Norway will donate $1 billion to Brazil's Amazon protection fund through 2015, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday, to help Brazil fight deforestation.

Norway, the first country to pledge money to the fund, will donate as much as $130 million next year, the Norwegian Embassy in Brasilia said.

Via: reuters.com   Read more...

AT&T announced today that 172 schools and nonprofit organizations across the country will receive $29 million in competitively awarded grants that are designed to support high school retention programs at national and local levels for at-risk students.

The recipient programs of this year's High School Success grants provide a range of support for students, including academic intervention, academic coaching and mentoring and tutoring services that are focused on improving reading and math skills, reducing truancy and building teen confidence. The recipient programs are managed by a variety of governmental and nonprofit organizations, including school districts, townships and education-serving nonprofit organizations.   Read more...

How do you save the world with 60 Asian elephants, 25 teen volunteers and 100 saffron sashes? It’s all in the Power of One - one rescued elephant stems the tide of extinction; one Thai teen decides to go to college; one sash blessed by a monk is draped around a teak tree to protect the rainforest.

The Power of One program, sponsored by the nonprofit Blue Star of Hope (www.bluestarofhope.org), is a two-week, intercultural, global service learning experience that brings kids (student ambassadors) and adults together from all over the world to effect personal, social, and environmental change. Last year, volunteers from the US, Thailand, Russia and China stepped forward to do just that.   Read more...

Carpooling sites are not new to the web, but Carticipate.com has advanced the network into your phone...iPhone that is. They have created an iphone application allows you to broadcast your timing and destination to other iPhone travellers to share or find a ride - which translates into less gas consumed, more new friends, and more money saved. Not to mention the oh so much faster carpool lane.

via: TreeHugger   Read more...

DivineCaroline.com is a new social media site set up for women to come together to share stories and reflect on shared experiences. You’ll find topics ranging from relationships, politics, travel and money. Its main goal is to build a circle of friends that allows women to express themselves by writing and publishing stories about anything that matters to them.   Read more...

A few years ago I had the privilege of flatting with a wonderful Australian teenager who was, what I grew to call, a “fully functioning human being”. If the need arose, she could paint, draw, sew, dance, sing, play an instrument, laugh or cry. She, in my eyes, was proficient in essentially the whole gamut of human creative ability. After meeting her, I aspired to becoming a fully functional human being, myself.

What does it mean for me to be a fully functioning human being?   Read more...

The world's greatest bicycle thief is caught, find out how green Joe Biden is, and check out the latest in Alt-Autos   Read more...

A couple months ago there was an Exchange item on a new tracking device created by Patagonia where you could track the footprint of an individual garment. It turns out that there is a new tracker on the block called the Baacode offered by a New Zealand based Merino outdoor clothing company called Icebreaker.

Deep rooted in their commitment to environmental ethics, manufacturing ethics and animal welfare, Icebreaker has created a tool called the Baacode. Every garment sold comes with a unique id where - once submitted on their website - will let you see the living conditions of the high country sheep that produced the merino fibre in your garment, meet the farmers, and follow every step of the supply chain.   Read more...

On October 2nd, 2008, the Mirca Art Group, an international coalition of professional artists, will release their landmark collaborative effort, a book entitled Freedom & Art, to the public.

The book features 74 works of art, each accompanied by a short statement about the synergy of freedom and art in our world, and is being sold to raise funds in support of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a key political figure who has been under house arrest in Myanmar (formerly Burma) for the past 18 years over her bid for political freedom.   Read more...

A social enterprise group in London called "Growing Communities" have found a way to cut down on spending money for groceries. For several years now, they have put on an annual event called "The Great Food Swap" where members get together to share a wide range of wonderful produce that they had made, grown, picked or found. At the last winter event, participants traded mince pies, oyster mushrooms, home made yoghurts and home made bread.

Growing Communities hopes to inspire people's skills in food growing and food making, as well build excitement about home-produced and seasonal food.   Read more...