We have one more feature here at ThingsAreGood: desktop wallpapers! There are three good images there for your desktop, and if you have any that you’d like to submit just send it to contact [at] ThingsAreGood.com.
This new part of the site also comes right after we added the good events section.
Nursery school teachers in the UK are being urged to promote acceptance of homosexual families. There is concern from the National Union of Teachers that children of gay couples aren’t being treated kindly and that children are being forced into stereotyped gender rolls. Encouraging openness and acceptance of all genders and people will help curb intolerance.
“The NUT said: “It is particularly important to begin to make three to five-year-olds aware of the range of families that exist in the UK today”. That would includes families with single parents or those with “two mums” or “two dads”, the union said.
The union added: “There will be parents who are gay or lesbian who will want to be reassured that that their children will be safe in the setting.””
People on blog sites such as livejournal are telling their personal stories about living with war and many are even engaging in civil and informative conversations with people on opposite sides of the conflict. In a recent article in Wired News there is a story of a young woman living in the center of Beirut whos has been doing just that.
“We have opportunities of directly talking to the person on the other side and figuring out what they want,” she said. “I get a lot of questions like: ‘Why didn’t your government kick out Hezbollah? Why didn’t your army stop them?’ Now people get a chance to find out.”
Through discussions and journal entries bloggers are reaching a new level of communication that would have been impossible throughout history during armed conflicts. It is allowing citizens to converse and relate to one another. This is an awesome story of people working to reach each other and tell personal accounts of what life is like when living in the heart of a war zone.
“A five-minute walk and I’ll be right in the middle of it,” she said. “I can hear everything very loudly — the building shakes. I can see the smoke, and so I know where they’re hitting exactly.”
When is public shaming a good thing?
When Greenpeace UK launches ad spots like this.
A little bit of public shame can be a relatively benevolent way to bring about social change.
The Church of England has deemed it good religious policy to protect the environment. I hope those SUV driving religious people are reading this post. I digress. The Church is calling their environment-protecting campaign “Shrinking the Footprint,” a noble cause indeed.
“The current climate change situation is such that it will be a long walk – simply to restore the world’s balance we need to cut carbon emissions worldwide by 60% of current levels by 2050. Not only is this a daunting goal but its end lies at least two generations in the future. The results of our actions will only be felt by our children and grandchildren. For individuals and institutions alike, taking action (however simple and obvious that action may seem) and sustaining it will require considerable effort.”
You too can lower the impact you have on the environment, check out My Foot Print and Carbon Footprint.