Climate change deniers have found their way into textbooks in the Lone Star State.

A sixth grade textbook leaves school children in Texas to debate the question “Is Global Warming a Result of Human Activity?” The only problem is 97 percent of scientists already agree that humans are to blame. So the question becomes highly misleading for the sixth graders that will soon be dealing with the issue head on.

This new textbook has been flagged by the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) for misleading students. The book compares viewpoints from the Heartland Institute, an advocacy group backed by the Koch Brothers and Big Tobacco among others (and well known climate change deniers), to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a Nobel prize winning scientific body. In fact, Heartland Institute famously did an advertisement comparing those that contend global climate change is human-made to psychopaths.

Heartland Institute makes its way into science textbooks:

Scientists who study the issue say it is impossible to tell if the recent small warming trend is natural, a continuation of the planet’s recovery from the more recent “Little Ice Age,” or unnatural, the result of human greenhouse gas emissions. Thousands of peer-­‐reviewed articles point to natural sources of climate variability that could explain some or even all of the warming in the second half of the twentieth century. S. Fred Singer and Dennis Avery documented natural climate cycles of approximately 1,500 years going back hundreds of thousands of years.

—Joseph Bast and James M. Taylor, “Global Warming: Not a Crisis,” The Heartland Institute”

Where are these thousands of peer reviewed articles? I’ve never seen them. A fifth grade textbook had similar concerns. Like this frightening blurb:

Scientists believe the Earth is absorbing more of the sun’s harmful rays….Some scientists say it is natural for the Earth’s temperature to be higher for a few years. They predict we’ll have some cooler years and things will even out.

The Earth’s temperature will even out? It’s natural for the Earth’s temperature to be higher for a few years? In none of the research that I’ve seen has there ever been any mention of the Earth’s temperature evening out. And then there are the embarrassing inaccuracies.

Fossil fuel emissions have also caused a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica.

Whoops..that’s just wrong. In fact, fossil fuel combustion does not cause holes in the ozone layer, rather, they are caused by CFCs.

This from one of the largest public school systems in the country. Yikes.

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Image: Ed Schipul

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IBM predicts how future technology will affect our lives over the next five years.

Have you ever seen one of those movies in which modern characters somehow travel back in time? Knowing the future gives them a huge advantage over still living in the past, although it often causes more trouble than it’s worth. Well every year for the past eight years, IBM has given the world the next best thing: a list of educated predictions about future technology. No, these aren’t half-cocked dreams about flying cars or colonies on Mars. These are systems and gadgets that are very likely to change the way we do things in the next five years.

Surprisingly (or maybe not) many of IBM’s “5 in 5” predictions about future technology have come to fruition, or something close to it. As 2013 draws to a close, let’s take a look at the future technology that will likely become commonplace by the end of the decade.

IBM’s Future Technology Predictions For Education, Retail, Healthcare, Security and Cities

Education

According to IBM, the digitization of classrooms that’s already begun will really take off in the next five years. Future technology in the classroom will learn from the student while he or she is learning their daily lesson. “Cognitive computing, or learning technologies, will help us calculate everything we can about how each student learns and thrives, then create flexibility in the system to continually adapt and fine-tune what we deliver to that student and how this supports teachers and employers,” says Katharine Frase, IBM’s VP and CTO of Global Public Sector.

Retail

How many of us shopped on Amazon this holiday season? It may seem like online behemoth’s are stamping the local brick and mortar businesses out of existence, but IBM says a firm grasp on future technology could change this in the next five years. “Retailers will layer increasing levels of engagement and personalization on top of the shopping experience, ultimately merging the instant gratification of physical shopping with the richness of online shopping and making same-day delivery a snap,” says Sima Nadler, IBM’s Research Lead for Retail. According to Gizmag, “IBM has already demonstrated such technology in the form of an experimental augmented reality app that automatically delivers personalized coupons, offers, customer reviews and hidden product details to shoppers in stores.”

Healthcare

Mortality is a fact of, well, life, but according to IBM, future technology could help us to better prepare for it. The company predicts that DNA testing will move from a costly procedure to a mainstream tool doctors can use to test for cancers, or develop personalized treatment options for conditions such as stroke and heart disease.

Security

In perhaps the most strange and slightly terrifying prediction, IBM says future technology will provide each of us with an “online guardian” that will learn your habits to help protect your identity and sensitive information (I wonder if it works for the NSA too?).

Cities

Smart phones are already ubiquitous in big cities, but in the future, IBM predicts that they’ll making living in dense urban areas easier and more enjoyable. “For citizens, smart phones enabled by cognitive systems will provide a digital key to the city. People can have fingertip access to information about everything that’s happening in the city, whether an experience is right for them, and how best to get there,” says IBM’s Human Systems researcher Sergio Borger.

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Images via keoni101 and IBM

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Iran shows fear of women getting ahead by simply barring them from being educated.

Last week we asked, is Saudi Arabia’s policy of segregating women designed to help or hinder their economic independence? Tricky to answer – but in Iran, things are a little more clear-cut. Its government has just announced that 36 of the country’s universities will be barring women from enrolling on a total of 77 BA and BSc degrees for at least the next year.

Why? Two reasons are offered: firstly, a lack of demand for women employees in the jobs these courses work towards…and secondly, quoting a senior Iranian education official:

Some fields are not very suitable for women’s nature.

– Abolfazl Hasani, as quoted at Rooz.

In other words – women aren’t wanted in these professions, even if they were capable of excelling in them, which allegedly they aren’t.

Time to quote some damning statistics.

• Women account for nearly 60% of University students in Iran. (New York Times).
• In 2011, women outnumbered men 3 to 2 in successfully passing university entrance exams. (Telegraph)
• In 2009, just 15% of the Iranian workforce (3.5 million) were women, as compared to the global average of 45%. (Payvand News Of Iran)
• In the same year, less than 4% of employed women were in senior, executive or managerial positions. (Payvand News Of Iran)
• Iran’s University of Isfahan justified barring women from taking its mining engineering degree by stating that 98% of the course’s female graduates ended up unemployed. (Telegraph)

In a way, it’s a neat argument: the education system is barring women to avoid wasting money teaching them professions they will find it difficult to find employment in. Why would they find it so difficult? Because of endemic sexual discrimination.

It’s also easy to construct an argument for this being a panicked reaction to the development of the women’s rights movement in Iran, as follows: under Iranian law, women need the permission of their husbands to work. This means that a career-minded woman would either be choosier with their choice of husband, or refuse to seek one altogether – just the kind of erosion of a traditionalist way of life that a high-ranking theocrat would be afraid of.

To Iranian Nobel laureate and human rights campaigner Shirin Ebadi, it stinks of repression – and she’s demanding the United Nations launches an investigation:

The aim [of single-sex degree courses] is that women will give up their opposition and demands for their own rights.

  – Shirin Ebadi, as quoted in the Telegraph.

 A year ago, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described proposals to segregate students as “shallow and unwise,” and called for their cancellation.

It seems a year is a long time in Iranian politics.

Image: Paul Keller.

The post Iran’s U-Turn On Education: Universities Ban Women From Degree Courses appeared first on EcoSalon.

Study up.

Last week, the education world was abuzz when changes to the federal student loan program went into effect, many with lasting implications for students and graduates grappling with college debt. Learn more about the issue with this series of education-related infographics, which tackle topics from debt, to digital media, to the disastrous effects of playing hooky. Don’t worry, you won’t be graded.

The Final Countdown: The federal student loan debate, demystified with an infographic by NerdWallet.

Education’s Effect on Income: Surprise, surprise – the more education you have, the more you’ll likely earn.

The Gamification of Education: A look at how games can make education more engaging… and hopefully lift graduation rates.

Components of a 21st Century Classroom: How technology has and will change the way that schools function.

The United States of Student Debt: A breakdown of who’s in debt and by how much, from Mint.com.

The State of Digital Education: The transformative power of technology and the Internet.

Applied Finance 101: A crash course in entering real life.

The True Cost of Skipping Class: Well now we just feel guilty.

Educating the Workforce of the Future: Looking forward, more jobs will require some form of higher education, states this infographic from GOOD, Hyperakt, and the University of Phoenix.

U.S. Education Vs. The World: The U.S. spends more than any other country on education. Do the results stack up?

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Check out more infographics here.

Image: naosuke ii

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Changing Ethiopia one school at a time.

Access to education is something we often take for granted. In some parts of the world, a physical space for a school is a luxury. Such is the case in Ethiopia, where nonprofit imagine1day works to empower the next generation of African leaders by building schools, with a goal of all Ethiopians having access to quality education funded free of foreign aid by 2030.

Since launching in 2007 they have funded 87 primary schools and trained 1,183 teachers. But as with any nonprofit, raising funds to support their work is key, and the organization has come up with several creative ways to activate its circle of supporters, both by putting donors on the ground in Ethiopia to work with children firsthand and to encourage supporters to be “Creatributors,” harnessing the power of individual talents to fundraise in a new way

2012 marks the third year of Imagine Ethiopia, a hands on philanthropic effort that combines the talents of devoted individuals and puts them on the ground in Ethiopia to see their work through. Anyone with a passion for development and philanthropy can apply, and the organization is still taking applications for Imagine Ethiopia 2012.

We caught up with imagine1day’s Digital and Brand Leader Michelle Lazar to learn more about the organization and Imagine Ethiopia 2012.

Describe the mission and work of imagine1day.

imagine1day is a charitable organization committed to our mission of developing leaders to elevate the world. We pride ourselves in taking a unique approach to our work, both locally and on the ground in Ethiopia, and we make sure to have fun at every step of the way. In Ethiopia, we are direct implementers of educations projects, and we work hand in hand with communities who are committed and invested in education as a priority. Building a school is easy. Building a school that lasts requires vision, commitment and partnership. Through trial and error, failure and learning, we’ve developed a thoughtful and disciplined program approach with one key objective: to complete each project confident that our partners have the human and financial capacity, and the desire and drive to lead their education systems with success in perpetuity. Ultimately, our goal is that all Ethiopians have access to quality education funded free of foreign aid by 2030.

What inspired the launch of the organization?

It began as an idea…We imagined helping a nation educate its children, one by one, into a country full of promise. In 2007, imagine1day came to life, and it was decided by the Board to focus on primary education in Ethiopia. This decision was motivated by an obvious need within Ethiopia, where more than 3 million children were not in school, and the government had voiced commitment to Education, taking on the UN Millennium Development Goal of universal access to education by 2015. When Chip and Shannon Wilson endowed imagine1day, they imagined an organization that directly educated impoverished communities without corruption or loss of funds. They imagined an organization that focused on developing people and elevating communities around the world. They imagined a new generation of African leaders and a new era of prosperity. They created imagine1day with fun as its most important core value.

Imagine Ethiopia started in 2010. How did you come up with this idea for voluntourism as a key part of your organization?

Credit goes to our Executive Director, Sapna Dayal, for conceptualizing the Imagine Ethiopia program. Sapna recognized how powerful it would be for people to experience first-hand the impact of their contribution to imagine1day, and the promise and potential of Ethiopia on the whole. Each Imagine Ethiopia trip is designed around an overall objective of introducing participants to the Ethiopia that we’ve come to know and love such that they experience their own shift in perception of the country, its possibilities and themselves. We want people to come back feeling like Ambassadors to Ethiopia, imagine1day and the importance of contribution.

What benefits of this program have you seen so far?

The benefits have truly been countless. We’ve attracted incredibly loyal supporters in the form of trip participants from all across North America, and the imagine1day and Ethiopia’s story has been shared through to each of their networks. We’ve also connected to some extraordinary partners, including program sponsors and trip leaders. We feel like our family has grown by leaps and bounds since we built Imagine Ethiopia into our organization.

What are you looking forward to with Imagine Ethiopia 2012?

2012 is a big year for imagine1day, as we’re scaling our impact within Ethiopia by expanding into a new region called Oromiya. The money raised by this year’s Imagine Ethiopia Dream Team will fund one of our very first school projects in this new region, and it’s going to be a very special moment when we arrive to witness the ground breaking alongside the people who made it possible. We’re excited to venture into new territory on this trip, and it’s going to make for an incredible itinerary. We’ll be visiting the Bale Mountains, where we’ll experience a new landscape and new adventures including horseback riding, and hanging out with warthogs, nayalas, and more! We’re also thrilled to welcome Christian Santelices as a new addition to our Leader Team. Christian is a fully certified mountain guide, professional photographer, public speaker, writer, community activist, and an all around joy to be around. He will be infusing adventure and fun into the trip itinerary at every turn.

Why do you think hands on experience and philanthropic efforts go hand in hand?

We’re all about inspiring people to make passionate contributions that elevate themselves, their local community, and communities in Ethiopia. For us, we understand that it’s not always easy for people to feel connected to the impact of their contribution when so much magic is happening on the other side world. The more we can facilitate that connection, through experiences like Imagine Ethiopia, and our communications with supporters, the smaller the gap becomes. So often philanthropy/international development is positioned as “us helping them”, whereas this trip is truly a unifying experience. It is one that provides participants an opportunity to receive more than they give through a journey of personal growth.

Tell us more about your Creatributon™ program. What is it and how does it work?

imagine1day distinguishes itself as a community that expands through shared experiences and inspiring connections. We believe that charity can have a greater impact on the world by being an impetus for abundance, locally and globally. Our unconventional charitable model, which we call CREATRIBUTION™, invites people to contribute to the world by exploring their passions and their talents. On the part of imagine1day, it requires a commitment to supporting each Creatributor in being rigorously selfish about how their Creatribution will serve their life. Through Creatribution, people are discovering how their unique contribution can become their own business venture. Creatribution is a training ground for entrepreneurs to take risks, to fail, to succeed and ultimately to develop as leaders in their community. In practice, Creatributions can look like just about anything – from an unconventional art showcase, to a campaign that inspires people to choose donating in lieu of buying coffee or eating out, to an intimate house concert series where artists perform in a living room setting. It’s amazing to see how people can channel their passions and talents to create extraordinary contributions to the world.

If people can’t apply to Imagine Ethiopia, how can they support your efforts?

For those who can’t join us as part of this year’s journey, but are interested in supporting the team’s goal of raising $100,000, they can follow this link to donate to the trip goal. People can also consider taking on Creatribution™ in support of our goal. Finally, we’re always welcoming new friends and supporters with open arms, and encourage people to connect with us by way of our website, Facebook & Twitter communities.

Learn more about imagine1day and apply for Ethiopia 2012 here. 

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In ever-increasing numbers, women are starting fulfilling businesses that also impact communities.

Female-founded, women-run businesses are on the rise. The numbers of women rising to the corporate c-suite are slowly increasing, but women are redirecting their ambition, and most importantly, their creativity and drive, toward starting and nurturing companies that fulfill them. The reasons for women to strike out on their own range from millennials that burn out from corporate life and look for something more, to women who have hit the glass ceiling, to those, overwhelmingly, who want to be in control of their own future, define their own work/life balance, assert their independence and fulfill the need they see in their own and other communities.

Here are eight inspiring companies and their founders.

Drop the Chalk (Kickboard)

Founder Jennifer Schnidman Medbery studied computer science at Columbia, but joined Teach for America after graduation. While she was teaching, she realized how much time teachers spent recording data, and how little time they had to analyze and act on it. Kickboard allows teachers to enter student data, analyze trends and customize learning for students. Medbery piloted the software in several New Orleans schools and more schools are adopting the system by leaps and bounds.

Style Seat

Style Seat‘s business allure is its two-pronged approach: it boosts local businesses and taps the lucrative hair salon industry. CEO Melody McCloskey got the idea when she was looking for someone who specialized in cutting curly hair. Hair salons are extremely individualized local businesses, so when you move to a new town it’s hard to find a stylist other than through word of mouth. Hair salons are also slow to adopt online tools to grow their businesses, so Style Seat provides a unique set of options, including online profiles, price ranges, and stylist’s schedules so clients can see who is available in a certain timeframe. On the other side, stylists can track trends like which days they traditionally have fewer clients and then have the option to run a promotion. Growing local economies has been touted as one of the ways our society can recover from this slump, so Style Seat is imminently sustainable and infinitely scalable. Since its start in May 2011, hundreds of thousands of stylists and clients have found their matches.

Solar Sister

When Katherine Lucey was an energy executive, she noticed that the large-scale energy projects she was helping implement in Uganda, weren’t reaching the rural population. She conceived and started Solar Sister, an Avon-type business model where women can start their own businesses for a nominal fee, bringing solar lamps to homes and communities. Before solar lighting, many families spent the evening in the dark, or used unsafe and expensive kerosene lamps. Solar Sister is expanding its operations from Uganda into other communities in rural Africa.

Nom Nom Truck

The food truck industry is booming recently. Co-founders Jennifer Green and Misa Chien met as undergraduates at UCLA, and after graduation they took $25,000 of family money and life savings and rented their first Nom Nom truck. The pair launched their Vietnamese cuisine on the LA scene to a waiting Twitter following. An appearance on The Great Food Truck Race introduced their unique menu to the nation. Nom Nom uses healthy, local ingredients, and eco-friendly products while serving banh mi cuisine to more than 800 people a day in both LA and San Francisco.

Gianna 

Gianna Driver spent part of her childhood living in a women’s shelter with her Filipino mother. At 16, she was the first in her family to go to college (later attending Wharton) which led to a career in commercial insurance. She left the business world behind when she realized that she wanted to empower women like the ones she saw in the shelter growing up. Gianna employs women in India, Laos, Thailand and the Philippines to handcraft accessories and items for home decor. Gianna focuses on fair trade for the severely disadvantaged in rural villages or urban slums. First, she identifies a group that already produces a craft and constructs a business support system aimed at empowering the women and allowing them to achieve independence. Gianna works to preserve both the cultural heritage and the environment, using organic and recycled materials.

Code for America

“Fundamentally, it’s all about helping American cities use web technology to do a better job of providing services to citizens.” Founder Jen Pahlka patterned Code for America after Teach for America, aiming to tackle municipal issues by recruiting the best and brightest coders to focus on specific city issues. Each year the organization accepts applications from both cities and web developers to participate. Teams are matched with cities and specific problems are identified and scoped. The projects run for 11 months, and the goal is to develop web applications that enable cities to engage their residents in ways that reduce administrative costs, move toward transparency and collaboration, and are shareable – which means that an application built for one city can be used by any other city. In a time when city government budgets are being slashed, yet communities need local government to implement important measures to help cities grow, Code for America can be instrumental in helping municipalities move forward.

Alabama Chanin

Yes, we love Natalie Chanin, but she belongs here due to her sustainable focus and benefit to her surrounding communities. Alabama Chanin crafts limited-edition, handmade products for individuals and the home, focusing on slow design and sustainability. Talented artisans from and around Florence, Alabama use new, organic and recycled materials to create unique items.

Women 2.0

Finally, we give a nod to Women 2.0, a new media company that supports and champions women-founded businesses. Founders Shaherose Charania and Angie Chang work to “Inform, inspire and educate a new generation of females that are entrepreneurial and successful.” The business incorporates a blog to give women a voice, events to bring female entrepreneurs together and “enables entrepreneurs with a network, resources and knowledge to take your startup from idea to launch.”

Images: Victor1558, Solar Sister, Alabama Chanin, ThinkPublic, Flavia Brandi, Jek in the box, Gianna, Trey Ratcliff, Tara Hunt

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They’re out there competing for dollars and attention and making a big difference.

As the troops prepare to come back home we face the daunting task of absorbing their return. Housing, health care, jobs and schooling – not to mention how to treat PTSD which we now know plagues scads of combat units when settling into civilian life. It brings to mind non profits – the other army of good soldiers – with countless missions. The staffer and volunteers running these organizations deal with these hard  issues and so much more in aiding people daily while often relying on deeper souls than pockets.

Lagging behind in the economic recovery and tapping social networking opportunities like Facebook to garner desperately needed support, nonprofits deal in everyday drama that disrupts everyday lives. And some of our favorites are designed to motivate the nation’s youth to pitch in with incentives that go beyond community service credits at school.

The frigid winds of December bring even more disruption, upping the demand for shelter from the cold, provisions for soup kitchens, and support for those finding it challenging to get through holiday cheer emotionally unscathed. With all this in mind, here are ten nonprofits to put on your radar – ones covering urgent needs as well as going to bat for long range ideals.

San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention

Mural artist Susan Mack decks the halls of the Talk Line treatment center in the Haight where this agency’s approach is to stop the cycle of violence by treating the entire family. This resource which sets a national standard, treats the entire family to a holiday party every year while also packaging toys and necessities on the wish list. As a testament to director/attorney Katie Albright – daughter of former secretary of state Madeline – and the other staffers at this welcoming hub – the decorative murals are usually kept up the rest of the year or as long as possible to lift spirits.

Does art heal what is hurting these children? It’s all part of the entire package, one that relies on charitable gifts and volunteerism to break the cycle while teaching struggling families how to cope with stress, poverty, drugs and challenges that can put us over the edge.

 Spark

Spark seeks to ignite global change by building a community of young, global citizens invested in changing inequality towards women throughout the world. The strategy – as described in its mission statement – is to cultivate a community of young professionals actively involved in women’s issues on a grassroots level and to educate through forums, volunteer opportunities and international delegation trips to countries where women and girls are prevented to lead the lives they deserve. What ignited Spark? In 2004 Maya Garcia read an article about Sanaa Abu Bhkeet, a young Palestinian runner who overcame great adversities  for the Olympics. She joined forces with the co-founders and in five years, raised over $350,000 for grassroots women organizations in Rwanda, Mexico, Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and the U.S.

Peer Health Exchange

Since students living at or below the poverty line experience more than their share of serious health risks from teenage pregnancy to obesity, this agency recruits, selects and trains college student volunteers to go into high school classrooms and teach a comprehensive health curriculum that ranges from sexual health to substance abuse and nutrition. The key? PHE takes the cue from research showing teens process and absorb health info better when delivered by educators of a similar age. Workshops conducted by these volunteer “role models” help students practice skills such as effective communication, risk evaluation and prevention, setting limits and making important decisions in role-play scenarios that resemble difficult, real-life crises. Anyone who has had sex ed taught by a 60-something teacher can appreciate how teenagers feel less awkward discussing this stuff with peers.

Environmental Career Center

The Environmental Career Center with an active job board is considered one of the most experienced recruiting and resource firms for matching the public with green jobs in environmental, building and energy sectors. Seeking to connect leading employers with top candidates for a sustainable future, the staff boasts one of the largest environmental databases around containing 34,000 resumes and over 60,000 hungry visitors to its web site per month. The focus is on green building (LEED®), energy efficiency and environmental compliance, renewable energy and sustainable businesses. Its services cover PASE Corps (training and staffing program), contract staffing for its clients, recruitment/outsourcing and contingency searches (finding the best option for filling  mid-level management, sales and tech positions).

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Throwing out a line to bullied or stressed out teens, veterans and victims of holiday blues, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline networks with 132 crisis centers in the U.S., offering a 24-hour toll-free hotline to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Callers are routed to the nearest crisis center for immediate counseling and local mental health referrals. In addition, it provides preventative educational tools at an online library for schools in helping to train teachers and other employees to recognize kids in pain and how to treat them. The nonprofit recognizes suicide often effects an entire community so it takes the community approach to prevention.

Medical Teams International

The goal of Medical Teams International is to export international good will and services to aid people stricken by disaster, conflict and poverty through effective programs meeting guidelines of the global health community. Volunteers bring their expertise to Africa, East Asia, Eurasia, Latin America and the U.S. with cores set up to address community health issues (including HIV, child survival, water and sanitation and clinic construction and rehab), dental programs, disaster response, emergency medical services, medical services and training and medical supply distribution.

Trust for Public Land

Mapping land worth conserving nationwide, the Trust helps agencies and communities to set aside precious property as well as lending a hand in the design and development of parks and playgrounds. Posting their lively photos on Facebook to spur involvement, it’s all about open spaces for play, relaxation, good health and connection with nature. “Our goal is to ensure that every American has access to a park within a ten-minute walk from home,” says the agency, adding the need for more parks has never been greater. The group has set a $250,000 goal to meet that need for humans as well as their four legged friends.

Reading Partners

If you ask friends about their favorite nonprofits, chances are they will cite some type of literacy program such as Reading Partners, which strives for all the nation’s children to acquire the skills they need to reach full potential – and of course that involves becoming lifelong readers. Focusing on individualized instruction with measurable results, the group reaches out to children from low-income communities with fewer opportunities. Partnering with schools (hence the name), the agency offers one-on-one tutoring with a caring volunteer. Once enrolled, English-speaking students in grades K-5 who have fallen behind six months to two years in reading receive two 45-minute tutoring sessions a week. As educators know, reading is the gateway skill tied to succeeding in every subject in school.

Philly Friendship Circle: Friends for a Caring World

Pairing teen volunteers with special needs children, this caring organization based in Philadelphia schedules excellent activities from weekly play dates at home to structured weekend programs and holiday blow outs. Established a little over six years ago, the eye is on fun and recreation as well as building bridges of community spirit. Teen volunteers find personal satisfaction from giving and are trained by staff therapists to be friendly, giving and attentive to the children partaking in the programs that reach the Jewish community and beyond: Among them: Sunday Circle Respite Sessions to celebrate culture and customs; Sports and Cooking Circles; Sibling Support and Drop Off programs (kids dropped at Saturday Night Parties or Sunday Afternoon Carnivals).

National Coalition for Homeless Veterans

It’s almost inconceivable that those who have fought to protect homelands have no place to call home, yet the Veteran’s Administration estimates one-third of the homeless population are veterans – 107,000 homeless on any given night. Most are male and single and come from urban areas and suffer from mental illness, alcohol/substance abuse or co-occurring disorders. Nearly half served during the Vietnam era while others served in Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq. Among them, 56 percent are said to be African American or Hispanic and reasons for being on the street are linked to poverty, lack of support networks and overcrowded or substandard housing. How does the NCHV help? The most comprehensive source for restoring lives, it is governed by a 17-member board and serves as the resource and tech assistance center for a national network of community based service providers and local, state and federal agencies. The group also provides emergency and supportive housing, food, health services,job training, placement assistance, legal aid and case management support for hundreds of thousands of homeless vets each year.

Kids Against Hunger

Founded in 1999, the organization’s mission is to reduce the number of hungry children in the USA while feeding starving children throughout the world. This huge endeavor is done by packaging nutritious, vitamin-fortified, soy-rice casserole by volunteers at locations within the U.S. and Canada. The meals are distributed to over 60 countries through partnerships with humanitarian organizations worldwide. Volunteers boast packing over 48 million meals for children and their families in 2009 alone. Does the food get in the right hands? The organization does not look to governments to ensure people are getting fed.

“We rely on the expertise of trustworthy feeding partners whom we have long-standing relations with and whom we can count on for getting food safely to its destination,” they say.

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Image: Ed Yourdon

The post 10 More Noteworthy Nonprofits You’ve Never Heard Of appeared first on EcoSalon.

Does it take a celebrity to speak for the majority of Americans?

Oscar-winning actor Matt Damon has been in the news quite a bit lately, and it’s not because he’s promoting a new movie. Damon, who is low-key about his personal life, comes on strong when he’s passionate about a political issue or a philanthropic cause. He has lit up the blogosphere, YouTube, print media and even late night television with his recent, high profile interviews on his philanthropy, Water.org, and his opinions on the state of education in the U.S. today and the recent U.S. debt agreement.

How much weight should we give celebrity opinions? People (and especially children and teens) are often swayed by celebrity endorsements and strive to emulate them, so when celebrities talk, many people listen. As a society, we eat up what they are wearing, what they are doing and who they are doing it with. Sometimes that means we are treated to diatribes about tiger’s blood, an episode of couch-jumping, or homophobic jokes during a stand up comedy act.

Celebrities don’t have to worry about being re-elected; they can simply say what they believe, whatever that may be. Damon’s opinions have gotten so much attention that outspoken Democrat Michael Moore has commented that he should run for president.

The July/August issue of Fast Company profiled Damon and the nonprofit organization Water.org that he co-founded with Gary White. Water.org is working towards providing safe drinking water to people in developing countries. Ellen McGirt described Damon’s immersive involvement in the organization as far and above the level of normal celebrity cause spokesperson. Damon has turned himself into a “development expert.” McGirt explains that, among other things, Damon can talk knowledgeably about microfinance with rural bankers, give reports from the field at the annual Clinton Global Initiative, and has personally thanked donors like Pepsi’s Indira Nooyi. Damon has also put in the time researching, studying and listening to experts in the field and visiting the very people it affects. This has garnered him a level of quiet respect.

Damon has been in the spotlight before for his opinion. A staunch Democrat, he supported President Obama during his campaign, but recently professed his disappointment in Obama’s handling of some key issues, including education, the Afghanistan exit strategy, and the Wall Street crisis. “I no longer hope for audacity,” he told Piers Morgan in a March 2011 appearance on his show.

On July 30, Damon gave an inspiring speech during the Save Our Schools march in Washington D.C. referencing his mother, a professor of early childhood education, and his public school education growing up. He described how he learned because he wasn’t taught to perform well on a standardized test, but was taught by teachers who were “empowered to teach.”

“This has been a horrible decade for teachers. I can’t imagine how demoralized you must feel. But I came here today to deliver an important message to you: As I get older, I appreciate more and more the teachers that I had growing up. And I’m not alone. There are millions of people just like me.

So the next time you’re feeling down, or exhausted, or unappreciated, or at the end of your rope; the next time you turn on the TV and see yourself called “overpaid;” the next time you encounter some simple-minded, punitive policy that’s been driven into your life by some corporate reformer who has literally never taught anyone anything, please know that there are millions of us behind you. You have an army of regular people standing right behind you, and our appreciation for what you do is so deeply felt. We love you, we thank you and we will always have your back.”

Following this speech, a journalist and cameraman baited Damon and his mother, saying that teachers needed incentive to put in effort and that ten percent of all teachers were probably bad. Damon shot back, “Ok, but maybe you’re a shitty cameraman.”

Soon afterward, Damon was back in the news after the debt crisis was resolved, voicing his disappointment with the result.

“The wealthy are paying less than they paid at any time else, certainly in my lifetime, and probably in the last century,” he said. “I don’t know what we were paying in the roaring 20’s; it’s criminal that so little is asked of people who are getting so much. I don’t mind paying more. I really don’t mind paying more taxes. I’d rather pay for taxes than cut ‘Reading is Fundamental’ or Head Start or some of these programs that are really helping kids. This is the greatest country in the world; is it really that much worse if you pay 6% more in taxes? Give me a break. Look at what you get for it: you get to be American.”

Is Damon a rich celebrity? Yes. Should his opinion mean more because he has a high profile? Maybe not, but in a time when people who aren’t lobbyists or wealthy donors have a hard time being heard by those in government who are supposed to represent their interests, it’s what we’ve got.

Image: JustJared

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There was a moment in time when digital watches came on the scene in a big way. Ubiquitous Casios faced down analog timepieces in the marketplace to the extent that conventional wisdom (read: what my parents were saying) had analog going the way of the sundial. There was chatter among adults, I recall, that “it won’t be long before kids can’t even read a clock anymore.”

Today, I sometimes wonder whether handwriting will soon be written off. I don’t recall seeing my guys actually handwrite all that much while they were growing up. I did spy their notebooks and scrawl here and there, and I think I got one or two letters from camp, but it wasn’t like when we were young and wrote on everything we could get our hands on. I do see them typing. At least I think I do; their fingers move way too fast for me to know what’s really going on between user and keyboard. They text, too. I get their texts. I do not get “notes.” In any event, I just read this story about why I’m so much smarter than my kids!

Turns out, writing by hand makes kids – and adults, for that matter – smarter. This, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article by Gwendolyn Bounds, who cites a numbers of studies, including one based on magnetic resonance imaging. The upshot of the research, she says, is that handwriting “helps with learning letters and shapes, can improve idea composition and expression, and may aid fine motor-skill development.” This is the good stuff that we need to nail down early on if we’re going to know our ass from our elbows as we get on in years.

Speaking of getting on in years, we adults also reap benefits from putting pen to paper. Bounds points out that “some physicians say handwriting could be a good cognitive exercise for baby boomers working to keep their minds sharp as they age.” The Week adds to the mix a number of specific benefits, including studies that show that writing by hand “can get ideas out faster” and increases neural activity, which is always fun.

And in the perception versus reality department, good handwriting makes you seem smarter, as well: “Several studies have shown that the same mediocre essay will score much higher if written with good penmanship and much lower if written out in poor handwriting,” says Vanderbilt University education professor Steve Graham. “There is a reader effect that is insidious”¦ People judge the quality of your ideas based on your handwriting.”

While this all could lead to an unfortunate bout of tech bashing, consider, says Bounds, that “new software for touch-screen devices, such as the iPad, is starting to reinvigorate the practice.” I know that I got myself this little iPhone “paint” application that I read David Hockney uses, and I now find myself “coloring” again from time to time. Smarter me? Maybe. It makes me smile for sure.

So regarding my kids, I lied. My kids are way smarter than me. They certainly are when you put my 17- and 20-year-old self against where they’re at today. Beside their genetically endowed brilliance (had to), their access to and facility with information as they developed far surpassed mine in every way. The big question now is: Is information wasted on the young? Better jot that one down.

Oh, and neither of them even wears a watch.

Image: Caitlinator

The post Write On, Baby: Why I’m Smarter than My Kids appeared first on EcoSalon.

Back in the day, finding an environmentally-aware college was a tough assignment, but these days the amount of universities with green programs and sustainable energy or food policies courses are in the hundreds. Ferreting out 10 of our favorites was tough, but having so many awesome colleges to choose from is a great problem to have.

University of Colorado at Boulder (shown above) – CU-Boulder is just about the greenest university you can imagine. It’s got 27 different degree, major, or certification programs related to environmental studies and cranks out more scientific publications on environmental research than any other institution in the nation. Folsom Field, home of the Colorado Buffaloes football team is a zero-waste stadium and the college’s campus-wide recycling program is run by students. This year, the school partnered with Zipcar to encourage ride-sharing and carpooling to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Unity College – Wow, students from this college in Maine recently had a meeting with White House staffers to discuss putting solar panels on the Presidential abode. The White House didn’t agree to do it, unfortunately, but these kids get an “A” for effort. Meanwhile, back on campus an Environmental Stewardship Curriculum is built into every student’s education so they graduate prepared for “leadership roles in environmental issues, on levels ranging from local to global.”

College of the Atlantic – Here’s one college cafeteria you’ll enjoy eating in. Almost all the beef it serves is grass-fed and the produce comes from local farms or the campus’ own organic farm. Recently-built student housing is powered by renewable energy and all new construction is built with water-and energy-saving details in mind. The school also runs shuttle to ferry students to back and forth to a nearby town and provides bikes for on-campus use.

Middlebury College – This small liberal arts college in Vermont thinks big when it comes to environmental awareness. Local farmers and on-campus gardens supply food to the cafeteria and wind turbines power the school’s recycling facility. An $11-million biomass plant is being built on the campus so the college can be carbon neutral by 2016, but in the meantime students are keeping busy participating in the Green Finger Project, a viral campaign aimed at raising awareness of the disturbing effects of climate change on the planet.

University of Maryland – The administration at this College Park campus puts their money where their mouth is. Students, faculty, and staff with big ideas that promote on-campus environmental sustainability can apply for money to fund their projects and make them a reality. The school schedules regular presentations and film screenings on everything from climate change to reducing energy use, and sponsors 15 different sustainability-related clubs for students to join.

New York University – NYU is well-known for its arts and drama departments, but it’s got one heck of a sustainability program going on, too. It offers grad and undergrad degrees in subjects like urban planning, environmental health, global affairs, and more. Campus projects include a bike-sharing program, sustainability task force (think Green Police), and an environmental health clinic for students and faculty.

Warren Wilson College – This small college in Asheville, NC takes its impact on the environment very seriously. They’ve got their own Climate Action Plan that serves as a roadmap for the school’s vision of the “practice of sustainability.” Students grow food in the Cow Pie garden (um, yum?), power school-owned vehicles and equipment with biodiesel fuel, and live in eco-friendly dorms. They also design and participate in outreach programs that educate elementary school students and participate in the National Audubon Society Seabird Restoration Program.

University of Oregon – Students at this school have a long list of choices when they’re ready to make a positive impact on the environment. For instance, Project Tomato sends incoming freshman on a four-day bike trip to local farms to harvest tomatoes. They bring their haul back to the dining hall and make about 64 gallons of pizza sauce – enough to serve a week’s worth of pies – all the while learning about sustainable agriculture.

Evergreen State College – This cool school gets huge brownie points for creativity thanks to its Sustainable Prisons Project. Paired with the Washing State Department of Corrections, students help figure out ways to reduce the footprint of prisons through environmental awareness and sustainable practices. On campus, you’ll find a salmon-safe certified organic farm, conservation programs, and study halls outfitted with solar panels.

Arizona State University-Tempe – ASU’s renewable energy policies alone are enough to make this school stand out in the crowd. The campus sports six wind turbines and several buildings are already solar panel-equipped, with more to follow in the next few years. Annual recycling drives let students donate old belongings to charity rather than dump them at the curb at the end of the school year, and the Electric Vehicle Club submits a hybrid race car for the yearly Formula Hybrid Competition in Loudon, NH.

Image: Stuart Yeates

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