There is strong evidence that physical activity and good grades at school are directly connected. It’s a good idea to let kids go outside and just run around! “The findings of one high-quality intervention study and one high-quality observational study suggest that being more physically active is positively related to
Continue readingAuthor: Adam
Things Are Good: ‘Electric Highway’ Infrastructure Goes Live
The first location in what will be a series of fast-charging stations for electric and hybrid vehicles as officially opened in Washington State. Consumers cite concerns over how far electric vehicles can drive before char gins as a reason they won’t by electric cars (even though this is a none
Continue readingThings Are Good: Just Show Up
People often say to me “Why go to protests? They don’t change anything.” Usually my response relates to the necessity of an actively engaged population within a democracy. If we’re not on the streets asking for change then change won’t happen. The usually response to that is a lame excuse
Continue readingThings Are Good: A Charity That to Improves Afghanistan Using Skincare
A bizarre title that’s for sure and it’s by no means an exaggeration. ARGHAND is working in Afghanistan and employing locals to produce skincare products that are all-natural and are composed of plants only found in the country. ARGHAND, the only all-natural, sustainable skincare line from Afghanistan, was founded by
Continue readingThings Are Good: Solar Cell System Produces More Energy Than Light Absorbed
In something that sounds close to magic, some researchers the American National Renewable Energy Laboratory have found a way to get solar cells to produce more energy with over an 100% quantum efficiency. Basically more energy is created than light that hits the cell. This is done by exploiting quantum
Continue readingThings Are Good: Sustainable Power for Facebook
Greenpeace has worked with Facebook to convert Facebook’s coal-powered datacentres to environmentally friends power sources. In April 2011, a Greenpeace report, How Dirty is your Data?, calculated that 53.2% of Facebook’s electricity was generated by coal. Energy consumption by datacentres is growing rapidly and each of Facebook’s US datacentres is
Continue readingThings Are Good: Global DIY Window Gardening
A TED Talk by Britta Riley is filled with inspirational information about the online movement to get efficient, open source, window gardening. Worth every minute:
Continue readingThings Are Good: The Return of Rich Ocean Farming
Using the bounty of ocean to feed people is nothing new, but with a new spin on ocean farming we can have a sustainable food source (currently fishing is quite destructive) that also helps slow down the rate of climate change. We can use the very plants and animals that
Continue readingThings Are Good: Site Info: How PR Companies Should Contact Us
This post is really only for people sending in messages about new products, companies, press releases, etc. For those of you in the PR field or for people who want to send in news about their local event, I’m changing things up. The volume of press releases and the like
Continue readingThings Are Good: One Millionth Tower
One Millionth Tower is a new interactive documentary on the hyper-local level focusing on Kipling Ave. in Toronto. It’s a logical follow up to Out my Window (we’ve looked at it before) and explores how participatory urban design can change our highrise urban landscape. The highrise re-imagined. One Millionth Tower
Continue readingThings Are Good: Help Santa Keep His Home This Christmas
The David Suzuki Foundation has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the lack of ice coverage at the North Pole. Where Will Santa Live? is a fun spin on a serious issue and looks like a good way to talk about ice coverage while keeping the conversation entertaining. “We’re
Continue readingThings Are Good: 30 Ways in 30 Days
30 Ways in 30 Days is a December long project that encourages people to do a small good action everyday. There are (obviously) 30 small things that you can do everyday to make the world around you a little better. Today’s action is to Like We Day on Facebook. When
Continue readingThings Are Good: Follow the Durban Climate Conference
OneClimate has a good collection of live coverage from the Durban Climate Conference, also known as COP17. The conference started a few days ago and runs until the 9th of December. You can follow it here: Sorry this browser does not support frames
Continue readingThings Are Good: Using Food to Better the World
The West End Food Co-op in Toronto is looking to incorporate food production and consumption into bettering their local neighbourhood. The West End Food Co-op has 500 members so far, including 20 farmers. Dinner expects another 1,500 to sign up by the end of next year. (Membership costs only $5.)
Continue readingThings Are Good: Organic Farming Better Than Factory Farming
There are still a lot of people who think that congenital factory farming is the most efficient way to produce crops, well those people get proven wrong – a lot! The good news is that organic farming is good for the crops, the planet, and the farmer’s profitability. Check it
Continue readingThings Are Good: Music Therapy Helps Brain Damaged Patients
Music therapy can help people who have severe brain damage regain control of their brain and heal faster. This is really nifty! But how does music find a pathway inside a damaged brain that regular speech can’t negotiate? According to Morrow, it has to do with the parts of the
Continue readingThings Are Good: United Republic: Creative Organization Grows from OWS
Democracy takes time, and it’s rough and tedious work, so it’s amazing that in the two short months since the Occupy Movement began an organization has sprung up that will help the movement. United Republic aims to support the Occupy Movement by championing the idea that political decisions should be
Continue readingThings Are Good: China Pushes Green Technology Forward
China has to confront a lot of environmental problems brought forth by its own quick development, and when China confronts an issue they go all out! Renewable Energy World has a quick write up comparing and contrasting China and the USA in how they support green technologies. The China Development
Continue readingThings Are Good: New Way to Examine Consciousness in Comatose Patients
There are a lot of ethical issues about what to do with a person in a vegetative state in a hospital, and sometimes pulling the plug (so to speak) isn’t the best course of action. Thanks to some smart researchers we can now tell which patients are still thinking and which patients have no activity […]
Continue readingThings Are Good: Climate Vulnerable Forum Starts Soon
The Climate Vulnerable Forum is a group of countries that are particularly sensitive to climate change and rising sea levels. Every year they meet to find ways to make humanity as a whole more sustainable and more respectful of the environment. Their next meeting is November 13-14.
The Forum’s Dhaka ministerial meeting, at the threshold of […]