Wednesday, September 11, 2013

❀ The Good News ❀



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Stop watching the News on T.V. filled with lies, propaganda, and made to make you feel helpless and afraid.

With all the negative news in the world, it's time to give you hope and inspiration. It's time to the weekly Good News! 
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Victory! Military Medical School Ends the Use of Live Animals
For decades, animal advocates have been campaigning to end the use of live animals to teach students medical procedures at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Md., and their work has finally paid off.
USUHS, the only military medical school in the U.S., has announced it will stop using live animals in its training programs and will now be using simulators to teach surgical skills and physiology, reports the AP. The school said it began phasing out the use of live animals in 2000 with the opening of the National Capital Area Medical Simulation Center.

New Remote Cameras Could Help Fight Poaching in Kenya
Remote cameras have been used for a while to help give us a glimpse of wild animals in their natural habitat that we may not otherwise ever be able to see, but now they’re going to be used to help protect some of the world’s most endangered species.
Real-time images of rare and endangered species are now being sent out as part of the Instant Wild project, which is the result of a collaboration between the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Cambridge Consultants and Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS).
Thanks in part to a generous grant from Google’s Global Impact Awards, the three organizations collaborated to come up with a new system to help keep track of endangered species in remote parts of the world and protect them from poachers. Together they came up with a system of cameras that are motion triggered and connected by the Iridium satellite network –  the only commercial satellite system with full coverage of the earth – along with an iOS app.

New U.S. elephant announcement brings good news
Here's to another step forward for elephants! Back in July, President Obama signed an Executive Order outlining how our government would fight illegal wildlife trafficking and save elephants, rhinos, and other vulnerable animals from poaching.
Now, his administration is quickly making good on that promise. In a big announcement yesterday at the White House, Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, flanked by former Secretary Hillary Clinton and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton, announced the next steps in this plan and it couldn't be more exciting.
Here's the rundown:
  • She named eight members to the Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking, including WCS President and CEO, Cristián Samper. This group will develop a national strategy to work with international groups and governments to crackdown on trafficking. 
  • Secretary Jewell announced a plan to crush six tons of ivory seized over the years by the federal government. When countries destroy their ivory stockpiles, it eliminates opportunities for corruption and guarantees the ivory doesn't land back on the black market. They're leading the world by example and encouraging African and Asian nations to do the same.
  • She announced that wildlife trade is becoming part of our government's official Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime. Adding wildlife trafficking under this umbrella means more resources to help dismantle the criminal organizations that drive poaching across Africa. African countries have everything to lose from the instability and economic disruption created by poaching. 

Nature Makes a Come Back in New England
Nature is making a comeback in New England. According to researchers from Harvard University, the region can now boast that it is the most heavily forested in the United States.
80 percent of New England is now covered by woodlands, Colin Nickerson writes in the Boston Globe. Back in the mid-1800s, only 30 to 40 percent of most parts of the region was still forested, the result of logging, farming and leveling by generations of settlers since the time of the Pilgrims.
Native species including beavers, moose, bears, gray seals, pileated woodpeckers, hawks and white-tailed deer that had been all but wiped out have reestablished themselves. There are now some 85,000 white-tailed deer in Massachusetts; only a few hundred were alive in the state at the start of the 20th century. And, while there were no bald eagles in Vermont ten years ago, 14 nesting pairs are now rearing 24 chicks!

Animals Win (sort of) vs Big Ag
Good news for animals from California courts: two important animal welfare laws intended to mandate humane conditions for food animals will remain in place, despite the best attempts of the industry. In two different cases, big agriculture attempted to strike down ballot measures giving more rights to animals raised for food products, and in both, the court shot them down.
While I stand firmly on the side of the debate that animals shouldn't be raised for food at all, this is at least good news while they still are. We can agree that if people are going to be eating animals, they should at least be raised in more humane conditions where they have access to the best possible treatment. Because all animals deserve respect, and fighting for better conditions for food animals is an important step in improving conditions in the agriculture industry.

First Success in Preventing an Attack in Syria
Last night President Obama conceded that his proposal to bomb Syria is unpopular and can’t get through Congress. This was thanks to public outrage, emails, petitions, and so forth--thank to You! Members of the House and Senate heard the message loud and clear.
While this is good news, it's not over yet. Yet again, Obama argued for attacking Syria. The threat is still very real -- which is why it’s so important that we tell Congress and the President not to attack Syria.

A Bunch Of Young Geniuses Just Made A Corrupt Corporation Freak Out Big Time. Time For Round Two.
Still feeling like you can't do anything to change the world? Well, just take a look at this Colorado nonprofit's video that has gone viral and feel that apathy just wash right out of your mind.
In 2011, Boulder voters approved a charter amendment that authorized the city council to form a municipal electric utility based on renewable, affordable energy, rather than coal. It was a big victory for the little guys -- while supporters of the local energy utility spent $106,760 on their campaign, Xcel Energy spent a whopping $960,689 on theirs. Despite being outspent nearly 10-1, the local effort won and the amendment passed.
Now New Era Colorado, a small Boulder, Colo.-based nonprofit, is faced with another fight against energy giant Xcel. If a new Boulder ballot initiative supported by the company passes, it could stop the local electric utility movement in its tracks. New Era is hoping to spread the word and gain support for the grassroots effort to preserve the progress toward renewable, independent energy. 
Please check out the video in the link to see how they did it, what you can do, and the challenges they still face with the greedy corporate greed of excel trying to step back in. 



A Pastor Asks A Politician Why He Supports Gay Marriage. It Seems He Wasn't Prepared For His Reply.
This video is just too priceless not to share. Change is happening, people are waking up and marriage equality takes steps closer every day! 




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Thanks for reading this week's "Good News!" Join us every week and feel inspired! 
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1 comment:

  1. This is such amazing news! Love this positive energy and will definitely be sharing! :)

    vegcourtesy.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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