Modern-Day Robin Hood
When she graduated from Harvard in 1985, she wanted to do something meaningful. Now, Laura Scher is something of a modern-day Robin Hood, an entrepreneurial activist who redistributes the wealth of the marketplace to those in need. Instead of advertising, her company -- Working Assets -- donates that money to nonprofits, relying on socially responsible consumers to help them gain market share. ... posted on Apr 1, 2429 reads

Same Dough, Different Oven
One in every three people in the world will live in slums within 30 years unless governments control unprecedented urban growth, according to a UN report. The largest study ever made of global urban conditions has found that 940 million people - almost one-sixth of the world's population - already live in squalid, unhealthy areas, mostly without water, sanitation, public services or legal security... posted on Apr 20, 1333 reads

State of the Planet
Last month, scientists from around the world gathered at Columbia University for the 'State of the Planet 04' conference, subtitled "Mobilizing the Sciences to Fight Global Poverty." Working sessions covered issues of energy, food, water, and health. To conclude the conference, they came up with a joint, consensus statement of specific recommendations for sustainable development of the planet.... posted on Apr 10, 1102 reads

On the highway of Life
When they learned how AAA, the roadside assistance service, spent much of their muscle lobbying against public transportation, two entrepeneurs took a bold step and started their own environmentally-friendly service.... posted on Jul 3, 986 reads

Your Wish Is Its Command
Your wish is its command. For years, futurists have dreamed of machines that can read minds, then act on instructions as they are thought. Now, human trials are set to begin on a brain-computer interface involving implants. Food and Drug Administration has approved a clinical trial in which four-square-millimeter chips will be placed beneath the skulls of paralyzed patients. If successful, the ... posted on Apr 21, 1120 reads

World's Oldest Worker
The world's oldest worker is calling it quits. Ray Crist, a retired scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project, put down his pointer Tuesday at age 104. Does that mean he’s calling it quits? No way. "When you have a mission, you go after it," said Crist, "And I am still going after it."... posted on Apr 16, 1037 reads

Capitalism to Clean the Sky
Investing in the future of the Earth may seem like a hokey slogan for an environmental organization, but for the 49 students in Lynne Lewis' environmental economics class at Bates College, it's a requirement. Last month, students at the Lewiston, Maine, college bid on -- and won -- the rights to pollute the environment with nine tons of sulfur dioxide at an auction sponsored by the Environmental ... posted on May 7, 1163 reads

Marathon Monks
No Nikes, no Air Jordans, no medical aid stations along the route. They run it on straw sandals. On route they make about 250 stops to pray and to chant. The "marathon monks" of Mount Hiei run a full marathon every day for more than six months, culminating with 100 days of 2 back-to-back Olympic marathons daily. Practically all known long distance running records are shattered by these Japenese... posted on May 13, 1337 reads

Lemonade Stories
Behind every billionaire is a ... mom. That's what Mary Mazzio found as she interviewed billionaires around the world for her new film -- "Lemonade Stories". The study of entrepreneurship might be all the rage in business schools but Mary suggests that b-school is too late. The nursery is where the seeds are planted, generally by moms. Incidentally, women led 28% of all U.S. businesses in 2002, ... posted on May 14, 1652 reads

Decade of Dot-Orgs
The 1990s will be billed as a dot-com decade. But considering the worldwide explosion of social organizations that far exceeded the growth of technology firms, it probably should be known as the decade of the dot-orgs. In Canada, registered citizen groups grew more than 50% since 1987, to over 200,000, while in France, close to 70,000 new groups were registered each year in the 1990s. Twenty ye... posted on May 15, 951 reads

Paint Your Roofs
Paint your roofs white, use lighter color pavements and plant more trees. Those are suggestions by Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, in response to cities becoming "heat islands" (hotter than its surrounding environments). Since one sixth of the electricity consumed in the United States goes to cool buildings, at an annual power cost of $40 billion, people are starting to listen to old technology a... posted on Jun 2, 1057 reads

Lottery Vs. Work
Lottery winners, trust-fund babies and others who get their money without working for it do not get as much satisfaction from their cash as those who earn it, a study of the pleasure center in people's brains suggests. Emory University researchers also noted that "there's substantial evidence that people who win the lottery are not happier a year after they win the lottery."... posted on May 28, 2533 reads

Video Game Kills Cancel Cells
Nine year old Ben played video games during his lengthy leukemia treatments. After 3.5 years, Ben won his battle but he wanted to help other kids win theirs. So he thought of designing a video game where players kill cancer cells. With the help of Make-A-Wish and Eric Johnston of Lucas Arts, that dream is now a reality. Enter Ben's Game.... posted on May 19, 962 reads

Reading a Smile
Think you're good at reading people? Most people feel they are, but actually fail miserably at it, confusing a half smile with approval when it signals contempt, or accepting an expression of apparent confidence while missing the concealed fear that lies beneath it. Misreading facial expressions and the emotions underlying them is a result of our inability to recognize minute expressions -- micro... posted on Jun 1, 1446 reads

Dave's Pay-It-Forward Gas Station
Five years ago, Dave lived at the Dignity Village homeless camp in north Portland. Last week, he was buying gas for customers at a local gas station. Dave, who requested that his last name not be printed, said he couldn't have overcome the challenges he faced without the kindness of others. He's hoping his generosity will encourage others to "pay it forward," echoing his good deeds. "I wouldn't be... posted on Oct 24, 4831 reads

Minimum Vacation Law
In Germany, the lowest-rung factory worker gets 30 days' paid vacation on average (or 24 days by law.) In France the norm is five to six weeks. Australians get 30 days paid vacation by law and take 25 days on average. Yet these countries maintain high rates of productivity.... posted on Jun 26, 1348 reads

When Life Gives You Lemons...
Eight-year-old Alexandra Scott, in a battle against malignant tumors, wants to raise $1 million for cancer research. And it looks like she just might do it, one lemonade stand at a time.
... posted on Jun 16, 1193 reads

Collective Intelligence
Is there a future potential seeking to emerge that depends on YOU? Yes, says this MIT researcher, C. Otto Scharmer. He's coined the term "presencing" -- a combination of the words "presence" and "sensing" -- to describe the remarkable experience of bringing the future into the present. Scharmer believes that our collective capacity to "presence" could activate the full potential of our species in ... posted on Jun 18, 1239 reads

Natural Capitalism
In 1991, eight people entered a sealed, glass-enclosed, 3-acre living system, where they expected to remain alive and healthy for two years. Of the original 25 small animal species in Biosphere II, 19 became extinct by the end. After 17 months, the humans showed signs of oxygen starvation from living at the equivalent of an altitude of 17,500 feet. Bottom line -- $200 million could not maintain ... posted on Jun 19, 1515 reads

Participant Productions
Everybody dreams of being in the movies. Jeff Skoll dreams of making them. The former eBay president, now a billionaire, is starting a company that will fund "socially relevant, commercially viable" feature films along the lines of 'Gandhi' or 'Erin Brockovich.' Skoll's Participant Productions plans to make six movies every year - budgeted at $20 million each -- with a mission to change the worl... posted on Jun 24, 1036 reads

Indian Spider Man
Spider-man is going global. The Indian version of this comic book superhero -- complete with loincloth, Hindu demons and battle scenes over the Taj Mahal -- is set to be released by Gotham Comics. In what critics are calling "reverse globalisation", Spider-man will become the first western comic book superhero to be re-invented fully - as opposed to translated - for a local audience.... posted on Jun 25, 1438 reads

A Child Poet
Mattie Stepanek, the child poet whose inspirational verse made him a best-selling writer and a prominent voice for muscular dystrophy sufferers, died Tuesday of a rare form of the disease. He was 13. In his short life, the tireless Stepanek wrote five volumes of poetry that sold millions of copies. Three of the volumes reached the New York Times' best-seller list. Former President Jimmy Carter j... posted on Jul 1, 1315 reads

Concern for Chickens
When Kentucky Fried Chicken, an international fast food chain, announced plans to open up a restaurant in Tibet, the Dalai Lama wrote them a letter and said that mass slaughter of chickens violated Tibet's traditional values. KFC's parent company, Yum Brands, says it has called off its plans.... posted on Jul 2, 1534 reads

The Magic Number
Looking for happiness through financial success? Wondering what is the magic number that equals satisfaction? It's $40,000 a year. Really. Oprah's magazine says so. And so does Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, who studies such things. Maybe you're thinking there's another magic threshold. Like maybe $40 million. But Penlope Trunk doesn't think so. When she ran in circles of venture capitalist... posted on Aug 13, 1463 reads

Children Under Five
A whopping four million children under the age of five die annually in South Asia, where at least 432 million earn less than $1 a day, says the latest UNDP report. On the bright side, South Asia has halved income poverty and the proportion of people without access to safe water, while dramatically reducing infant mortality rates as well.... posted on Aug 11, 1299 reads

Woman's Internet
The internet is beginning to have a revolutionary effect on the 700 million people who live in villages in India - and the charge is being led by women. 80% of the new Internet kiosks are run by women, many of whom have had very little or no acquaintance with technology before. ... posted on Jul 9, 1451 reads

An Open Sewer
Told that he had less than four months to live, the disabled Vietnam Veteran didn't know where to turn. He wandered down to an open sewer -- a stream behind his house that was plugged up with garbage -- to contemplate his future. Still recovering from bullet wounds, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, three heart attacks, and a serious motorcycle accident, John Beale found the answer:... posted on Jul 27, 1085 reads

Theory and Practice
... posted on Aug 1, 432 reads

No Smoking, For A Parrot
A British couple booked themselves into a clinic to quit smoking after the vet said it was the only way to save their beloved sick parrot. Kevin Barclay and Sharon Wood gave up a 50-cigarette-a-day habit to save their Amazon orange-winged parrot J.J., in Essex, southeastern England.... posted on Aug 14, 931 reads

Speaker and Listener
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Spontaneous Remission
In 1993, Caryle Hirshberg and the late Brendan O'Regan assembled the largest database of medically reported cases of "spontaneous remission" in the world. They defined spontaneous remission as "the disappearance, complete or incomplete, of a disease or cancer without medical treatment or treatment that is considered inadequate to produce the resulting disappearance of disease symptoms or tumor." ... posted on Aug 21, 1195 reads

Living Life To The Fullest
She may only have one leg, but this 40 year old motorcyclist is living life to the fullest, and riding into history books at the same time.... posted on Sep 21, 1135 reads

Pay What You Like
At this five-star restaurant, you won't be billed anything for your food. Pay what you like, their slogan reads. It sound unbelievable but there's a fully volunteer-run, high-end restaurant in Malaysia -- Annalakshmi -- where they trust that everyone will pay their fair share. Not only did this seemingly outrageous model sustain itself, they went on to open several, similar high-end restaurants... posted on Oct 1, 1583 reads

'V' Formation
Everyone has seen it but not many understood why birds fly in a "V" formation, perfectly coordinated through the twists and turns. It turns out that a flock of geese can fly 70 percent farther when they file together. The aerodynamic V shape reduces the air resistance, allowing the geese to cover longer distances; scientists have now also learned that the heart rates of the birds are lower when ... posted on Sep 25, 1296 reads

Order and Chaos
... posted on Dec 6, 536 reads

Clandestine Brain Activity
There's an old myth that we only use 10 percent of our brains, but researchers at the University of Rochester have found in reality that roughly 80 percent of our cognitive power may be cranking away on tasks completely unknown to us. Curiously, this clandestine activity does not exist in the youngest brains, leading scientists to believe that the mysterious goings-on that absorb the majority of o... posted on Oct 15, 1180 reads

The God Gene
Since the dawn of our species, spirituality has been deeply woven into the human experience. Why is it such a universal force that people from all walks of life, regardless of their religious backgrounds, value it as much as, or more than, pleasure, power and wealth? The answer is, at least in part, hard-wired into our genes. Spirituality is one of our basic human inheritances. It is, in short, ... posted on Oct 20, 2092 reads

Sand and Foam
... posted on Oct 25, 599 reads

Touching the Void
In 1988, a British mountain climber named Joe Simpson wrote a book called 'Touching the Void', a harrowing account of near death in the Peruvian Andes. It got good reviews but was soon forgotten. Then, a decade later, a strange thing happened. Jon Krakauer wrote 'Into Thin Air', another book about a mountain-climbing tragedy, which became a publishing sensation. Suddenly 'Touching the Void' starte... posted on Nov 2, 1369 reads

Five Year Old Without Pain
Ashlyn Blocker's parents and kindergarten teachers all describe her the same way: fearless. So they nervously watch her plunge full-tilt into a childhood deprived of natural alarms. Ashlyn, age 5, is among a tiny number of people in the world known to have congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, or CIPA -- a rare genetic disorder that makes her unable to feel pain.... posted on Nov 3, 1320 reads

Embracing a Miracle
She's been able to play a song on the piano after just hearing it since she was 5. She's been composing music since she was 10. She has a repertoire of more than 15,000 songs she can play from memory. She is also blind, autistic, mentally retarded and only 15. Young Brittany Maier is what many call a living miracle.... posted on Jan 6, 1698 reads

Question and Answer
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Saved By Dolphins
At a beach near Whangarei in New Zealand, a group of swimmers were being trained as lifeguards when a menacing 10 foot shark attacked them! Just as they started to panic, a group of about half of dozen dolphins came in to protect them and stayed for about 40 minutes until the swimmers were out of danger. Marine biologists say such altruistic behaviour is not uncommon in dolphins, considered the ... posted on Nov 25, 1662 reads

A Thanksgiving Quilt
What are you thankful for? Every Thanksgiving, that's the question Pete McGinn asks of his 3000 United Health Services employees. And then he weaves the best responses together as a "thanksgiving quilt". Read Pete's quilt for this year.... posted on Nov 26, 1616 reads

Human Follies and Human Wisdom
... posted on Dec 13, 1586 reads

Sowing a Cell Phone
Bury your cell phone and watch it come up as a flower. Yup, that's the latest from researchers at University of Warwick. Realizing that mobile telephones are quickly becoming one of the most commonly discarded electronic items, these researchers have designed stylish yet biodegrable cell phones!... posted on Dec 14, 1223 reads

78 Cents
With just 78 cents in his savings account and 44,000 owed to creditors, parking attendant Juan Rodriguez plunked down $1 on a lottery ticket. Good thing he wasn’t pinching pennies: He won the $88.5 million jackpot.... posted on Dec 11, 1186 reads

Burning Incense
Going to church may be good for the soul, but some Dutch researchers say it may not be so healthy for the lungs. The candles and incense regularly burned during religious services emit high levels of particulate matter, tiny airborne flecks that are considered one of the most harmful forms of air pollution, according to a new study by scientists at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.... posted on Jan 7, 1317 reads

Blind Person's Tongue
A blind person can see through his tongue? Indeed! NY Times recently reported on a fascinating new device, BrainPort, that can translate visual information from a camera to pulses that reach a blind patient's brain via his/her tongue. Interestingly enough, that blind patient was able to find doorways, see her wife in the park and play a game of rock, paper, scissors with his daughter! While t... posted on Dec 7, 1399 reads

The Power of Women
The new issue of Yogi Times is "a tribute to the power of female energy, to the amazing grace that emanates from every mother, every girl, every wife, every woman. Through their faith, their softness, their strength, their creativity and their dedication, women can change the world one person at the time."... posted on Dec 8, 1274 reads