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Inspirational News Articles

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The Indivisible Movements Key Strategy: Focus on Your Own Members of Congress
2017-02-11, Yes! Magazine
http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/how-the-indivisible-movement-is-fueli...

The Indivisible Guide was put online by former congressional staffers to give both Republicans and Democrats an effective way to resist Trump policies. So far, 6,000 local groups have registered. Created by a group of former congressional staffers, the guide, now a website [takes] a page from the tea partys playbook. After the election ... we saw an uptick in the number of Facebook groups and online activists who were very well-meaning but were giving very bad advice, said Sarah Dohl, a co-author of the Indivisible Guide. People were being urged to do things like call House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) or to sign an online petition. As former congressional staffers, Dohl and her Indivisible colleagues knew that unless you live in the 1st District of Wisconsin, Paul Ryan doesnt work for you, she said. These ex-staffers witnessed firsthand how the tea party rose to power and convinced their own members of Congress to reject President Obamas agenda. There are Indivisible groups in Arizona and Missouri and many more are sprouting up all around the country. They are planning actions, showing up at their local representatives offices to voice complaints, demanding meetings and calling Congress. Beyond demystifying Congress, their goal is to support local groups that are putting the Indivisible Guide into action. Through the Indivisible site people can find local groups, plan local actions, and access organizing resources.

Note: The Indivisible movement is growing rapidly in the US. Find a group near you on this webpage. Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


What Iceland knows about preventing teen drug abuse that the rest of the world doesnt
2017-02-09, Quartz
https://qz.com/905322/what-iceland-knows-about-preventing-teen-drug-abuse-tha...

Walking with me are Gudberg Jnsson, a local psychologist, and Harvey Milkman, an American psychology professor. Twenty years ago, says Gudberg, Icelandic teens were among the heaviest-drinking youths in Europe. You couldnt walk the streets in downtown Reykjavik on a Friday night because it felt unsafe, adds Milkman. Young people arent hanging out in the park right now, Gudberg explains, because theyre in after-school classes ... or in clubs for music, dance, or art. Or they might be on outings with their parents. Today, Iceland tops the European table for the cleanest-living teens. The percentage of 15- and 16-year-olds who had been drunk in the previous month plummeted from 42% in 1998 to 5% in 2016. The percentage who have ever used cannabis is down from 17% to 7%. Those smoking cigarettes every day fell from 23% to just 3%. The way the country has achieved this turnaround has been both radical and evidence-based. If it was adopted in other countries, Milkman argues, the Icelandic model could benefit the general psychological and physical wellbeing of millions of kids. State funding was increased for organized sport, music, art, dance, and other clubs, to give kids alternative ways to feel part of a group, and to feel good, rather than through using alcohol and drugs, and kids from low-income families received help to take part. In Reykjavik, for instance ... a Leisure Card gives families 35,000 krona ($310) per year per child to pay for recreational activities.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Jews hand Muslims keys to synagogue after Texas mosque burns
2017-02-02, CNN News
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/02/us/mosque-burns-synagogue-keys-trnd/

The congregation of the Victoria Islamic Center in Texas was devastated. Its mosque was destroyed over the weekend in a fire, the cause of which is unknown. Then an act of kindness revived their spirits - the leaders of the local Jewish congregation gave them the keys to their synagogue so they could continue to worship. The leader of the mosque said he wasn't surprised by the gesture. "I never doubted the support that we were going to get" after the fire, Dr. Shahid Hashmi, a surgeon and president of Victoria Islamic Center, told CNN. "We've always had a good relationship with the community here." Hashmi said Dr. Gary Branfman - a member of Temple B'nai Israel in Victoria, as well as a fellow surgeon and friend - just came by his house and gave him the keys. And that wasn't the only offer of a temporary worship space that was extended. Hashmi said three local churches said his congregation could use their buildings. Also offered up was an empty office building, which the congregation used for three days before moving into a mobile home on the mosque property. Though Hashmi always knew his own east Texas community would support the mosque, he was stunned by the outpouring of support from people outside Victoria. So far, a GoFundMe page set up to help raise money for the mosque's reconstruction has taken in more than $1 million. Thanks to all of the financial contributions, he expects they'll be able to rebuild it in less than a year.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


105-year-old cyclist breaks an hour-long distance record
2017-01-05, Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/05/105-year-old-cy...

Ninety-two times the Frenchman raced around the velodrome, a curved indoor bicyclist track, at an average speed of 14 mph. That speed would be impressive for just about anyone on two wheels, but it was probably particularly satisfying for Robert Marchand. Mostly because, when he was young, one of his coaches told him to give up the sport. Its even more impressive when one considers Marchand is 105 years old. As the clock signaled that hed been riding for one hour, the crowd of hundreds in Le Vlodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, near Paris, chanted his name, but its likely no one wondered whether he had captured a new world record. Of course he had the category was created by the International Cycling Union specifically for him. And now it has been set: the record for longest official distance ridden in an hour in the newly minted older-than-105 class is 22.5 kilometers (14 miles). Im now waiting for a rival, Marchand told the AP. Still, he said he could have gone faster, if he had not run into a little trouble on the track. I did not see the sign warning me I had 10 minutes left, he told the Guardian. Otherwise I would have gone faster, I would have posted a better time.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


This Organic Food Company Doesnt Discriminate Against Ex-Offenders - It Seeks Them Out
2016-11-25, Yes!
http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/this-organic-food-company-doesnt-disc...

Mike Miles hadnt had a stable job in years. This wasnt due to a poor work ethic. Because Miles had a criminal record, he was always cut loose when it came time to let staff go. It was like walking on eggshells. You just never knew when youd be gone, he recounted. After his release from prison in 2007, Miles struggled to find stability. It wasnt until October 2015 ... that a cousin told Miles about Lancaster Food Company, a local business that ... focuses on hiring formerly incarcerated people. Miles submitted an application. He got an interview. And, soon after that, he began a new job, encompassing everything from food production to maintenance, not to mention a livable wage of $15 an hour. He says its the best job hes ever had. Miles scenario is rare in Lancaster, where the poverty rate holds steady at 30 percent. This figure riled Charlie Crystle, Lancasters co-founder and CEO. He believes that food production is a key way to meet people where they are, referring to former offenders who may lack a high school or college degree. Lancaster produces products like bread and maple syrup, all of it USDA certified organic. Crystle says he wants to inspire other companies and entrepreneurs to rethink their current practices and ignite conversations around minimum wage and employment opportunities for everyone, including ex-offenders. Not one employee has quit. According to Mike Miles, having a steady job has given him new courage.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Motorcycle Club Rallies Around Boy Targeted By Hate Crimes
2016-11-10, CBS News (Boston affiliate)
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/11/10/motorcycle-club-rallies-around-boy-targ...

Earlier this month we brought you the story of a New Hampshire boy who was targeted because of the color of his skin. On Thursday, some special people were rallying around the child, healing the hate with love, and some fun. Horns were honking and engines roaring as seven year old Eze headed for 20 bikers waiting outside his school. Even though he doesnt know any of them, their kindness means everything. The best part of today is riding a motorcycle, Eze says. Police say Eze, who is biracial, was targeted by a series of hate crimes recently. First a racial slur was scratched on his mothers car, and then another on a saw horse tossed into the yard, and the third when fried chicken and watermelon were thrown onto the car. One of their neighbors is in the Manchester Motorcycle Club. He was horrified when he heard what happened. Nothings ever happened on our road like that and its just wrong, and I dont like it, says Steve Vachon. The club decided to let the family know they were not alone. So today they made Eze an honorary club member. We just want to share something with the kid, that he has people who care about him, Vachon says. They also gave him a helmet, a jacket of his own and the ride of a lifetime. I think it means the world to him. He knows the town supports him and no one hates him, and that he can walk with pride and he doesnt have to be scared, says Jaci Stimson, Ezes mother.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Why You Should Move Into An
2016-11-08, Forbes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/trulia/2016/11/08/why-you-should-move-into-an-ag...

When Stephanie Walsh and her husband were looking to buy a home in Atlanta, GA, they had a pretty unusual set of qualifications for their new home: They wanted to have access to local, organic produce (and not just from the grocery store); they wanted a neighborhood that was easily walkable; and they wanted to be true friends not just smile and nod acquaintances with their neighbors. On a whim, she searched the internet for ecofriendly neighborhoods near Atlanta and happened upon the website for Serenbe, a community of 270 green homes and 30 retailers planned around a 25-acre organic working farm and 15 miles of trails. I fell in love immediately, she says. Theyve now lived in Serenbe for over four years, and Walsh says they hardly ever leave. Serenbe is whats known as an agrihood, a community that is usually planned around a farm and offers access to unblemished landscapes, locally grown food, and homes built to environmentally friendly standards. The planning of agrihoods is done in a way that fosters community and interaction between the people who live there. In Arizonas Agritopia, fences arent any higher than 5 feet, making it very easy to have a conversation with the family next door when you see them in their backyard. Every house has a front porch, and the houses are closer to the street, says resident Katie Critchley. You can be sitting on your porch and be able to have a normal-decibel-level conversation with someone walking their dog. It forces you to say hello.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Barbershop gives special discount to kids who read aloud
2016-10-27, CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/barbershop-gives-special-discount-to-kids-who-rea...

In this small barbershop in Ypsilanti, Michigan, kids pick out a book and head to the chair. It’s like clockwork. That’s because children 12 and under who visit The Fuller Cut can get a $2 discount on their $11 haircut for doing a simple task: reading to the barber. It’s a program owner Alexander Fuller and barber Ryan Griffin started more than a year ago. And parents can’t get enough of it. The pair can’t take credit for the idea. They just happened to hear about other shops around the country taking part in a “read to your barber program,” and they decided to get on board. Fuller and his wife started ordering some books and Griffin brought in a shelf. Customers even joined the cause by donating old and used books. Before the pair knew it, kids were grabbing books off the shelf and hopping into the chair to start reading. Roughly 90 percent of kids grab a book that’s already on the shelf, Fuller says, but occasionally kids bring in books from home or school as well. “It gives them confidence in reading and helps us understand their comprehension of reading,” Fuller said. “The kids love it. It’s one of the best things that has come along for them.” Another bonus, Fuller added, is that it helps kids socialize. Not only does it improve their reading skills, but their manners as well. Whether you can read well or can’t read well, the barbers will help you along the way, Fuller reminds his customers. “It’s been a great experience so far, Fuller said.”

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Inspired by nature: the thrilling new science that could transform medicine
2016-10-25, The Guardian (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/oct/25/bioinspiration-thrilling-new-...

In the summer of 2005, Jeffrey Karp, a bioengineer at Brigham and Womens Hospital [read an] article [detailing] how a group of researchers had created a new synthetic material by mimicking the properties of gecko feet whose tiny, hair-like pillars allow the lizard to stick to and detach from apparently sheer surfaces with ease. His first thought was to use the material to create a new type of medical tape that could replace sutures and staples, which can damage sensitive tissue surrounding wounds. In 2008, MITs Technology Review magazine named Karp one of the top innovators in the world under the age of 35. Karp, who is now 40 and runs his own lab ... is what is known in the business as a bioinspirationalist a person who looks to nature for solutions to scientific problems. The gecko tape was Karps first bioinspired invention. Karps current projects include surgical staples inspired by porcupine quills, which create smaller punctures in the skin and prevent bacteria from entering wounds, and a new kind of surgical glue inspired by ... marine worms, which is strong enough to bind moving tissue inside major organs. This last invention has helped to cement Karps reputation as a rising star in the world of bioengineering. Because he doesnt just invent cool stuff he turns his creations into actual products. When we look to solve problems, its not so we can publish papers, said Nick Sherman, a research technician at Karp Lab. Its more like, Is this work going to help patients?

Note: Don't miss pictures and detailed descriptions of some of Karp's nature-inspired inventions at the link above. Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Oregon cowboy lassoes attempted bike thief
2016-09-30, CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hero-oregon-cowboy-lassoes-attempted-bike-thief/

Twenty-eight-year-old Robert Borba is one of the last of a kind; A real, honest-to-goodness, cow roping cowboy. Robert works at a ranch outside Eagle Point, Oregon. But he recently gained notoriety ... because of what he did among the cart corrals of a Walmart parking lot. This past June, Robert says he moseyed over to the Walmart for some dog food, and on the way out he heard a woman screaming. Stop him! Stop him! He stole my bike! He stole my bike! And I kind of look around and all of a sudden this guy goes whizzing by me on a bicycle, Robert said. As security cameras show, there was no way to catch him on foot. So the cowboy did what cowboys do. He saddled up to save the day, armed with little more than a lasso. A couple swings and then I threw it at him, just like I would a steer, Robert said. Robert called 911 himself, describing to the incredulous operator how he was able to detain the suspect. We got a guy who just stole a bike here at Walmart. I got him roped and tied to a tree, he said on the call. What!? the operator said. I got him roped from a horse and hes tied to a tree. The cavalry arrived moments later, led by Eagle Point police officer Chris Adams. I looked up and from the horse there was a rope connected to the ankle of a gentleman on the ground holding onto a tree, Adams said. John Wayne couldnt have it done better. Id take him by my side any day, Adams said. I told the cop, I said, Man, you guys ought to pick up a rope and throw that gun away, Robert said.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Why An Israeli Company Is Sucking Water From The Sky
2016-09-30, Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/water-gen-atmospheric-water-generator_us_...

In the face of a changing climate and the challenges that come with it, companies the world over have been attempting to pull solutions out of thin air - literally. There are firms turning air into fuel and others transforming it into stone. Some are even extracting clean drinking water from it. Israels Water-Gen has built devices that create and store drinking water by harvesting condensation from the air. It was among a group of Israeli firms that presented their technological innovations at the United Nations General Assembly last week. Put simply, [our technology] leverages the same process as a dehumidifier, but instead captures and cleans the moisture, said Arye Kohavi, Water-Gens CEO. This plug-and-drink technology is fully independent of existing water infrastructure. All we require is an electrical outlet and the humidity found in the air. Water-Gen isnt the only company to market such a technology, but it says its machines ... are far more energy-efficient than any other water production device. Our technology takes one-fifth of the amount of energy used by other methods, Kohavi said. Water-Gen estimates the water its machines generates would cost less than 10 cents per gallon. The smallest device can yield up to 5 gallons daily, while the largest can produce more than 800 gallons a day. We think its possible to bring drinking water to all countries, Maxim Pasik, Water-Gens chairman, [said] in an interview. Whats important for us is to bring water to the people. This is a basic human right.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Does this 25 year-old hold the key to winning the war against superbugs?
2016-09-25, The Telegraph (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/health/does-this-25-year-old-hold-the-key-to...

Not many 25-year-olds can claim to get up at 4am and work weekends to save the world from an impending Armageddon that could cost tens of millions of lives. But for the past three years, Shu Lam, a Malaysian PhD student at the University of Melbourne, has confined herself to a scientific laboratory to figure out how to kill superbugs that can no longer be treated with antibiotics. She believes that she has found the key to averting a health crisis so severe that last week the United Nations convened its first ever general assembly meeting on drug-resistant bacteria. The overuse and incorrect use of antibiotics has rendered some strains of bacteria untreatable, allowing so-called superbugs to mutate. Last Wednesday, the problem was described by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as a fundamental threat to global health and safety. [Lam] believes her method of killing bacteria using tiny star-shaped molecules, built with chains of protein units called peptide polymers, is a ground-breaking alternative to failing antibiotics. Her research, published this month in the prestigious journal, Nature Microbiology, has already been hailed by scientists as a breakthrough that could change the face of modern medicine. Lam successfully tested the polymer treatment on six different superbugs in the laboratory, and against one strain of bacteria in mice. Even after multiple generations of mutations, the superbugs have proven incapable of fighting back.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


How Oregon Became the Easiest Place to Vote in America
2016-09-21, Yes! Magazine
http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/how-oregon-became-the-easiest-place-t...

In January, Oregon became the first state in the country to begin automatically registering eligible citizens to vote when they obtain or renew their drivers licenses or state IDs, completely shifting the burden of voter registration from the individual to the government. Four other states have passed similar laws and more than half have considered doing so this year - more than two decades after the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 directed states to make it easier for citizens to register to vote at offices that provide public assistance, including motor vehicle agencies. In Oregon, DMV customers ... who show up in the departments computer system as eligible but unregistered, are added by default to voter rolls without party affiliation; they later select a political party or opt out using a form sent to them in the mail. That subtle difference - requiring people to take an extra step to opt out if they dont want to be registered - is producing results. So far, its working, said Jonathan Brater, of the Brennan Center of Justice at the New York University School of Law, an advocate for the modernization of voter registration. Just two years ago, barely a handful of states were considering this form of voter registration. But technology has made it easier to seamlessly transfer data between agencies, and states increasingly are taking advantage of it. Legislatures in three other states have passed automatic voter registration laws: West Virginia, Vermont, and California.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Why More Americans Are Becoming Activists
2016-08-18, Time Magazine
http://time.com/4450461/necessary-trouble/

This election cycle has been more dramatic than most. But the real political drama this year has taken place in the streets of cities like Oakland, New York, Baton Rouge, Minneapolis and St. Paul. The anger on display in the presidential race built on the outrage expressed in protest movements from the Tea Party to Occupy Wall Street, in places like Manhattan, where activists occupied City Hall Park for fairer policing practices; in North Carolina, where they challenged voting rights restrictions; and in Chicago, where teachers went on strike for the schools Chicago students deserve. Americans have rediscovered the fine art of direct action, making what Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis calls good trouble, necessary trouble to bring about the change that they want to see. This new wave began of activism began in 2008. Although inequality in the U.S. had been expanding for decades, the financial crisis - which caused people to lose their jobs, evaporated retirement savings and evicted families from their homes - raised its profile. Its not just inequality of income that has driven people to the streets, though. The deaths of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Michael Brown, Jr., John Crawford III, Eric Garner and other black men sent protesters to the streets declaring Black Lives Matter. People were angry at the way it seemed that a police officer could shoot or choke a black man to death and walk away with a few weeks of desk leave while the man who videotaped the killing could lose his job or end up in jail himself. The movements that have shaken the country in recent years ... have fed one another, overlapped and intersected. As the streets ring with protest again this year, we should remember this countrys long history of making trouble to make change.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Scientists flip energy equation with solar leaf that converts CO2 into fuel
2016-08-01, Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0801/Scientists-flip-energy-equation-wi...

Its often smarter to borrow from nature than reinvent the wheel. That was the approach of researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, and convert it into an efficient, inexpensive fuel. The result: an artificial leaf that turns CO2 into fuel, "at a cost comparable to a gallon of gasoline" could render fossil fuel obsolete, according to the researchers. The leaf is one of a growing number of inventions that mimic photosynthesis to remove excess carbon from the atmosphere, and convert it into new, sustainable forms of energy to power our world. The new solar cell is not photovoltaic - its photosynthetic, said [the studys lead author] Amin Salehi-Khojin. Instead of producing energy in an unsustainable one-way route from fossil fuels to greenhouse gas, we can now reverse the process and recycle atmospheric carbon into fuel using sunlight." The concept of reduction reaction - converting CO2 into a burnable form of carbon - isnt new. But scientists previously relied on silver and other expensive precious metals to break gas into storable energy. UIC researchers took a different approach. When light strikes the "leaf," hydrogen and carbon monoxide bubble from the cathode, while free oxygen and hydrogen ions are released from the anode. Leafs could be spread throughout a solar farm, or used in smaller applications, the researchers said.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Israel Proves the Desalination Era Is Here
2016-07-29, Scientific American
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/israel-proves-the-desalination-era...

Just a few years ago, in the depths of its worst drought in at least 900 years, Israel was running out of water. Now it has a surplus. That remarkable turnaround was accomplished through national campaigns to conserve and reuse Israels meager water resources, but the biggest impact came from a new wave of desalination plants. Desal works by pushing saltwater into membranes containing microscopic pores. Breakthroughs in membrane technology ... have made desalination much more efficient. Israel now gets 55 percent of its domestic water from desalination. Water stress has been a major factor in the turmoil tearing apart the Middle East, but [Edo] Bar-Zeev [with the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research] believes that Israels solutions can help its parched neighbors, too - and in the process, bring together old enemies in common cause. Bar-Zeev acknowledges that water will likely be a source of conflict in the Middle East in the future. But I believe water can be a bridge, he says. Bar-Zeev has ambitious plans for a Water Knows No Boundaries conference in 2018, which will bring together water scientists from Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza for a meeting of the minds.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


The movement to free hens from cages may be going global
2016-07-25, Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/07/25/the-movement-to-fr...

Dozens of American restaurant chains, supermarket chains and dining service companies have committed in the last two years to ending their use or sales of eggs laid by caged hens. On Monday, one of the worlds largest food service suppliers, Paris-based Sodexo, upped the ante, saying it would switch to cage-free eggs in all its global operations by 2025. The announcement by a major international company is a sign that the rapid shift in the United States to cage-free eggs, led by consumers but long championed by animal rights activists, is going more global. It came after talks with animal rights groups, as well as an international animal rights coalition recently formed by The Humane League, a small American farm animal rights organization that has driven several U.S. companies pledges to swear off eggs from caged hens. In February 2015, Sodexo became one of the first large companies to commit to a totally cage-free egg future. [The announcement] was followed by a string of other similar corporate pledges. In the United States, increasing consumer concern about how animals are raised for food has driven demand for meat and poultry that is free-range, antibiotics-free, grass-fed and otherwise perceived as healthier or more humane. Last month, Perdue, the countrys third-largest chicken producer, announced that it would change the way it raises and slaughters chickens, including by giving them more exposure to natural light, in response to customers animal welfare concerns.

Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


U.S. Navy banned from using sonar that could harm whales and other marine life
2016-07-16, New York Daily News/Associated Press
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/u-s-navy-banned-sonar-harm-whales-ar...

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the U.S. Navy was wrongly allowed to use sonar that could harm whales and other marine life. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision upholding approval granted in 2012 for the Navy to use low-frequency sonar for training, testing and routine operations. The five-year approval covered peacetime operations in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea. Sonar, used to detect submarines, can injure whales, seals, dolphins and walruses and disrupt their feeding and mating. The 2012 rules adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service permitted Navy sonar use to affect about 30 whales and two dozen pinnipeds, marine mammals with front and rear flippers such as seals and sea lions, each year. The Navy was required to shut down or delay sonar use if a marine mammal was detected near the ship. Loud sonar pulses also were banned near coastlines and in certain protected waters. Environmental groups, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, filed a lawsuit in San Francisco in 2012, arguing that the approval violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The appellate court ruled 3-0 that the approval rules failed to meet a section of the protection act requiring peacetime oceanic programs to have "the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammals." The panel concluded that the fisheries service "did not give adequate protection to ... the world's oceans."

Note: Explore concise summaries of news articles about marine mammals and how amazing they are.


Do trees have brains and talk to each other? They are intelligent, express emotions and make friends, claims a new book.
2016-07-15, Daily Mail (One of the UK's most popular newspapers)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3792036/Do-trees-brains.html

There's increasing evidence to show that trees are able to communicate with each other. More than that, trees can learn. When you discover how trees talk to each other, feel pain, nurture each other, even care for their close relatives and organise themselves into communities, it's hard to be sceptical. The support they give each other is not random. Research by Professor Massimo Maffei at the University of Turin shows trees can distinguish the roots of their own species from other plants, and even pick out their own relations from other trees. Some are so tightly connected at the roots that they even die together, like a devoted married couple. Diseased or hungry individuals can be identified, supported and nourished until they recover. They can also send warnings using chemical signals and electrical impulses through the fungal networks that stretch under the soil between sets of roots. These fungi operate like fibre-optic internet cables. Their thin filaments penetrate the earth, weaving through it in almost unbelievable density. One teaspoon of forest soil contains many miles of these tendrils. Over centuries, if left undisturbed, a single fungus can cover many square miles and create a network throughout an entire forest. Through these links, trees can send signals about insects, drought and other dangers. News bulletins are transmitted by chemical compounds and also by electricity. Most of us see trees as practically inanimate. But the truth is very different. They are just as intensely alive as we are ... and for much, much longer.

Note: The above article was adapted from Peter Wohlleben's book, "The Hidden Life Of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries From A Secret World." Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.


Paying Farmers to Go Organic, Even Before the Crops Come In
2016-07-14, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/business/paying-farmers-to-go-organic-even-...

Companies cant get enough organic ingredients to satisfy consumer desire for organic and nongenetically modified foods. The demand for those crops outstrips the supply, leaving farmers like [Wendell] Naraghi racing to convert their land to organic production, an arduous and expensive process. Customers are asking for it, said Mr. Naraghi, who is in the process of transitioning 300 of his 3,000 acres of orchards this year. And we listen to our customers. The clamor for organic crops is so intense that major food brands, like General Mills, Kellogg and Ardent Mills, are helping to underwrite the switch. General Mills, for instance, recently signed a deal to help convert about 3,000 acres to organic production of alfalfa and other animal feeds. Ardent offers farmers a premium for crops grown on land while a farm transitions to organic. In the most recent government tally, in 2011, organic farmland, including that used for grazing, was less than 1 percent of crop land in the United States. But the consumer demand is accelerating the conversion process. Sales of organic products grew 11 percent last year to $43.3 billion, or roughly four times the growth in sales of food products over all. Sales would have been even higher had supply, particularly in organic dairy and grains, kept up with demand. As much as 20 percent of cropland in America could be organic in the next decade or so, but land suitable for transition is getting harder to come by.

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