Good News Break: Three Heroes Making a Difference

by Nomad

I decided to take a much-needed break from the dire news of the pandemic and the stomach-churning saga of the Trump presidency in order to throw a spotlight on three heroes. Hope you will take a moment to watch the videos and read their stories.

Good News Round-up for July 2019

by Nomad

Thought you might like a break from the Trump News.
The theme of this collection of good news stories is not scientific developments or large scale efforts to right some man-made wrong.

Rather, these are stories on a smaller (but no less significant) calibration: personal acts of charity and courage that have made or are making a difference in the lives of strangers.

Three Surprisingly Good News Stories on Tackling Climate Change

by Nomad

For good reason, climate change has been called “challenge of our generation.” Experts have been warning us that the possibility that a runaway warming of the planet will make vast areas of the planet uninhabitable is real. And the window of opportunity is slowly closing. The world needs US leadership on the issue. Unfortunately, the only thing America seems to have to offer is Donald Trump.
In the midst of this glum forecast, we can still find some positive signs.

Three News Stories to Brighten Your Day

by Nomad

Photo by Marcin Ryczek

Every day and all around us, there are people turning tragedies into positive stories. Unfortunately, nine times out of ten, those stories go unnoticed or trivialized. In time, hopelessness overwhelms us and I think, gives us a distorted view of what's happening.
In truth, it is entirely up to us which we would like to focus our attention on, the rotten side of life or the good.

Good News Round-up- April 2018

by Nomad

This month's good news round-up includes stories about technology making life better, health breakthroughs and remarkable people going out of their way to help others.

Good News Round Up- March 2018

by Nomad

This month's good news round-up is a real mixed bag. We have scientific breakthroughs, governments coming together to protect the environment, and two examples of unselfishness in action.

Good News Round -Up for Week Two of February 2018

by Nomad

In an endless search of positive news, I scoured the Internet, hunting high and low. and I managed to find these four stories for all my glum Nomads. 

Super Beans for Human Beings

Let's talk beans. Specifically, super beans. 

Developed by scientists at the National Agricultural Research Organisation of Uganda, in collaboration with the Colombia-based International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the Nabe 15 bean is better than your average bean. It's a fast-maturing, high-yield variety that drought-resistant. 

Nomad's Good News Round-Up for December 2017

by Nomad

We have literally been bombarded by bad news for the past year. Well, not literally but it seems like it sometimes.
Sometimes it feels like things are just out of control and headed for some dark and vaguely-terrifying place. It's too easy to retreat and say "To hell with it."
Speaking from experience, I know there are moments when throwing yourself on the bed and cowering under the blanket seems like the only solution left. Surrender is, however, not an option for people who actually care about the future.
So I keep hoping.

Anyway, that's why I devote every month to boosting the morale of the community. Here's this month's installment.

Good News Round-Up - Thanksgiving 2017

by Nomad

What do you think? Is it time for a little good news?
It's been another demoralizing week in politics. There have been some fairly disgusting accusations flying around left and right. President Trump, his family, and all his cronies still haven't been called to account and it had to be patient and it is harder to be hopeful.

However, that is not the complete story. There's good news out there if you look for it.
With that in mind, I have scoured the net in search of optimism and glad tidings and here are four items that I've managed to uncover.

George Kaiser, the Philanthropic Oil Man

The Christian Science Monitor has highlighted the philanthropic efforts of Oklahoma oil tycoon, George Kaiser. Despite being the state's richest man, Kaiser (whose net worth is at
least $11.5 billion) doesn't go in for ostentation like any other billionaire. He is a simple man, reportedly does not own any vacation homes, airplanes or yachts; and travels on commercial flights.

Good News Round-Up for Week Two of October 2017

by Nomad

With ugly events happening every place you turn, with stupid insensitive people running the show, and with so many people affected by man's inhumanity to man and all living things, you might sometimes think the world has gone to shit.

You might think that last remaining thing on the to-do list is to shovel the whole mess into a trash can and walk away.
That's one plan.

Giving in to despair might seem like the easiest thing to do. No question about that. That course, however, never made the world a better place, never saved a life and never inspired anybody to be a better person.

To remedy that, it is time for a round-up of the despair-immunizing news for the month. Let's start our search for good news in what might seem an unlikely place. The Carribean.

Good News Round-Up- for Week 2 September 2017

by Nomad

This month's Good News focuses on the big picture. Confident in knowing that these dark days of Trump and weather-related disasters will soon pass, I decided that I ought to look at the quiet revolutions going on around us which are transforming the planet.

Even while the bad news makes the headlines, progress continues. So let's take a look at that for a moment.

New Reports See Bright Futures for Wind and Solar

According to two recent reports, we might be underestimating the influence that solar and wind energy will play in the near future. These optimistic forecasts suggest that the radical trends of the last decade are unstoppable and what we are looking at is something akin to an energy revolution.

Both of these reports offer forecasts that are wildly optimistic relative to the mainstream modeling community, but it’s not because they predict wind and solar are going to have some unprecedented explosion.

Orange Poison: How Toxins in Ohio Streams Are Being Turned into Works of Art

 by Nomad

When you hear Mr. Trump talk about opening new mines, there's something he doesn't mention about coal mines. We all know about the environmental damage caused by burning coal. Parts of China have been rendered uninhabitable from the coal smoke pollution. And of course, as a carbon, coal adds to the greenhouse gas levels.

However, what is less discussed is the harm caused by mines themselves. That's true even for mine operations that have long been shut down. Decades after the mines have been closed, and the companies have been forgotten, and any person who had anything to do with the mine has become a permanent underground fixture,  the poisons continue to leach out of the ground.

Good News Round for Week 2- August 2017

by Nomad

It's time for a monthly roundup of brighter news than our usual fare.
I have chosen a few stories that might brighten your day somewhat. From free treatment for a killer disease whose victims were once so highly stigmatized to a fresh approach to tackling climate change, there are five links to good news stories coming your way.

Good News Round-up for Week 1- July 2017

by Nomad

Starting this month, as a regular feature, I would like to offer a round-up of some recent  good news. For the sake of our sanity, it is important that we do not too bogged down in the mire and muck of the Trump age. It's easy to forget that the gloom is not global.
Here are five positive diversions.

Good News Round-up: Three Inspiring Stories about Survival

by Nomad

For those of us who were born to care about the world, it's easy to find more than enough depressing things to think about. More than we deserve to see, I think. No doubt, it would be a lot easier to stop worrying and turn our backs the whole damn thing.
Well, I have tried but for some reason, as soon as the fatigue wears off, I keep coming back.
Still, today, at least, we can take a break from the gloom.

Survivor Named Peace

If you ever land in Istanbul while on your world adventures, be sure to look up the Red Cat Publishing House. Besides a lot of books and kind-hearted staff, you are likely to find the cat named Baris, (pronounced Bar-ish). It means Peace in Turkish.

He happens to be a minor celebrity at the moment even in a city famous for its love of stray cats.

These Three Tales of Open-Hearted Giving Will Make You Smile

by Nomad

Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck once said that an act of goodness is of itself an act of happiness and that no reward coming after the event could compare with the sweet reward that went with it.

To illustrate that idea, I've found three stories. I present them with the hope they will reaffirm your faith in people.
Firstly, there's this lesson of how to turn good fortune into goodwill.

Anonymous lottery player drops winning ticket in Salvation Army kettle

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - An anonymous Pennsylvania Lottery player recently deposited a winning instant ticket worth $1,000 into a Salvation Army red kettle. "The Christmas season often brings out the best in people," said Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko.

In another story of anonymous assistance in Pennsylvania, an unidentified man has paid off the overdue lunch bill of more than 40 elementary school children.

How to Make Sense of a Senseless Act of Violence

by Nomad

Whenever there is a senseless act of violence against the innocent, many of us struggle to find the means to cope, or some kind of an appropriate response. That often seems like an impossible feat.

"Chapelhillvictims" 
by Source (WP:NFCC#4).

On February 10, 2015, Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23,  and his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21,and her 19-year old sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were brutally murdered in their Chapel Hill, North Carolina home. 

All three died of gunshot wounds inflicted by their neighbor, Craig Stephen Hicks, a 46-year-old former car parts salesman. (Reportedly the motive for the triple murder was a dispute about a parking space.

Barakat and his wife were both students at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, enrolled in the School for Dentistry. Last Monday Barakat would have begun his third year there and his wife would have followed her husband with her first-year dentistry school. 

A senseless tragedy, there's no doubt about that. The question is: is there ever an appropriate response to such an event? It is too easy to match hate with hate, ignorance with ignorance, or perhaps worse, simply to shake one's head and move on.
How can we not surrender to despair?

Tim's Place: Where Dreams Come True and Hugs are Free

 by Nomad

As owner of the "World's Friendliest Restaurant," Tim Harris offers a free hug and an example of his positive attitude to his customers.

When Tim Harris opened his Albuquerque, New Mexico restaurant in 2010, one of his goals was to create the "World's Friendliest Restaurant."

In addition to diner favorites, which includes delicious home-style Southwestern/American dishes. Tim's Place also serves up something else: a personal hug to every customer. 

That special attention is guaranteed to, as he puts it, “improve your lease on life.” Harris has, by his reckoning, served more than 32,400 hugs and he is only getting started.

He told one reporter:

“I love giving all the customers a hug because I want them to feel comfortable and connected and being around friends.” 

People Power to the Rescue

by Nomad

I saw this video clip the other day. I don't have much information on it. It appears to have come from Brazil but that could be incorrect. The information only reads:

About 30 Dolphins stranded and saved by local people at Arraial do Cabo (Brazil) in the morning at 8:00 AM on March 5th 2012.

Besides, it really doesn't matter where it came from. I'd like to believe it could happen on any day and on any beach.
I hope you feel as inspired as I did by this understated example of people power.

Related articles

• Dolphins Stranded, Rescued (leftperspectives.com)

Good News! Kind People have Survived

Why is this man taking off his clothes in a public place? Before you click on the link below, I'd like to hear your best guess. It's not hard to figure out but it helps to be in the right frame of mind. Positive, I mean.