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Historic Shark Fin Ban Passes In Hawaii

Hawaii is standing up for sharks, and in a big way. Despite the pressure from the vocal Asian community that insists on eating shark fin soup, the Hawaii legislature passed a bill that would prohibit the possession, sale, or distribution of shark fins of any kind anywhere within the state as of July 1st, 2010. The governor is expected to sign the bill, which drew praise from Native Hawaiians whose culture reveres sharks as guardian spirits in animal form.

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Hawaii Becomes First State to Ban Plastic Bags at Checkout

By now, it's hardly news when a city bans plastic bags at checkout counters -- but an entire state? That's happened in Hawaii, where Honolulu County has joined the state's three other counties to give Hawaii a first-in-the-nation title after a two-year campaign.

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U.S. Swaps Guatemalan Debt for Forest Protection

The United States will forgive about 20 percent of the $122 million debt owed by Guatemala so the money can be used to protect threatened plants and wildlife, said the government yesterday.

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Ghana Adopts National Peace Plan

"Ghana has adopted a new peace plan dubbed National Architecture for Peace" to foster "respect for the rule of law, transparency, accountability and free and fair elections", which have been achieved for the past seven years and lead to a durable internal peace.

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Bamboo Bikes, Ghana's Green Transport (w/ Video)

A new kind of bicycle, lightweight and sturdy, made from the abundant bamboo in the forests of Ghana is making life easier for farmers and villagers who cannot afford cars and trucks.

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Ghana's Incredible Path Out of Hunger and Poverty

Ghana is on track to be the first country in Africa to achieve Millennium Development Goal for halving poverty and hunger by 2015. Between 1990 and 2004, Ghana outperformed all other countries worldwide, reducing hunger by 75 percent.

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'Airbnb' for Refugees Matches Migrants To Europeans Volunteering Homes

European citizens got tired of their governments failing to help Syrian refugees, so they took matters into their own hands using the Airbnb model.

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Happy Taxpayers Group Focuses on the Good

A new group in Helsinki, Finland encourages taxpayers to focus on the good provided by public services, rather than dwelling on negative thoughts about income tax.