Lofty Matters

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Hope your weekend is off to a great start. Grab a hot cuppa and sit down for a few minutes of GOOD news for a change!

Brothers’ Winnings Benefit Animal Rescue Group

Zack and Thomas Eller are two busy brothers. Before last month, the two had successfully raised over $1,700 by making and selling a doggie goodie made from peanut butter, applesauce and wheat. They sell their dog snack at local stores and adoptions for Aiding and A-Petting, a group that fosters dogs and cats until they can be adopted. All of their earnings have gone to the rescue group.

But this month their earnings skyrocketed when their mom, Tracy Eller, entered them into a contest sponsored by parenting magazine Wondertime. The boys won an additional $5,000 donation as winners of the Littlest Volunteers Contest.

The boys’ only reward was a photo shoot and being featured in the magazine. They are totally satisfied with this outcome, though. “This helped us raise more money to give to the pets, so we were really happy,” Zack said.

Humpback Whale on Road to Recovery

The humpback whale been moved from Vulnerable to Least Concern. This means that it is at low risk of extinction, although two subpopulations are still endangered. The southern right whale has also been moved to Least Concern.

Humpbacks and southern right whales are making a comeback in much of their range mostly because they are now protected from commercial hunting. However, whales are still under threat in many areas due to ship strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, habitat deterioration, declining prey and noise disturbance.

To save whales for future generations, close attention needs to be paid to the fishing industry, the military and offshore enterprises including shippers and oil developers. Climate change is another area that affects the whales and needs to be closely monitored.

Dell Goes Carbon Neutral

Dell announces that it is now completely carbon neutral and has attained this status about five months earlier than anticipated.

Dell announced in 2007 that it was committing to going carbon neutral by the end of 2008. Their goal being to process as much CO2 as it generates in its business activities.

This is part of a larger environmental effort by Dell as they strive to become the ‘greenest’ company in the technology sector.

Dell’s new status is due to its reduced power, alternative energy sources and reforestation projects. Several months ago the company announced that its main headquarters had switched to power from renewable energy sources.

Dell estimates that it has been able to save approximately $3m in reduced power costs.