice Of Goodness, Share This…

Funny: 4-yo Girl Gets to Crash Heavy Truck on Remote Control Obstacle Course (WATCH)

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 4, 2015

To show just how tough their trucks are, Volvo let a four-year-old girl drive one.

Just to be safe, Sophie was never in the dump-truck, but far away, steering it by remote control through a huge gravel pit obstacle course.

STAY HAPPY WITH OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

She sends the off-road big rig into a pond, tumbling down a hill, and smashing into a building in what has to be the best day ever for any kid who likes playing with trucks.

Buckle your seat belts and prepare to laugh as you watch the video below.

(WATCH the video from Volvo below)

Send This Video Flying At Your Friends, Share It Below…

Syrian Man Returns to Volunteer in Greece 3 Years After He Was Welcomed as Refugee

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 4, 2015

Ibrahim Bayzed’s story is one that can only be described as “coming full circle.”

He fled Syria in 2012 during a mass exodus of opponents of Syrian dictator Assad’s regime and headed to Egypt to complete his studies in international trade and logistics management. Upon completion of his studies he went to Turkey to work and save money for his eventual journey to Europe.

He worked in a clothing factory in Istanbul for a year, saving enough money to pay smugglers to take him to Greece. He, together with other Syrian families departed Turkey and landed on the tiny island of Tilos, where locals welcomed them, fed them and offered dry clothes and a place to rest, before taking the ferry to Athens.

BE NOTIFIED of GOOD NEWS WITH OUR NEW APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

On Tilos— a tiny island of a few hundred residents who have created a welcome center supported by the mayor and many local volunteers and residents, Ibrahim and the other refugees were treated with dignity and compassion, according to Elena Pissa, one of the locals who assists with the coordination of refugees there.

Ibrahim eventually left and settled in Athens, staying for a year and trying numerous times to get to Germany via the Balkan route, unsuccessfully–but eventually made it, got a job and established himself with German residency.

Thanking the Greeks by Giving Back

In early November, Ibrahim Bayzed decided it was time to give back. He returned to Greece to offer his support to arriving refugees and help the Greek people who were dealing with the crisis on a daily basis. He traveled to Leros island and volunteered, assisting Greek police with the registration of refugees, the distribution of food and clothes.

CHECK Out: Businessman Spends $20K to Give US Troops in the Airport a Hot Meal

“I saw this as my duty,” he told the Pappas Post in an exclusive interview, adding that “I already know the risks these people face and the difficulties they face trying to cross into Europe. I also felt it my duty to help the Greek people who are doing everything they can to help my people. What I experienced on Tilos was pure humanity and I want to share some of this with the Greek people who continue to help.”

Reprinted with permission from The Pappas Post: Gregory C. Pappas is a media, film and marketing artist who is passionate about his Greek heritage and wants to share it with the world. (Photos via Pappas Post)

SHARE this with your community…

With Newborn in NICU, Parents’ Car Was Stolen But Local Celebrity Steps In

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 3, 2015

A stolen car led to an amazing act of kindness for a struggling pair of new parents.

Jessica Daniels was visiting her premature baby at a Renton hospital outside Seattle, Washington when her car was stolen from the parking lot.

She and her boyfriend, Ben, had just lost their other car in an accident — and they live 25 miles from the hospital where baby Genevieve is being treated.

FOR MORE GOOD NEWS: GET OUR NEW APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

Both parents are Iraq War veterans and aren’t able to afford another car. They were having to ask friends and neighbors to give them rides to the hospital and weren’t able to spend enough time with their new baby.

When KIRO reporter Jesse Jones heard their story, he started making phone calls. A local Ford/Hyundai car dealer donated a blue set of wheels. The local fire department even installed a car seat.

The cameras were rolling as Ben and Jessica walked out of the hospital to the shiny, blue surprise parked in their path.

WATCH: When 83-yo Landscaper Needed New Truck, Donations Grew Like Weeds

“I have restored faith in people again,” Jessica said.

“It was a two tissue day,” Jones wrote on his Facebook page.

(WATCH the video from KIRO News below) — Photo: Jesse Jones, Facebook

Morality Christmas Ad Will Leave You Feeling All Warm Inside (WATCH)

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 3, 2015

This German Christmas ad may have you in tears before it finishes, but it has a happy ending.

Supermarket chain Edeka released the video of a lonely grandfather spending Christmas after Christmas alone because his children and grandchildren are too busy to visit.

GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

It seems there is only one thing that will make them drop what they are doing and come together at the family home.

The ad was made for Germans, but its message is the same in every language: Nothing is as important as family at the holidays.

(WATCH the video from Edeka below)

Send Your Family Home For The Holidays, Share It…

He’s Got Game: Fan Rushes Public Enemy to the Show When Taxi Leaves Band Stranded

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 3, 2015

A fan came to the rescue when Public Enemy most needed a friend—and a quick ride to their gig.

Kevin Wells had stopped by a Broomhill, UK record store Saturday, where members of the iconic hip-hop group were signing autographs to get his picture with Chuck D and Flavor Flav before heading to work.

The band was still signing autographs when their taxi took off — leaving them stranded miles from the arena where they were to perform in just a few minutes.

BE UPLIFTED EACH DAY: GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

The band took Wells up on an offer to drive them, the five piled into his compact car, and they set out on backstreets following every shortcut Wells could remember.

“Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen, came on the radio,” Wells told the Sheffield Star. “Everyone was singing the words and rocking out in the back of my car. I was looking in the rear view mirror thinking, ‘is this actually happening?’”

Security at the arena was skeptical that the band of millionaire musicians was arriving for the show in a Ford Focus, until Chuck D rolled down the window and flashed a security pass.

Wells got the band to the arena just 15 minutes before Public Enemy was to take the stage.

CHECK OUT: Rapper Snoop Dogg Delights Town, Gives Out 1500 Turkeys And Hugs

Wells missed the show because he still had to get to work —photographing other concerts around Sheffield that night.

(Photo: Kevin Wells, Facebook)

Yo! Bum Rush This Story To Your Crew…

Twitter Comes to the Rescue in India During Worst Flood in 100 Yrs

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 3, 2015

A simple hashtag is uniting thousands of people in a flooded city while showcasing humanity at its best.

This week saw the heaviest monsoons in a century hit Chennai, a city of four million in southeastern India. The rising rainwater has closed highways, railroads, and airports and displaced entire neighborhoods.

Thousands of residents began offering help via Twitter using #ChennaiRainsHelp to list open homes for people who’ve been flooded out of their own.

ALWAYS GET THE GOOD NEWS WITH OUR NEW APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

If anyone is looking for emergency shelter they can look through the tweets on #ChennaiRainsHelp and find those set up at mosques, churches, temples and even movie theaters and malls. It’s also helped locate volunteers to distribute food and other supplies.

People stranded by floodwaters are using the hashtag to let searchers know where they are.

Still others have used it to tag photos and video of heroic rescues or of people simply helping each other during the disaster.

CHECK OUT: Courage and Compassion Are Flooding in South Carolina, Too

Compiling those images into the video below, Scroll.In posted on its Facebook page that the hashtag “proves Chennai citizens’ solidarity in the worst of times.”

(WATCH the video below from Scroll.In) — Photo: Twitter.com/IamSandeep

Minnesota Refugee Agencies Inundated With Donations And Offers to Help

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 3, 2015

Minnesota has an unusual refugee problem — too many people volunteering to help.

“We have four to five times the number of volunteer inquiries and interest,” the Minnesota Council of Churches told the Star Tribune. “It’s a wonderful problem to have.”

The sudden surge has happened in just the last couple of weeks, as 31 governors around the U.S. demanded that no Syrian refugees be allowed in their states.

GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

But in Minnesota, citizens are offering to house refugees in spare bedrooms and teach English classes. They’re also flooding relief agencies with donations of coats, diapers, cash, and other items.

Even though no Syrians have reached the state yet, their plight is raising awareness that has inspired people to help.

According to the Star Tribune, five nonprofit agencies resettle about 2,000 refugees in Minnesota every year. Three of those groups report a sudden groundswell of support in the past two weeks.

Donations to the International Institute of Minnesota have come from around the state and from 24 other states — many with governors rejecting refugees. The Institute, which resettled 465 mostly African and Asian immigrants last year, has received 500 phone calls from people asking to volunteer in the last two weeks.

Catholic Charities report an upsurge of volunteers and the Council of Churches has had to put people wanting to help on a waiting list.

Volunteer To Share This Story… (Photo by DFID-UK, CC)

Kindness of Strangers Buys Car for Man Pedaling Through Snow to Work

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 3, 2015

A powerful snowstorm, a dangerous bike ride, and a good Samaritan all came together to change a Michigan man’s life for the better.

Tony Berard rides his bike seven miles down a busy highway to work the midnight shift at a grocery store. He was making that commute in a heavy Michigan snowstorm when young Jason Kapoor, driving in the opposite direction, first saw him.

GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

Jason swung his car around and offered Tony a ride.

“Without hesitation he said, ‘I would love a ride.’ Frozen beard and all,” Jason recalled in a story he posted on Facebook.

Tony had been in financial trouble ever since his wife got sick — she couldn’t work and medical bills piled up. Then, both their old cars quit running. Tony didn’t have the money to fix them or buy a new one, so he did what he had to.

With the harsh Michigan winters at hand, Jason’s heart was moved to help the Waterford man.

So he told the Tony’s story intending to get people to give him a ride on the road–and, indeed, the next day, another stranger spotted him on his bike and offered him a ride. But a better idea was born after the post was shared 17,000 times, and the discussion turned toward getting the man a used car.

Jason launched a GoFundMe page called “Keep Tony Warm” and donations heated up. It raised more than $19,000 in nine days.

As fate would have it, Jason works at a car dealership right across the highway from Tony’s job — and he worked out a deal to put Tony in a new minivan with a working heater for those frozen commutes this winter.

(WATCH the video below from WXYZ News) — Photos: Jason Kapoor, Facebook

Warm Your Friends With This Story…

The Good News Ripple Effect Impacting the World of Green Energy

Your Blogs

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 2, 2015

I want to discuss the real impact Good News can have on our lives, and then follow up with some recent developments in Renewable Energy that illustrate the measurable progress we’ve made and continue to make toward a better world.

As End, or Means, or Both

People often think of Good News as a rare extravagance, or even worse, they consider it less relevant to us than the problems of the day, a kind-of nice-to-have. I’d like to suggest that it’s more than that: Good News isn’t just something to make us feel better, but a means to shaping our future.

SHAPE YOUR MINDSET: GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

That admittedly is a lofty claim, but it has a logical basis. These days, big changes are happening in our world–globalization, cultural and social issues, new technologies, and all the resulting environmental impacts.

People struggle with change, especially when they have a stake in it, and yet it’s exactly when we have a stake in it that our response matters most.

From Humanity to the Individual

If you think about it, humanity’s solutions all arise from our responses to the issues. Our best responses have sometimes come from a new idea or the actions of courageous individuals; and these in turn have led to brand new technologies, grass-roots movements, changes in corporate or government policy, or an overall change in the perspective of a nation. It is because our reactions and interactions are so integral to our societal behavior that they have such power to move us either forward or backward.

But world-changing ideas and great courage have historically appeared when opportunity has called for them.

Can we really just decide to have more breakthroughs without the impetus of impending crisis? There had better be a way or we’re in for an even more dramatic future.

A Taoist saying advises, “Do the great while it is still small.” After all, it’s not efficient to respond only after an emergency has set in. That makes for heroes, but also for a great deal of loss. Still, what is meant by “the great” if not the issues of the day, and how can anyone say they are “still small”?

Good News in Renewable Energy

To put all this theory into practice: let’s talk about some recent efforts to shift toward renewable energy.

For starters, the facts now show that renewable energy is both economical and effective. You often hear that renewable energy doesn’t scale, either economically or demand-wise – but the reverse is true:

Some statistics in the UK help to set the record straight:

In 2014 UK carbon emissions fell 8.4%, while the economy grew 2.6%
UK renewable energy accounts for 20% of all energy usage
UK coal-fired energy fell 23% in 2014

(SEE more statistics in the article at Conservation Biology Institute)

Finally, Diabetes Rates Are Falling Substantially in the U.S.

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 2, 2015

One in five people in the US population is not developing diabetes like they used to — the first sustained improvement in 25 years.

The number of new cases of the disease has fallen by nearly 20% in the last seven years, according to new figures released in December by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2014 alone there were 300,000 fewer new cases than the 1.7 million recorded for one year in 2008.

GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

Health officials aren’t sure what exactly is causing the decline, but it parallels changes in Americans’ eating and exercise habits.

Studies indicate people are drinking 20% less soda than in 1998, the number of people exercising regularly has increased by 17% since 2001, and children are consuming 5.5% fewer calories on average than they did in the 1990s. Another impressive trend: childhood obesity rates have plummeted by more than 40% over the last decade.

“It’s not yet time to have a parade,” Dr. David Nathan, Director of the Diabetes Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, told the New York Times. “[But] it has finally entered into the consciousness of our population that the sedentary lifestyle is a real problem, that increased body weight is a real problem.”

Photo: PetitPlat, CC

Police Surprise Humble Boy After Thieves Steal His Xbox

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 2, 2015

An 11-year-old boy’s concern for his mother so impressed police officers, they replaced his prized possession after it was taken in a burglary.

Thieves struck while Tontrevion Campbell and his mother were at church over the weekend. His Xbox and all the video games he loves to play were among the stolen items.

HEAR MORE GOOD NEWS: GET OUR NEW APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

When Memphis, Tennessee officers investigated, they asked the conscientious boy if he’d be getting a new Xbox for Christmas.

Tontrevion told them he couldn’t ask his mother to do that because “all the money she makes goes to pay the bills.”

When the officers got back to the station and told the story, their fellow cops on the shift chipped in money for a replacement.

Officers picked up a new Xbox with some games and when the store manager found out why they were shopping, he threw in an extra controller, so two friends can play together.

When they returned to the family’s home and queried Tontrevion about the Xbox, they asked him if it might be the one that was stolen.

“No, sir,” the boy told the. “Mine was older.”

Then the officers revealed this new one was for him, which moved him and his mother to tears. (video of reaction below)

“Just to be able to alleviate some of his stress, just of that day, and actually help that family in this time, like Christmas, it really was an overwhelming feeling,” said one of the police officers said.

(WATCH the video below from WMC News) — Photos: Memphis Police Department, Facebook

Plug Your Friends Into This Story, Share It…

Quite a Drop in the Bucket: $500,000 Left in Red Kettle to Encourage Charity

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 2, 2015

Wow! Bell-ringers never had such an amazing Christmas treat delivered into their little red buckets.

An anonymous couple dropped a $500,000 check into a Salvation Army kettle Saturday — the most generous donation ever received by one of the charity’s sidewalk Santas.

The donors from the Minneapolis, Minnesota area alerted charity officials to be on the lookout for their contribution. But Rosemont city firefighters were unaware when a passerby quietly slipped the half million dollar check into their midst.

HEAR MORE HAPPY NEWS: GET OUR GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

In a statement from the charity, the couple said they had once been so poor, they relied on food discarded by grocery stores to get by.

“You get to a point in life where it’s time to take care of others, the way you were taken care of,” the donors said.

They hope their gift will encourage others to be more generous this holiday season.

The contribution, which crushed the national kettle donation record of $25,000, doesn’t appear to be linked to a famous anonymous donor in the same city. The Salvation Army dubbed that generous kettle-giver “Saint Grand” because of the donations of around $1,000 (a “grand”) left at multiple kettles in the area since 2011.

CHECK OUT: Grocery Store’s “Pay It Forward” Event Spreads Holiday Cheer with Random Kindness

Saint Grand’s pattern is the same, leaving bundles of crisp, new $100 bills. Last year, $10,000 was left this way in multiple drops at a single kettle, and $7,000 at others in the area. Over the weekend, four separate kettles received $1,100 gifts from the anonymous do-gooder.

With these, and the record donation, the local Salvation Army is well on track to collect their goal of $11.6 million this year.

(READ more at the Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Inspire Others to Give… Share it.

Stormtroopers and Darth Vader Put Up Christmas Tree in Hilarious Photo Series

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 2, 2015

If these guys can build a Death Star, putting up a Christmas tree should be a breeze.

When it was time to put up their holiday decorations, Kyle Shearrer and his dad, Phil, apparently had help from these Star Wars Stormtroopers, and even Darth Vader himself. They documented the whole process in photos—just in case you have a “disturbing lack of faith” in their story.

The Stormtroopers first rolled out a drop cloth in a festive shade of Tatooine Sunset Red…

They had to stop and arrest “Luke Skywalker” after realizing he looked a bit too short to be a Stormtrooper…

They set up the stand, brought in the tree, and used the Force — or “Forks” — on the electric outlet…

The platoon rounded up the branches while one of their men patrolled for rebels aboard a makeshift Dewback…

Following assembly instructions is difficult, no matter the galaxy… Do these branches go on the bottom?

Darth Vader arrived at last to witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational Christmas tree!

Can we next expect to see Yoda hanging the mistletoe? He could levitate everything into place, just like he did at this bakery competition… A piece of cake for the Jedi Master.

The entire slideshow is capped off with the troopers holding a sign that reads, “19 More Days” alluding to the weeks left before the long-awaited new Star Wars film hits theaters.

(SEE all 23 pictures on Kyle’s Facebook page or on Imgur or WATCH them assembled with music below)

SHARE the Fun Across The Galaxy…

Nurse of 44 Years Finds Out She DID Make a Difference in Patients’ Lives

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 2, 2015

If you ever wonder whether you can make a difference in someone’s life, look at this 1988 picture from Children’s Nurse magazine.

The nurse on the left is Lynn Bartos, who spent years helping treat the little girl, Nichole Frye, who had been born with a serious birth defect.

The girl called the nurse “Sweet Lynnie” and the nurse called little Nichole, “Ninni.”

WANT MORE HAPPY NEWS? GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

After almost 25 years, the two met again by chance, and Lynn learned just how much she did make a difference in her patients’ lives, when the roles were reversed.

This time, she was the patient–in a hospital being treated for rheumatoid arthritis, when a young nurse came in to adjust her medicine.

Lynn felt something familiar about her and read the name on her name tag.

“Ninni?” she asked.

Sure enough, little Nichole, now 30, had followed in the footsteps of “Sweet Lynnie,” the nurse who inspired her as a little girl and nursed her through years of surgery and treatment.

“When you get to be my age, you look back and wonder if you made a difference,” she told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She found out she really did.

(Photo: Children’s Nurse magazine – SEE more photos at the Journal Sentinel)

Tech CEOs, Billionaires Throw Money at Climate Change As Eiffel Tower Shines Green

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 1, 2015

As the Eiffel Tower, a marvel of 19th century engineering, is flooded with green light to salute the opening of the Paris climate change conference, tech giants were unveiling a plan to harness 21st century innovation to reverse global warming.

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Richard Branson are are among 30 of the world’s richest people who are calling for the world to invent our way out of climate change.

The tech titans have launched the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, an investment fund to boost eco-friendly and carbon neutral technology designed to battle global warming.

“Solving the clean energy problem is an essential part of building a better world,” Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post announcing the coalition. “We won’t be able to make meaningful progress on other challenges – like educating or connecting the world – without secure energy and a stable climate.”

The billionaires say that protecting the global environment through innovation and technology also creates a better economic climate for people around the world.

GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—>Download FREE for Android and iOS

“If you could change the price of one thing to really lift up the lives of the poorest people everywhere, it would be the price of energy,” Gates says in a video posted at his blog, GatesNotes.

The price of renewable energy has become increasingly competitive with fossil fuels in recent years. New innovations could allow for even cheaper power without greenhouse gases.

Gates has already pledged $2 billion over the next five years to “bend the curve” on climate change and provide the alternative energy sources.

The Breakthrough Coalition announcement comes as 150 world leaders meet in Paris, and 30,000 diplomats and delegates work behind the scenes, to hammer out a climate agreement that for the first time would commit virtually all the world’s nations to a common goal of reining in global warming.

The Paris conference also comes at a time when a swing in American public opinion has shown that roughly two-thirds of Americans support the U.S. signing a global pact on climate change. 75% agreed that global warming is having, or is about to create, a serious environmental impact.

Serving as a backdrop to the discussions of world leaders and billionaires at the climate talks, the Eiffel Tower’s sheen of green this week (see 2nd video below) is also a way for regular citizens to take action. The lighting on the Paris icon is from video projections of trees — a virtual forest.

People can contribute trees, at a cost of $10.62 (10 euros each), which will be planted to combat deforestation and absorb CO2. . . Watch the Reuters videos below.

Wire Your Friends Into This Story, Share It… Photo: Yann Caradec, CC

Selfless Rescue of Bald Eagle Creates Selfie, and Video, of a Lifetime

By

Terry Turner

-

Dec 1, 2015

The highlight of these brothers’ hunting trip was the animal they rescued. They even got a selfie with the bald eagle before setting it free.

Neil and Michael Fletcher were hiking through the woods outside Sudbury, Ontario when they spotted the giant bird of prey caught in a trap.

GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

Covering it with one of their sweaters to keep it calm, the brothers spent several minutes freeing the eagle’s leg.

A local bird expert praised the brothers’ efforts and said “it took gumption” to approach the eagle, and its razor sharp talons and beak.

WATCH: Crew Frees Deer Tangled in Wire and Their Own Antlers

The eagle was calm enough after its rescue that the brothers decided to snap their picture with it before setting it free. Then got a video of the bird’s release – flying across a clearing and into the woods.

(WATCH the video below from Michael Fletcher’s Facebook page) — Photo by Michael Fletcher

Music, Socks, Gaming, Angel Investing: 4 Great Projects For #GivingTuesday

By

McKinley Corbley

-

Dec 1, 2015

Black Friday has gone by, Cyber Monday deals are over, and now comes a day perfectly aligned with the holiday spirit of December: Giving Tuesday.

If you’re looking for worthy causes to exercise your philanthropic whims, here’s a handy list of four of our favorite #GivingTuesday strategies to jumpstart your holiday compassion.

1. #GamingTuesday

Compassionate nerds are taking to their computers to vlog or live stream their favorite games and ask for contributions for Save The Children. Gamers have already raised $23,000 in donations during the initiative with the money being doubled as all funds are matched up to $100,000.

2. Music And Memory For Alzheimer’s

If music be the food of memory, play on.

Music and Memory is a nonprofit that pairs personalized music playing iPods with Alzheimer’s patients to help them tap into their memories. Nurses are trained to use a patient’s musical favorites–playing the tunes that bring elders with dementia back to their senses.

The headphone company Voss is donating a dollar for every social media engagement made with the hashtag #GivingTunesDay and are matching all contributions made to Music and Memory up to $5,000. Money goes to buying iPods and music.

3. ‘Hanes For Good’ Sock Drive

Socks are the most needed, yet least donated, clothing item for the thousands of homeless people in America that average 10 miles of walking a day. That’s why Hanes is giving 200,000 pairs of clean socks to homeless shelters across the U.S., and encouraging others to do the same, with a hashtag, of course… #HanesForGood.

Go out and buy some socks–thickest you can find–and drop them off at a local shelter. You might be as happy as these people in the video below, who have just received a box of socks and are thrilled by their good fortune.

4. Kiva Lending

It’s been our favorite nonprofit story for years, but the organization is not a charity… It’s a microloan. With $25, you can make a world of difference for the small business entrepreneurs listed on Kiva – and it’s very likely you’ll get your money paid back.

Community start-ups or families who need capital to upgrade their farms only need to list their requests on the Kiva website. Then, they are ready to be funded by $25 microloans from around the world. Over a million people have contributed to mostly women after viewing their photos and reading their stories. 98% of all funds lent to the projects are repaid in full.

Helping people to help themselves is better than charity. And when they pay back the loan, you can withdraw the money or put it right back into another Kiva project–helping someone else to develop self-sufficiency and dignity.

Town Celebrates Renewal By Building Giant Phoenix, and Burning It Down

By

3minutestoryteller

-

Dec 1, 2015

The first Firebird Festival lit up the sky 12 years ago, a celebration in homage to the rebirth of one Pennsylvania town named Phoenixville.

A former steel hub, Phoenixville rose to prominence in mid-19th century. When the factory began its decline–and eventually closed in 1986–the town, too, fell into disrepair.

Slowly, Phoenixville has begun its resurrection and Henrik Stubbe Teglbjaerg, who created the Firebird Festival, was one of the citizens most responsible for its comeback.

An immigrant to the United States, Teglbjaerg was drawn to the city because it had one of the few remaining walkable downtowns in suburban Philadelphia.

TO BEAT THE BLUES….GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—> Download FREE for Android and iOS

It would be easy to peg Teglbjaerg simply as a free spirit: he rides his bike to meetings, is often seen around town barefoot, and does not use a smart phone. But Teglbjaerg defies labels, and does not espouse a specific philosophy. He values simplicity, so he lives without gadgets. He values diversity, so he spearheads a festival that brings people from all walks of life together. He values spiritual nourishment, so has arranged his life to be lived outdoors. And, he organizes one of the region’s largest and most eclectic community celebrations, the Firebird Festival.

Burning Bird

The festival kicks off with a parade of performers, musicians, belly dancers, and drummers. All the events are meant to show off the city’s artistic vibe: Artists planned the first Firebird Festival to “foster a collaboration of local artistic and creative talent, and to enhance the cultural life of Phoenixville.”

The day culminates at, the aptly named, Friendship Field where a magnificent three-story bird is burned to the ground.

Inside the Phoenix are clay birds created in the weeks preceding at a local art studio. These “peace birds” are fired in the kiln that is the burning bird, and are dug out of the ashes the next day as talisman-souvenirs.

LOOK: Giant Eyeballs Painted on Parent’s Home is Surreal Treat

For organizer Teglbjaerg, his community’s engagement is the crux and reason for the festival. The wooden bird itself has little intrinsic value, but those connections fuel his annual passion.

A Premature Torching

This year’s festival is the most significant yet. In 2014, the event almost met an untimely death when the bird was set ablaze by arsonists on the night before the festival.

Teglbjaerg got the call early on a cold, rainy, gray morning in December. The fire chief’s voice cracked with emotion as he broke the news that the bird was gone. As he rushed to the site, Teglbjaerg’s concern was keeping the fire going long enough to bake the community’s peace birds already inside the Phoenix.
For the past decade he’s talked about the festival as a symbol of connection. And when the unthinkable happened, Teglbjaerg’s philosophy and purpose were tested.

WATCH: The Awesome Moment a Nerdy Kid Wins Dance-Off and Shocks His School

Teglbjaerg immediately put a call out on social media. As the festival’s vision keeper, he inspired neighbors to hold their anger and vengeance at bay. They poured in with pallets, scrap wood, and momentum to rebuild their symbol, literally, from the ashes. A local nursery showed up with wood chips to absorb the mud and ash on the fields, and Teglbjaerg nimbly orchestrated an impromptu rebuilding of a new Phoenix in just a few hours. The arson ignited the most inspiring day of the festival’s history, and the new bird symbolized a community’s love.

Henrik remembers that cold day: “I had dozens of performers, vendors, community art ready to go. In the pouring rain, people kept coming. It’s odd to say, but it’s actually a gift. Here, the whole community was part of creating. That’s the idea—that we are all participating. I want to keep that alive. In our culture, we hold on to so much. When we burn it down, we are left with this void. But you are open to all these new possibilities. It’s wonderful to create this beautiful thing and then just let go of it.”

An Ongoing Renewal

Processing tragedy is an invitation to grow. The community’s commitment to the spirit of the Phoenix, which brings them together on a muddy field– this year on December 5, has enabled the town to feel a part of something greater than themselves. The drumbeat of creative joy that the festival provides, is ushering Phoenixville into a new era.