December 2009
23 posts
Top 10 Vegetarian News Stories of the Decade →
“5. The China Study Published, 2005 Since its publication, The China Study by researcher T. Colin Campbell has been one of the most influential books ever to recommend a plant-based diet. The book encompasses a breath-taking scope of research, and in a time of national concern about health care, the study’s findings could not be more pertinent….”
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Women Become Majority of American Workforce →
“Women’s economic empowerment is arguably the biggest social change of our times. Just a generation ago, women were largely confined to repetitive, menial jobs. They were routinely subjected to casual sexism and were expected to abandon their careers when they married and had children.”
New York City Has Fewest Annual Murders Since 1963 →
“There were days upon days in New York City when not a single person was murdered in 2009. Two such stretches, in February and March, lasted nearly a week each. There were some pockets of the city where murder was a singular occurrence: 12 of the city’s 77 police precincts, in as varied locations as Upper Manhattan and Park Slope, Brooklyn, have logged one homicide each through...
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Investors See Farms As a Way to Grow Detroit →
“Hantz executives envision a city where green fields and apple orchards flourish next to houses and factories, and forests thrive alongside interstates and highways. The team is still figuring out what will grow where: Tree groves could be planted where the soil is too contaminated to grow food, and empty factory buildings may be converted to house hydroponic fields to raise specialty...
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European Court of Human Rights Declares Racial and... →
“The court found, by 14 votes to 3 (16 votes to 1 with respect to the presidency), that the exclusion of Jews and Roma could not be justified. It stated that the ‘authorities must use all available means to combat racism, thereby reinforcing democracy’s vision of a society in which diversity is not perceived as a threat but as a source of enrichment.’”
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Top 5 Sustainable Food Stories of 2009 →
“3. Huge growth in farmers markets. In 2009, the number of farmers markets in the US expanded from 4,685 to 5,274, a growth rate of 13 percent. More and more people from all walks of life are embracing the farm-to-table ethic, coming to understand that buying from the farmers market is healthy, sustainable and support local economies. This is great news, as devotion to farmers markets is key...
Crime Rates Continue to Fall →
“The homicide rate dropped 10 percent in the first half of this year as crime rates reached their lowest point nationally since the 1960s, the FBI reported Monday….The data for early 2009 suggest that the crime-dropping trend of 2008 is not just continuing but accelerating.”
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Green Building Comes of Age →
“’We’re no longer a ‘nascent’ industry. Things are moving rapidly now, starting to coalesce and solidify,’ says Rick Schwolsky, the editor in chief of EcoHome magazine. ‘There’s still a lot of confusion, and no one standard and/or single organization that represents the beacon [of green building]. But trade associations are now fighting over who is greener. It’s the best thing...
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U.S. Prison Population Drops for First Time in... →
“Studies have touted significant savings with drug courts, saying they cost 10 percent to 30 percent less than it costs to send someone to prison….The reforms in many state prisons and courts come even as crime rates continue to drop nationwide. ‘It’s economically driven, but the science is there to support it,’ Austin said. ‘They are saving money, but not doing...
Five Reasons for Optimism →
“1. A surge in nonviolence. In his 2005 book Unarmed Insurrections, Rutgers sociologist Kurt Schock made a strong case that the last 30 years have seen a substantial shift away from violent “people’s war” and toward nonviolent people power….One difference between people’s war and people power is that the latter is more likely to lead to a relatively free...
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U.N. Disappearances Covention Comes Two Steps... →
“Amnesty International has campaigned for over a quarter of a century for a convention to prevent and combat enforced disappearances worldwide. ‘The Committee will offer a new avenue to pursue cases of enforced disappearance, which will be particularly important in countries where the authorities fail to meet their obligations to investigate and prosecute these violations,’ said...
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Green and Prosperous? Denmark Leads the Way →
“Denmark awoke to the perils of foreign oil dependence when the 1973 Arab embargo delivered a body blow to its energy security….Denmark’s political leadership responded by setting the nation on a path toward energy independence, with dramatic and lasting results.”
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After 18 Years, Train Service Restored Between... →
“A grimy three-car train pulled out of Belgrade’s railway station today on the first direct trip to Sarajevo in nearly 18 years, restoring a link between the capitals of Serbia and Bosnia broken at the start of ethnic warfare in the former Yugoslavia….Only nine people were planning the journey all the way to Sarajevo. ‘It is a very special event to make this connection...
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Democracy Matures in Latin America →
“Support for democracy is at its highest level since the late 1990s, up 11 points from its trough in 2001. A clear majority across the region are now committed democrats….Even more strikingly, satisfaction with the working of democracy has increased sharply, to its highest level since the polls began. Trust in democracy’s basic institutions is also growing steadily.”
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Faith Groups Pledge to Fight Climate Change →
“Key commitments made by each faith tradition
Daoists in China will install solar panels at all their temples in China.
American Evangelicals will facilitate an annual Creation Care Leadership summit to inspire and equip evangelical leaders to support creation care in their communities….
The Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church will replant an ancient historical forest that used to...
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A Vision of Hope For Revitalizing Detroit →
“Like a neglected brownstone or a ramshackle Victorian, Detroit has good bones. Already, the city is attracting social entrepreneurs who are excited by the challenge of fundamentally remaking a city. Philanthropies are pouring in money and imagination—the rail system on the Woodward Corridor is partially funded by tens of millions of dollars from two major foundations, and other...
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NOW & THEN: Considering the Last 50 Years in... →
“While circumstances varied by state, many American women lived under laws that gave their husbands control of not only their property, but also their earnings. They could not go into business without their husbands’ permission or get credit without male cosigners….Then, suddenly, everything changed.
A generation that was born into a world where women were decreed to have too...
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Anglican Diocese Elects Openly Gay Bishop →
“Glasspool is the first openly gay priest to be elected bishop since the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire in 2003….Reached in Manchester, N.H., Robinson praised the Los Angeles result. ‘This has been amazing 6 1/2 years, but it has sometimes felt lonely, and I cannot think of a better partner in the House of Bishops than Mary Glasspool,’ he said.”
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Cancer Death Rate Continues to Fall in U.S. →
“The report included a special section on colorectal cancer, which is the third most frequently diagnosed malignancy in both men and women in the U.S. Deaths from colorectal cancer have been declining since the mid-1980s in men and the mid-1970s in women….Improved screening is largely responsible for the decline, Brenda K. Edwards, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute tells WebMD....
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Global Measles Deaths Drop By 78% in Eight Years →
“All regions, with the exception of one, have achieved the United Nations goal of reducing measles mortality by 90% from 2000 to 2010, two years ahead of target. Vaccinating nearly 700 million children against measles, through large-scale immunization campaigns and increased routine immunization coverage, has prevented an estimated 4.3 million measles deaths in less than a decade.”
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Deadliest Animal Disease On the Brink of... →
“‘Rinderpest tops the list of killer diseases [in animals],’ says Juan Lubroth, chief veterinary officer for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome. It not only kills cattle and other wildlife, it also causes famines when people in developing countries lose the beasts they need to plough their fields, he adds.”
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After Years of Denial, South Africa Pledges to... →
“Mr. Zuma’s pledge marks a departure from the policies of his predecessor, President Thabo Mbeki, who disputed the scientific evidence linking HIV with AIDS, and who actively discouraged the rollout of antiretroviral treatments to help AIDS patients live longer, more productive lives.”
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FOCUS ON: Compassion →
“What is the essence of human nature? Flawed, say many theologians. Vicious and addicted to warfare, wrote Hobbes. Selfish and in need of considerable improvement, think many parents. But biologists are beginning to form a generally sunnier view of humankind….Of course every animal must to some extent be selfish to survive. But the biologists also see in humans a natural willingness to...