An Apple a Day. On this day in 1977, Apple Computer shipped its first Apple II personal computer.
Oh, What Tangled Webs We Weave. “Web 2.0” became the millionth word to enter the English language, a technical term meaning the next generation of World Wide.
Can’t See the Forest for the Trees. Rising forest density in over 68 countries, from the Amazon basin to Indonesia, is helping to offset climate change by capturing more carbon.
Solar Power is a Baby Boomer. It was first developed in the US a half century ago. Now industry leaders are on the road to make the case that solar is finally ready to compete against nuclear power, natural gas, and coal.
Railing for Rail. Rail is the most environmentally friendly way to move goods over land, according to the EPA, which estimates that for every ton-mile, a typical truck emits roughly three times more nitrogen oxide and particulates than a locomotive. If just 10% of the nation’s freight were shifted to rail, then fuel savings would approach one billion gallons annually.
I Love the NFL. National Football League players are rallying around the ten year-old boy whose mother, in desperation, drove him and his siblings into the Hudson. Now that his family is gone, the boy's new extended family includes many players providing fun activities, financial support, and lots of love.
A Prayer for the Dying. A group of more than 200 Japanese seniors are volunteering to clean up the mess left in the Fukushima nuclear power station. All over the age of 60, and many retired engineers, they are taking responsibility for the nuclear power plants which their generation erected.
They say they should be facing the dangers of radiation, not the young.
Grow Your Own. The process of growing some of your own food can have a restorative effect on mental health. Being part of the natural world, sowing, watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting and eating the plants helps to re-establish one's individual connection with our planet, its seasons and rhythms. The light exercise helps increase the endorphin levels. Who needs pot, when you can grow your own natural high.
Turn the Other Cheek. Rais Bhuiyan, shot in the face by Mark Stroman in a shooting rampage motivated by the 9/11 attacks, is now leading the effort to prevent his attacker from being executed next month in Texas. He cites his Muslim faith as a key reason for his campaign for a commutation of Storman's death sentence. His appropriately named website is World without Hate.
Magic Mushrooms. Disposable diapers are one of the biggest contributors to overflowing landfills, piling up at a rate of 1 ton of trash per kid per year. And the worst part is the time it takes for disposable diapers to break down -- 500 years.
But now, a scientist named Alethia Vázquez-Morillas from the Autonomous Metropolitan University in Mexico City has found a way to turn that 500-year span to a mere 4 months, by using oyster mushrooms to accelerate the breakdown.
Calling All Stem Cells. Scientists in the UK and Japan have identified the chemical that prompts the body's stem cells to flock en masse to the site of a skin wound, allowing it to heal at an accelerated rate.
Recycled Money. 150 students collected more than 300,000 recyclable containers during a three month period to win $100,000. They beat out every other school in the country to win the title and generous check. The school plans to use the money on "green" projects like converting their computer center to run on solar.
Will the Real Balloon Boy Please Stand Up. A boy of nine has become the youngest trained pilot to fly solo in a hot-air balloon. The New Mexico boy floated for 29 minutes, landing perfectly after two years of training, "[s]howing maturity well beyond his years," news reports say. His parents, both licensed pilots, prepared him for the trip.
Trick or Treat. A 13 year old boy invented a doorbell that tricks would-be burglars. The Smart Bell, designed by Laurence Rook, dials the homeowner's mobile phone when pressed, allowing them to talk to whoever is outside their front door.
Charmed, I’m Sure. A school’s “mileage club” started in 2009 with the idea of handing out charms as an incentive for kids to run during recess has surprised everyone. Officials report that as kids ran, fitness scores rocketed and disciplinary problems dwindled.
The Public Life of Bees. You might think that spell check technology would make us less likely to care about developing our spelling abilities. But, since its widespread adoption in the mid-1980s, participation in the Scripps National Spelling Bee is up 74 percent and good news for public schools: 65 percent of this year's participants were public school students. Five of the last six national champions are, too.
Don’t Worry. Be Happy. If you are happy, your state is likely to recover from the recession more quickly. New research findings are particularly unique because they reflect a cause and effect between happiness and economic prosperity, not an effect where economic prosperity is making people happier.
Egypt, Alabama. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have located seventeen lost pyramids throughout Egypt after studying NASA satellite images produced by an infrared technique that allowed them to clearly see the ruins underground. They believe there are thousands more unknown sites in the region.