globalbriefs


Eco-Kudos America Names Top Smart-Growth Cities


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Smart Growth Awards recognize innovation in everything from creating small public spaces in densely packed urban cores to in- vesting in compact communities and preserving forests and farmland. It all makes for greater livability. This past year, the Big Apple took honors for overall excellence. “New York City has achieved a relatively small carbon footprint, given its size, through its commitment to creating compact and walkable neighborhoods,” according to the agency report. The city has also built dedicated bike lanes and carved out public spaces in urban jungles like Times Square.


Portland, Oregon, wins kudos for its realistic growth plan to accommodate an anticipated 600,000 population by 2030, strengthening employment and con- centrating commerce, while preserving its neighborhoods and connections with nature. In Maine, 20 towns collaborated in a commercial and tourist byway, while preserving the region’s rural character. San Francisco earned praise for transform- ing a previously neglected alleyway into the vibrant South of Market retail area, as did Baltimore for its green rehab of an historic building into a mixed-use space that revitalized the surrounding neighborhood.


Sonic Valentine Ninth World Sound Healing Day is February 14


Jonathan and Andi Goldman will lead a five-minute worldwide toning for planetary peace and harmony on February 14 at noon, Eastern Time, when every- one is invited to meet up in the toning chamber at TempleOfSacredSound.org to join in a heartfelt, “Ah.” Those without Internet access are welcome to join in the compassionate chorus with their own heart sound at that time, or to create or join a local sounding event.


“We estimate that hundreds of thousands par- ticipate each year,” Jonathan says. They are encour- aged that independent monitoring of the effects of collective consciousness on worldwide energy fields by Princeton’s Global Consciousness Project and HeartMath’s Global Coherence Initiative, while not conclusive, showed simultaneous upward spikes last year on Valentine’s Day. For details, visit WorldSoundHealingDay.org, listen live to a special radio program at HealthyLife.net beginning at 11 a.m. ET, Feb. 14, and find articles at HealingSounds.com/sounds.


Let your love be like the misty rains, coming softly, but flooding the river. ~Malagasy Proverb


12 Rockland & Orange Counties naturalawakeningsro.com


Adult Volunteers We’ve Got Time to Help


The Corporation for National and Community Service reports that 63.4 million Americans volunteered to help their communities in 2009, 1.6 million more than the year before, and the largest single-year spike since 2003. They contributed 8.1 billion hours of service, with an estimated value of nearly $169 billion. Part-time employees proved the most generous, with a 34 per- cent volunteer rate, according to the Portland Tribune’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly 29 percent of those with full-time jobs contributed. About 23 percent of unemployed individuals volunteered. Utah was the top volunteer state, with a rate of more than 44 percent, followed by Iowa, Minnesota, Ne- braska and Alaska, all exceeding 37 percent. Large cities were led by Min- neapolis-St. Paul; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City; Seattle; and Oklahoma City, all with at least a third of their residents taking up a cause.


Mid-size cities, particularly those in the Midwest, have on average higher volunteer rates than large cit- ies, with volunteers also contributing more hours. Mid-size city stars, with a volunteer rate of between 63 and 40 percent include Provo, Utah; Iowa City; Ogden, Utah; Fort Collins, Colo- rado; and Madison, Wisconsin.


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