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globalbriefs


News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.


Resilient Communities Volunteerism Remains Strong in America


More than 60 million Americans volun- teered 8 billion hours of their services in 2010, holding steady with the previous year, according to the latest report by the Corporation for National and Com- munity Service (CNCS), released late last year. Communities are benefiting from their work in mentoring and tutoring youth, fundraising and providing food, transportation and general labor, includ- ing disaster relief.


“Every day, volunteers of all ages are giving their time and talents to solve problems and make our country stronger,” says Robert Velasco II, acting CEO of CNCS. He observes that civic involvement increases as people become more deeply rooted in their communities through family, work and school ties. The members of Generation X (born 1965 to 1981) are volunteer stars, having contributed 2.3 billion hours in 2010, 110 million more than the year before. Teen volunteer rates were also up from 2002 through 2010, compared to 1989. A Vol- unteering in America report attributes this to emphasis on service-learning in high schools, the influence of parents that volunteer, social networking and the ease of finding opportunities via the Internet.


To find local volunteer opportunities by category, visit Serve.gov or AllForGood.org.


Future Fuels U.S. Renewable Energy Surpasses Nuclear


Beginning in 2011, renewable energy production in the United States surpassed nuclear production in overall quantity and percentage. As a percentage of total U.S. energy generation, renewables are steadily, if modestly, gaining. California’s leadership goal targets the utilization of 33 percent renewable energy sources by 2020. Hydroelectric, geothermal, solar/photo- voltaic, wind and biomass combined make up a growing segment of the mix: 11.7 per- cent as of June 2011, surpassing nuclear at


11.1 percent. For the same period in 2010, nuclear was 11.6 percent, and renew- able was 10.6, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Forbes reports that many environmentalists, however, think that the two prominent technologies that currently make up much of the renewables sector—hy- droelectric power, at 35 percent, and biomass, at 48 percent—are the least attrac- tive. (Wind is the third-largest, at 13 percent of renewable, 1.5 percent of the total.) Large-scale hydroelectric power production has harmful impacts on river ecosys- tems and has become less popular in the developed world. As for biomass, each of the many types of feedstock must be evaluated individually for its emissions profile, water footprint and other considerations, such as whether farm fields or forests need that material to decompose in place in order to retain soil or ecosystem function.


26 Collier/Lee Counties swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com


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