For the 123rd thru 125th consecutive weeks, the Center for Peace & Conflict Studies has compiled a list of acts of kindness and peace. The initiative began as a response to COVID-19 and the racism pandemic but has broadened to include any act of compassion or service to others. Please share these stories. If you have stories of positive acts people/organizations are taking and you would like to share them, please email them to Madison Pavone (peacecenter@bsu.edu). All the stories starting from week 1 are available online. Additionally, you can follow the Peace Center on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) at bsu4peace.
Week 123
New Bubble Barrier in the Netherlands Helps Collect Plastics from Waterways
A project created in 2018 has finally become reality in July 2022. This community-led Bubble Barrier project was started by concerned citizens who took notice of the large amount of plastic pollution in their local waterways. After many beach clean ups in Katwijk, organizers noticed where the plastic was floating up from, and set out to solve this problem. This project quickly gained support from many other cities down the river who were also suffering from the plastic pollution.
The Bubble Barrier is made of a perforated tube that lays along the bottom for the river for the length of it roughly one kilometer in from the ocean. Air is pumped into the tube, which creates an upward current of bubbles, directing any plastics to the surface to be collected. The current can run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without interference of boating or wildlife movement. It is expected that this system can catch 86-90% of plastics larger than one millimeter. It is the goal of the Coast Busters, the founders of the project, to create an educational space to bring awareness to this problem.
This project to save their local environment has brought together neighborhoods from around the Amsterdam area as well as all the Netherlands. Efforts to save the planet from pollution has the power to bring people together, showcased through this project.
Source: https://thegreatbubblebarrier.com/first-community-led-bubble-barrier-stops-plasticpollution-from-entering-the-north-sea/
The Asphalt Art Initiative
Recently, there have been growing concerns regarding traffic intersections and car collisions. According to the Federal Highway Administration, more than half of fatal and injury-causing car crashes occur among intersections. This concern is the focus of recent projects done by Bloomberg Philanthropies, known as the Asphalt Art Initiative. They look at this issue as a public health crisis and are finding ways to reduce the amount of car crashes through art. Bloomberg Philanthropies conducted a study where they found that bringing art to streets and intersections significantly improves safety and has reduced the rates of all crashes by 17%, as well as crashes involving cars and pedestrians by 50%. The ‘art’ created on streets around the US and in Europe include bright, multicolored murals that are hard not to notice! Drivers can hardly miss these designs, and in turn, this allows more caution and more attention paid to pedestrians.
So far, there has been one project completed locally, along 16th street in Columbus, Indiana. Lead artists Shamira Wilson and Cory Robinson worked with 21 volunteers to create a 2,900 square foot mural over two intersections in just two days. On the project’s website it states, “By transforming the streetscape with colorful artwork and improving safety and walkability, the city hopes to uplift residents and visitors and increase foot traffic to the neighborhood business district, as part of an overarching civic aim of enhancing social connectivity and economic growth through creative placemaking and art activation.”
Sources:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90745296/the-ridiculously-simple-way-to-make-streets-safer-for-pedestrians
https://asphaltart.bloomberg.org/projects/columbus-in-building-a-walkable-neighborhood/
Australia’s Underwater Forests are Helping to Offset Carbon Emissions
Kelp is a type of seaweed that can grow at exceptional rates by using photosynthesis to absorb carbon dioxide to make energy. The founder of Australia’s first land-based commercial seaweed farms, Pia Winberg, suggests that growing seaweed could be the next innovative way to fight climate change. Australia’s oceans are home to the Great Southern Reef, over 8,000 km of sea life, including kelp.
Growing these types of underwater forests could be the next step in saving our planet. Not only will the kelp absorb and process large amounts of excess carbon dioxide, but they also provide shelter for marine life. These tropical forests are more productive than tropical forests that were previously looked at as more beneficial for fighting climate change. These tropical forests include the Amazon Rainforest, which was outgrown by the Great Southern Reef as well as the Great African Sea Forest.
The Great Southern Reef project is working to promote these great benefits of Australia’s kelp forests. According to Reader’s Digest, “The project estimates that if these kelp forests were cultivated in just 0.001% of the ocean’s surface, it could offset the carbon emissions of the global aquaculture industry.”
Source:
https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/inspire/good-news/good-news-the-ocean-forest-offsetting-carbon-emissions&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1666132720857584&usg=AOvVaw2Wpu9vIm3o4leiC94
GeJ_7
Week 124
Techno-Music Raves to Rebuild Destroyed Towns in Russia
With the war between Ukraine and Russia, mass amounts of land and buildings have been destroyed. There has been an effort to repurpose and rebuild these destroyed buildings, and at the heart of this process is a group known as Repair Together. This is a group of about 200 people from around the world who have come together to “dance among the debris” in the villages of Ukraine. Techno music is the chosen genre for these individuals to dance to. DJ Oleksandr Buchinskiy uses turntables mounted on ammunition boxes to blast the music. The ravers involved see dancing together as a way to return a sense of normality to the young people of Ukraine. They combine this with clean-up efforts, using shovels, wheelbarrows, and their hands to clear out the remains of Russian attacks out of the buildings they party in. At first, this started as just a clean-up effort, but the party element was later added to attract volunteers. According to the Kyiv School of Economics, about 131,000 buildings in Ukraine have been completely destroyed by Russia’s strikes and shelling. Many of these destroyed buildings are in the village of Yahidne, the place where Repair Together is based, which was recently liberated on March 31st. A member of Repair Together explains that being apart of this organization is a way to be cheerful and come together, while also being involved in the wartime effort. Repair Together has hosted nine clean-up raves in various villages and have helped to repair destroyed homes. Before winter comes, they plan to build twelve houses in the town on Lukashivka.
Source: https://www.positive.news/society/the-techno-clean-up-raves-restoring-ukraine/
NASA’s DART Mission Successfully Hit Asteroid
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission mad successful impact with a targeted asteroid towards the end of September. This mission was Earth’s first planetary defence mission to test how to protect the planet from a potentially harmful asteroid impact. The team at NASA used a kinetic impact technique to crash the DART spacecraft into the moving asteroid, Dimorphos.
Though this was a successful hit, it is only the first part of this mission. Next, an investigation team will be using a telescope to observe Dimorphos’ orbital path to see if it has been changed by the impact. If the team is able to see a noticeable change in trajectory of the asteroid, this mission will prove success in defending Earth from potentially harmful asteroids.
This mission has also been able to unite countries from around the world through their space agencies. Groups such as the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency have become in this mission and its monitoring for years to come. Planetary defense missions are globally unifying missions that involved efforts from around the world. Threats from space surpass geopolitics and international tensions to fight a common foe.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-dart-mission-hits-asteroid-in-first-ever-planetary-defense-test
Small fisheries in Indonesia are now being paid to remove plastic from the sea
With plastic pollution continuing to damage our ocean’s daily, many countries have begun to set public environmental and climate goals for themselves. Indonesia has taken a step to slash their pollution rates by compensating small-time fishermen and turning them into a part-time ocean cleanup crew. Being one of the largest contributors to plastic waste in the ocean, Indonesia has reserved $1 billion over the next 3 years to reduce plastic entering the ocean by 70%. The Ministry of Fisheries has allocated $70,000, or 1 billion rupiah, to pay local fishermen for any plastic trash that they’ve collected from the ocean. Working off the main islands, if a fisherman can collect 4 kilograms of trash per day the government will pay out $10 for it. That amount is actually more than what they would get if they spent their day catching fish to sell at market price.
This action is not only being done to clean up their seas, but also to raise awareness among stakeholders. Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, the fisheries minister, described the activity itself as “...very simple [...] But at least this will raise awareness among the stakeholders at sea and the people around the world.”
Economically speaking, Indonesia is located in one of the fastest-developing regions on the planet, and the plastic waste produced has far surpassed the installment of recycled infrastructure. Because 95% of all fishing activities are small-scale, the “bottom-up” approach to ocean cleanup that Indonesia is taking is uniquely suited. “The most important thing is prevention,” said Sakti. “If we can properly conduct prevention, then there shouldn’t be any waste in the sea.”
Source: https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/indonesian-program-pays-fishers-to-collect-plastic-trash-at-sea/amp/
Week 125
Empowered Women
The Archewell Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, is giving $1 million in grants to inspirational women. The VING Project, which has teamed up with Archewell, asks individuals between the ages of 14 and 18 to nominate a woman who has persevered through financial or personal hardship. If accepted, women will receive individual grants of $1,000. Both Archewell and VING hope to inspire the next generation of women to achieve and share their passion with others. Liz Lefkofsky, founder of VING said, “We share the joy of philanthropy with Archewell Foundation and are proud to help young people make a difference by giving a financial boost to others who are financially vulnerable”.
Source: https://www.today.com/news/good-news/meghan-markles-archewell-foundation-teams-give-1-million-to-women-rcna51175
Jamie Thurston’s Charity ‘52 Lives’ Promotes Kindness and Altruism
There’s a theory discovered by researchers that explains how an act of kindness towards one person has the ability to positively impact 125 people. This story started with one act of kindness, which later became the foundation for the charity 52 Lives. Jamie Thurston, author of The Kindness Journal, was on a secondhand furniture website when she noticed an advertisement from someone in need of a rug. Although Thurston did not have a rug to donate, she offered to deliver a donated one, as the advertisement's author did not have a car. Thurston and many others discovered that this woman had just escaped from terrible domestic circumstances and had kids to take care of. Not only did this woman receive a rug, but she received many other secondhand items to help her situation. After this donation, Thurston describes her experience of a ‘helpers high’ and how this led her to keep helping those in need. The day after this event, she set up a Facebook page called 52 Lives. The aim of this page was to help one person every week, and had friends and family recommend people in need. She appeared on Holly Willoughby’s TV series Surprise Surprise, and after this her charity took off. 52 Lives currently has more than 70,000 followers on Facebook and has helped over 300 people in need. Help provided includes donations, cards, messages, and fulfilling gifts from wish lists. This charity is also known to have donated toys, books, and bedding for families in women refuges, donated to women fleeing domestic violence, and provided uniforms for children in school. After Thurston won $30,000 for her work as an award, she used the money to start the School of Kindness. This is a free workshop which teaches the importance of altruism to children.
Source:
https://www.positive.news/society/the-woman-who-spreads-altruism-for-a-living/
Biden’s new executive order to pardon thousands convicted of cannabis charges
In early October, Biden made a video announcement of a new executive order to pardon those who have been convicted federally of simple marijuana charges. This order will cover more than 6,500 people who have been sentenced between the years 1992 and 2021. According to NPR, there are no individuals in federal prisons for simple marijuana charges, meaning no one will be released from prison due to this order. Despite this fact, the order is a small step in the direction of restorative justice for the damages against minority groups in this country.
The War on Drugs, started by the Nixon Administration, has knowingly arrested, persecuted, and convicted a disproportionate amount of black and brown individuals. Overpolicing of black and brown communities has led to massive arrest rates for those in these minority groups for simple marijuana charges. Pardoning these charges will allow individuals who have previously been convicted to have this expunged off their record. These are charges that have prevented these individuals from getting jobs, seeking opportunities, getting housing, and other benefits from this country.
In the past decade, many states have overturned or loosened their laws on marijuana use and possession. Biden’s new order is narrow, and many are calling for more to be done for those serving sentences at state and local levels for simple marijuana charges, where most of the convictions happen. However small this action is, it is still a step in the right direction for getting justice for those wrongly convicted and sentenced from the racist War on Drugs.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/10/10/1127708285/marijuana-pardon-biden-black-people-war-on-drugs-harm