Put abandoned Christmas trees to good use : Turn them into paint and food sweeteners!
Every year, thousands of Christmas trees are abandoned once the festive season gets over. Most of them find their way to the landfills, where their leaves (pine needles) take much more time to decompose as compared to other leaves. Now Cynthia Kartey, a PhD student from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, has found that useful products can be made from the...
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Members of this Muslim Youth Association took to streets early morning for New Year’s Day clean-up
When a majority of New Year’s revelers were still in bed after night-long celebrations, over 1,000 young members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA) in the UK were hosting a special new year prayer early in the morning after which they set off to clean up the aftermath of the previous night’s partying, garbage bags in their hands. “From Luton to London, Glasgow to Guilford, Cardiff to Croydon,...
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UK makes producers pay the cost of collecting and recycling packaging
The UK government has adopted a new strategy under which the producers and retailers of packaging shall be forced to pay the cost of collecting and recycling it. The motto behind the move is to “make the polluter pay”. The new mandate aims to: Introduce a tax on single use plastic with less than 30% recycled content. Consider banning plastic packaging where there are alternatives. Legislate to allow...
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World famous candy company Mars just committed over $1 billion towards sustainable sourcing
Confectionery giant Mars, that is world famous for producing choco-delights like M&Ms, Snickers and Milky Way, just pledged over $1 billion towards ethical and sustainable sourcing of their cocoa supplies. The company hopes to achieve its responsible sourcing goals by 2025. Already, about 50% of the company’s supplies is certified by various conservationist and ethics organizations, but with certification...
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Indian officer guides villagers to use rice husk ash to purify water
Farmers in the small village of Lambra in Punjab, India, are using rice husk ash to purify water, thanks to the efforts and guidance of IAS officer KS Pannu. Earlier, they had a hard time disposing off the same ash, which is the residue left after burning of rice husk. Lambra Kangri Multipurpose Cooperative Service Society, spearheaded by Mr Pannu, has started a pilot project in the village wherein a unique...
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An undersea robot that is helping restore Great Barrier Reef by seeding damaged parts with thousands of baby corals
As the global temperatures are rising, our oceans are turning acidic, which spells disaster for the world’s coral reefs. Almost 50% of the corals forming Australia’s Great Barrier Reef died in just two years – 2016 and 2017. However, researchers at two Australian universities have come up with a small undersea robot, named LarvalBot, that is dispersing microscopic baby corals to repopulate...
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Meet the woman spreading Christmas cheer by sending greetings from complete strangers to homeless people
Erin Schulte began the “Christmas Card Collective” last year when she asked her friends and family members to send her cards that she could pass on to the less fortunate. After setting a modest goal of 225 cards, Schulte was stunned to receive over 800 letters – so this year, she took to social media in the hopes of collecting even more. “These are the most words from complete strangers. You don’t know if it’s...
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This US teen spent his entire $3,000 award money to provide electricity to his grandpa’s school in India
Krithik Ramesh, a 16-year-old US teen of Indian origin, visited India last month. Besides other places, he was keen on seeing his grandfather’s school at Deviyakuruchi near Attur, Tamil Nadu. But when he entered the school premises, he got a rude shock. Not only was the school unclean, it lacked basic amenities too. Krithik learned that this was the state of many government schools in India. The young man...
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This kind-hearted Indian mechanic has rescued over 1,180 injured wild animals
As a young child, Peera Ram Bishnoi would often see peacocks, rabbits, deer, and other wildlife enter his fields and devour the crops. When he asked his parents why they didn’t chase them away, they replied, “It isn’t the wildlife that causes damage to humans, it is the other way around. The existence of the entire universe is dependent upon the five great elements–earth, sky, wind, fire, and water....
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An elderly man left his 2-year-old neighbor Christmas gifts for the next 14 years
Ken was a former salvage marine diver, a seaman, a carpenter, an engineer, an accordian player — and a great baker. He was also the neighbor of the Williams family for two years. A few days after he passed away, his daughter visited the Williams’ to drop off a large bag filled with Christmas gifts. Apparently, Ken had been buying Christmas gifts for the Williams’ 2-year-old daughter for the...
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