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“When you hand good people possibility, they do great things.” --Biz Stone
Hello everyone! What is the possibility of a group of people cleaning up 25,000 pounds garbage from the Pacific Ocean? Or of an entrepreneur taking invasive marine weeds that blight our beaches and turning them into usable bricks? Or that, upon hearing about a 3-month-old baby’s plight, thousands of people would sign up to be a stem cell donor? People all over our world are doing great things. These acts and more amplify the voice of our collective compassion. They invite us to remember how much in our world is working. May we be uplifted by the courage and action of people rising up and contributing to the well-being of our world in such inspiring ways! Wishing you ever-so-much peace and loving kindness this week!
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The Ocean Cleanup
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Talk about a massive clean-up! The Ocean Cleanup, an environmental non-profit, has set new records by hauling out a whopping 25,000 pounds of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This floating island of debris, estimated to be twice the size of Texas, dangerously interferes with marine life. "Our goal is to kind of put ourselves out of business," says Alex Tobin, head of public relations and media for the organization. They're making strides towards that goal with their new System 03, capable of clearing a football field's worth of litter every five seconds. Using advanced AI technology for "plastic hotspot modeling", they even pinpoint the densest spots of plastic. Their relentless mission? A sky-high goal of removing 90% of floating plastic from our oceans by 2040. The oceans' champions are on their march, and they're just getting started.
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The LEGO Group via USA Today
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Step aside regular Lego bricks, the game-changer has arrived - Lego Braille Bricks! For the first time ever, these ingenious toys are available to the general public. Designed for everyone over 6 years, these Braille bricks promise a playful, inclusive experience. Each set brims with 287 colored bricks, fully compatible with your existing Lego sets and two special baseplates. Pre-order starts August 24th, with English and French versions available from September 1st. More languages are coming next year. "For the blind community, Braille is not just literacy, it's our entry to independence and inclusion into this world, Lego Braille Bricks are a massive step forward to ensuring more children will want to learn Braille in the first place," says Martine Abel-Williamson, President of the World Blind Union. Let the games of learning begin!
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Deanne Fitzmaurice for NPR
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For one extended family on Maui, staying with family and friends has a whole new meaning after the devastating Lahaina wildfire. The stepfather of one Lahaina woman has opened his property to her and her husband's extended family — cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and some friends. At times, as many as 87 people have been housed in the compound, as many as 25 to 30 children and 50 or 60 adults. "This is life in Hawaii," says Travis Cabanilla Okano, who is here with his wife, three kids and other relatives. "We grew up sleeping in our cousin's house. We grew up sleeping with 20 of us in one little room... Letting our kids and us be together like that brings a lot of comfort for me." In the two weeks since the fire, this large family and others who are staying here are finding a new rhythm as they think about how they'll rebuild their lives. At night, they gather and talk. And sometimes with friends like Max Louis, they have music.
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Emily Mkrtichian | UNDP Mexico
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Millions of tons of sargassum wash up on beaches in Mexico every year and hotels pay millions to have it removed. Since 2018, Omar Vasquez has been turning it into bricks and building houses that can resist hurricanes. He has built 40 houses, selling 20 and giving away 15 to low income families. After living in the US for 30 years with his mother, he returned to Mexico in 2014 with just $55 in his pocket and started a business selling plants. It did well enough that he could buy a lot and build his workshop. Now he has six full-time employees. With a single machine, he can make up to 3,000 blocks per day and he's designing a bigger machine that could produce 8,000 blocks per day. He's exploring licensing the blocks, given the international interest they've attracted and the fact that sargassum is spreading on North American beaches.
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Nguyễn Hiệp | Unsplash
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The people of Liverpool, UK, are demonstrating the power of generosity and empathy in action, with thousands signing up as stem cell donors in a bid to save a baby named Francis. Stricken with acute myeloid leukemia at just three months old, the infant's fight has inspired not only his native town, with more than a thousand donors from the Liverpool area, but also fans of Liverpool Football Club who were shown the appeal. The desperate pleas from his mother, Anna ("You never think something like this will happen to you...") echoed the urgency of their situation. With a staggering 500% increase in donor sign ups in just a week, it's a testament to the massive impact collective action can have.
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