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Events: Planet

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First things first, we’re going to be at SXSW next week, proud to be a part of WeCanEndThis’s CauseLab, which is kicking off a 30-day online brainstorm on Monday, March 15th. If you can’t be there, but you consider yourself “disrupters or innovators from all disciplines” interested in solving hunger in America, then go to the website and get involved.

There’s generally a bunch of other sustainability related stuff happening at SXSW, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted.

On to other planetary challenges, on March 25th Columbia’s Earth Institute looks to address the “State of the Planet” in their biannual conference... Read & Discuss

   By: Ben Jervey of GOOD Magazine | March 10th, 2010
Refresh Topics:  "Planet
  
 

Education Events

A handful of promising education events going on around the country in upcoming weeks. Here’s a sampling:

The annual Shepard Symposium on Social Justice will be held April 7-9 at the University of Wyoming.  The free event honors murdered UW student and social activist Mathew Shepard, and the work of his family. The symposium seeks to “engage participants in discussion and analyses of strategies and actions that can eliminate social inequality based on race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and class.”

The National Catholic Education Association’s annual convention will take place in Minneapolis from April 6-8, 2010.  The conference features author Garrison Keillor… Read & Discuss

   By: Liz Dwyer of GOOD Magazine | March 10th, 2010
Refresh Topics:  "Education
  
 
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Ideas for Housing the Homeless

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It’s difficult to calculate the actual numbers of homeless individuals and families in the United States, but as the National Coalition for the Homeless explains, a recent study of homelessness in 50 cities found that in virtually every city, the city’s official estimated number of homeless people greatly exceeded the number of emergency shelter and transitional housing spaces. Several Refresh projects address the challenges of housing those in need.

EDAR  provides mobile shelters to the homeless. Based on a simple cart design, the EDAR unit allows for storage and mobility during the day. At night, the EDAR unfolds into a one-person bed, providing shelter and an alternative to a cardboard box or cold concrete… Read & Discuss

   By: Allison Arieff of GOOD Magazine | March 10th, 2010
Refresh Topics:  "Food
  
 
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Ideas for Making Bad Places Better

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In Western Pennsylvania, there’s no shortage of old, abandoned coal mines. One organization has a plan for what to do with some of them. The idea is to build botanic gardens–the Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania–where the old mines sit like open sores on the landscape, leaking acid drainage into local waterways. The organization is already in the process of removing the old coal mines, and has big plans for the 452 acre site, which include “beautiful gardens and a lake, many ponds, hiking and biking trails… Read & Discuss

   By: Ben Jervey of GOOD Magazine | March 10th, 2010
Refresh Topics:  "Planet
  
 
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What’s In a Name? Cap-and-Trade, By Any Other Name Would Be As Sweet

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President Obama gathered Senators from both sides of the aisle yesterday to talk about how to move forward on a comprehensive climate and energy bill. Details from the closed door meeting with seven Democrats and six Republicans and Independent Joe Lieberman are scant, but parties involved seemed optimistic that it could produce a bill by the end of the year… Read & Discuss

   By: Ben Jervey of GOOD Magazine | March 10th, 2010
Refresh Topics:  "Planet
  
 
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Q&A: Making Educational Media Accessible

bill_bio_mod_toned_badgedImagine your history teacher brings in a video about the Knights Templar to supplement a lesson about the Crusades. Now imagine you have vision or hearing loss. How effective will that video be?

The Described and Captioned Media Program works to ensure K-12 students with vision or hearing loss (deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired and deaf/blind) have equal access to the educational media used in schools. The program provides free loaner DVDs and Internet streaming for schools, teachers and families serving students with vision or hearing loss. Veteran educator Bill Stark has been director of the US Department of Education funded and National Association of the Deaf administered program since 1991. I talked with Bill about the program’s efforts to ensure equal access for all students… Read & Discuss

   By: Liz Dwyer of GOOD Magazine | March 10th, 2010
Refresh Topics:  "Education
  
 
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The Power of Play

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Everyone needs to play. Even if we are older and (ahem) wiser, play is still integral to our health and to our communities. These days most of our play happens in front of a screen while parks, soccer fields and skating rinks patiently await our return. This month, as spring quietly makes a comeback, consider taking a time-out from your XBOX or Wii and enjoy the really great outdoors.

Some folks in Walnut, Iowa (population 877) are hoping to get some more outside time with a new splash pad at the town’s center… Read & Discuss

   By: Kyla Fullenwider of GOOD Magazine | March 9th, 2010
Refresh Topics:  "Neighborhoods
  
 
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How To: Organize a 5K Charity Run

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When you organize a charity run or walk-a-thon, you accomplish so much for the health of the community. For starters, you get a large group of people exercising. Who knows, your event just might be the starting point for some lifelong couch potatoes to take better care of their health!

You’d aslo bring much-needed awareness for a health charity or cause that affects many people. Whether you are raising funds for breast cancer research, a cystic fibrosis support group or AIDS awareness, the money from the event will improve… Read & Discuss

   By: Mallika Chopra of GOOD Magazine | March 9th, 2010
Refresh Topics:  "Health
  
 
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LOOK: Will a Single Carnitas Taco Upend Locavorism?

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The group of architecture students from California College of Art’s URBANlab may not have spent much time worrying about the origins of the lunch they were about to order when asked to meet for class at a San Francisco taco truck last fall. But once their carnitas were consumed, they were given their assignment for the semester: map the origins of and paths taken by the ingredients of the food they’d just eaten.

But what, you may be wondering, can your taco tell you? Read & Discuss

   By: Allison Arieff of GOOD Magazine | March 9th, 2010
Refresh Topics:  "Food
  
 
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How To: Green Your Workplace In 6 Steps Without Driving Your Co-Workers Nuts

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The typical office is a battleground of personal tastes and habits.  So what, then, is the environmentally-conscious worker to do? How could you possible work to “green” your workspace without becoming the the office nuisance? We talked to Roberto Rhett, the director of Green Spaces NY, an eco-friendly co-working office share, about how to lower the impact of your workplace without driving all your co-workers nuts. Here are 6 easy tips: Read & Discuss

   By: Ben Jervey of GOOD Magazine | March 9th, 2010
Refresh Topics:  "Planet
  
 
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