More People Are Getting on the Bus . . .

. . . and the subway. According to the American Public Transportation Association, the number of people using public transit has risen dramatically—30 percent since 1995. That's more than double the growth rate of the population.

Partly in response to rising gas prices, partly in response to growing consciousness about the environmental impact of automobiles, the change is a good sign.

Which reminds us, as Earth Day approaches (April 22), let's challenge ourselves, shall we? First, let's show the Earth some respect by giving a moment of thanks and committing to becoming more conscious of what we consume day to day. And second, by believing that it is, indeed, possible for human beings to live on this planet in a way that sustains it. After all, what we believe matters!

Seeing Beyond TO DO Lists

We Americans love setting goals. We dream of accomplishing big things. But with our dreams and To Do lists in hand, we tend to forget that, sometimes, so-called average people end up doing extraordinary deeds just by paying attention to what's in front of them.

Such is the case with Detroit native Viola Vaughn. Viola picked herself up after personal tragedy and did what needed to be done, no major, far-reaching goal in mind. The result is something far better than she could ever had imagined for herself.

Read and watch "The Best Job I Ever Had In My Life," for the inspiring story of Viola Vaughn and “10,000 Girls,” a project in which hundreds of “failing” school girls are now teaching each other and becoming entrepreneurs.

Dropping the Cafeteria Tray

InsideHigherEd.com reports that students at Alfred University "ran a test last semester showing that on two days when trays weren’t offered, food and beverage waste dropped between 30 and 50 percent . . . That amounts to about 1,000 pounds of solid waste and 112 gallons of liquid waste saved on a weekly basis, according to the college."

By taking only what they can carry, even though they can go back for seconds if they choose, students are more likely to take less, eat less, and waste less, reducing the school's food-bill bottom line significantly, and probably reducing the bottoms of some students as well.

University officials say student weight control isn't their mission with this effort. It's about reducing waste and consuming less water (those hundreds of trays have to be washed, after all). And, less food wasted means less food shipped, which means fewer trucks on the road, which means lower gas consumption, which means . . . You get the picture.

Other universities also are testing the trayless cafeteria, including the University of Connecticut, which has a three-week trayless trial underway. School officials are prepared for some student complaints. Change, no matter how beneficial, always faces some degree of resistance.

On March 29, Be in the Dark!

Can one grand gesture change the world? Participate in this year's Earth Hour and we'll all find out together. It’s simple. On March 29 at 8 pm, your local time—turn off your lights for one hour. That's it.

Earth Hour started last year, March 31, in Sydney, Australia, when 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses turned off their lights for one hour in hopes of inspiring the rest of the world to take action on climate change. Sydney icons such as the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turned off their lights, weddings and other events were held in candlelight, and the world took notice.

What was the environmental impact? If the greenhouse reduction achieved in Sydney during Earth Hour 2007 was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year.

As of today's date, nearly 200,000 individuals and over 13,000 companies have officially signed up on the Earth Hour Web site. Cities around the world have also pledged their participation, too. According to the Earth Hour Site, “Chicago will serve as the U.S. flagship city for Earth Hour in 2008, with Atlanta, Phoenix and San Francisco joining as leading partner cities. But everyone throughout the US and around the world is invited and encouraged to turn off their lights . . . whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.”

So, let’s spread the word. Then turn off those lights!

Go, Crimson!

Harvard Law School will waive tuition for third-year students who pledge to spend five years working either for nonprofit organizations or the government. The New York Times reports on Harvard's efforts to encourage students to choose careers in public service.

Word Up

Words are important. When a new one appears in our lexicon it's generally pointing to some new idea or trend that has taken hold in society.

In our Word Up series, we'll be featuring new words that point up—up to positive ideas and trends. As do, for example, these two new words and their variations:

voluntourism (voluntourists, voluntours)
Voluntourism businesses have sprung up to meet the demand of voluntourists, people of all ages and backgrounds who volunteer their time and effort to worthy causes by spending their vacations on voluntours.

ecotourism (ecotourist, ecotours)
Ecotourism is similar to voluntourism in that it involves travel, the difference being that ecotourists prefer ecotours—traveling to destinations that feature exposure to and education about local flora and fauna—and vacationing in a way that respects and conserves natural resources.

Have you heard a positive new word? Please share it with us at share@andnowforthegoodnews.com.

Good News for Employees Everywhere

When you win that lottery tomorrow, you’ll quit your job, right? You might want to revisit that decision. A new study from the American Sociological Association has some good news for worker bees everywhere.

"Although people who work give up some independence, the study found that being employed does lead to better health," says lead study author John Mirowksy, sociology professor with the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. "One thing that surprised us was that the daily activities of employed persons are more creative than those of non-employed persons of the same sex, age, and level of education."

And why is creativity important? Because, says Mirowsky, "the health advantage of being somewhat above average in creative work [in the 60th percentile] versus being somewhat below average [in the 40th percentile] is equal to being 6.7 years younger."

It is also equal to having two more years of education or 15 times greater household income, Mirowsky adds.

In other words, a little creative employment each day makes you healthier, wealthier, and wiser.

For more on the study, click here. (Thanks to our intern Lindsay Nigro for finding this sociology report.)

For a little further work-related inspiration, read our earlier story, "Daydreaming with Fortune Magazine."

A New San Diego Homebuilder Takes a Chance and Sets a New Standard

In 2001, SheaHomes, a new national homebuilding company, built 306 homes called the Scripps Highlands development in northern San Diego. Not just another neighborhood of McMansions, Scripps Highlands marks the first time in the U.S. that a builder has set out to design and construct a development of highly energy efficient homes, also known as “high performance homes” (HPHs). Now, almost seven years later, the development has proven to be a success both financially and environmentally.

Set on the lots to maximize the position of the sun, the homes include solar technology to generate electricity as well as an energy-saving package with features such as tightly sealed-ducts, solar radiant barriers, and special heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems. The result: a whopping 30­–60% savings in energy costs.

In addition, the Scripps Highland development is also the first in the country to use “net metering,” an electricity policy in which homeowners receive retail credit for at least a portion of the electricity their systems generate. Watching your energy meter spin backward is not only exciting from an environmental standpoint, it puts money in your pocket.

What's perhaps most surprising about the SheaHomes venture is that according to a study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL):

the Scripps Highland homes were profitable for the builders while still being competitively priced with the traditional homes in the area ($602,000 for a Scripps home; $615,000 for a conventional home)

the Scripps Highland homes have appreciated at a higher rate than the comparable conventional homes in the area (55% versus 44% from 2001 to 2005)

homebuyer satisfaction is higher for the Scripps Highland homes than for the comparable conventionally built homes

So, the builders are making a profit, people are buying and loving the homes, which are in turn appreciating nicely, and the environment is benefiting—sounds like SheaHomes has launched a trendsetting idea.

To learn more, read "A New Paradigm for Zero-Energy Homes: A Comparison Case Study" by Barbara Farhar and Timothy Coburn (Environment, Jan/Feb 2008).

When A Pig Gives Us the Finger, We Pay Attention

From the Yikes This Could Change Our Perception About Everything department comes an article from science writer Michael Rosenwald: "A Doctor, a Pig, and a Magical Pixie Dust That Could Regrow Fingers" (Esquire, September 18, 2007). If the report wasn't from a reputable writer, printed in a reputable source, we'd dismiss this as tabloid nonsense. Regrow a finger. Yeah, sure. But read the article and see for yourself. The before and after pictures on page 2 are vivid, to say the least.

We'll be keeping our nose to this story. If any of you run across any follow-up to this one, we'd love to hear from you! Email us at sueandpam@andnowforthegoodnews.com.

In Search of the Emerald (Green) City

In 1900, 10% of the world’s population lived in cities. In 2007, that number was up to 50%. By 2050, experts predict the number will be as high as 75%. There's a benefit to this migration, says Richard Burdett, director of the Urban Age program, organized by the London School of Economics and Deutsche Bank’s Alfred Herrhausen Society. While suburban areas demand larger, less-efficient electrical grids and extended public transportation systems, this is not the case with cities.

“The prospect of such an enormous urban boom in just a few generations offers a critical opportunity: to create cities that will improve, not diminish, the standards of living for millions of new city dwellers,” says Burdett (Foreign Policy, “Beyond City Limits,” Jan/Feb 2008).

The really good news is that many cities across the globe already are working toward sustainability. In fact, it seems that cities in over half a dozen countries are competing to become the first “eco-city.” Two cities, in fact, are being built from scratch. AbuDhabi, for example, has begun construction on Masdar, a 2.5-square mile city that will ban automobiles and rely on a solar-powered driverless taxi system for public transportation. In China, Dontang Eco-City, designed to house 500,000 people, is being built on an island near Shanghai. Sixty percent of the land will be designated green spaces and farmland for local food, most energy will be renewable (sun, wind, and biomass fuels), and the city’s design is planned around pedestrian villages, bicycles, and fuel-cell public transportation.

Other established cities are implementing changes that will alter energy use and lower emissions dramatically, including the use of solar, wind, and even tidal power. “Cities have to be competitive,” says William Cobbett, manager of Cities Alliance an ICLEI, a UN Enviromentment Program. Not only is the environment becoming a major factor in more and more people’s choices of where to live (94% of professionals surveyed in Hong Kong, for example, ranked the environment as the top factor in selecting a place to live), it’s also a major factor when cities look for investment money. Cities, says Cobbett, “operate in a global marketplace, competing with other cities and urban settlements around the world for investment. A city cannot compete, however, if it cannot offer investors security, infrastructure, and efficiency. Hardly any city can offer these elements without incorporating environmental issues into its planning and management strategies” (United Nations Environment Program, “Cities Play the Green Card To Achieve Success,” December 11, 2007).

Many think economic considerations will be the ruin of the environment. The reality is, economic considerations may end up being the very thing that helps heal and sustain this beautiful Earth.

To learn more, read the UN’s “Liveable Cities: The Benefits of Urban Environmental Planning” report. It provides 12 case studies of cities around the world that are making important environment-based changes. We can, of course, learn from their example.

"A Major New Study Concludes . . ."

Isn’t it satisfying when we hear “a major new study concludes” something that we already know. Take love for instance. If you’ve read, watched, or heard, any news this week, you’re probably aware of this breaking news: “Nothing keeps the heart healthy like the feeling of being in love, says a Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute cardiologist.”

Yes, it’s Valentine’s week and news media everywhere are pulling out their annual Love Research, this study and that telling us love is good for our heart health. Which, of course, we all know. Hold a newborn baby, meet someone who makes your heart sing, or look at that person you’ve been with for how-many-years-now and still adore, and you just know it’s good for that muscle in your chest.

Sure, Valentine’s Day, like so many of our holidays, can be cheesy and cliché, over the top and commercial. We can become jaded. But, really, is there a better thing in this world to celebrate than love?

So today, let’s be corny and cheesy and over the top, with people we know and people we don’t. Write that letter, make that call, send that donation, or just smile at the person in the grocery line behind you. Radiate love.

Studies show it’s good for your heart.

Daydreaming with Fortune Magazine

Feeling stifled in your current job? Feel you have talents that aren’t being used? Check out Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies To Work For” (February 4, 2008).

Times they are a changin’, so is the workplace. The innovations some companies are implementing will surprise you. Learn which companies are expanding in leaps and bounds and likely to be looking for fresh staff with leadership qualities (hint: see companies number 4 & 7 for starters). Learn which company offers valuable stock options to 99% of its employees (and is, again, #1 on the list); which company offers doggie daycare and an onsite farmers' market (surprise, it’s a techy company); and which medical employer offers an employee volunteer program called “No One Dies Alone.”

Browse and daydream, you’ll soon remember that your work can and should be a place where you contribute and grow and, yes, even have fun. Who knows, the list may even inspire you to initiate changes in yourself and the workplace you’re already in. Imagine the possibilities.

Corporations Are Hiring a New Kind of Executive

"Once top brass decide to integrate environmental goals into their company's business plan, someone has to be in charge of turning press releases into results," writes Dashka Slater in "Keep Your Eye on the Globe: The New World of Corporate Environmental Officers, (Sierra magazine January/February 2008). "Enter the new kids in the executive suite: corporate sustainability officers."

Sierra interviewed six sustainability officers in six different industries—Nike, Dupont, Dell, Herman Miller, Kraft Foods, and Goldman Sachs. Nike, for example, has switched to digital mock-ups of new designs, reducing waste, since most samples often wind up in landfills; Dell "has committed to recycling or reusing 99 percent of the waste from its manufacturing facilities by 2012 (it has already cut out 93 percent)."

What these companies, and many more, are discovering is that finding environmental solutions adds up to piles of that other kind of green. High-end furniture company Herman Miller, for example, found that reducing their waste saves them "about $50,000 per year, while income from recycling last year topped $1.8 million."

Read the full, solutions-oriented report at Sierra.

20-Somethings Send a Message to the Future

What will the future bring? Who will you be in 25 years? AARP recently asked the 20-somethings of America to speculate, via a one-minute video, what their lives will be like at 50.


Click here for our favorite of the winning videos, "Lost Generation."

Our Expert Dr. Bill Holt Reports:

AARP has opened a window for intergenerational contact and discussion by sponsoring a contest for young adults to glimpse into their own future. Using the medium of YouTube, five college students have won cash prizes for their entries. Three of the prize winners were majoring in film or video; two of them were my students majoring in psychology. Taken together, all five winners mixed video-craft with message to produce short films that exhibit not only cinematic panache but their view of tomorrow as seen today.

Watching these videos is fun but also informative as it allows us baby boomers to see how a younger generation sees us as they portray themselves in middle age. What will be their values, their priorities, their hopes and aspirations? I was excited to incorporate this contest into my class last semester and even more excited to find that two of my students placed in the top five. What I've taken away from watching these videos is an increased confidence that these 20-something college students can and will address the challenge of becoming adults in the 21st century. Where they will be at 50 is not a dream but a commitment. After 36 years in the classroom, I certainly am entitled to be jaundiced about the current generation of college students, but these videos have erased my skepticism.

If you feel distanced from those half or even a third of your age, just watch, marvel, and appreciate these videos. Knowing that the next generation share many of our values and are committed to working hard to achieve their place in our society actually is good news!

UNICEF Reports a 60% Drop in Child Mortality Since 1960

The United Nations Children's Fund, better known as UNICEF, reports that solid progress has been made in saving children's lives around the world. In its annual The State of the World's Children report, UNICEF estimates that there's been a 60% drop in the rate of child mortality since 1960.

There's still much to be done, says UNICEF. By using low-cost tools and involving local communities in providing health-care services to mothers and children, many more lives can be saved.

How can you help? Learn about the various ways in which you can volunteer and donate by visiting The United States Fund for UNICEF. Charity Navigator gives this charity its highest rating (four stars). An impressive 90.8% of money donated goes directly to programs that provide nutrition, education, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and immunization.

By the way, did you know that the United States Fund for UNICEF is the oldest of 37 national committees for UNICEF worldwide? It's been around since 1947 and supports the work of UNICEF, improving children's day-to-day lives in 155 countries, not only providing food, water, and medicine, but also safety, peace, and hope.

Imagine how the children helped by UNICEF must feel knowing that so many people around the world care about their fate.

American Idol Has America Singing a New Tune

Fess up. Are you one of the millions addicted to American Idol? Doesn’t it just make you want to belt out a song? If so, maybe you should learn how to properly use that beautiful instrument in your throat. (Simon Cowell will thank you.)

Several colleges and universities are starting to train instructors for a new type of music course. This weekend, for instance, the University of Massachusetts is offering an instructor certification course called “Vocal Pedagogy in the New Millennium” (roughly translated, "Teaching Voice for Popular Music").

Rock, pop, rap, country, gospel, jazz, and folk—the predominant popular forms of music in the past 50 years or so—all fall under the tag “Contemporary Commercial Music” or CCM. Until recently, however, if a person wanted to sing professionally in these styles the only real option was classical vocal training. Problem is, the vocal skills and style required to sing a classical piece from, say, the opera La Boheme, are different than those required to sing a CCM—say, a tune from Broadway's Sweeney Todd or a country hit like Get My Drink On.

As we reported earlier in “Dr. Bill's Alzheimer’s Reality Check," activities such as learning to ballroom dance, speak a foreign language, or play a musical instrument all exercise the brain, keep the synapses nimble. Learning to sing is no exception. And, as is true when we submerge ourselves in beautiful art, it brings joy to our lives. Whether we’re singing in the shower, in our local choir, or to an audience of millions, music makes us happy. Learning how to use that built-in instrument—our voice—could very well contribute to our overall physical and mental well-being.

So, did American Idol start this trend? There’s no way of knowing, really, but it doesn’t seem a stretch to think so. After all, TV is always shaping popular culture, influencing us in ways we’re not always paying attention to.

(The UMass music course was brought to our attention by our excellent college intern Chandni Patel. )

Former Taliban Fighter Works Toward a Better Future for All

Just 17 when Taliban recruiters came to his impoverished village in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, Shaukat Ali was trained to be a killer and sent to Afghanistan. "It was there, in Afghanistan, that Ali began to question the Taliban ideology in general and its treatment of women in particular," writes Karin Ronnow (Ode, November 2007).

In another powerful, solutions-oriented article from Ode, we meet Shaukat Ali, who went from Taliban fighter to teacher at the Patika Girls’ School in Kashmir. He's making a difference that will affect us all.

The Taliban preys on the uneducated. "Ali is convinced educating girls in particular is the only way his country will change," writes Rannow. "Female literacy in the villages runs at about 4 percent. But educated girls will become educated mothers, argues Ali, and insist on education for their children, which could set the nation on a new track."

Click here to read Karin Ronnow's excellent "The Transformation of an Extremist."

New Year's Resolution Assessment

So how are they going, those new year's resolutions? Here's one we think you should add to your list. It's guaranteed to improve your general outlook and will spill over into all the other things you're trying to accomplish:

Take the Good News Diet Challenge.

What we focus on matters. Call it positive thinking or the law of attraction or conscious creation, or whatever label you choose—what we think about day to day, what we believe, affects our lives. So make this the year you get positive. Take the Good News Diet Challenge and stay informed with positive, solutions-oriented news. We're here to help you with the And Now for the Good News book, Web site, and Regular Dose newsletter.

Take charge of your mind; take charge of your news. It'll make all the difference.

If you're already taking the challenge, good for you! Let us know how it's going by emailing us as sueandpam@andnowforthegoodnews.com.

Spread the news!

Lighten Your Mail Carrier's Load

Browsing catalogs can be fun, but how many of us are really interested in that regular copy of Necessary Stuff for People Who Love Their Iguana?

There's a free, simple way to get off the mailing list of the catalogs filling up your recycle bin. Visit CatalogChoice.org. After a fast and painless sign-up, you can request which catalogs you'd like canceled.

Add the site to your Favorites list and add catalogs as you receive them. You'll save a tree. You'll save that Iguana supply company some cash. You'll save your mail carrier's back. It's all good.

Plan Ahead, Have the Last Word

This year, rather than the usual Lose 10 Pounds, Save Money, Treat the In-Laws Better kind of resolutions, why not do something that'll shake up your life a little? Like, say, plan your last words.

Really, what would you like to be able to say about yourself when your time is winding down?

For inspiration, we recommend The New York Times' Last Word series. Similar to The Last Lecture series, which we told you about in an earlier report, The Last Word is a series of interviews with famous and influential people about their lives, with the specific purpose of being viewed only upon their deaths.

The first Last Word installment, released in January 2007, was an interview with Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Art Buchwald. The interview took place five months earlier and wasn't made public until the day of Buchwald’s passing. Facing the camera with a smile, “Hi,” he says, “I’m Art Buchwald and I’ve just died.”

It’s an amazing interview with a man full of life and wit right up until his last moments on this good Earth. It inspires us to ask ourselves, “What would I like to be able to say about myself when the time comes? And how do I start being that me today?"