globalbriefs


Leaf Relief Urban Trees Act as Crime-Stoppers


The city of Baltimore’s high crime rate inspired a gritty TV drama. But a new study (Tinyurl.com/ TreeCrimeReport) by the University of Vermont’s Transportation Research Center, in Burlington, found that a 10 percent increase in trees in a given area led to a 12 percent decrease in crime. “It’s re- ally pretty striking how strong this relationship is,” says Austin Troy, lead author of the study, published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning. Researchers examined the correlation in and around Baltimore using aggregated crime data and combining it with high-resolution satellite images to


conduct the analysis. The working hypothesis is that because people enjoy spending time in pleasant outdoor spaces, there are more observers present to hinder criminal activity. Also, a well-maintained landscape seems to send a message that someone may be watching.


To avoid culture bias, the study considered many socioeconomic factors, including housing, age, income and race of residents, as well as variables such as rural versus city setting and population density. The findings should prove helpful to urban planners.


Many Tongues Human Rights Day is December 10


The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. Now, the office of the high commissioner for human rights has been awarded the Guinness World Record for having collected, translated and disseminated the declaration into more than


380 languages and dialects, from Abkhaz to Zulu, making it the world’s most uni- versal communication.


The work sets out a broad range of fundamental human rights and freedoms to which all men and women everywhere are entitled, without distinction. It was drafted by representatives from all regions and legal traditions, and has over time been accepted as a contract between governments and their peoples.


Visit Tinyurl.com/UN-HumanRightsDeclaration. Smiley Face


Personalized Social Media Giving Gets Results


Charles Best, founder of Do- norsChoose.org, has enabled his organization to provide a record $40 million in funding for 300,000 U.S. classroom projects, simply by personalizing public appeals for charitable giving. When potential donors enter their personal interests, an online database supplies a list of corresponding classroom projects. For example, artists might consider funding a silkscreen press for an art class. Hikers can purchase trees for a classroom to plant. When the funded project is completed, the donors receive a note from the teacher, along with photos. DonorsChoose.org maximizes the personalization potential by asking the participants if they want to post their donation on their Facebook wall, where friends may read the post and feel compelled to make their own donation. Teacher- generated Facebook project up- dates garner even greater success; these two types of Facebook status updates have so far raised a com- bined $1.9 million.


Source: SSIReview.org


not started living until he can rise above the narrow


A


confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader


concerns of all humanity. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.


22 Collier/Lee Counties swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com


n individual has


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