Good News Tuesday for April 23, 2024: Seven Countries using Almost 100% Renewable Energy, US Climate Corps Website and Solar Grants, EPA to Require Emission Reductions, Saving the Northern White Rhino, and a Ukrainian Teen Runs 5K on Prosthetic Legs

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Seven Countries Get Almost 100% of their Energy from Renewable Sources

Albania, Bhutan, Nepal, Paraguay, Iceland, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo generate over 99.7% of their electricity from geothermal, hydro, solar, or wind power. Another 40 countries generate at least 50% of their electricity from renewable sources. For details click HERE.

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US Climate Corps Website and $7 Billion in Solar Panel Grants

On Earth Day (yesterday) US President Biden announced $7 billion in grants for solar panel projects for lower-income communities and launched a website for applications for his Climate Corps jobs and training program. NPR has more HERE.

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US Environmental Protection Agency to Require Emissions be Reduced in 200 Plants

The EPA finalized ruled earlier this month requiring more than 200 chemical plants to cut toxic emissions. The goal to “dramatically reduce the number of people facing cancer risks due to air pollution. For details, see this article from The Hill.

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How Genetics Could Save the Northern White Rhino

In the following Salon interview, Dr. Aryn P. Wilder with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, explains how a genetic breakthrough could save the Northern White Rhino from extinction, and that we still need to continue traditional/preventative conservation methods. Click this link for details: https://www.salon.com/2024/04/16/thanks-to-a-genetic-breakthrough-a-rare-rhino-species-may-be-rescued-from-extinction

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13-Year-Old Ukranian Girl Who Lost Her Legs in Missile Strike, Runs 5 K

Yana Stepanenko, age 13, ran a 5K at the Boston Marathon on Saturday to show the courage and strength of Ukrainian people and to raise money for a Ukrainian soldier. She lost both legs in a Russian missile strike in 2022. See the video below and click this ABC News Story for more.

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SoCS: Great. Just Great.

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: ends with “grate/great.” Use one or bonus points if you use them both. Enjoy!

I’m rarely sarcastic and not a fan of sarcasm, but the title to this post is sarcastic.

There’s a fly in the house hunting ointment. It’s a radon fly. I’m not sure I want to write about it yet. Doing research. Waiting for more results on the water. Going to the hills to visit my daughter and her motley crew. Planning to work on gratitude. I don’t want to be an ingrate. Probably need to make a gratitude list. The rustic, whimsical vrbo cabin is nice. Going to try to enjoy the weekend. Exploring…

I hope you enjoy your weekend, too.

Peace and Blessings….

Coastal NC Wetlands

Pilot Mountain, NC

~~~

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda Hill.

For more streams and info,

visit Linda by clicking HERE.

Good News Tuesday for April 16, 2024: Better MRI Images, Closing the Gun Show Loophole, EPA Limits PFAS Chemicals, and a Cancer Survivor Finishes Chemo and Gets a Suprise

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

New MRI Images Ten Times as Detailed

Researchers in France recently shared brain images from the world’s most powerful MRI machine. The images are ten times more detailed than those from a standard MRI and took much less time. It is hoped that the detail will help someday help with finding better treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other diseases. You can read more HERE.

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New Gun Control Law Closes Loophole in US

A new law requires guns sold on the internet and at gun shows will be subject to the same mandatory background checks as licensed gun dealers. For details, see this article from ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-administration-close-gun-show-loophole/story?id=109109314

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EPA Announces National Regulations Limiting PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water

“For the first time ever,” the US Environmental Protection Agency issued a regulation limiting the amount of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (aka PFAS) found in drinking water. Here’s the story from CBS News.

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Cancer Survivor Finishes Chemo and Gets a Proposal

Watch as Angelica May finishes chemotherapy for breast cancer and then gets a surprise proposal:

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SoCS: Bound for a New Adventure

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: ends with “ound.” Find a word (or words) that ends with “ound” and use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

Well, I guess I better pound out something for SoCS, but it might not be profound. I’m behind on responding to comments and reading other blogs, but there’s no rule about that I know of. We found a house, and our offer was accepted. Now we are in the thick of the process of inspections, blah, blah, blah. Not to be disrespectful, (inspections are very important) but I don’t like paperwork/bureaucracy/red tape as it used to be called. Why red? I don’t know. It’s late, Friday night, so I probably won’t look it up. But the paperless paperwork does sometimes threaten to overshadow the excitement and nervousness of a new adventure.

Still, I am grateful for the opportunity, for the possibility of a new adventure.

Anything can be an adventure if we frame it that way.

I might have lost a single pound and would like to lose about 9 more. It is definitely harder to lose weight when we get older. I imagine myself doing yoga out on my new deck in a couple of months. It’s not a done deal but imagining is okay. It’s like manifesting which I believe was helped by certain getting ready actions – painting an old window in my kitchen, getting rid of the rusty flat-tired bike I haven’t ridden in years, picking out books to donate…. the decluttering continues.

Now lots of ound words are running around in my head. The sound of music when our old hound Doodle used to bay when I tuned my guitar. I miss that girl. Maybe one day, Marley will sing with me. I’d like the sound of that.

~~~

It’s now Saturday morning and a group workday at the Farm Animal Sanctuary, so I’ll be back to WP later this evening. Thank you for your patience. I’ll catch up on comments eventually.

May peace and blessings abound to you and your loved ones.

~~~

For more streams and rules for SoCS,

visit out host, Linda Hill,

by clicking HERE.

Thursday Tree Love: Spring Blossoms

The dogwoods were in full bloom just last week in my neighborhood. I hope you enjoy the dogwoods and their friends.

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Thursday Tree Love is hosted by Parul Thakur.

For more tree love, visit Parul’s blog,

Happiness and Food.

Good News Tuesday for April 9, 2024: Cyclists Outnumber Motorists in Paris, CA Tribe to Manage Tribal Land with Park Service, Tree-Free Paper, and a Record Setting Sea Turtle Release

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

April is Earth Month, and we’ve got a lot of earthy news happening!

Cyclists Outnumber Motorists in Paris

A report from L’Institut Paris Région, “the largest urban planning and environmental agency in Europe,” shows that cyclists now outnumber motorists in Paris. Read how the city has encouraged this transportation shift in Forbes.

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California Tribe Becomes First to Manage Tribal Land with US Park Service

The Yurok Tribe of California will be the first Native American people to manage tribal land with the National Park Service which. The tribe who had 90% of its territory taken in the 1880s gold rush, will get 125 acres returned. The Guardian has details.

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Tree-Free Paper in Washington State

Using wheat straw, Columbia Pulp has become the first tree-free pulping facility in North America. By processing straw that would otherwise be thrown away, they help make a new kind of paper that saves trees.  GoodGoodGood has the story.

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Sea Turtle Release

Georgia set a state record for the number of sea turtles released into the ocean. This follows up a story shared here of cold stunned turtles being rescued from New England.

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Express Yourself (for Stream of Consciousness Saturday)

Wasn’t that a song? Isn’t that still a song? I might go look later.

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “express.” Use it as a noun, verb, adverb, or adjective. Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

This might be short. I don’t know. I’m writing this on Friday afternoon at 4:23 pm as usual while the cat is eating, and Marley is in the kitchen. So many tangents I could write for hours because I had an extra green tea bag this morning by accident. I’m a caffeine lightweight.

If you’re reading this on Saturday, I may be heading to the hills to look at houses. The realtor we are working with expresses herself clearly. I don’t know whether that’s because she’s from NY (born in NJ) but she has encouraged me to be more aggressive in going after a house I am interested – considering the market and demand. I’m not an aggressive person by nature. I told her I have to LOVE the house to go after it. There are two I might love that we are looking at, and they are 4 hours away so it’s going to be a day trip.

The reason I am looking for a house in the hills is that I’ve always wanted to live in the mountains, and these houses are almost there and significantly less expensive than houses in the actual Appalachian Mountains. Plus, I don’t want to drive on steep roads. Also, I want David to have a workshop and an office or den. Plus, my daughter moved up that way in the summer and I want to go hiking with her more and be closer to my son and his family who do live in the actual mountains. Well, not inside the mountains… you know what I mean.

My daughter Ayla is my baby girl, all grown up and I miss her. Getting back to the prompt, 30 years ago, when I went back to work after a wonderful summer of maternity leave with Ayla, I found that it was much easier for me to express breast milk by hand rather than pumping with a machine. Bet you didn’t know I was going there. Gives a new spin on “Express Yourself.”

Oh, one more thing that was interesting that I forgot, and would move this up, but we’re not supposed to edit though I am tempted, is that on the same morning the realtor was encouraging me to be more aggressive in going after a house, I was also renewing my friend’s gift subscription to the magazine, Lion’s Roar. I think it’s a Buddhist magazine. She loves it. My friend Ann is 89 years old and has more energy than I do. She’s great at expressing herself with wisdom, kindness, and assertiveness when needed. She’s amazing. So those were two phone calls back to back about me being more “aggressive” and renewing my friend’s subscription to Lion’s Roar. I liked the synchronicity.

Above is an old picture of Marley with some lions in our neighborhood. In some ways, Marley reminds me of a Lion. I thought about renaming him Leo when he came to us two years ago but haven’t yet. I could transition from Marley to Marley-o to Leo. Okay, well, that’s it for the writing. I might be slow to respond on WP tomorrow, being on an adventure.

Here are some recent photos of Marley at the beach with various expressions. In one it looks like we are having a conversation. Check out the shadow in the last photo.

sunbathing or sneezy?

What’s that!?

I’m a good boy

Marley wants to chase birds

caption this.

Bird watching

Check out the shadow

Here’s the song I was thinking of. It first came out in 1970!

~~~

For more streams and SoCS rules,

visit out expressive host, Linda Hill

by clicking HERE.

Good News Tuesday for April 2, 2024: Living Wages for India, Aid to Gaza, Former Corrections Officer Helps Kids from Mobile Museum, LEGO Supports Autistic Shoppers, and The Fairy Trail is Alive and Well

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

India’s Government to Transition to a Living Wage by Next Year

The government of India plans to replace minimum wage with a living wage by 2025 to help citizens earn income that meet basic needs. The government is seeking help from the country’s International Labour Organization. The Times of India has details HERE.

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World Central Kitchen Aid Shipment #2 is Heading for Gaza

A shipment of aid with enough food to prepare more than 1 million meals is on the way to Gaza. This is World Central Kitchen’s second shipment to Gaza. Read more HERE. Update: I am devasted to learn that seven WCK volunteers were killed by an act of war, pausing the work of this organization.

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A Former Corrections Officer Created a Mobile Prison Museum to Help Kids

Lorenzo Steele Jr., a former prison corrections officer, has created a mobile prison museum to help educate kids about the realities of incarceration. The following article contains a video I caught on Spectrum News showing Lorenzo and 16-year-old Cameron who he mentors. Meet Lorenzo, Cameron and see the bus, HERE.

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LEGOS Stores Support Autistic Shoppers

In recognition of April being Autism Awareness Month, LEGO is partnering with the non-profit KultureCity to make stores more accessible for people with different sensory needs. Improvements include “comprehensive staff training” and sensory bags which include sound reducing headphones, cue cards, and strobe reducing glasses. Read more from GoodGoodGood.

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The Fairy Trail created by a Mom in New Jersey is Maintained by Volunteers

Therese Ojibway started the fairy trail years ago to enrich her autistic son’s experience in nature. Now, volunteers maintain the fairy trail for the enjoyment of all. See the video from CBS News:

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SoCS: Plane Ramblings, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Sanctuary Friends

David piloted with me as passenger.

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “plain/plane.” Use one, use ’em both, bonus points if you get ’em both in your post. Have fun!

I haven’t flown with my husband David as pilot since that first flight a while back when I felt so sick I almost threw up in spite of Dramamine. Now, I have a new Rx waiting and ginger candy, but I’m waiting for the right time with perfect weather and scheduling. I like keeping my feet on the ground and can’t think too much about being way up high in a tiny plane. It’s the kind of thing that makes me pray hard for safety.

Is praying a form of reaching out to another plane of existence? Or is God right here with us? It’s another plane with connections, I think. I’m thinking right this minute of Jesus praying for God to take the cup of torturous pain away from him and then turning his will over to God, trusting. Letting go. Letting God take care of him.

I was nudged to add this clip of Ted Neeley (at about 80 years old) singing the Gethsemane song from Jesus Christ Superstar. The movie playing in the background is the 1973 version that planted seeds in my agnostic brain many years ago.

Letting go has never been easy for me. It’s never been plain and simple. Most things I let go of have claw marks. Let it go, but not quite. Take it back again. Worry about it some more, then let it go again.

But I don’t think I’ll ever jump out of a plane. Unless it’s on fire and we’re over water. But who wants to think about that? Not me! I’d rather think of glimpses of another plane of existence we sometimes get where the veil is thin. That happens in the mountains or at the ocean – places where we can see and feel the vastness of creation.

I’m hoping we’ll go to the beach tomorrow which is Saturday when you’re reading this. It’s so weird to live 15 or 30 minutes from the beach and rarely go. Part of that is that we take it for granted. But we’re coming up on the season when it will be crowded, especially the beach that’s 15 minutes away. I’m looking forward to going to the mountains in a few weeks. Looking for those places where the veil is thin. But then, we can also create those places of connection with intention…. or just live in the moment and enjoy this side of the veil. Lots to enjoy as long as we don’t watch much bad news. But then maybe Nature is medicine for that.

Well, enough rambling with words. A picture is worth a thousand words.

The gallery starts with some of my friends from Blueberry Lane Farm Animal Sanctuary who help me be grounded. Then we have nature photos from the neighborhood. Click each photo to see the entire image.

Winnie the Pig

Delilah

Amos

Delilah and Esther

Sarah

Jack and Padre

Spilling from Neighbor’s Yard

March Moon

Dogwood blossoms

~~~

To learn more about Stream of Consciousness Saturday…

…and to read more streams, visit out host, Linda Hill

by clicking HERE.

Good News Tuesday for March 26, 2024: The EU’s Media Freedom Act, Doctors Without Borders Fighting TB in Children, a Pet Adoption Hotel, and a College Student Gives Away His Scholarship

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

EU Passes Media Freedom Act

Earlier this month, the European Union passed the European Media Freedom act to protect journalists across the EU. You can read what the act entails in this article I found in my newsletter from The Progress Network.

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Doctors Without Borders Launched a New Program to Fight Tuberculosis in Children

Doctors Without Borders just launched a new global initiative to improve diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of TB among children. Tuberculosis is the “world’s deadliest infectious disease,” killing 1.6 million people each year, but it is entirely curable. Read more about the project from Doctors Without Borders.

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A Hotel with Pet Adoption

A hotel in Highlands, North Carolina fosters shelter dogs giving guests a chance to adopt them. Here’s the story from an ABC News affiliate.

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College Football Payer Gave his Scholarship to Teammate

Brian Dooley, a college football player at Eastern Michigan University gave his college scholarship to his teammate Zack Conti who was juggling multiple jobs and “donating” plasma. See the video below:

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