Denmark is moving ahead with a tax on products that make people fat. Denmark already has the lost percentage of obese people in Europe and even they are concerned with the increasing girth of their people. This new ‘fat tax’ will hopefully keep the country’s slim people slim and inspire other countries to institute a […]
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Things Are Good: See Canada’s Environment in Google Earth
Tides Canada has teamed up with Google Earth to allow the world to see Canada’s precious environment using Google’s technology. Now you can visualize things like the boreal forest and the migration of many wild animals.
It’s one thing to say that the Canadian boreal forest is the largest intact forest ecosystem on earth, Ms. Moore […]
Continue readingThings Are Good: No More Bull Fighting in Catalonia
Bull fighting is animal cruelty that has some legitimacy in Spain, but that has started to change. For many years animal rights activists have been championing the safety and good-treatment of bulls and in Catalonia the last bull fight happened a couple days ago.
With any luck, the rest of Spain will follow suit and […]
Things Are Good: Canada Can be Powered only by Geothermal Energy
Geothermal power is yet another proven sustainable source of energy, indeed Iceland’s geothermal production accounts for 99% of their energy production. Researchers in Canada have concluded that there is enough geothermal potential in Canada to power the country solely by geothermal power a million times over!
One of the main advantages of geothermal is that […]
Things Are Good: Confessions of an Eco-Terrorist
Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd have had a lot of success in stopping whalers from murdering defenceless whales and other sea life. Confessions of an Eco-Terrorist looks at the success of Sea Shepherd as well as the drama.
“There have been many films made about Sea Shepherd but none as hilarious and revealing as CONFESSIONS OF […]
Things Are Good: Gamers Solve AIDS Enzyme Puzzle
If you thought playing games was just for fun, well Foldit is a game that has people solve problems for science. That itself is pretty neat, but what pushes this one over the edge is that Foldit has brought some great results and fast!
Developed in 2008 by the University of Washington, it is a fun-for-purpose […]
Things Are Good: A Simple Change in Signage can Save Time, Environment
Here’s a TED Talk that explores how creating a new road sign can make a huge impact on the roads of America. Gary Lauder breaks down the impact of a stop sign at a T intersection on time, money, cars, and of course the environment.
It’s a f…
Things Are Good: Greenpeace at 40
I’ll come out and say that I”m a keen supporter of Greenpeace so I’m happy to point out all the good work they’ve done over the past 40 years that they’ve been around. You can see what Greenpeace actions we’ve covered at Things Are Good in the past.
Greenpeace has put up a slideshow on their […]
Things Are Good: Stoves and the Majority World
We looked at the Paradigm Project and Stove Man before in June. They have been busy making more videos about what they are up to in the world of helping people (and the planet) by providing them with efficient stoves.
It’s amazing what a stove can do.
Episode 3: Meet the Makers from The Paradigm Project […]
Continue readingThings Are Good: A Book That Helps Kill Malaria
Malaria No More has a book released through The Domino Project that is a collection of essays on the state of malaria. The good news is that when you purchase a copy of this book, the money spent goes directly to campaigns that stop the spread of malaria.
The Domino Project in conjunction with Box […]
Things Are Good: From Landfill to Sustainable Power Plant
Madison, New York, has a landfill that has been sitting and rotting and essentially not doing anything productive. That’s all about to change. A new pilot test of a Spectro PowerCap Exposed Geomembrane Solar Cover system – a sheet of something close to magic that will convert the mound of trash into a mound of […]
Continue readingThings Are Good: California Bans Shark Fin Soup
There are tons of reason to ban shark fin soup, and it’s not just because it’s cruel to sharks.
“Sharks have been around for nearly 400 million years, and could be wiped out in a single human generation due to an increasing demand for their fins,” said Knights. ”Fisheries regulation on the ground has utterly […]
Things Are Good: Subways to (Kinda) Power Themselves
Most hybrid cars capture energy excerpted while braking and use it to help refill the battery. A company that makes flywheels will be working with New York City to apply the same kinetic energy capture concept to subway cars, meaning that the subways will become an even more efficient way to travel. Every time a […]
Continue readingThings Are Good: Negative Carbon Concrete
The most popular construction material on the planet is concrete and it turns out that the way we use it is not environmentally friendly. What if we changed that?
A company has created a great concrete variation that actually beneficial for the environment as it removes excess carbon!
While it functions much like commonly used Portland cement, […]
Mike Powell Fanclub: Radio Topics for August 30th
Welcome to the last week of August. This is Adam’s last show before he heads out west for school so we promise it will be a good one! As per usual we air from 7-9am on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa and online at www.ckcufm.com for everyone else.
Jack Layton is laid to rest […]
Things Are Good: Only 92 Minutes of Exercise needed to Extend Life
Researcchers have done something great for us lazy people: figured out the bare minimum amount of exercise needed to extend your life. The short answer is 92 minutes per week or 15 minutes per day.
Here’s some detail:
Compared with individuals in the inactive group, those in the low-volume activity group, who exercised for an average of […]
Things Are Good: Happiest Commuters Walk or Cycle to Work
Many cyclists can go on for hours about how great riding a bicycle everyday is (I know I can), and it has been proven that walking can make you happier too. It comes as no surprise then that walking or bicycling as your preferred commuting solution makes you happier.
What is surprising is that this […]
Things Are Good: Brazil: Wind Power Now Cheaper Than Natural Gas
In Brazil a recent energy auction has shown that wind power is cheaper than natural gas in the country, and also a better investment opportunity. The competitiveness of sustainable energy sources continues to impress everyone (even with the subsidized resource-extraction industries), it’s only a matter of time until other sustainable energy options get this cheap.
They […]
Things Are Good: Organic Fertilizers Cost Effective and Better for Crops
Here’s a good story about how poor farmers in Kenya have shunned expensive chemical fertilizers for cheaper organic ones.
The organic fertiliser is sprayed onto maize two weeks after planting, and a month later.
Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services through Kenya Agriculture Research Institute have tested the fertiliser’s components and given an analytical report.
Mr Mosbei said […]
Mike Powell Fanclub: Radio Topics for August 23rd
August is winding down. This is Adam’s second last show before he heads back to Vancouver for the school year. We have an exciting show lined up for our listeners with our usual mix of current affairs, news and community listings. As Ottawa Folk Fest is coming up this weekend we […]
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