ZION HARVEY'S HAND TRANSPLANT

This wonderful little boy, who is now nine years old, lost his hands and feet to an infection at the age of two. His organs were beginning to shut down, and when he was four, he received a kidney transplant from his mother. A few years later, he was the first child to receive a double hand transplant. He is a wise and loving little boy who reveals that his grandmother taught him with that with hard work and hope, one can achieve almost anything. You will enjoy watching this short video from NBC, and a YouTube search will bring up many more videos with details about his story!

IF ONLY ALL BUSINESS CEOs WOULD THINK LIKE THIS!

Chobani yogurt's founder has just done something startling...and wonderful. If all businesses and corporations did this, we might have a very different world:

WAR IS ACTUALLY DECLINING ON OUR PLANET

While we primarily post videos on this site, this is a link to a beautiful article about the decline of war. The gist of it is that despite the terrorism, despite the brutalities, despite the wars, we are now experiencing more peace on the planet than ever before.

https://medium.com/@angushervey/the-decline-of-war-8760f9a5b5ce#.hfreybcbe

CHARGE YOUR PHONE...FROM A HOUSEPLANT!

A new product gathers energy from a simple houseplant and harnesses it so that you can charge your cellphone. This is definitely a step in the right direction!

EDIBLE SIX-PACK RINGS

This Florida craft-beer brewery has created something we hope will catch on! They replaced plastic six-pack rings that are so destructive to marine life with edible six-pack rings that fish (or humans!) can nibble on! Cudos to the Saltwater Brewery!  Coca cola? Budweiser? Are you paying attention?!?

PLASTIC FISHERS

Congratulations to the Plastic Whale, the world's first plastic fishing company, whose goal is to rid of the oceans--FINALLY!--of its massive plastic pollution. The company is based in Amsterdam.

EDIBLE "SILVERWARE"

Here is a wonderful alternative to those plastic forks and spoons, usually used only once, that clog up landfills and will remain intact for thousands of years: EDIBLE CUTLERY! We hope this innovation catches on and eventually replaces the ubiquitous and environmentally dreadful plastic utensils.

 

SAVING CORAL REEFS WITH UNDERWATER STATUES AND MAN-MADE ART

As the coral reefs on our planet disappear, a novel and gorgeous way to preserve them has emerged! Watch!

GIVING BACK

In the Twin Cities in Minnesota, a couple, who wish to remain anonymous, put a check for $500,000 into a Salvation Army bucket.

When the organization called to see if the check was legitimate, they learned that it was. This couple had once been so poor that they had to rely on leftover food from grocery stores that was going to be thrown away. They now prosper, and they wanted to give back.

For all the ugly things happening in our world, there are also many, many, MANY beautiful people with good souls whom we will never hear about!

HOW ABOUT ADOPTING AN ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD?

We see so much of the ugliness of human beings in the news, but there are also who quietly go about doing wonderful things. Here is such a man.

Twenty years ago, hotel owner and philanthropist Harris Rosen adopted an entire community in Florida--an unsafe neighborhood where about 75% of the kids dropped out of high school. He offered free day care for the entire community, and then took it a step further, offering free college tuition for the kids. Now nearly 100% of the kids complete high school, property values in the neighborhood have quadrupled, and many have gone on to college and better lives, thanks to the generosity of one man!

THE UNDERCOVER BOSS

This may well bring you to tears of joy. On a TV show, "Undercover Boss," bosses go undercover and mingle with their employees. This is what happened when one boss did so and was trained by a single mother who, he learned, was living in a homeless shelter.

KOKO AND HER KITTENS

For her 44th birthday, Koko, the gorilla who has won all of our hearts, was given kittens. See more about Koko (including her visit with the late Robin Williams) or contribute by going to http://www.koko.org/

GIRAFFES HUM!

New studies have shown that giraffes, long thought to be unable to vocalize because of their long necks, spend the night humming to one another! The pitch of their hum is at such a low frequency that it is not audible to the human ear. The short video, below, has samples of their sounds!

SCIENCE FICTION IS COMING TRUE!

Many of us grew up on science fiction in books and movies where people in space grow their own food on spaceships. The very first step toward this has just been accomplished! Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have just eaten lettuce they grew in space.

The below video, while robotic and not very romantic, gives more details about this huge and rather wonderful step:

GENERATING SOLAR ELECTRICITY WITH A BIKE PATH!

According to TakePart, this bike path built last year in Amsterdam, paved with solar panels, is creating far more energy than had been expected. We hope to see more of this kind of design EVERYWHERE! It's safe for birds, unlike the huge solar farms, and also gives people a safe opportunity to get healthy exercise!

FRANCE CREATES A REPLICA OF A FAMOUS CAVE WITH PREHISTORIC ART

France has created a beautiful replica of the Chauvet cave, containing wonderful paintings and etchings of animals made by humans who lived tens of thousands of years before us. Unfortunately allowing tourists to see such sights introduces temperature changes and bacteria that threaten such prehistoric pieces of art. The replica is said to be stunning and detailed, faithful to the original drawings, and now available for all of us to see.

Good work, France!

A HOUSE THAT CREATES ENERGY!

This house design from Australian architects Archiblox produces more energy than it consumes! (If you're not into the stark blonde-wood look, the decor can always be changed.)

There are a lot of people in the world solving problems in unique and wonderful ways! While not avoiding the suffering and tragedies occurring on the planet, we need to focus our energy on these people, support them, and spread the news!

A NEW WAY TO GROW PLANTS IN THE DESERT

This innovative design combines a greenhouse with a device to collect water from the air, allowing plants to be grown in arid climates.

THE GIRL WHO GETS GIFTS FROM BIRDS

Birds are so much more intelligent and complex than people realize. This little girl began feeding crows...and they began leaving her gifts in exchange! Sometimes they even wash their gifts before leaving them.

ANOTHER WONDERFUL 15-YEAR OLD INVENTOR

Kenneth Shinozuka is a 15-year-old who solved a major problem. He has invented a life-saving but easy sensor device to alert families when their elderly relatives with Alzheimer's disease try to wander off during the night. Thank you, Kenneth! The world needs more people like you!

A NEW FORM OF ART THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND

Artist Jack Storms creates optical glass artwork, through a long, tedious and disciplined process, that is unlike anything you have ever seen before!

Here is a video of Jack Storms describing the intricate process he uses to create masterpieces.

A WIND TURBINE THAT LOOKS LIKE A TREE!

These are still being developed. French inventor Jerome Michaud-Lariviere was noticing the way leaves trembled  in trees, and came up with this design for a new, more attractive wind turbine. The energy output is not huge, but every bit helps. This looks, too, as if it would be bird-friendly, something that is very much needed today!

TEENAGERS CHANGING THE WORLD!

Easton LaChappelle, now 19 years old, decided when he was 14 to invent a robotic prosthesis that cost under $1,000. He built one from scratch. He and a group of friends have now formed a prosthetic company called Unlimited Tomorrow. Their goal is to change the world! Astonishingly, he has offered the patent for his sophisticated robotic arm to the world, free-sourcing the design. 

ANOTHER WONDERFUL INVENTION--BY A 13-YEAR OLD!

Brooke Martin had a problem, shared by many! Her wonderful dog would get anxious and lonely when the family was away. At age 13, she invented something she called icPooch to help! Watch the video to see. And hooray for our young innovators and inventors!

SAD, BUT BEAUTIFUL

This is a story from Micaela Blei. In a strange way, it is Everywoman's Story...every woman, at any rate, who is not coiffed, made up, and blessed with the looks that our strange, current society deems to be perfect looks. It is a little different from the stories we usually post, but is ultimately uplifting.