By: Priya MigneaultThe Los Angeles 101 freeway is going to be having quite the makeover soon, as the state is building the world's largest wildlife crossing. LA has a large population of mountain lions that have been isolated due to the the layout of highways, because of this they are now having issues breeding and strengthening their genetic code. With the help of 2,700 mostly private donors, Save LA Cougars and the National Wildlife Federation have raised $15 million to construct the overpass, which will be 165 feet. Ground break on the project is suspected to be in 2021. In what may be the world's most notable calendar, Australia's firefighters have once again taken off their shirts for charity. Their calendar for 2021 features the firefighters and their adorable animal companions. The proceeds from the calendar are going to Safe Haven Animal Rescue, All Breeds Canine Rescue, and other conservation organizations in the area. The firefighters chose to donate to animal based charities this year, in part, because of the massive Australian wildfires that destroyed mass amounts of habitat and killed over one billion animals earlier this year. “As you hang your 2021 calendars on your wall and turn to January 2021, it’s a great reminder that next year is going to be a fresh start for everyone," says calendar director, David Rogers. Is is estimated that one in every seven cars sold next year in the EU will be electric. This year electric car sales have tripled, compared to 2019, and they are expected to increase into the next year. This is partially because the EU has been laying out multiple strict regulations on CO2 emissions and their citizens seem to be taking them on without hesitation. The EU is putting more standards into effect next year for the automotive industry, suggesting a greater push towards renewable and green energy. Their are a few companies currently meeting the standards now, that would not have to change much in order to meet the 2021 increase. However, there are a few companies such as, Renault, Nissan, the Toyota-Mazda pool, and Ford that are still working to meet the current standards.
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By: Priya MigneaultIn the UK inventor, Barry Thompson, has developed onshore wind turbines that generate energy from passing traffic. The turbines measure in at about 6.5" feet and are attached to street lights near high traffic areas. The energy generated from the turbines will be used to power the lights and with time hopefully power much more. Thompson's company, Alpha 311, says that a turbine could potentially generate 6mw per day which is enough to power a small village. Last week, UK leader Boris Johnson promised that the green industrial revolution would power every home in the UK by 2030 with offshore wind. Thompson's invention could help the country achieve this goal with his onshore turbine design. Alpha 311 is currently working with UK authorities to install more trial turbines throughout the country. 7-year-old, Cavanaugh Bell, has decided to launch his own nonprofit called Cool & Dope (“considering others’ obstacles in life and dish out positive energy”) after being bullied in school. Over the COVID-19 pandemic Bell began creating care packages for his elderly neighbours with his own allowance. When he began being bullied at the beginning of this school year his positive attitude shone through even brighter. He realized that many of those who live on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation didn't have basic necessities, so he decided to start a gofundme page and Amazon Wishlist for those in the community. The response was overwhelming with donations pouring in at every turn. Bell and his mom, Llacey Simmons, were able to fill 53-foot semi-truck—twice with all the donations which they sent off to be distributed by First Families Now. The donations included food, clothing, diapers, cleaning supplies, and shoes. Bell and his mom will be sending out another round of donations this winter that will include coats and blankets. 14-year-old, Anika Chebrolu, has won this years '3M Young Scientist Challenge' with her scientific breakthrough that could pave the way to developing a cure for COVID-19. She has discovered a molecule that can selectively bond to a spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 and inhibit the virus from entering cells. After getting a rather nasty case of the flu last year Chebrolu was trying to find a cure for influenza, but once the COVID-19 pandemic happened she knew she had to shift her focus. She screened millions of small molecules until she found one that could inhibit the spike protein. Her research not only helps the world in the race to a vaccine and treatment for COVID-19, but it has also won her $25,000 and a destination vacation. Chebrolu says that this is only the beginning of her work on COVID-19. By: Priya MigneaultRecently The New Leaf Project, based out of Vancouver, gave 50 people experiencing homelessness $7,500 to see how they would spend it. Many people have a predisposed notion that the money that is given to people living on the streets goes straight to alcohol and drugs, but this study shows a very different result. Those who received the money were able to move into housing two months faster than those without and their spending on substances went down 39%. After a full year of the participants spending their money many still had $1,000 in savings and 69% could still feed themselves. On average those in the study were 42 years old and had been living on the streets for an average of six months. In the study 1 in 3 of the participants had a child and 1 in 4 was employed. The results from the project found that it was more affordable for the government to give those experiencing homelessness a sum of cash than to continue to allow them to live on the streets. Between a reduction in emergency services and beds required at shelters the government could save $600 per British Colombian, if they gave each homeless individual $7,500 according to New Leaf. 14 year old, Jordan Reeves, has invented her own prosthetic arm that shoots glitter. Jordan's left arm stopped developing past her elbow when she was born, but that hasn't stopped her from becoming an amazing inventor and inspiration to others. When she was 10 years old Jordan attended a STEM workshop to encourage others with disabilities to think creatively about their conditions. It was at this point she got access to a 3D printer and designed the first arm for 'Project Unicorn'. 'Project Unicorn' is a prosthetic cone shaped arm that shoots glitter out of the tip. With her invention Jordan went on to show it at TEDx stage, Shark Tank, and the Rachel Ray Show. She was also featured on a new LEGO documentary and episode one of 'Marvel's Superhero Project'. She believes that her journey, inventions, and recently published book will help encourage others to view their disabilities as gifts rather than obstacles. 4 year old, Pippa Jackson from England, recently had a bad dream that children wouldn't have gifts to open on Christmas morning. When she woke up she was determined to help as many kids as possible, so with the help of her mom she made the goal to donate 200 presents this holiday season to kids in need. Pippa has received a large amount of donations to help her reach her goal and is selling homemade decorations to raise money for the gifts. The gifts include scarfs, hats, kites, and pencil crayons. Her mom has said they will be donating them to women's shelters and orphanages in the area. By: Priya MigneaultA new village has opened in France for older individuals with Alzheimer's, so that they are able to continue living independently in a safe community and to see if a sense of freedom can effect how the disease spreads through the brain. The village has a grocery store, hair salon, nursing facilities, music room, library, and cafeteria. Many individuals who suffer from Alzheimer's struggle giving up their independence for a nursing home and would rather remain on their own even though it isn't safe. However, the new inhabitants of this village are absolutely loving it, they feel safe, connected, cared after, and free. Although the village is expense to run, costing 6.7 million euros to run each year, the citizens only pay 24,000 euros each annually, the rest of the money comes from the French government. The government believes that the cost is worth it to see the scientific data and outcome living independently in a community can have on Alzheimer's patients. The village is the first of its kind in France with similar facilities exist in Canada and the Netherlands. Scientists have created a 'super enzyme' that eats plastic in hours, not weeks. This new enzyme can further triple the speed that plastic polymers are undone which provides an opportunity to eliminate the fight against plastic pollution. The development and discovery of plastic eating enzymes has picked up in the last decade, starting in 2016 when Japanese scientists discovered a bug that disconnected the polymers of polyethylene terapthalate (PET). The new 'super enzyme' was developed by McGeehan by combining PETase and MHETase into a single enzyme. Greek athlete, Marios Giannakou, recently summited Mount Olympus with his disabled friend, Eleftheria Tosiou, strapped to his back helping her reach a life long goal. Marios is a long distance runner has never been one to turn away from a challenge; he has trekked 270 km across the Al Marmoum Desert and participated in a 145 km cross-country race across Antarctica. So, it was no surprise when his friend asked him to help her summit the mountain that he was up for the challenge. They summited Mount Olympus's highest peak, Mount Mytikas, which has an elevation of 9,570 ft. He says, “For me, all international races, the medals and the distinctions so far, mean little compared to that goal.” I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving weekend! Stay safe, Priya By: Priya MigneaultJessica Schreiber, is the founder of Fabscrap, a company that is dedicated to reducing the amount of clothing thrown into landfills and recycling facilities. Jessica started Fabscrap after working in NYC's bureau of recycling and sustainability, where she realized that many fashion brands were just throwing away usable clothing into the landfill. She quit her job and began her company, which picks up unsellable clothing from businesses and repurposes them into sellable materials like cotton, polyester, and nylon that are then sold online and in their store front. Any pieces of clothing that are unusable to them are given to other companies and made into furniture stuffing or moving blankets. Globally, the textile and fashion industry accounts for 10% of our annual CO2 emissions. Through Fabscrap 600,000 pounds of fabric have been saved from NYC's landfill and each pound represents 2.06 pounds of Carbon. In July of this year, 45-year-old father, Tim Gjoraas was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer and only given a few months to live. In light of this Tim turned to his friend, Doug Rinken, for help painting his families home blue because it is his wife's favourite colour. He was hoping that next summer Doug would do this for him, even though he knew he most likely would not be around to help out. Doug reached out to co-workers and friends of his and Tim's for help. The response was amazing, a variety of retired teachers, like Tim and Doug, showed up to help paint the families home over the weekend so that Tim would be able to see it through. They all had an amazing time painting the home and got the chance to reminisce on old memories with their friend. Before the COVID-19 pandemic Wesley Hamnett was planning of biking 1,250 miles from Russia to his home in Lancashire to raise money for charities close to his heart. Of course this was not possible once borders began closing, so he decided to bike 200 miles from Scotland to England on his 8-year-old daughter's bike. The bike ride was extremely difficult because there was no hand brakes on this 12-inch wheeled bike and he had to replace the wheels many times along the trip. Wesley has made $12,947 so far and is donating the funds to Macmillan Cancer Support, Christie Charitable Fund, British Heart Foundation and Wythenshawe Hospitals MFT Charity in honour of his father who passed away last year due to cancer. |
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