Seattle’s leaders approve a tax on big companies to help the city’s homeless
Big businesses in Seattle like Amazon and Starbucks will now be required to pay ‘head tax’ to raise funds for affordable housing to help the city’s homeless. The new measure was approved by the City Council on Monday under which businesses making at least $20 million in gross revenues will be taxed about $275 per full-time worker annually. The debate over who should pay to solve a housing...
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Nearly half of Australia’s big businesses are transitioning to renewable energy
A new report by Australia’s Climate Council has revealed that nearly half of the country’s large businesses are moving towards renewable sources of energy as their power bills continue to soar. Many of them have completely gone off the grid and are generating their own solar power. The average household and small-business energy bill is more than 80% higher than a decade ago. Gas prices have...
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This young woman turned her home into school for kids of tannery laborers, teaches them for free
The city of Kanpur in India is home to hundreds of leather tanneries. The laborers who work there live in deplorable conditions and cannot afford to send their children to school. Most of them consider it better to send their kids to work at the tanneries instead of sending them to school as they are able to fetch a minimum daily wage of Rupees 200-400 at work. This is what bothered 20-year-old Sana Parveen, who...
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Kangaroo rats thought to be extinct reappear after 30 years
The San Quintin kangaroo rats, declared extinct by the Mexican government in 1994, made a reappearance after 30 years, much to the delight of animal conservationists. Four of these small furry mammals were rediscovered along a narrow strip of Baja California’s coast by a team of researchers from the San Diego Natural History Museum. ″There’s a feeling of anticipation and excitement when you check the memory card...
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This scientist created a single-use water bottle that fully decomposes in just 3 weeks
It is a well known fact that our land and marine ecosystems are literally choking on the plastic that we conveniently use and discard. Single-use plastic water bottles are undoubtedly one of the biggest environmental hazards that our planet faces today. Fortunately, a British scientist has developed a plastic-free, single-use water bottle that can decompose within three weeks. The Choose Water bottle, developed...
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Engineers in India develop a device that turns diesel soot into ink
With its capital city being one of the three most polluted cities in the world, India’s air pollution woes are an open secret today. Although the air quality drops to much more alarming levels during winters, summers see frequent power cuts and as a result, higher use of diesel generators that add to the already high air pollution levels. But a team of Indian engineers has figured out away to bring some...
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These college students launched an initiative to provide sanitary napkins to 400 maids in their locality
In India, menstruation is a subject that is seldom discussed in the open. Despite the fact that thousands of girls are forced to drop out of school once they reach puberty due to lack of menstrual awareness and hygiene, not many are willing to talk about the subject, especially in the country’s rural areas. An astounding 71% girls have little to no knowledge about menstruation and menstrual hygiene before...
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New Zealand government to provide shelter to all homeless people by June
The winter has arrived in New Zealand and its government just announced a $100 million package to offer shelter to the country’s homeless people. It is reported that over 40,000 people in New Zealand live on the streets. That is almost 1 in 100 New Zealanders. “We’ve really made a plea today, any marae, any seasonal housing that might be available, please contact us, we’ll work alongside...
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Hawaii all set to ban sale of sunscreens toxic to its coral reefs
In a move that is being celebrated by environmentalists, the lawmakers in Hawaii have passed a ban on the sale and distribution of sunscreens that contain chemicals that are toxic to the island’s coral reefs. Two particular chemicals found in most sunscreens – oxybenzone and octinoxate – cause coral DNA mutation and make it more prone to bleaching. If Gov. David Ige (D) approves the legislation...
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This Indian woman made 82 villages completely open-defecation free in just 4 years
The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was launched in 2014, that aimed to clean up India’s cities, towns and villages. One of the most important agendas of the campaign was to eliminate open defecation in the country’s rural areas through the construction of toilets. At that time, Monika Ijardar was studying in college for her first semester exams. Intrigued by the campaign, she decided to attend a training...
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