Meet the ‘Puffin Patrol’ : Out on a mission to save Iceland’s lost puffins
Iceland’s baby puffins or ‘pufflings’ face a lot of threats – global warming and hunting being the most prominent ones. As a result, the puffin population in Iceland has dropped dramatically over the last two decades. Now another major issue that young puffins face is getting lost and accidentally wandering into towns where they often fall prey to cats and speeding vehicles. Actually,...
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This Indian woman from a small village has become champion of chemical-free farming
Lalita Mukati is an award-winning organic farmer from Borlai village in Barwani district, Madhya Pradesh, who has freed over 36 acres of farmland from the clutches of chemical pesticides. She single-handedly manages her farmland – from riding tractors and scooters to coordinating with nearly 30 farm hands – she does it all. Lalita grows various kinds of crops, ranging from amla, custard apple,...
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US imposes 20-year ban on mineral mining on public land near Yellowstone Park
In a move that is being celebrated by environmentalists and a host of Montana businesses and organizations, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke approved a 20-year ban on mineral mining in the public areas to the north of Yellowstone National Park. The ban will not only protect Yellowstone’s beautiful landscape and dozens of wildlife species, it will also preserve the popular recreational areas near the...
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This man became a pilot and kept his promise of taking his village elders on their first flight ever
Not many people remember the promises they once made, after they’ve climbed the ladder of success. But this Indian man did not forget to fulfill his promise after landing a job as a pilot, warming the hearts of everyone in his village. Vikas Jyani, a newly appointed pilot from the north Indian state of Haryana, recently arranged air travel for all of the men and women of his village between the ages of 70...
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Meet the farmer who donated Rs 40,000 to print books for tribal kids, years after being unable to afford education himself
CK Narayana Panicker is a farmer from Kozhikode in the south Indian state of Kerala. He was forced to give up education due to lack of funds to buy even textbooks. But that did not deter the man from donating a more than generous sum of Rs 40,000 for printing textbooks for students studying at the government tribal lower primary (LP) school in Edamalakkudy village of Idukki district. Edamalakkudy is a remote...
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These drones could be used to pollinate plants in case bees go extinct
With the global bee population under threat of going extinct in the face rampant use of toxic pesticides and climate change, we are facing a scary future as bees are responsible for pollinating 80% of all flowering plants, including 70 of the top 100 human food crops. Thankfully,researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have been working on long-term solutions to this problem and have come...
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This company ‘renews’ non-sellable merchandise of brands and resells them
In this age of online shopping and free returns, most of us don’t bat an eyelid before ordering a piece of clothing in multiple sizes, choosing the right fit and returning the rest. But what we don’t know is where these ‘returned’ items land up. Around 30 to 50% of our ‘returned’ items never get restocked! Instead, they are sent to warehouses, eventually shredded, and thrown...
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This US city is no longer sending food waste to landfills
The city of Austin, Texas, is quite serious about meeting its goal of zero waste by 2040. Austin has enforced a new law from October 1 under which the restaurants in the city will no longer be allowed to send their food waste to landfills. Instead, the authorities have prescribed four methods of organic waste diversion- feeding hungry people by donating extra food sending it to be used for animal feed to local...
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Critically endangered western lowland gorilla born in Florida zoo
A female critically endangered western lowland gorilla was born at Florida’s Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, the authorities announced on Wednesday. Both the baby and the 22-year-old mother Kumbuka are doing well. The baby has been temporarily placed under the care of gorilla staff after Kumbuka was seen improperly cradling and carrying the little gorilla, similar to how she behaved when she lost two...
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Over the last two decades, this Indian NGO saved more than 72,000 victims of human trafficking
In 1996, the Supreme Court of India passed a historic judgement completely banning the cutting of trees in the seven north-eastern states of the country. While the move was welcomed by environmentalists, it spelled doom for hundreds of women artisans in the area who depended on access to bamboo and cane for their work. Thus began the process of mass migration of rural communities to urban areas in search of...
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