Publish2 Ode Magazine - And now for the good news Newsgroup

The world’s most threatened birds set up new nest in Gloucestershire

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:56:38 +0000

They are the most endangered birds on Earth but at the weekend a captive flock of young spoon-billed sandpipers began a new life at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, the celebrated reserve of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) on the Severn Estuary.

A pollution fight powered by bioluminescent sea creatures

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:55:47 +0000

Edith Widder has spent a career studying sea creatures with the ability to make light — bioluminescence. Now she is using the phenomenon to fight pollution.

Ex-Convict uses battle with addiction and mental illness to help others

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:55:11 +0000

The mental health care system has long made use of former patients as counselors, like Antonio Lambert, an ex-convict turned mental health educator in Delaware.

Philippine men bare all to save the earth

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:41:31 +0000

Dozens of men ran naked on Friday around a university campus in the Philippine capital, Manila, calling for cleaner rivers and greater efforts to save the earth.

Stocks rise as optimism about economy grows

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:40:53 +0000

Stocks are rising after the opening bell as spending cuts by Italy lifted traders' hopes that Europe was making progress in taming its debt crisis. A tame reading on U.S. inflation sent bond yields lower.

Love of life, work helps top boxing coach fight Parkinson’s

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:40:21 +0000

There is a lot to be said for enjoying the work that you do.

Sunny days ahead for the solar power industry

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:53:19 +0000

Companies are producing far more solar cells and panels than they can sell. However, demand for solar power has been stimulated by the 70 percent fall in panel prices in the ast 2½ years, increasing solar's competitiveness against fossil fuels.

America the generous

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:52:07 +0000

As we approach the Christmas and Hanukkah season, we should remember that the American commercial republic, too often criticized for greed and excess, is unparalleled in generosity.

Female entrepreneurship is more popular in developing world

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:51:31 +0000

Women in less developed economies are more likely to start or maintain a business venture than those living in developed countries, according to the 2010 Women's Report released yesterday by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.

Google gives $40 million to various causes

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:48:18 +0000

The contributions will go to bolster education, limit slavery and make technology more available. About $9 million of the total is earmarked for Bay Area groups.

Green energy: Silicon Valley leads a back-to-basics revolution

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:41:25 +0000

Green energy has long aimed to overthrow fossil fuel's stranglehold on world power generation. But for now, Silicon Valley is taking green energy down a different path.

A year of magical thinking

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:02:05 +0000

Michael Short revisits some of the thoughts and ideas of the many innovative people who have appeared in The Zone and whose aim is to make the world a better place.

Why goats and chickens make great holiday gifts

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:00:55 +0000

My best friend wants chickens for Christmas -- and maybe a goat. It's not for her, it's a symbolic gift that will benefit a needy family.

Meditating behind bars: How yoga in prisons could cut overcrowding

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:00:24 +0000

Yoga can teach prisoners the self-control and self-discipline that they never learned as youths.

Indigenous Peoples Call for REDD Moratorium

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:08:58 +0000

A new coalition of indigenous peoples and local communities called for a moratorium on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) programs, a key part of the negotiations for a new international climate treaty that took place over the last two weeks in South Africa.

Quote of the day: the Durban climate agreement

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:08:21 +0000

From Kate Sheppard, explaining how the Durban climate conference managed to avoid catastrophe and forge a last-minute agreement: In the end, it came down to a single turn of phrase: changing "legal outcome" in the earlier draft to "an agreed outcome with legal force under the convention applicable to all parties."

Bad economy? Farmers have one of best years ever

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:06:57 +0000

An Illinois farmer made so much money this year he made loan payments on one tractor a year in advance and exchanged some older ones for newer models.

Why women are world’s best climate change defense

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:08:25 +0000

Women must make their voices heard in climate negotiations. The role of women as agents of change in their homes, places of work and communities is often underplayed. Yet their role is critical: Women understand the inter-generational aspects of climate change and sustainable development. We women think in time horizons that span the lives of our children and grandchildren.

IDEO’s Steve Bishop on the future of sustainable design thinking

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:07:19 +0000

Steve Bishop is global lead of environmental impact at the design and business innovation firm IDEO. At IDEO, Bishop helps companies build brands, develop new products, and design new innovation processes inspired by principles of sustainability. Bishop came to his current position through what he calls a "circuitous path," and his passion for artful storytelling was key in leading him to this work.

Africa rising: Carbon credits save Sierra Leone’s Gola Rainforest

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:06:24 +0000

Turning down mining offers, Sierra Leone has set aside the Gola Rainforest as a new national park in the hopes of collecting carbon credits from abroad.

Poor students improving in math and reading, report card shows

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:52:19 +0000

Buried in the reading and math results released in the report of the National Assessment of Educational Progress was a glimmer of good news for New York City: Poor students did less poorly in math and reading than they did in 2003, and the achievement gap for blacks also appeared to shrink slightly in the city.

Letting loose at lunchtime, Swedes disco dance

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:51:40 +0000

Eva Bjoerkman munches on a sandwich, chats with colleagues, and then twirls and bounces to the rhythm at 'Lunch Beat', a growing movement in Sweden mixing a work break with a bit of disco fever.

Peru finds new solution to an old problem

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:51:02 +0000

In the unforgiving dry lands outside Lima a war against the desert is being waged with an unusual weapon. Where for years and years only parched land could be seen, patches of green have now appeared and roses are replacing some of the thorny desert plants.

Welcome to a new way of defining our wellbeing

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:25:54 +0000

The figures for the growth in gross domestic product were out again yesterday, but for some time I have been concerned about our national fixation on GDP. Instead of just complaining, however, The Age is doing something about it.

New Earth found?

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:24:30 +0000

The Kepler Space telescope finds a world that looks tantalizingly like our own.