good news

It appears that voters in Sonoma County, California, have banned genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by a margin of 56-44%, unofficial results show. In 2005, Sonoma County voters shot down a similar measure by 5%. The ban reflects changing attitudes about the biotech industry, and its impact on the environment and human health. [1]
Source: SocialMediaFeed.me
Sonoma joins five other California counties that have already passed GMO bans: Mendocino, Marin, Trinity, Humboldt, and Santa Cruz.

I always say – and I’ve written it many times – that gardening is a great antidepressant. As beautiful as nature is to look at, there is something deeply healing about engaging with it.
But if you’re not into getting dirt under your fingernails or dealing with spiders, you can still reap the benefits Mother Nature has to offer. There are so many studies that point to this, I hardly know where to begin.

The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be a place of great stress and worry for parents, but the NICU at St. Luke Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, has a bit more happy Halloween cheer, thanks to a kindhearted group of volunteers who created some itty-bitty costumes for the hospital’s tiniest patients. [1]
The gifted March of Dimes volunteers crafted the costumes from felt and glue in a controlled room in the hospital to ensure it was safe and sanitary for the premature newborns.

An Anarctic bay encompassing 600,000 square miles of the Southern Ocean will gain protection from fishing for 35 years. The area is said to be the earth’s most pristine marine ecosystem. [1]
Attendies at the United Nations (UN) meeting in Hobart, Australia, agreed unanimously to designate the Ross Sea a Marine Protected Area (MPA) after 5 years of negotiation brokered by the U.N.’s Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

On October 19, 13-year-old student Maanasa Mendu was awarded the grand prize in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge for developing a cost-effective device that uses solar and wind power to create energy. [1]
Her “solar leaves” device earned her the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist,” as well as a $25,000 prize.

Inventor dude turns bad algae into good foam; Thai researchers found cancer-killers in a latex plant; and Kansas slowly steps away from the drug war.

Inventor dude turns bad algae into good foam; Thai researchers found cancer-killers in a latex plant; and Kansas slowly steps away from the drug war.

Even today, most people would tell you that once someone suffers a spinal cord injury, they won’t ever walk again. Thankfully, the Walk Again Project is working to prove otherwise.

Halloween is fast approaching, so you’re probably seeing pumpkins with all kinds of interesting carvings and elaborate colors. Gone are the days of simple jack-o-lanterns. Pinterest has put those to shame. But if you see a teal pumpkin, it has special meaning.
Teal-colored pumpkins signify participation with and support of the Teal Pumpkin Project, an initiative started by FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), to provide children with food allergies a safe trick-or-treating experience. [1]

Americans are finally realizing they never lived in a democracy; Hacks and pranks can be a fun way to monkeywrench the New World Order; and people are turning abandoned homes into greenhouses.