Sunday, September 26, 2010 Classroom on a Pushcart  Not many recognized Efren Penaflorida as he left the Philippines for a Hollywood gala for CNN Heroes. But when Penaflorida returned from the event as CNN's Hero of the Year, he was greeted by hundreds of screaming fans at Manila airport. Penaflorida was honored for creating mobile "pushcart classrooms," stocked with books, chalkboards and other supplies that bring education to poor Filipino children. Since 1997, he and more than 12,000 teenage volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to more than 1,800 street children. "The pushcart school system is being duplicated in the Philippines, and we receive letters from other parts of the world," Penaflorida said. "Filipinos have become more aware of the need for these children to be educated, fed and taken care of. Before, they saw pushcarts as symbols of poverty. Now they see them as one of hope and education." Read More >>
back to top  Saturday, September 25, 2010 On Perseverence  After losing financial aid and student loans due to unit limitations, college student Brian Smith became homeless and took refuge, sleeping in the practice rooms of his music department.Throughout his struggle, he remained focused on his education by accumulating a 3.65 GPA at CSULB while balancing a heavy workload. His efforts were recognized Tuesday as he received $3,000 from the Hearst/CSU Trustees' award, which is given to 23 students - one from each CSU campus. Read More >>
back to top Friday, September 24, 2010 The Happy Planet Index  Statistician Nic Marks asks why we measure a nation's success by its productivity -- instead of by the happiness and well-being of its people. With this new meaning of progress, he introduces the Happy Planet Index, which tracks national well-being against resource use (because a happy life doesn't have to cost the earth). Which countries rank highest in the HPI? You might be surprised. Read More >>
back to top Thursday, September 23, 2010 Sharing Bikes Across Washington DC  These days, the city streets of Montreal, Paris, and Lyon are blooming with bicycles and bikers. Take one step out your door, and you'll spot a man in a suit riding with groceries from the corner market. German tourists yakking away while riding along the banks of the Rhone River. Students zipping by on their way to class, or to meet friends at a cafe. Cities in the U.S. are quickly following suit. Just a few days ago, Washington D.C. and Virginia's Arlington County debuted its Capital Bikeshare program. The largest bikeshare program in the United States, the initiative has distributed 1,100 bikes across 100 kiosks, with hopes to double the number in the next year. Even Washington's Mayor Adrian Fenty (pictured above) took a bike for a spin! Read More >>
back to top Wednesday, September 22, 2010 You've Made a Mistake. Now What?  Anyone who has worked in an office (or anywhere, really) for more than a day has made a mistake. While most people accept that slip-ups are unavoidable, no one likes to be responsible for them. The good news is that mistakes, even big ones, don't have to leave a permanent mark on your career. In fact, most contribute to organizational and personal learning; they are an essential part of experimentation and a prerequisite for innovation. Amy Gallo draws attention to a few guiding principles to turn blunders of all sizes into positive and constructive experiences. Read More >>
back to top Tuesday, September 21, 2010 Doing Silence  Allan Hall was seeking still moments. Somehow, he found himself at a London boys' school, where Headmaster David Boddy leads a period of quiet time at the start of each day. For ten minutes, three hundred boys sit in silence. Many close their eyes. All fidgeting ceases. It made Hall think. What do we get from stillness - those moments of reverie, of daydreaming, in an ever more noisy, busy, and stimulating world? "In the midst of the 10 minutes, you may get a couple of minutes of absolute inner quiet but the rest is sort of getting there," Boddy offers. With moments of stillness come opportunities for reflection, random association and creativity. The gift of "Doing Silence," as one author calls it, may just be the gift of tapping into and understanding ourselves. Read More >>
back to top Monday, September 20, 2010 Fueled by Landfills  In a dry, windy canyon not far from San Francisco, California one landfill is curbing greenhouse gases by transforming its waste into fuel. "We own this big pile of trash, and we need to look at it and think, 'what can we do to get something out of it?'" said Ken Lewis, Director of Altamont Landfill Operations. With special technology, natural gas produced by decaying organic waste gets captured and used as fuel for the landfill's specially converted garbage trucks. This process eliminates the need for diesel fuel and will keep an estimated 30,000 tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere each year! "What's cool is you've got refuse trucks picking up waste, then fueling from garbage," says Steve Eckhardt. "It's a closed loop." Read More >>
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When Nancy Sieglar was diagnosed with breast cancer, sunflowers saved her life. With no reason other than, "they make me feel good and give me inner strength," Sieglar began growing the regal flowers with love, an act that helped her get through some very scary times. Now, her garden - brimming with 26 species of sunflowers, some as tall as 16 feet - is burgeoning into a vibrant sanctuary of hope. With the idea to raise money for the American Cancer Society, Siegler recently opened her garden to the public. True to the flower's radiant magnetism, 600 people showed up. Many had their own sunflower stories to share. "We weren't sure if anybody would come," the cancer surviver admits. But like anything with love, care and faith, growth is inevitable. [ 
India has developed its own version of guerrilla gardening - the greening of spaces without asking for the owner's permission. It seeks to thwart the builders' grasping reach by buying plots of land before the builders, in order to preserve green spaces that are still not swamped with concrete. Actor Atul Kulkarni teamed up with four cousins to build a forest on 24 acres of barren land in Maharashtra. Two other groups of friends have greened their land through the techniques of ahimsa farming (no plucking, pruning or harvesting). From an impoverished piece of grazed grassland with its soil eroded, the land first showed signs of stabilization with the arrival of white ants, and then rats, snakes, red ants, butterflies and spiders. Now the land produces mangoes, 23 species of bananas, apples, cherries, chikoos, celery, basil and other herbs. [ 
When we think about the victims of racism, we typically think of the immediate targets of racial prejudice: Those who have suffered at the hand of discrimination and oppression. But new research has identified another, unlikely group of victims: the racists themselves. This article from the Greater Good magazine explains how we can build healthier, racially diverse interactions. [ 
One memorable Swedish study found that, among more than a million 18-year-old boys who joined the army, better fitness correlated with higher I.Q.'s, even among identical twins. Hoping to learn more about how fitness affects the developing brain, a recent study found that fit children had significantly larger basal ganglia, a key part of the brain that aids in maintaining attention and "executive control," or the ability to coordinate actions and thoughts crisply. Even more compelling is that aerobic exercise might just produce specific growth factors that stimulate the brain! [ 
For years, Marcia Merrick began her day making lunches for her two children. Her kids are grown up now, but Ms. Merrick still makes lunches every morning - 400 of them. Each decorated paper bag contains a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich or a bean burrito, chips, fruit, and two homemade cookies. She also includes a note of encouragement - and then distributes them to the homeless of Kansas City, Missouri. For Merrick, it's not just about feeding and clothing the homeless. "Really, the food and clothing I give them is just a way to get into their hearts," she says. "A lot of them want to change, but they don't have ... the knowledge and the emotional support to do that." [ 
It's easy to get discouraged. Taking the risk to manifest our ideas has always been just that: a risk. With so many daily challenges and voices of caution, the space between our ideas and their manifestation in the world can feel like an abyss. Yet, as Wendy Strgar notes, "Living with one foot out the door is the silent and common disease that infects us often without our knowing it." She suggests one practice to live the life we want to lead: daily acts of boldness. "Boldness that puts thoughts into action are day by day choices that honor our commitments; that is why they are so hard. The victories are small and mostly internal. In the end, it is truly how things get done." [ 
