All Perspectives
A 'Source to Sea Cleanup' for New England's longest riverOn Sept. 29 thousands of volunteers will spread out along the banks of the Connecticut River collecting tons of plastic bottles, cans, food containers, and other trash.
Why we work -- and keep workingHere are five reasons: (1) The paycheck. (2) Fulfillment. (3) Sociability. (4) Dignity. (5) The paycheck. And there are hundreds more as workers stay on the job well into their senior years.- Readers RespondReaders Write: Congress must take unpopular stands, not compromise; Mike McQuery is no victim in Sandusky scandalLetters to the Editor for the September 3, 2012 weekly print issue:聽Since when are leaders expected to only do what is easy in the short term?聽It's a tremendous reach to try and justify what amounts to Mike McQueary's cowardly act by calling him a victim of male culture.
Difference MakerLaura and Shawn Sears give inner-city kids an educational camp experienceOn northern California's spectacular coast a free camp for low-income children provides hands-on science education and team building 鈥� along with 'nonstop fun.'
Marrying cash and change: Social 'stock markets' spread worldwideIn social-investment exchanges, donors choose what projects to 'invest' in. But the return is in the form of social good, not cash.
Pitcher irrigation brings vegetables to Pakistani desertPitcher irrigation 鈥� in which buried clay pots release water into the soil 鈥� delivers water directly to plant roots rather than spreading it more widely across fields.
A cross-border park spurs water cooperation in southern AfricaThe decade-old Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park was formed through the cooperation of three nations and has reduced conflicts over natural resources, especially water, while protecting wildlife.
Convention watch: The speech's the thingBegun as a reform movement in the 19th-century United States, political conventions do little real party business today. Their one redeeming virtue? They are a showcase for political speech.
SOIL turns human waste into compost in HaitiRural residents of Haiti most easily see the benefits of composting human waste, says Sasha Kramer, the co-founder of SOIL.
Cities turn to innovative 'green infrastructure'From Seattle to Sweden, city and regional governments are using roof gardens, specially designed wetlands, and other forms of 'green infrastructure' to rein in pollution 鈥� and to save money.
Progress WatchGot broadband? Access now extends to 94 percent of Americans.Every year, Internet access via broadband becomes available to millions more Americans, up from 92 percent last year to 94 percent, a recent report shows. Rural and tribal areas are the outliers.
Africa's entrepreneurs on the riseAfrica is booming with young entrepreneurs, but they don't always operate like their counterparts in the US.
An urban gardening project greens Johannesburg rooftopsIn South Africa, the Tlhago Primary Agricultural Cooperative teaches urban youths gardening skills, educates them about climate change, and empowers them to take practical actions.
Buy a share of a fresh, sustainable fish catchA Massachusetts-based nonprofit is based on same concept as community-supported agriculture, except in this case members purchase a share of a fishing season, rather than a harvest of vegetables.
Arts center helps youths in Bogota shun guns, drugsAn arts center, run by a Colombian non-governmental organization, works with former child soldiers 鈥� leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries 鈥� to help them return to civilian life.
Difference MakerVolleyball for all on a famous Rio beachRoberto Bosch's volleyball school was getting nowhere. Then he invited kids from the slums to join for free.
Teachers who excel: A lesson from Miss SmootNothing is more important in K-12 education than the quality of a teacher. But how do we make great teachers? We could start with someone like Jane Smoot.- Readers RespondReaders Write: Lamar Smith is wrong. Obama's immigration policy isn't amnesty.Letters to the Editor for the August 13, 2012 weekly print issue: Rep. Lamar Smith (R) of Texas mischaracterizes President Obama's recent decision to put a low priority on the deportation of some young illegal immigrants who were brought to the US as children. His op-ed is misleading.
- Difference MakerScott Neeson left Hollywood to save children rooting in Cambodia's garbage dumpsHe sold his mansion, Porsche, and yacht and set off for Cambodia to provide food, shelter, and education to destitute children.
Tasintha sets Zambia's sex workers on a better pathThe nonprofit group Tasintha helps prostitutes reform their lives using a positive, nonjudgmental approach.
