ETHIOPIA PLANTS 350 MILLION TREES IN ONE DAY

The headline says it all!

A PAPER MICROSCOPE YOU CAN CARRY IN YOUR POCKET!

While the focus is often on the terrible things happening on our planet, there are brilliant individuals across the globe making amazing discoveries. Check out this video of Manu Prakash, a young associate professor of bioengineering at Stanford. He invented a high-end origami microscope--NOT a toy--made inexpensively of paper that can be folded, carried in a person's pocket, and used anywhere!

THE WOOD WIDE WEB

Discoveries are being made about the way plants and trees communicate with one another, even rescuing and nourishing others of different species. It is through a fascinating communications/transportation web made of fungi that some are calling the Wood Wide Web.

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!

WHY THERE ARE GIANT MEGAPHONES IN A FOREST IN ESTONIA

In Estonia, everyone has free access to the forests, which are abundant. See what these architecture students created to enhance the experience!

FLOWERS CAN HEAR BEES!

HOW A 14-YEAR-OLD PROVIDED HIS TOWN WITH ENERGY

When he had to drop out of high school at age 14, William Kamkwamba borrowed books and built a windmill out of junk to power his village. Then he built another to provide irrigation! This is an older video of him. Now a man, and a climate change activist, you can find more Ted Talks about this remarkable human being, who is being featured in a documentary. His website is www.williamkamkwamba.com.

ENERGY FROM OUR OWN WINDOWS

We will soon be able to create energy from our own windows! Let's hope this technology will soon be affordable and readily available.

(Editor's note: While they're at it, another wise idea is to make windows bird-safe. There are a number of options. The windows in the preview photo reflect the sky. Windows should instead be slanted slightly downwards to reflect the ground to save the millions of birds who crash into glass high-rises.)

Little by little, we're moving toward a better future!

ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN CAMBODIA

In an effort to save the last elephants of Cambodia, an elephant preserve is run by Sangdeaun Lek Chailert, (shown in the video trailer), where these wonderful creatures can finally live a natural life, free from abuse and suffering. Ashley Bell has made a wonderful documentary about this called "Love and Bananas."

NEMO'S GARDEN: AN UNDERWATER FARM

Sergio Gamberini, an Italian scuba diver and amateur gardener with the Ocean Reef Group, devised this successful underwater garden eight meters under the sea! We salute the genius of people like Gamberini, who solve old problems by thinking in new ways!

ECOWARE MADE FROM AGRICULTURAL WASTE

More ecoware, this time from India, that is made from agricultural waste, thanks to a woman named Rhea Singhal, who built a successful company because she had a conscience. We are grateful to these pioneers around the world who are helping our planet.

Biodegradable Disposable NOT-Paper Plates!

These biodegradable disposable plates are made out of leaves. Others are now being manufactured made out of wheat bran and wheat byproducts! Many thanks to the inventors and manufacturers! For your next picnic or party, please consider using ALL biodegradable products. The Earth will be grateful.

JAPANESE TRAIN BARKS TO SCARE OFF DEER

A fabulous new innovation from our Japanese friends! In an attempt to prevent collisions with deer, designs are being made for Japanese trains first to snort like deer, to get their attention, and then to bark like a dog to frighten them away! If this project succeeds, there will be areas along the tracks where deer tend to gather--but away from human habitation--where the sound of barking dogs will be constantly played. Hats off to you, Japan!

PLASTIC SUCKERS!

Good news! Britain is now experimenting with this marvelous and desperately needed invention that sucks plastic out of ocean water.

ICE STUPAS TO COMBAT DROUGHT

Sonam Wangchuk uses the laws of physics to create enormous ice stupas to help combat dryiness caused by global warming.

AIR CONDITIONING USING OLD PLASTIC BOTTLES!

A man named Grey Dhaka has come up with an ingenious way to help cool buildings about 10 degrees in places without air conditioners or electricity! Blow air through your open mouth onto your hand. Now purse your lips, and blow onto your hand. Notice how much cooler the air is when your lips are pursed. Using plastic bottles, Dhaka created an inexpensive air cooler made of old plastic bottles for people in hot climates!

PLASTIC WASTE USED IN ROADS

This is happening in India and has now spread to the UK, as shown in the video below. Until we learn how to reduce our manufacture and use of plastic, this is a great option. Let's hope we see it in the USA soon!

NEW HOPE FOR CORAL REEFS

We have lost a huge percentage of our world's coral reefs in the last decades. Coral reefs put forth more oxygen into the atmosphere than plants, and are both vital and beautiful.

David Vaughn has discovered new ways of growing coral much more quickly than before, and says he will not retire until he has planted a million new corals. This is wonderful news!

AN ECO-SOLUTION THAT EATS UP 150X MORE CARBON THAN A TREE!

This video is three years old. Apparently, the micro-algae lamp is now being used for some street lighting in certain spots in Paris. We hope this catches on: who can beat gorgeous glowing light that eats up carbon in our atmosphere...from humble algae!

JUST WHAT YOU WANT TO WATCH TODAY!

This may bring tears to your eyes, but it will also make you feel awfully good about being a human being! Thanks to Director Asger Leth.

NEW ENERGY SOURCE?

While in the United States we are caught up in politics and the transition of power--rightly so--something else has popped up in the news that may have enormous implications for the future! It's called a Sun Cell. Here's hoping... And many thanks to Brilliant Light Power for their hard work in researching and developing what the world so desperately needs. These are the true but often overlooked heroes of our time.

A NEW REVOLUTION IN WHEELCHAIRS

A new wheelchair developed by Israeli company UpNRide will soon be available that allows people to stand as well as to sit, and to shift those positions easily! This is not only excellent for muscle tone; people tend to look down on those in wheelchairs, to treat them in a patronizing way, or to overlook them entirely. Being at eye level with others will offer greater dignity for those who are mobility restricted.

TEENAGER DISCOVERS FORGOTTEN MAYAN CITY

William Gadoury of Quebec, Canada, is the latest of many teenaged wonders. He had always been interested in the Mayans, and over time surmised that their cities were built to correlate with the stars. By studying star charts, he located a previously undiscovered ancient Mayan city. Cudos to William!

The new anti-science climate in the USA is frightening. Please don't stop believing in science, or in our kids!

WILL BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING REPLACE PLASTIC? HOPE SO!

While there are some seriously egregious things happening in the dairy industry, this packaging seems like a good replacement for non-biodegradable plastics which get used only one time and then wind up in a landfill:

Paul Stamets and the Intelligence of Nature

This short video features Paul Stamets, fungi, and an important message: