Not Buying It: The Freegan Movement
The day after New York University's class of 2007 graduated, about 15 men and women assembled in front of an N.Y.U. dormitory. They had come to take advantage of the university's end-of-the-year move-out, when students'discarded items are loaded into big green trash bins by the curb. Ben Ibershoff, a dapper man wearing two bowler hats, unearthed a Sharp television. Autumn Brewster, found a paintin... posted on Jun 30, 1956 reads

The Elders: Veteran Diplomats Unite
Melding serious statesmanship and a dose of audacity, Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, and a clutch of international figures are announcing an alliance to diplomatically tackle the world's most intractable problems. The alliance, unveiled during the events marking Mr Mandela's 89th birthday, is to be called the Elders. It includes the retired Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu, th... posted on Jul 20, 1484 reads

The Little Island That Could
It's a two-hour ferry ride to the Danish island of Samso — and it can seem like a trip back through time. But if you look more closely, to visit Samso is to see the future. Samso is an area about 40 square miles long with a permanent population of about 4,000 — all of them living a green dream. Take farmer Erik Andersen. His tractor runs on oil from seed, which he grows. His hot water and powe... posted on Jul 21, 2369 reads

When Was The Last Time You...
"When is the last time you cut someone off in traffic or scared someone with an insistent and angry horn? When was the last time you took the last cart, or cookie, or pool chair and pretended not to look at someone waiting behind you? When was the last time you said no when you could have said yes? When was the last time you cut someone you love with words because you were tired, cranky, hurt, ove... posted on Aug 17, 4336 reads

Why Old Habits Die Hard
Habits help us through the day, eliminating the need to strategize about each tiny step involved in making a frothy latte, driving to work and other complex routines. Bad habits, though, can have a vise grip on both mind and behavior. Notoriously hard to break, they are devilishly easy to resume, as many reformed smokers discover. A study led by Ann Graybiel of MIT now shows why. Important neural ... posted on Aug 16, 3101 reads

What Makes You Happy?
So you're between the ages of 13 and 24. What makes you happy? According to a recent survey the answer is sweet and simple. Spending time with family was the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey -- more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 -- conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on the nature of happiness among America's young people. Next wa... posted on Aug 21, 3255 reads

Philosophy & Recycling in Albania
Miranda Fejzo is an unlikely person to find standing in the middle of a rubbish heap. Smartly dressed in matching black jacket and skirt, with white high heels, she explains the intricacies of recycling while carefully navigating between piles of discarded plastic bottles and heaps of cardboard and tins."Here comes the rubbish," she says - long, silver coloured fingernails pointing at a battered t... posted on Aug 22, 2300 reads

Walking Across America
32 years ago Peter Jenkins began his first epic journey across the country. He started that trip as a disenchanted young man, so upset by war, politics, and the troubled state of race relations that he was ready to abandon America. An older friend urged him to give the country a closer look. So he began walking in October 1973, starting in Alfred, 300 miles northwest of Manhattan, accompanied by h... posted on Aug 23, 2371 reads

A Clinic for the Little Things that Matter Most
To talk. To be listened to. To unwind. When you are a low-income woman with cancer, it is often the little things -- a caring touch, a steaming cup of herbal tea -- that can make a difference. The Charlotte Maxwell Clinic addresses an invisible problem -- the economic and emotional fallout that cancer can have on low-income women already underserved by the health care system. The clinic -- a volun... posted on Aug 31, 2009 reads

Eighty Year Study On Happiness & Giving
One of the longest-running social-science studies on happiness began in Oakland, California, in the 1920s with 200 people. It combined semi-annual interviews until participants graduated from high school, and has since followed them at intervals of 10 years. An astounding 90 percent of people have stayed in the study, giving it coherence and offering insights into what constitutes a happy life. On... posted on Sep 2, 5956 reads

Holistic Business School Serves Disadvantaged
An actuary turned management consultant, Taddy Blecher first stepped into a South African township by mistake. "I was terrified and thought I was going to die," he remembers. In 1995, he was at the point of moving to America, but at the last minute he decided to stay and make a difference. He and three partners then started CIDA City Campus, a $21/month-tuition, holistic business university for 15... posted on Sep 16, 1955 reads

Health Through Friendship
According to research at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., having close friends you can count on has far-reaching benefits for your physical and mental health. A strong social network can be critical to helping you through the stress of tough times, whether you've had a bad day at work or a year filled with loss or chronic illness. Dr. Edward T. Creagan is a cancer specialist at the Mayo Clinic... posted on Sep 20, 3236 reads

88 Keys To Happiness
Harlan Creech fell in love with the piano when Woodrow Wilson was president. It was 1920 and Creech was 8 -- a creek-splashing dreamer stuck with a squeaky violin his parents made him play. His sister got the piano, which sounded to him like a sunny day set to music. He's wanted to play ever since. Creech grew up to be a husband, a father and a Methodist minister -- a job where he made time for ev... posted on Sep 23, 3466 reads

The Billionaire Who Wasn't
He wears a $15 watch, flies economy class and does not own a house or car. For years. few guessed that Chuck Feeney was one of the world's biggest philanthropists, secretly giving away his fortune. Born in New Jersey during the Depression, Feeney co-founded the world's largest duty-free retail chain. He liked making money but not having it, and gave it away for years in strict secrecy. Conor O'Cle... posted on Sep 25, 4186 reads

How Captcha Puzzles Serve
A weapon used to fight spammers is now helping university researchers preserve old books and manuscripts. Many websites use an automated test to tell computers and humans apart when signing up for an account or logging in. Known as captcha puzzles, these tests usually contain a few random letters in an image, arranged in such a way that automated programs cannot read. Carnegie Mellon scientists h... posted on Oct 7, 1850 reads

The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits
Conventional wisdom says that scaling social innovation starts with strengthening internal management capabilities. But a recent study of 12 high-impact nonprofits including Teach for America, Habitat for Humanity and the Exploratorium shows that real social change happens when organizations go outside their own walls and find creative ways to enlist the help of others. The secret to their success... posted on Oct 8, 6086 reads

Personal Transformation Required
"Nothing happens without "personal transformation." But at the heart of any serious effort to alter how we operate lies a concern with three dysfunctions of our culture: fragmentation, competition, and reactiveness.The word health has the same roots as "whole." Like people, organizations can get sick and die. They also need to be cured and healed. Yet, like physicians who focus only on their speci... posted on Nov 13, 4512 reads

The Spiritual Practice of Hosting Conversation
"Our policy choices flow from our politics, our politics flow from our values, and our values flow from our personal stories. If we're going to create a new politics in America and the world, we need to start at the level of story. We need to talk to each other -- and to "the other," the one we think is dead wrong. It's risky, but good hosts make such conversations so safe that people stumble past... posted on Oct 17, 2795 reads

Less Homework, More Yoga At Needham High
As the principal of Needham High School, Paul Richards is making some radical changes. Among them -- homework-free weekends and holidays, and mandatory yoga classes! It's all aimed at reducing stress. Many students were so stressed out about grades and test scores -- and so busy building résumés to get into the small number of brand-name colleges they equated with success -- that, he ... posted on Nov 1, 3018 reads

1 Slum, 7 Days, 200 New Homes
For the first time, Mona Miller has a real roof, solid walls and glass windows. Lights come on at the flick of a switch, water flows from the tap and she has the dignity of a toilet. Miller will move into her first proper home this weekend thanks to a building blitz by nearly 1,400 Irish volunteers, who completed a mission Friday to construct 200 houses in a week in the depressing, dusty -- and ho... posted on Nov 15, 1593 reads

Do-Nothing Cultivation
Masanobu Fukuoka is a towering figure in the revolutionary field of sustainable agriculture. The author of One-Straw Revolution and The Natural Way of Farming, his unconventional farming methods involve no tillage, no fertilizer, no pesticides, no weeding, no pruning, and remarkably little labor! He accomplishes all this (and high yields) by careful timing of his seeding and careful combinations o... posted on Nov 22, 2021 reads

The White Envelope Project
It's Christmas Day, and the Lawder family has one last gift for the kids, and it's the one they anticipate most every year: a plain white envelope with a note. This particular year, the note says that in the sons' honor, their parents have supported a local health clinic that provides access to physicians and necessary medical care to those who can't afford it. Everyone smiles, some through teary ... posted on Nov 26, 4376 reads

The Generous Car Salesman
Car salesmen get called a lot of things. "Living saint" is rarely one of them. And yet a Chevy dealer from Oregon just might be the exception. His name is Korry Holtzlander. "There are no bad men. There are no bad men on the planet," Holtzlander says, "There're just those who are lost." Last December, Holtzlander found a homeless man sleeping in one of the cars on his lot. But instead of giving h... posted on Nov 27, 3340 reads

Innovation of the Year: Nano Solar
Imagine a solar panel without the panel. Just a coating, thin as a layer of paint, that takes light and converts it to electricity. From there, you can picture roof shingles with solar cells built inside and window coatings that seem to suck power from the air. Consider solar-powered buildings stretching not just across sunny Southern California, but through China and India and Kenya as well, beca... posted on Dec 29, 2844 reads

The Wondrous Origami Man
"My friend, Gayla and I were travelling to Phoenix from Chicago. I misread the ticket, and we missed our flight. I was busy being upset about my failed plans when Gayla suggested we just fly wherever we want instead, since we had the time. I think about missing my flight to Phoenix and going to San Francisco instead. It taught me a lot about being open to what is, not attached to what I want, and ... posted on Dec 28, 3292 reads

The Art & Science of Changing Minds
Famed Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner, noted for his theory of multiple intelligences, recently published Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People’s Minds. The book outlines Gardner’s research and thinking on how best to convince others (or yourself) to adopt a different viewpoint in various settings, including business. In this interview Gardner talks abou... posted on Dec 30, 5114 reads

Life Lessons at Surf School
They would just sit there on the beach, every day, watching, says South African surfer Gary Kleynhans. Then, one day, he called them over. "I could see from their enthusiasm that they wanted to try," he says. "And I thought, 'Let me give these kids a go.'" And so he started free surfing classes for the street kids of this windswept beach town. Word spread fast, and six little students became 10, t... posted on Jan 8, 2131 reads

The 247 Pound Vegan
The protein-rich bounty of the football training table is supposed to grow the biggest and strongest athletes in professional sports. Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Tony Gonzalez was afraid it was going to kill him. So last year, on the eve of the biggest season of his career, Mr. Gonzalez decided to try going vegan. Could an all-star National Football League player, all 6-foot, 5-inches and 247 po... posted on May 20, 3550 reads

What The World Eats In A Week
Imagine inviting yourself to dinner with 30 different families -- in 24 countries. Imagine shopping, farming, cooking and eating with those families, taking note of every vegetable peeled, every beverage poured, every package opened. That's exactly what photographer Peter Menzel and writer Faith D'Aluisio did for their new book, Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. The husband-and-wife team wanted ... posted on Jan 31, 3776 reads

He's Got a Song -- and a Mission.
During the sound check before a Martin Luther King Day rally in Atlanta, the stage manager asked 8-year-old David Militello: "Just a few lines for us, okay?" David refused to say a word. He was scheduled to sing the national anthem, but wasn't in a very star-spangled mood -- which begs the question: How'd he even get this gig? "Oh, he can sing!" said Joyce Ketchie-Cann, the director of Harmony, on... posted on Feb 1, 4083 reads

Don't Hate the Media, Make Media
A change is taking place in how we communicate. Just ten years ago we all learned about the world around us from newspapers, the television, and radio. Sometimes at dinner we talk about these stories with our friends and family. But ten years ago we rarely, if ever, communicated directly with the journalists themselves. Over the last few years everything has changed. Thanks to new tools like weblo... posted on Feb 3, 2120 reads

The Good Waiter's Tip
A full scholarship to a private college for a waiter? Now that's a tip. Two years ago, Marvin Burchall was working the lunch shift at a luxury beachside hotel in his native Bermuda when he waited on an administrator from Endicott College, just north of Boston. To him, Lynn Bak was just another customer, another tourist visiting the island getaway. But Burchall's service was impeccable, and his att... posted on Feb 5, 4214 reads

Walking the World with Love & No Money
Equipped with only a few T-shirts, a bandage and spare sandals, former dotcom businessman Mark Boyle is set to cross Europe and the Middle East. On his 9,000-mile trek to Gandhi's birthplace, he will have to pick his way through war-ravaged Afghanistan. Mr Boyle, 28, said: "I will be offering my skills to people. If I get food in return, it's a bonus." He says he is part of the freeconomy movement... posted on Feb 11, 2690 reads

Successful Communities Leverage Unsung Heroes
The most effective local initiatives engage people whose informal networks reach broadly and deeply across sectors and organizations. Such people are often unsung heroes in a community. They might include a uniformed policewoman who sets up a system to link diverse services for victims of domestic violence or a bakery owner who designs training for immigrant employees in partnership with the local... posted on Feb 19, 1664 reads

Dignity Village
Pirate Steve surveyed the eccentric collection of shacks and cabins that is now his home on the outskirts of Portland. "Quite frankly, being here has been the best period of my life," he said. "Not the time when I had my sports car, my condo and my jewelery." Known as Pirate Steve because of the patch which covers an eye seriously injured in a car accident, the former laser optics technician is on... posted on Feb 23, 2916 reads

Building Communities from the Inside Out
In communities across the United States, people have rediscovered ancient wisdom about what builds strong communities, and then developed new ways to fit that wisdom to late 20th century community realities. As sources for funding community development projects have dried up, savvy organizers and leaders across the US are looking inward to identify the possible resources embedded in their own comm... posted on Feb 29, 2335 reads

The Law of Garbage Trucks
"We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded,and missed the other car by mere inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I me... posted on Mar 2, 6275 reads

Dream: Children of Calcutta
"In my next life, I would like to be a butterfly." A simple video montage begins, depicting the paintings and dreams of young students at an informal school in India run by the non-governmental organization Calcutta Rescue. Calcutta Rescue provides free education to nearly 300 slum children in that city, and here, the impetus behind the lush series of water-color paintings on display is voiced by ... posted on Mar 16, 1991 reads

The 'Do One Nice Thing' Lady
It began in the simplest way. Over lunch with girlfriends, Debbie Tenzer listened as they argued over the state of the world –- war, crime, schools in Los Angeles -– and how they felt helpless to change anything. Tenzer found herself resisting that view, and began to think what she could do. She started with small gestures of kindness one day of the week. Friends soon suggested she post these ... posted on Mar 26, 4307 reads

The Story of a Passionate Life
In a recent TED talk, Ben Dunlap beautifully tells the story of Sandor Teszler, a Hungarian man he met at Wofford College. In telling Teszler's dramatic life story, which arcs from the Holocaust to the American Deep South of the 1950s, Dunlap shares some deep and, ultimately, moving lessons about justice -- and the power of lifelong learning. Ben Dunlap is a true polymath, whose talents span poetr... posted on Apr 14, 2385 reads

You Gotta Have Art
As health-care costs skyrocket, a down-to-earth approach to healing is emerging, complementing high-tech medicine with high-touch arts. The approach is based on the assumption that incorporating music, visual art, writing and performance into clinical care can increase feelings of well-being and even improve health -- an assumption that medical researchers are beginning to recognize the need to te... posted on Apr 10, 1413 reads

Listening to People
"The effectiveness of the spoken word," say Ralph G. Nichols and Leonard A. Stevens, "hinges not so much on how people talk but mostly on how they listen." In this article in the Harvard Business Review, Listening to People, they open up a subject of tremendous practical importance. We have assumed that learning to read will automatically teach one to listen. While some of the skills attained thro... posted on Apr 27, 6061 reads

A 9-Year-Old Walks For The Homeless
Younger than most of the people in the crowd, 9-year-old Zach Bonner stepped to the side of the lectern so that people could see him. He thanked sponsors of his 250-mile walk for the homeless, which was about to start. "What bothers me is what homeless kids go through," Zach said. "What happens when they go to sleep? What happens when they wake up?" His family doesn't know why Zach works so hard o... posted on Apr 18, 3544 reads

Uniting the World One Swoosh At A Time
Noel had quit his job as a valet parking attendant in Las Vegas; Angelina had given up her gig as a cocktail waitress. In 2001, the Andreonis embarked on an unusual adventure. They decided that they would be governed by three passions: travel, photography and basketball. Nearly seven years later, the Andreonis have traveled far beyond their beginnings. They have visited 28 countries and all 50 US ... posted on Apr 24, 2572 reads

Redemptive Power of Music & Friendship
Three years ago, journalist Steve Lopez met a homeless musician on skid row in Los Angeles. Lopez learned that the man, Nathaniel Ayers, had once been a promising violinist, and that he had left the prestigious Juilliard School because of his struggle with mental illness. Lopez developed a friendship with Ayers, eventually helping him to get off the street, settle into an apartment and find treatm... posted on Apr 30, 3231 reads

Where Does Creativity Hide
Born in the US to immigrant parents from China, Amy Tan rejected her mother's expectations that she become a doctor and concert pianist. She chose to write fiction instead. Her much-loved, best-selling novels have been translated into 35 languages. In this TED talk Tan digs deep into the creative process, journeying through her childhood and family history and into the worlds of physics and chance... posted on May 1, 17103 reads

Becoming A Creature of New Habits
"Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word "habit" carries a negative connotation. So it seems antithetical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation. But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously... posted on May 7, 5504 reads

Films For the World, By the World
Over a span of four hours today -- on Saturday, May 10th 2008 -- twenty-four short films made "by the world, for the word" will be broadcast on television and transmitted over the internet and to cell phones everywhere. Welcome to Pangea Day. "In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference and conflict," the event's creators say, "it's easy to lose sight of what we have in common... posted on May 10, 2196 reads

The Pep Talk of a Lifetime
Moments before an important competition, a young swimmer turns to her coach in a moment of doubt. "As most athletes know, when you have time to sit and think about what you need to do, you start to get nervous. That is exactly what I was beginning to do; only it wasn’t the good kind of nerves that get you psyched up—it was the bad kind that made you want to sit in a corner and hide. Knowing t... posted on May 11, 7867 reads

The Healing Power of Portraits
On the fourth floor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, they're doing cutting-edge research on bladder cancer, the mechanics of cancer stem-cell replication, and the healing power of portraits. That's right, portraits. The aim of the project is for an artist to study the interaction between patients and caregivers and to develop a set of paintings based on observation. The work ... posted on May 13, 2846 reads