Great News From Around The World

GREAT NEWS from around the world

Electrolux Turning Plastic From the Ocean Into Vacuum Cleaners
Talk about the right marketing at the right time. Electrolux is launching an initiative that will turn plastic pollution from the ocean into green vacuum cleaners. The company has already begun collecting plastic from our seas, highlighting the fact that not enough plastic is recycled by consumers to fill the needs of sustainable appliance makers.

World On Track to Cut Poverty in Half, Turner and Gates to Help
Despite the global economic downturn, the world is still on track to meet a key U.N. goal of halving the number of people living on less than $1 a day by 2015, according to a new UN report. But, progress on other goals is lagging, so a star-powered committee has been formed to try work on these. Members include two Nobel Peace laureates, Muhammad Yunus and Wangari Maathai, Bill Gates and CNN founder Ted Turner.

Afghan Woman Dodged Prison to Help Poor Women Read
4,000 women count Shamsia Sharifi as their hero. She built an important oasis for Kabuli women to learn to read and acquire skills to become self-sufficient. Teaching women was once illegal and led to the arrests of several of her teachers.

Positive Radio Station Run By and For Palestinian Women
Palestinian women are hoping to improve their lives by using the airwaves. A group of women in the West Bank this month launched one of the first all-women’s radio stations in the Arab world, with the goal of giving women hope for the future.

Gates and Buffett Pushing Billionaires to Give Away Wealth
Investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft founder Bill Gates announced that they have met with the top billionaire in the country asking them to give away at least 50 percent of their wealth to charity. Four families already announced their pledges.

Solar Panels in the Sahara Desert to Power Europe in 5 Years
If just one percent of the Sahara Desert were covered in solar panels, enough energy would be generated to power the entire world. The European Union, with its close proximity to the Northern Africa, announced Sunday that Europe will start importing solar energy from the Sahara within the next five years. (

Reality Show Brings Middle East Teens to Find Roadmap to Peace
A French television network is creating a reality show in search of a higher mission: peace in the Middle East. For three weeks, 12 Israeli and Palestinian teens, age 18, will be charged with co-existing and living under one roof. Filming begins in September.

Kevin Costner’s Anti-oil Machines to be Deployed by BP
BP has ordered 32 centrifuge machines from Kevin Costner’s company, Ocean Therapy Solutions, to be deployed in the Gulf clean-up effort. Upon delivery, the machines, tested by BP and found to be highly efficient, will clean 6 million gallons of water per day, separating the oil for commercial reuse.

U.S. Discovers Stunning Mineral Reserves in Afghanistan
U.S. geologists have discovered or identified nearly one trillion dollars’ worth of untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan. Officials believe the vast veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold, lithium, and niobium could “fundamentally alter” the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war.

Child’s Lemonade Fundraiser: 10 Years, $30 Million for Cancer
More than 10,000 volunteers hosted lemonade stands over the weekend to commemorate the 10th anniversary of a 4-year-old who first raised $2,000 for paediatric cancer while she was being treated for neuroblastoma. By the time she died in 2004, her efforts had raised $1 million. Her parents continue the work today in her name.

Australian Angel Preventing Jumps at Suicide Spot
For almost 50 years, Don Ritchie has lived across the street from Australia’s most notorious suicide spot, a rocky cliff at the entrance to Sydney Harbour. And in that time, the man has shepherded countless people away from the edge. How wonderful, the former life insurance salesman says, to save so many, to sell them life.

Australian Bike Path Made From Recycled Ink Cartridges
The folks at West MacDonnell National Park in Australia had a brilliant idea for a new bike path connecting Alice Springs and Simpsons Gap. They made it out of junked ink cartridges. The material can last far longer than timber, and is a great way to reuse plastics. Plus, it looks great, and all for a fraction of the cost.

SOMEONE is Cleaning Up the Oceans
A new pollution standard announced Saturday on the occasion of World Environment Day, will ensure cleaner water flows into the Arabian Sea from India’s second largest state. Maharashtra, with a 300 mile coastline and deep water ports like Mumbai, has ordered all of its hotels, clubs and resorts to install on-premise sewage plants to recycle 80% of sewage water for non-potable use.

Saving Honey Bees, One Hive at a Time
When beekeeper Keith Roberts comes across a thriving nest of feral bees, his company views it as an opportunity to replenish the dwindling populations of commercial honeybees that are succumbing to Colony Collapse Disorder. The city of Santa Monica is currently re-evaluating its longstanding policy of exterminating swarms of bees, in favor of capturing them for transport to agricultural areas where bees are needed to pollinate crops.

Study Finds Scientific Basis for Acupuncture Benefit
Scientists have taken another important step toward understanding how acupuncture can ease pain. In a paper published Sunday a University of Rochester Medical Center team identified a specific molecule as playing a key part in causing the brain to churn out natural pain-killing endorphins.

Soldiers Team Up w/ Shelter Dogs: Operation Heroes & Hounds
Operation Heroes & Hounds gives injured or traumatized members of the U.S. armed forces the chance to work with shelter dogs. Using a positive, playful approach, the program makes a difference in the lives of homeless animals, while the soldiers get a chance to rebuild their self esteem, sense of purpose, and lives as civilians.

Man Out to Change World $1 At A Time
He stuffed 100 envelopes each with a dollar and a letter that basically says: Keep this if you need it, or add to it — and pass it on. He distributed the envelopes to strangers and created a website, NeeditKeepit.org, to help spread the idea to other cities.

Company Gives $2 Billion to Combat Hunger in US
To help ease a growing hunger problem in the U.S., Wal-Mart announced it will donate $2 billion in food and grants to food banks and hunger relief organizations across America, including summer lunch programs for kids, as part of the new five-year initiative, “Fighting Hunger Together”.

Hair to the Rescue!…Salons Send Hair to Absorb Oil Spill in Gulf
We all shampoo our hair precisely because it naturally absorbs oil, but it took a stylist from Alabama to realize that hair was an efficient and abundant material for collecting and containing petroleum spills. Now, thousands of salons, groomers and wool farmers are sweeping up their floors to mail hair, fur and wool clippings to help contain the oil spill.

Innocent Man Freed After 29 Years in Prison, Holds No Malice
Ray Towler was released from prison this week after serving nearly 30 years for a rape he didn’t commit. DNA evidence showed that Towler was innocent. Towler holds no hostility and doesn’t blame anyone for the injustice bestowed upon him. The judge choked back tears as she recited an Irish blessing before freeing him and walking over to shake his hand.

Pets Improve a French Prison
The daily relationship between prisoners and their small pets is having a profound effect on a prison in Strasbourg, France. Prisoners are responsible for feeding and providing water to their own pets in the rehabilitation project involving. The creatures have a calming effect on the prisoners, improving relationships amongst each other and the guards.

Source: GOOD NEWS NETWORK