In 1996, after some fifty-three years of consciously and subconsciously seeking the purpose of life and answers to connected questions, I wrote the first part of the book "The Milk Is White", a philosophical treatise, and said to myself, ‘Why am I writing this book when all that is needed by seekers of the Truth is already available from many sources? Why do I embark on this with no experience in such an endeavour and with the knowledge that 'little me' will be attempting to convey some rather awesome spiritual truths?’

I had no idea how this would turn out and was responding to an inner prompting, a recent meditation period during which a computer keyboard floated down accompanied by the message, "The answer lies in the keyboard!" and advice to us in the Edgar Cayce Readings that we should start where we are, with what we have in hand, and leave the result to God - the Creative Force.   Read more...

The boy and girl stand close together, sweaty palms touching, eyes averted and waiting for their cue, and then the music starts. Is it another episode of the OC? No, it’s ballroom dancing. A new phenomenon is touching the nation’s youth, and I could not be more thrilled. Through ballroom dancing, young people are touching each other, in a positive way. Self-expression and self-esteem are being reinforced in a new way through one of the oldest forms of movement - dance. The fact that someone is attempting to make ladies and gentlemen out of kids on the brink of awkward adolescence, is nothing short of a miracle. Letting young people know that some adults view them in a positive light, genius!   Read more...

A soon-to-be-published study by The Archives of Internal Medicine shows that some forms of cancer may under some circumstances go away without treatment. Doctors say if their findings turn out to be credible, it could change the way we approach the disease. Women diagnosed with breast cancer, for example, might be advised to opt for “watchful waiting,” whereby a tumor is monitored, rather than immediately removed, to see if it might shrink without treatment. The New York Times reported on this story and said, "At the moment, the finding has no practical applications because no one knows whether a detected cancer will disappear or continue to spread and kill."

Doctors say that if the theory turns out to be credible, this could turn into a huge point of interest within the medical community. Women diagnosed with breast cancer could be allowed to opt for a watchful waiting process, monitoring a tumor within the breast to see if it grows before deciding how to treat it.   Read more...

The Green MicroGym in Portland, Ore. is stocked with more than just hand weights and power bars. The workout rooms are filled with generators, which are linked to various machines and equipment like stationary bikes and treadmills. When gym members come to work out, they are not only keeping their bodies in shape, they are keeping the gym running.

The gym currently relies on the solar panels to cover about 40 percent of the operational energy. They are attempting to increase that number. They have a calculated need of 240 hours a day on the equipment to reach the goal of the gym being 100 percent self sustainable.   Read more...

Australian based outdoor outfitters, Northland Professional recently began a marketing campaign using billboards that give away free merchandise. Northland attaches samples of caps, gloves and scarfs on 50 billboards throughout the city of Ganz. They call the campaign, "Free love". It will run through the end of November.   Read more...

Recent press coverage of the dairy industry has been less than positive: lack of access to pasture, use of antibiotics and genetically modified feed have all made headlines.   Read more...

Over 125 million people around the world are dependent on coffee as their only income and many of them live on less than $2 a day. Coffee Kids is a non-profit that supports grassroots initiatives to provide coffee-farming families with options outside of coffee.

We support initiatives in economic diversification and microcredit, health care, education and other community-based activities to create vibrant communities. We currently work with 12 different groups in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Peru.   Read more...

The economy is hurting big businesses, but what about the little guy? The guy with socially conscious ideas and new developments in the works? They're getting together and sounding off at a place on the web called Ideablob.com. The website is a community and sounding board for social entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Instead of continuing "non-disclosure agreements", the website encourages entrepreneurs to share ideas and tips to success while promoting new ideas and fresh visons. Each month the website wards $10,000 the best new small business idea, which is voted on by ideablob.com users.   Read more...

Do you walk for half an hour a day? On the way to work? From your parking spot downtown to the cafe? Or maybe around the block on a cool, crisp fall evening? If you do, you could unknowingly be reducing your risk of cancer.

New research shows half an hour of walking at least five days a week can help prevent cancer, and slow down the progression of the disease if you already have it. This is because exercise lowers insulin levels - the hormone that causes most of the body's cells to process glucose in your blood.   Read more...

The Creators Inn is a new venture from the creators of the Swedish clothing brand Elvine. It offers people who consider themselves creative types a free place to stay with no strings attached. The project is funded by various independent donors throughout the city of Gothenburg, Sweden where it is based, but mostly by the Elvine clothing brand itself.

Creators Inn is located near the city center of Gothenburg. The center is just a ten minute walk. Foreign visitors are given priority for rooms, but all writers, artists, and creators are welcome.   Read more...

The video above is a representation of some of the ideas that are being thought up as a result of the competition sponsored byNike and Ashoka's Changemakers. The goal of this contest is to create more opportunities for women in the world of athletics, and to recognize women in their communities who are contributing through athletic endeavors.   Read more...

Starbucks customers in Loveland, Colo. are paying it forward by paying it backward. People are showing up to the drive-through and coffee counter to find that the person in front of them has footed their bill.   Read more...

The Free Hugs program began four years ago in Sydney, Australia. SInce then, there have been hundreds of Free Hugs campaigns throughout the world, and now, Free Hugs has a new goal.   Read more...

About 30 Indian teenagers have started putting together their own newspaper called The Yamuna. The paper is printed in New Delhi and features articles of social relevance. The girls launched their project in 2007 as part of the Gandhi Media Literacy Program (GMLP), a group whose aim is to help develop writing skills of India's youth and encourage them to raise their voices against social injustice and concerns.

The newspaper's printing schedule is set in accordance with the examination schedules of the students involved. The large editorial staff has a variety of interests and opinions, allowing them to create interesting longer feature stories, interviews and even cartoon strips. The students keep in touch through email and talk about journalistic principles like good news judgment and what stories will be included in upcoming issue.   Read more...

It's true that sometimes things aren't as they seem...but that is not the case with Jens-Peter Jungclaussen, founder of Teacher With The Bus. Jungclaussen is exactly that. He is a teacher...with a bus.

There are two buses, actually. One is a mobile venue used to "drive kids to learn, naturally," and the other is a sustainable school bus with 52 seats, wi-fi, and a state-of-the-art sound system to take kids kids out to nature. After all, with the Teacher With The Bus," Everything is a field trip".   Read more...

My friends and I have created a holiday tradition that I believe many others would enjoy as well because it involves getting together with friends, enjoying food and exchanging gifts - but costs almost nothing. It is called a Recycled Yankee Swap Pot Luck

A pot luck is when everyone brings a dish and whatever they would like to drink to the party, therefore, no one has to worry about footing the bill for food and beverages and you end up with a wide variety of wonderful food prepared by your friends. For anyone who either does not cook, a simple bag of chips or nothing at all is acceptable. There is always more than enough food to go around.   Read more...

The Amphibian Project was created to raise awareness about amphibian decline. Recently, they have launched a fundraiser to help protect the Large-crested Toad, a critically endangered species in Mexico.

Their website says, " The Amphibian Project recognizes that people care about wildlife and genuinely want to be good stewards of the earth. Unfortunately, the environmental problems of today

My wife and I have been married for a little over a year now. She was born and raised in Brazil, has olive-complexion skin, long black hair, and, as Vice President-elect Joe Biden described his wife during the event in Springfield, IL, when President elect Obama introduced Biden as the vice-president selection on the Democratic ticket, “Is smokin’ hot.”

My wife’s mother is a native of Paraguay, and her father is a native of Brazil. I was born and raised in the United States, Texas to be exact, have white complexion skin, short brown dirty blond hair, and am lucky to be my wife’s husband. My mother and father our both natives of Texas.   Read more...

Author, businessman, and programmer Daniel Suarez (aka Leinad Zeraus) explains how bots, (i.e. automated computer programs) decide important aspects of our everyday life, affecting everything from our jobs to our health.   Read more...

Geocaching says it is the sport where you are the search engine. The goal of the "sport" or "game" is to use your own personal GPS device to locate hidden containers called geocaches outdoors and share your experiences with others online. This is a new activity for people of all age groups, "with a strong sense of community and support for the environemnt."

Geocashing.com encourages everyone involved in the project to share their experiences with each other and to be mindful of the environment. Their program, "Cache In Trash Out" holds annual events and smaller community events to educate geocahcers about the environment. They also always encourage geocahce searchers to bring trash bags with them when they go out hiking and searching.   Read more...

What would you think if you saw a massive oil spill? Would you think, "Oh no, this is horrible," or "What can I do to help?" If you're a man named John Francis you might think, "I'm going to give up motorized transportation..."

That is exactly what Francis did in 1971 after witnessing the oil spill in the San Francisco Bay. For 22 years, he gave up driving and riding in cars all together. Francis did not let his new found dependence on walking constrict him at all. He took treks across the United States and South America hoping to inspire others.   Read more...

You've tried everything to cure your cold: medications like tylenol, home remedies, staying in bed all day and drinking plenty of Vitamin C. Have you tried smiling? If not, Sheldon Cohn, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University thinks you should.

New research shows that a positive attitude brings fewer cold symptoms. Cohn's research included interviewing 334 volunteers three evenings a week for two weeks to assess their mental state. Volunteers were given a squirt of rhinovirus, the germ that causes the common cold, and were checked for five days afterward for signs of infection.   Read more...

Frank Furedi defines truth as the "experience of meaning," cautioning against confusing the debate of truth with the conflict between religion and science.   Read more...

AlertMe is a security system...but not just any security system. This new technology, released in January of 2008 can monitor doors and windows without the annoying wires and drilling before hand. Instead, AlertMe uses small sensors placed at strategic points throughout the home.

How about your energy-saving needs? AlertMe has taken care of that too. In September, they announced a new application that will use an energy monitoring SmartPlug, which will allow users to control devices automatically from remote locations.   Read more...

You've heard the expression "raining cats and dogs", but for one central California woman, the part about cats is almost literally true....It looks like a storm of cats rained down upon Lynea Lattanzio's 12-arcre ranch where she feeds and cares for over 600 feral and abandoned cats. Lattanzizo keeps the cats alive and healthy in hopes of having them adopted to good homes.   Read more...

...Or so a study has come to believe. In a study focusing on the state of Alaska, Dr. Alexander Wagenaar, a professor at the University of Florida's Department of Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, concluded that while higher taxes on alcohol can make a night out more expensive, it can also save lives.

Based on the idea that high taxes prevent some drinkers from perhaps over-buying, the study, which spanned nearly three decades is fairly decisive. And looking at all that information caused each researcher to develop a key eye when examining death certificated from 1976 when it began to 2004. By tracking the number of deaths, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded study showed the relationship between high alcohol tax years compared to low years. The the results were startling.   Read more...

Christians...Muslims..Jews, and people of all different faiths are coming together to write a document called the Charter for Compassion. Throughout the next four weeks, the Charter will come together with the help of participants all over the world who speak many different languages. Many religions leaders from all over the world have already lended their voices and support to the Charter, but anyone is allowed to participate. The goal of this document is to inspire religious people to focus on what brings them together with those of different faiths, instead of what divides them. The final document will involve all major world religions and will be released in 2009.   Read more...

Dr. Binayak Sen is a public heath specialist, and national Vice-President of the People's Union for Civil Liberties in the Chhattisgarh state of India. He has won awards for his promotion of human rights and has helped poor people in India maintain health care.

On May 14, 2007 Dr. Binayak Sen was arrested on charges of supporting the Maoist party (for drawing attention to the unlawful killing of several indigenous tribal people in his region).   Read more...

Midwestern grocery store cashiers have looked at me, dumbfounded while I tried to purchase a thorny, green, pine cone-shaped vegetable. Well, for the grocers out there, that vegetable is PLU code 4084. And for the rest of us, it's just an artichoke.

The artichoke is a member of the thistle family and originated in northern Africa, southern Europe and the Mediterranean. The Dutch introduced the British to this amazing plant in the 1500's, although it was not brought to the United States until the 19th century.   Read more...

Between advice from the current U.S. President, to higher-ups in the now-ruling Democratic party, U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama has everyone's two cents to sift through. Even yours.   Read more...

Vanille Lattes, Mocha Frappacinos, Brewed Coffee; caffeine makes life that much better. And I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. Not only is caffeine a necessity for the early morning hours, but some distributors are now going the extra mile with sustainable coffee farming and fair trade certification. American super coffee shop: Starbucks announced earlier this week its thirteen new goals, as part of Starbucks' good business practices guidelines initiative, Shared Planet. The company plans to meet all of the goals by 2015. Goals include ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship, and community involvement.

“Starbucks Shared Planet is not just about how important it is to us that we’re a socially responsible company, it’s to reaffirm Starbucks leadership in the retail and coffee industries and the communities in which we are operating,” said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and CEO of Starbucks Coffee Company, to Triple Pundit. “During this time of economic uncertainty we realize that we have the opportunity and the responsibility to keep our focus on our commitment to keep our communities strong, and I’m proud of what we’re doing to live up to the guiding principles of this company.”   Read more...

America Recycles Day will take place on November 15th, and the National Recycling Coalition wants you to be involved - even if it's just a little bit.

On their website, they write, "It all comes back to you. Even a small shift in your attitudes and actions, multiplied many times over by others accepting this challenge, can change the world. Maybe you'll throw those soft drink cans into the recycle bin, or buy recycled-content products..."   Read more...

At this juncture in human history, urgent global crises challenge us to learn to live sustainability, in harmony and gratitude with one another and with the living universe. The changes required of humanity are broad, deep, and far reaching. Only by acting swiftly and creatively can we birth a planetary culture that will bring well-being to every form of life in the Earth community.

The good news is that a compelling new story of our potential as a whole human species is emerging, a story of collaboration, citizen action, dialogue and new understandings propelled by unprecedented levels of democratic freedom, multicultural exchange, and access to communication technologies. It is nothing less than the story of our collective evolution.   Read more...

The New England Grassroots Environment Fund (NEGEF) has a mission to "energize and nurture long-term civic engagement in local initiatives that create and maintain healthy, just, safe and environmentally sustainable communities".

In November NEGEF will be giving a grant to their 1,000th unique group. This means that over 1,000 volunteer community groups around New England will be working on solutions in their community: local food, local energy, land & water stewardship, to name but a few issues.   Read more...

Playpumps and Kiya are two inspirational and exemplary initiatives that have been celebrated by Pop!Tech, Oprah, Jay-Z, former President Bill Clinton, National Geographic, MTV, CNN, PBS, and NBC. Playpumps, provides fresh drinking water to thousands of people in Africa via an incredibly simple, innovative, and scalable system, while Kiva, facilitates peer-to-peer loans via the Internet to allow impoverished people develop their own businesses.   Read more...

These days it's pretty hard to come up with solutions to not lend a helping hand. Whether there's a tornado that rips through town, a hurricane washing homes out to sea, or an after school program short of helpers, opportunities to volunteer at non-profits are overflowing. Cross-Cultural Solutions, a non-profit organization was founded in 1995. It has been focusing on operating and facilitating international volunteer programs for over 10 years, with over 4,000 volunteers participating each year. With a worldwide staff of over 300 people in 12 countries, and offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, crossing cultural paths has never been easier.   Read more...

Operation Christmas Child starts this week. That is, the Christian nonprofit organization that has over the course of 15 years delivered over 61 million boxes of gifts to young children throughout the world this holiday season. All over the US churches are collecting shoe boxes full of gifts to be delivered to poverty-stricken children around the world. Though the organization is headed by Samaritan's Purse, a Christian organization that has been doing charitable deeds for 35 years, the group's main prerogative is bringing the joy of gift-giving to those who are without. Through shoe-box gifts, filled with hard candy, school supplies, toys, hygiene items and other nicknacks, children from Uganda to Peru, the Philippines to Mexico, can enjoy what so many take for granted: presents.   Read more...

Thai politician Mechai Viravaidya describes the creative measures for Thai birth control which grew from the 1970s overpopulation crisis. Methods included "de-sexing" the birth control pill by calling it a "family welfare vitamin" and asking monks to bless contraceptives.   Read more...

"Ubuntu, a traditional African philosophy, recognizes how we are inextricably bound in each other’s humanity. Translated as, “I am because you are,” Ubuntu describes a sense of unity between people through which we each discover our own strengths and virtues. Featuring healer Credo Mutwa, GreenHouse Project director Dorah Lebelo, and former Deputy Minister of Health Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, this glimpse of South Africa shows compassion as a way of life." - from Global Oneness   Read more...

With Barack Obama's election to the highest office, many of us sigh with relief since the course for change and equality is open.

Only days after this landslide decision by the American people, the same electorate decided against allowing the huge LGBT minority to enjoy the same rights and means for fruition and fulfillment that the straight majority has been able to opt for for centuries: marriage and the legal framework to raise children in a loving, secure and protected environment.   Read more...

Everyone needs a voice, no matter how young, says Ishita Chaudhry, founder of India's Youth Parliament Foundation. After India's Gujarat violence and riots in 2002, Chaudhry gathered support to help inform the country's young people of various national issues, from how to control riots to understanding the food crisis. The now 23-year-old holds that the country needed a forum for young people's voices to be heard and topics understood. Now six years later the Delhi, India native's foundation is going strong drawing on support from NGO Pravah's SMILE fellowship and The Ashoka Foundation. Plus, in 2007 they were legally incorporated. Just this year the organization was given the Seen and Heard 2008 Award, an International UK based award given by British Telecom and The UK Youth Parliament to recognize exceptional initiatives that have created platforms for young people. And Chaudhry herself picked up a nomination for the MtvIndia Youth Icon as well.   Read more...

It is a commonplace that sometimes you need to leave your country in order to find it. This Election Day found me in Graz, Austria, where I am attending the Elevate Festival, an annual four-day gathering that brings together cutting-edge indie music with a forum on political culture. This year’s theme was the commons.

At 4 o’clock in the morning, I found myself awake, watching President-Elect Barack Obama’s stirring speech in Chicago’s Grant Park. I was watching on CNN International, but two Austrian channels were also covering the event live, no small indication of the intense interest with which people around the world are watching Obama’s improbable political journey. People here are mesmerized by Obama’s quintessentially American story: the son of a Kenyan man and a Kansas woman who by dint of hard work, resourcefulness and self-reliance, catapults himself into the White House. Could there be a more persuasive telling of the American Dream?   Read more...

"Girls living in poverty are uniquely capable of creating a better future," says the Girl Effect, an organization that advocates education instead of poverty, business advancement instead of arranged marriage, and hope instead of desperation.   Read more...

The Obama rally on Tuesday night attested to the American peoples' desire for change and appreciation for politics. But a few great things happened that night, and not just on the podium. These photos have become a Web-based phenomenon capturing the essence of what today brings for the United States' future. And I think we can all appreciate the landmark events that will continue to happen throughout the next years.   Read more...

It might not be St. Patrick's Day, and you may not be Irish, but lately everyone is going green. Even trucks are going green. Or at least the United Parcel Service is. One of the world's largest package distributers in the world. "As part of a public-private partnership to increase the commercial availability and use of alternative fuel vehicles, UPS announced its first purchases of a little-known technology: the hydraulic hybrid vehicle," according to CSRwire, promising intense fuel savings and environmental benefits.   Read more...

If you ever need a little pick me up, and don't have time for a good book, a nice cup of coffee or a chat with a friend over the phone, maybe cartoons are for you. No seriously. Every day I'm shocked by the amount of appreciation I have for a woman named Natalie Dee (and her husband, Drew).

She might not have a Wikipedia entry, but the sketch cartoonist definitely uses the web to the best of her ability. Her daily cartoons can be seen on her website NatalieDee.com . Some might be crass, while others can make the often hilarious point a good news story just can't. See October 8's posting if you don't believe me.   Read more...

The just-out-of-college crowd has been dubbed the entitlement generation. People like me, 22 years old, equipped with the college degree we were told would grant us a good paying job, armed with the sense of right and wrong when it comes to the environment our baby boomer parents destroyed, and supplied with enough wit to know the right thing to say and when to say it. Yes, perhaps we think that we too should reap the benefits of our world as our parents have, but upon graduation with tens of thousands in debt, there's an unfortunate financial reality that awaits us instead. But, perhaps it's not that unfortunate. Collectively my generation might not make as much money as the generations before us did, but whether that's a choice or just the way of things, the generation now, Ode called this future population in the September issue of Ode, has also an ingrained notion that the we can indeed change the face of things. When everything is as low as it can go, there's no better place to push up from than the bottom, as noted in Ode's story on Failure in the October issue.   Read more...

Before this election and before global warming I can't remember one person talking about building codes, other than perhaps when my friends and I would gather to talk about our bad college landlords. But when global warming became climate change, and solar panels were more than coffee talk conversation tools, that's when I first started hearing about LEED certification on a regular basis, though its been around since 1998. The nonprofit organization, LEED, otherwise known as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, has a Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and it provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. LEED awards buildings points for satisfying specified green building criteria, within their six major environmental categories of review: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design.   Read more...

Changing the world is like playing Dominos. Once one thing gets in place, starts to work, there's an all encompassing effect that takes over. That's the premise of Chain Reaction, a two-day event taking place in London, UK, with the purpose of bringing together social leaders, community activists, policy makers, business leaders, and young people from around the globe to share learning and to generate new ideas for social change in a big way.   Read more...

When you think of Nepal, you might think of images of the Himalayas and decorated child goddesses. The Western media often does not focus on what is going on in this small country nestled between China and India. Perhaps they should. Nepal is doing the opposite of the Western media today. While the western media scales back on hiring and funding, media outlets in nepal are hiring new reporters, editors and broadcasters left and right. Newspaper readership and radio participation has taken a huge jump. This more effective flow of communication played a vital role in recent pro-democracy movements.   Read more...

If I had the choice between living in a housing project in one of the United States' most densely populated city, or a typical American Dream home, you can bet I'd pick the dream.

But, that's not how research gets done, so say Martín Sánchez-Jankowski, an economics and political science Ph.D. graduate of MIT and now University of California at Berkeley ethnologist. For nearly a decade Sánchez-Jankowski took the road laced with poverty in the form of living in some of the world's most crime-ridden residences. The Berekely professor lives his life surrounded by violence and poverty. For much of the '90s he lived in housing projects from New York to Los Angeles, documenting what he calls the “subculture of scarcity” for Cracks in the Pavement: Social Change and Resilience in Poor Neighborhoods, published by UC Press.   Read more...

Fair-trade, locally grown, healthy, non-violent and organic. That's what consumers want these days. With the little extra spending shoppers can afford, the trend seems to be hitting a sustainable note. And after many wink-winks and nudge-nudges, company owners are finally getting the hint. By implementing stricter codes and actually following health regulations, workers are benefiting left and right. But still the little people behind big corporations need a voice. A clear voice. Clear Voice, a confidential communication hotline for workers, has successfully completed its first year of operations in Latin America and China, both big low-cost producers, and is planning to gain five more Asian countries in partnership with Verité, a leading non-profit organization dedicated to protecting against sweatshop abuses.   Read more...

After decades of flushing toilets, staying sanitary, and celebrating cleanliness, the World Toilet Summit and Expo is in the midst of its eighth annual event. The summit began yesterday with keynote speeches from Guy Hutton, senior economist for the World Bank Water and Sanitation program and a pledge to sanitation, along with Chea Samnang from Cambodia's Department of Rural Health Care and Kamal Kar, expert of Community Led Total Sanitation in Calcutta, India. The summit initiative from WTO serves to bring experts together in order to focus on promoting clean toilets, sanitation issues and hygiene. Right now 2.5 billion, or rather 40 percent, of the world’s population have no access to personal sanitation.   Read more...

The tears in the eyes of Jesse Jackson. That was the most moving moment for me. His face spoke the defining moment in history. Injustice fading into hope. And please watch this once more. Barack Obama lost a grandmother just before the election. He still has another grandmother. It's almost unbelievable that the president of the most powerful nation in the world has a grandmother living in rural Kenya.

For me, more than anything else, that's his promise to the world. Where the world of the White House meets rural Kenya, that's where progress is made and the future is changed.   Read more...

Eighteen is a big birthday for kids in the United Kingdom. Most kids enjoy hitting the pubs legally for the first time. However for his eighteenth birthday on October 1 of this year, Charlie McDonnell decided to go for an upper instead of a downer and raise money for cancer research.

Charlie asked people to donate money to the charity, Cancer Research UK. It helped that Charlie is somewhat famous on YouTube. His channel has over 92,000 subscribers. On the eve of his birthday, Charlie hosted a live show on the live-video blog website BlogTV for his friends and loyal YouTube fans.   Read more...

When it rains, it pours, or so the saying goes. But, what about when it doesn't pour at all? These days most homes are equipped with sprinklers, though they can be quite the water guzzler. So to combat wasteful water use, HydroPoint Data Systems, a Petaluma, California-based startup, founded in 2002, makes sure you don't have to worry about it. As the world's first water monitoring sprinkler system, WeatherTRAK allows users to monitor their irrigation systems with real-time feedback on field conditions, reducing the number of required site visits.

The system, seemingly complex, takes in weather data from 40,000 independently operated stations in order to create a high-resolution map, which then informs WeatherTRAK of everything from rainfall to evaporation rate. After inputting the type of climate, plant species and other environmental factors, the plants end up being watered just the right amount after all this information is transmitted to the field via cellular networks.   Read more...

DreamBank believes that gifts are important...but only if they are something you really want...a dream! The site allows its users to sign up and post a dream. These range from global awareness causes, to people asking for funding for trips and vacations, to building their dream homes. Other users can contribute money via PayPal to make dreams come true.

Mostly, users donate for causes posted by people they know, but there is no rule against contributing to a dream you happen to stumble upon. You can contact the organization if you have a question about a particular dream. They also keep a blog to keep you updated on the most recent goings-on at DreamBank.   Read more...

Though affirmative action and other race integrative programs have received controversial opinions, a University of California at Berkeley study suggests that students making friends with someone from a different race or ethnicity can reduce anxiety in academic settings among both whites and minorities. The researchers began the study by pairing up students prone to racial biases, both white and Latino, and through an accelerated friendship process found that members of both groups benefited from getting to know one another. This "accelerated friendship" entailed three weekly one-hour meetings in a casual lab setting. This method was developed by psychologist Arthur Aron, of Stony Brook University in New York. During these sessions participants asked one another questions specifically designed to foster openness and friendship. And during the last session of the week participants played a game like "Jenga" to ease tensions.

How the researchers measure success rates is by measuring the participants' levels of Cortisol, a hormone triggered by stress and anxiety. After measuring levels throughout the three-time sessions students felt more comfortable and relaxed around peers of another ethnicity or race. Now the researchers want to see if these friendships last, and hopefully they will.   Read more...

So the summer's over, and you're not eight years old anymore. Big deal. You can still sign up for Social Innovation Camp, who's motto is "Another World is Possible." The camp is now taking submissions to answer the question: "What does that other world look like, and how can we use social tech to make it happen?" Social Innovation Camp is a vessel for helping to make those ideas happen. The first step is simply to gather a diverse group of software developers and designers along with people who know about the social need to build web-based tools that will change the world. The rules are off and all suggestions are valid. Imagine whatever you want, they say.   Read more...

Zeitgeist is a German word that literally translates: zeit = time, geist = spirit.

Zeitgeist, The Movie is a 2007 documentary film made by Peter Joseph about the events of September 11, 2001 and various conspiracy theories. Zeitgeist: Addendum was its 2008 followup. The films were created as not-for-profit expressions to communicate what the author felt were highly important social understandings, which most people are generally not aware of.   Read more...

“..education is failing its objective based on the Latin root of the word: educare, to nourish. [Those teaching] should challenge the natural creativity of children, inviting them to follow their inborn curiosity rather than pushing them through textbooks.” -Jurriaan Kamp, Ode magazine, October 2008

An education system with something missing. What is missing? We wonder We ponder and question, hypothesize and experiment; Congregating to share insight and new theory.   Read more...

Social networks crop up every day. From Facebook, Myspace, Hi5, Twitter, LinkedIn and loads more, it seems everyone has a place to feel welcome, no matter how cold it's getting outside. Even universities are getting involved. Through the City University of New York, the Women Writing Science project, a multi-faceted initiative to involve young women in science and to encourage them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, announced the launch of their new networking site: underthemicroscope.com, sponsored by IBM.

But the big difference between sites like Friendster and Under the Microscope is the career opportunities the group's organizers profess to have. The site now provides the option to post personal stories through blogging, science news updates, and links to other resources. Throughout 2009 the site plans to include more social networking opportunities to keep users attuned, while also adding careers tips, guides for parents, and a mentoring opportunity. Though the main purpose of the site is to inform users of internships and scholarships as well as serialized chapters of Women Writing Science publications that can be downloaded free of charge and an online book club.   Read more...

This election day, with online tools like Twitter and Google Voter Info, it is easier than ever to stay connected, stay informed, and voice your opinion.

Twitter
While TwitterElection has been going strong for months, TwitterVoteReport is designed to keep information flowing and give everyone the most up to the minute information on November 4th. By adding #VoteReport to the end of your "tweets," or updates on Twitter.com you can share your experience at the polls. Reports will be available to anyone who wants to read them via TwitterVoteReport.com or specific mobile programs and widgets.   Read more...

This Halloween brought more than tricks, for MIT planetary scientist Benjamin P. Weiss, October 31 marked the day his and five colleagues' work on the connection between meteorites and the records they hold regarding magnetic fields and the early history of planets. Talk about a treat!

Published in Science magazine, the study found that during the formation of the solar system, dust and rubble in a disk around the sun collided and stuck together to eventually form our planets, on the big scale. On the small-side, the tiny rocks which formed the larger planets first had the ability to melt, something past theorists did not believe. Weiss discovered that these mini planets could melt in such as way as to form those large chunks of rock, also known as planetesimals, and thereby force their constituents to spread out. This created lighter materials which formed a crust, while iron-rich materials entered the middle inside that crust, developing into a magnetic dynamo.   Read more...

Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 talks about civil rights and changing opression in the U.S.   Read more...

Though Nike has long been seen as an opponent of more environmental and fair labor standards, the company is now attempting to walk the tight rope to redemption. Last week the brand revealed a more eco-friendly line of products, hitting high notes as sustainable and made from recycled materials, all with the hope of reaching high profits in a more concerned world.

Titled "Nike Considered," the world's largest shoemakers know that spending is on the down turn, but these new kicks, with efficient design patterns, less and easy to recycle materials and use of nontoxic chemicals and sustainable cork and organic cotton, will definitely keep customers rolling in. With 15 percent of the company's spring lineup as part of the "Considered" label, Nike's deliverance into a sustainable future isn't far off.   Read more...

Juan Enriquez (2008) Pop!Tech Pop!Cast from PopTech on Vimeo.

I recently watched this presentation (via the web) that was happening at Pop!Tech in Camden, Maine. Mind you, for three solid days there were dozens of presenters and all of them were incredible - Benjamin Zander, Clay Shirky, Malcolm Gladwell, Imogen Heap, Saul Griffith - and so many more. But this particular presentation was so timely, poignant and real that it has stuck with me and will likely affect my behavior for the perceivable future. It was by Juan Enriquez. He spoke about the economy, how we got to where we are and what it will take to fix it. I encourage you to watch it with this warning: it's not easy to take, but it's honest and real.   Read more...

According to a recent study by Javelin Strategy and Research, bank customers want green banking. 43 percent of customers polled said they would rather do business with a bank that seems more “green.” But many big banks are trying to paint themselves green simply by promoting an online billing system.

It is true that monthly paper statements have a big impact on the environment. If every household in the US were able to switch to paperless billing, this would save an estimated 16.5 million trees per year or about 46,000 acres (averaging 360 trees per acre). Trees protect watersheds, support wildlife habitats, and build soil fertility while sequestering carbon (deforestation is now the second leading cause of global warming).   Read more...