Children & Youth

Brothers on a Goal to Turn Abandoned Industrial Wastelands in Mini Farms

“Is it possible two cheap plastic buckets can help reduce global malnutrition? Sounds crazy, but there’s some amazing technology that can be created by combining two cheap 5-gallon buckets along with some other low cost or free materials.

Benefits of the 2-bucket system:
1) 50% to 80% reduction in water usage.
2) 100% reduction in weeds…never pull a weed or use herbicides.
3) Once planted, very little attention is required.
4) Foolproof: People with very little training (like us!) can reap bountiful harvests.
5) All you need are a few square meters of space…even rooftops, industrial wastelands, etc”

Isabel Nortje Lass shared a link via Organic Gardens Network.

‘Two buckets (brothers) on a mission. Is it possible two cheap plastic buckets can help reduce global malnutrition? Their mission is to turn the rooftops and abandoned industrial wastelands of developing countries into mini-farms filled with green growing vegetables’ Organic Gardens Network

Global Buckets

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Filed under: Animals & Plants, Children & Youth, Farms & Gardens, People, Profiles, Plants, Urban Agriculture

Bicycle Buses Let Dutch Kids Pedal Together to School

March 6, 2012, www.treehugger.com | It’s been said that the most important lessons in life are not learned in the classroom, and perhaps in no place is that more true than in the Netherlands where the act of heading to school is itself so enriching. In an age of rising gas prices and skyrocketing cases of childhood obesity, Dutch educators have devised a wonderfully positive way to get kids to and from school — by letting them pedal there themselves on a brand new fleet of bicycle buses.

Cycling has long been the preferred way of commuting in the Netherlands, thanks in part to their world-class system of bike paths, but now even young schoolchildren can get in on the action. With the purchase of what may be the first-ever fleet of bicycle school buses, Dutch kids as young as 4 years old are experiencing just how fun and easy getting around without a car can be.

AmoMi Bici shared a link.

“yay! & weeeeeeeeeee =0)”

It’s been said that the most important lessons in life are not learned in the classroom, and perhaps in no place is that more true than in the Netherlands where the act of heading to school is itself so enriching.

GoodNews FortheEarth, Samantha Osborne, and Armando Rios like this.

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Filed under: Bicycles, Children & Youth, Energy - Renewable, Transportation

Citizens stop biotech giant from planting GMO beets near high school garden

2-26-12 Two days after people spread the word, “SYNGENTA corporation’s S. Oregon manager, agreed to pull the plug on 2 GMO sugar beet fields on the South Side of Ashland”, in Oregon.

Now, 3 days later, 434 people have signed a petition to the Mayor, City Council, US Rep, and Governor. http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-gm-planting-by-syngenta-corp-and-save-our-water-from-atrazine

However, GMO sugar beets are currently being planted north of Ashland and further outward into the Rogue Valley, so a meeting has been called to discuss next steps towards making the valley GMO free. Windblown seeds from GMO sugar beets can pollinate, and thus pollute, local crops of organic beets and chard.

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Filed under: Children & Youth, Gardens in Schools, GMO set backs, GMOs

Lawsuit awards 4,200 acres of Protected Habitat to Endangered Cave-dwelling Invertebrates in Texas

Feb 13, 2012, www.biologicaldiversity.org | “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized protection of 4,200 acres of critical habitat today for nine rare, cave-dwelling invertebrates in Bexar County, Texas. ‘Protecting the habitat of these mysterious, cave-adapted animals — which don’t exist anywhere else on Earth — gives them a shot at survival,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center. “All it will take to save these unique creatures, some of which have lost the power of sight and all their color as they evolved in the dark, are modest restrictions on urban sprawl in Bexar County.'”

Thérèse Williams shared a link.

SAN ANTONIO— In response to a lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity, Citizen’s Alliance for Smart Expansion and Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized protection of 4,200 acres of critical habitat today for nine rare, cave-dwelling invertebrates…

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Filed under: Animals, Animals & Plants, Endangered Species, Lawsuits

Boy discovers microbe that eats plastic

June 12, 2009, www.mnn.com | “It’s not your average science fair when the 16-year-old winner manages to solve a global waste crisis. But such was the case at last May’s Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa, Ontario, where Daniel Burd, a high school student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, presented his research on microorganisms that can rapidly biodegrade plastic.”

Lindy Rose shared a link.

“I’ve heard about this microbe before, but I had no idea it was discovered by a 16 year old boy! http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/blogs/boy-discovers-microbe-that-eats-plastic”

COMEMNTS:

GoodNews FortheEarth ~ “Lots of people are working on this! The article mentions several, but not this Amazon research posted here last March: https://goodnewsfortheearth.org/plastic-eating-fungi-found-in-the-amazon-may-solve-worlds-waste-problem/”

GoodNews FortheEarth ~ “I found this by searching our website. Please check it out for other topics too. We have links to articles going back to October, 2010 — but there’s lots of good news for the Earth that we have surely missed. If you know of some that we don’t, please post it to this Wall. Old good news is still good news : ) https://goodnewsfortheearth.org/”