All People Making a Difference
Wilma Melville turns rescued dogs into rescuersThe Search Dog Foundation partners dogs rescued from shelters with firefighters to help find victims buried in the wreckage of disasters.
Sri Lanka tea plantations go greenerGrowers in Sri Lanka with small tea plantations are seeking certification with an international conservation organization in order to boost their brand and learn conservation techniques.
Why Barbara Bush started Global Health CorpsBarbara Bush, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, welcomes the sixth class of Global Health Corps fellows for two weeks of training. The Global Health Corps places young professionals and recent college graduates in fellowships with health organizations in the United States and Africa for a year of service.
The Learning Tea brightens the future for poor or orphaned girls in IndiaKatrell Christie, owner of a tea shop in Atlanta, helps educate girls in India, giving them choices beyond lives of hard labor.
Difference MakerKatherine Connor founded a sanctuary for abused elephantsBoon Lott鈥檚 Elephant Sanctuary, a 540-acre reserve in Thailand, is home to elephants saved from a life of misery in the logging and tourism trades.
Waterless dyeing could clean up the clothing industryTextile-dyeing is one of the world鈥檚 most-polluting industries. China and other Asian nations releases trillions of liters of chemically tainted wastewater. New waterless dyeing technologies could sharply cut pollution.
Tenacious gardeners put down roots in 'America's most desperate town'They're committed to the future of Camden, N.J., and they've created one of the nation's fastest-growing networks of urban farms.
Difference MakerShukla Bose left a highflying career to educate India's poorest childrenHer foundation wants to break the cycle of poverty by educating 鈥� from kindergarten through college 鈥� at least one child in each family.
How satellite maps can halt Amazon deforestationImazon, a nonprofit group, is collaborating with a Brazilian state to use real-time satellite imagery and advanced mapping techniques to protect the rainforest.
Goodbye, Pacific garbage patch: a teenager鈥檚 invention may clean it upA new report shows that a gigantic cleanup machine proposed by 19-year-old Boyan Slat really could pick up much of the North Pacific's trash.
Bush's tandem skydiver focuses on helping US vetsThe All Veteran Group, mostly combat veterans, works with veterans with injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder by conducting 'leap of faith' weekends for those who have lost loved ones during war.
Debbi Weinberg has a GEM of a way to help girlsGirls鈥� Empowerment Mission assists high school girls from underserved communities through educational and growth experiences.
Difference MakerDarden Smith listens, strums a bit, then helps soldiers write their songSongwritingWith:Soldiers provides a healthy emotional outlet. The songs help others facing similar challenges and build a bridge between military service and civilian life.
How weeds could help feed billionsScientists in the US and elsewhere are conducting intensive experiments to cross hardy weeds with food crops such as rice and wheat 鈥� making them more resilient as drought, higher temperatures, and elevated CO2 levels pose new threats to food supplies.
In Kenya, solar lights are a homework helperSolar panels installed at schools in remote areas off the electric grid allow students to stay past dark and hit the books.
A different way to enjoy the World Cup: stay in a slumTravelers arriving in Rio de Janeiro for soccer's World Cup (June 12-July 13) can rent a room or apartment in the city's safe and vibrant favela (slum) communities.
New ways to make dirty water cleanTraditional desalination has meant turning seawater into drinking water. But new technologies not only improve desalination but open up ways to use agricultural water and industrial effluent too.
Difference MakerAmy Laura Cahn helps gardens blossom from weed-choked lots in PhiladelphiaShe advises residents on how to obtain title to a vacant property and defends grass-roots garden projects threatened by development.
These rock climbers prove a disability doesn鈥檛 define themThe Adaptive Climbing Group, rock climbers with physical or other issues, visits the Brooklyn Boulders gym in New York to train and overcome limitations.
Pakistan's 'Burka Avenger' uses books, pens to right wrongsA children's cartoon TV series, in which a female superhero dons a burka to fight injustice, has won a prestigious Peabody Award.