6-Year-Old Pumps it Up
6-year-old Ryan Hreljac listened intently as his teacher talked about how without access to clean water, people become ill and sometimes even die. "Every penny helps," the teacher said, explaining that a penny buys a pencil, "and $70 pays for a well." Ryan ran home and begged his parents for $70. They told him to earn it through extra chores, and so while his brothers played, Ryan cleaned for two ... posted on May 30 2006, 3,631 reads

We Are What We Do
We Are What We Do -- it's not just a catchy phrase: it's a web movement that inspires people to use their everyday actions to change the world, whoever they are, and wherever they are. They’ve created 50 simple, everyday actions that can improve our environment, our health, and our communities, making our planet and the people on it happier. To date, over 330,000 small actions (and counting!) ha... posted on May 23 2006, 3,176 reads

The Hidden Power of Cow Dung
Input: cow dung. Output: enough electricity to light 70 light bulbs, some fertilizer, and heat. Powered by a Stirling engine invented by Dean Kamen, this is an experiment in bringing power to the poor, run by the man who brought cell phones into Bangledesh's Grameen bank, Iqbal Quadir. The idea is that one entrepreneur, funded by a microcredit loan, sets up a business to turn manure into methane g... posted on May 10 2006, 2,119 reads

From Guns to Guitars
He is a classically trained musician and composer who studied at Colombia's best conservatory. But instead of concert hall performances Cesar Lopez plays on the streets of Bogota. There’s something that speaks even louder: his musical instrument looks much like a Winchester Rifle. That’s because it used to be one. But now, six metal guitar strings are threaded over the weapon's barrel, ending ... posted on May 08 2006, 1,870 reads

A 5 year-old Victim's Forgiveness
A child's grace and forgiveness have inspired Boston. 5-year-old Kai Leigh Harriott looked up from her blue wheelchair in the hushed courtroom and faced the man who fired the stray gunshot that paralyzed her nearly three years ago. "What you done to me was wrong," the dimpled girl with purple and yellow plastic ties in her braids said softly. "But I still forgive (you)."... posted on May 06 2006, 3,572 reads

Soccer Balls for a Better Future
He'd won 4 Olympic Golds, broken 11 world records, and was 25. So he retires?! Speed skater Johann Olav Koss had a much deeper outlook. “You’re very focused on yourself, you’re very narrow-minded and your world is limited. At a certain point you want to see the greater meaning—the greater whole.” And so he went to Eritrea with a plane full of soccer balls, a week after President Afewerki... posted on May 05 2006, 1,549 reads

The Trust Network
The most important network in an organization? Some say it's the 'trust network'. Former MIT professor Karen Stephenson teaches that it’s a company's human infrastructure that really determines whether it lives or dies, and knowing who trusts whom is as important as knowing who reports to whom. In this view, organizations have a sort of double-helix system, with hierarchy and networks constantly... posted on May 02 2006, 3,258 reads

A Small Hero
When his mom rolled off the bed and hit the floor, 8-year-old Jacob Clini knew three things: she was not moving, she needed help and he had to find a telephone. Remembering what his teachers and his cousin had told him about 911, Jacob picked up the phone, punched in the three numbers and saved his mother's life.... posted on May 01 2006, 1,985 reads

Finding Flow
Athletes refer to it as "being in the zone" and artists and musicians as "aesthetic rapture.” For decades now, a remarkable researcher from the University of Chicago -– and author of President Clinton's favorite book -– has studied exactly this. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi started with art students, then chess players, musicians, inner-city basketball players, and eventually Bornean weavers and ... posted on Apr 24 2006, 1,764 reads

Unexpected Outcomes
Dr. Hill asks his mathematics students at Georgia Tech to go home and either flip a coin 200 times and record the results, or merely pretend to flip a coin and fake 200 results. The following day he runs his eye over the homework data, and to the students' amazement, he easily fingers nearly all those who faked their tosses. There is more to this than a classroom trick. Dr. Hill is one of a growin... posted on Apr 09 2006, 2,246 reads