14 Years Ago the Amazon Was Being Bulldozed for Soy - Then Everything Changed As Corporations Joined Activists

New research shows that 98.6% of all soy grown in the Amazon rainforest don't come from deforested fields thanks to the 2006 Soy Moratorium.

By Jeanne Goddard

27 December 53 Views

T-shirt Fundraiser for Colorado Wildfire Relief Takes Off

When the wind pushed the Waldo Canyon blaze over the crest of the mountains toward this community one week ago, young business owners and designers set out to raise money for the victims. There was a real feeling of helplessness, says one of the initiators. We just wanted to do something. The goal was to design and sell enough T-shirts to raise $1,500. But they miscalculated — by 21,300 percent.

By Jeanne Goddard

08 July 29 Views

Pastor Ends 94-Day Rooftop Protest After Donation From Tyler Perry

Over the last three months, living in a chilly tent on the roof of a vacant South Side Chicago motel, Rev. Corey Brooks kept up his vigil against gun violence. On Friday, he was triumphant after a pledge of $98,000 from filmmaker Tyler Perry provided the final push for reaching the pastor's goal of raising $450,000 to buy and demolish the decrepit motel, a haven for drugs and prostitution.

By Jeanne Goddard

25 February 51 Views

Record Number of People Have Registered to Vote in the Midterm Elections

No matter the outcome of the midterm elections, organizers are thrilled by the amount of Americans getting involved in the political process.

By Tiffani Spengler

09 October 35 Views

Girl Scout Wrote Letters to Companies, Urging Them to Ditch Plastic - And They Did

Shelby O'Neil may only be 17 years old, but she is using her voice to save billions of pounds of plastic from landfills every year.

By Tiffani Spengler

02 August 58 Views

How a Former Teacher Beat the Mining Industry and Saved the Rare Snow Leopards

This 49-year-old has proved herself to be a champion for vulnerable big cat populations in a region dominated by big mining companies.

By Tiffani Spengler

29 April 49 Views

Animal Activists and Staff From Slaughterhouse Eat Vegan Christmas Meal Together: 'Good things are happening'

The vegan group posted photos of the feast, saying that they simply wanted to focus on positivity and kindness, rather than negativity.

By Jeanne Goddard

27 December 36 Views

Pastor Ends 94-Day Rooftop Protest After Donation From Tyler Perry

Over the last three months, living in a chilly tent on the roof of a vacant South Side Chicago motel, Rev. Corey Brooks kept up his vigil against gun violence. On Friday, he was triumphant after a pledge of $98,000 from filmmaker Tyler Perry provided the final push for reaching the pastor's goal of raising $450,000 to buy and demolish the decrepit motel, a haven for drugs and prostitution.

By Jeanne Goddard

25 February 37 Views

Citizen Outcry Saves N. America's Largest Old Growth Red Pine Forest

After thousands of Canadian residents joined forces to preserve a forest of 300 year-old red pines from expanded mining, the government scrapped its plans to rescind the reserve status bestowed on 840 acres (340 hectares) of pristine forest.

By Jeanne Goddard

14 March 43 Views

Citizen Outcry Saves N. America's Largest Old Growth Red Pine Forest

After thousands of Canadian residents joined forces to preserve a forest of 300 year-old red pines from expanded mining, the government scrapped its plans to rescind the reserve status bestowed on 840 acres (340 hectares) of pristine forest.

By Jeanne Goddard

14 March 34 Views

Peru Passes 10-Year Ban on Genetically Engineered Foods

Despite pressure from multinational agribiz corporations such as Monsanto and Dow, the Peruvian Environment Minister announced this week that the government has approved a new regulation imposing a moratorium on the production and entry of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), into the country for the next ten years. The government said it wanted to to preserve the biodiversity of native crops when it sided with 6000 or more farmers, some growing the famous and colorful Peruvian potato varieties, who pushed for the ban.

By Jeanne Goddard

17 November 35 Views

13-Year-old Recycles Cooking Grease into Heating Oil for Needy Families

After reading an article in the local newspaper, Cassandra Lin of Westerly, Rhode Island discovered that many residents could not afford to heat their homes. Inspired to do something, she formed a team of five seventh graders to recycle waste cooking oil and turn it into biofuel for distribution to needy families. Started in 2008, TGIF (Turn Grease Into Fuel) works with local biofuel companies to recycle the grease from residents and restaurants, and refine it into biodiesel. The award-winning project has been collecting more than 36,000 gallons of waste cooking oil a year, bringing an estimated value of $60,000 of alternative energy that keeps 92 needy families warm in the winter.

By Jeanne Goddard

15 July 29 Views

Harry Potter Fans and J.K. Rowling Win Deal to Get Child Labor Out of Chocolate

After a four-year campaign by the fan activist group the Harry Potter Alliance and its favorite author, J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. has relented and announced they would stop buying cocoa from a company known for its poor record on human rights and child labor.

By Jeanne Goddard

28 January 42 Views

Groundswell of Support for Heroic Pitbull Gets Citywide Ban Lifted

After a pitbull protected his mom during an attack by a violent boyfriend, the community fought to get the city's ban lifted against the often-heroic breed.

By Jeanne Goddard

26 May 54 Views

She's Officially Celestial: Malala Gets Astroid Named After Her

She fought for girls' rights, survived an assassination attempt, and won the Nobel Peace Prize all by the time she was 17 years old. Now Malala Yousafzai has a celestial body named after her.

By Jim Stout

13 April 53 Views