http://www.thingsaregood.com Inspirational and good news. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:28:38 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Many breweries have stepped up their efforts to limit the negative environmental effects of brewing beer. Steam Whistle Pilsner has earned praise from many an environmentalist for their progressive steps toward becoming a green brewery. The Toronto-based brewery gets its electricity from Bullfrog Power, which uses wind and low-impact hydroelectric ... http://www.thingsaregood.com/2010/03/17/truly-green-beer-this-st-patricks-day/ Vancouver's Insite is the first safe injection site in North America. The project has been shown to reduce public drug use, needle sharing, littering, and increase addiction treatment. The Canadian government has been trying to shut it down recently, but in January, Insite won a court battle that recognized them ... http://www.thingsaregood.com/2010/03/15/vancouver-safe-injection-site-survives/ Major cities like SF and NYC are beginning to realize they could do with a few less roads and parking lots -- and they're doing something about it. In San Francisco, a handful of parking spaces and public right-of-ways are being remade into mini parks and plazas. Some are lined with ... http://www.thingsaregood.com/2010/03/11/pavement-to-parks/ The League of American Bicyclists has announced that Google has added bicycling directions to their US maps! Unveiled at the National Bike Summit, the bike feature will have cycling directions (in addition to driving, walking, and in some cities, public transit) as an option to plan a route between ... http://www.thingsaregood.com/2010/03/10/google-adds-biking-directions-to-google-maps/ A team of researchers in Alberta have successfully tested a new way to treat prostate cancer with a virus. Viruses, which target specific cells, are injected into the body and seek out the mutations in cancer cells. The virus then replicates and causes the cancer cell to burst, ... http://www.thingsaregood.com/2010/03/09/virus-shown-to-treat-prostate-cancer/ It turns out that trees can do more than just provide power! The Moringa tree, which grows in Africa, India, South East Asia, and Central and South America, is drought resistant and capable of producing cooking and lighting oil, soil fertilizer, and nutritious food.  In addition, it has be ... http://www.thingsaregood.com/2010/03/08/using-trees-to-provide-clean-water-for-thousands/ Photosynthesis is how plants convert energy from the ball of fire in the sky into useful plant-growing energy. The USA's Department of Energy is actually looking into how photosynthesis can be used to power our homes and even turn homes into miniature power stations using the power of nature. According to ... http://www.thingsaregood.com/2010/03/04/powering-tomorrow-with-ancient-plant-technology/ Canadians Advocating Political Participation is a new organization born out of the Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament group which has set out to get Canadians more politically engaged. On the CAPP website you can read all about their mission. Here's a video introduction to the cause: And here's a Facebook group you can join. http://www.thingsaregood.com/2010/03/03/canadians-advocating-political-participation/