Source: www.inhabitat.com | Original Post Date: February 21, 2015 –

Portland residents can now generate green electricity simply by turning on their water taps and flushing their toilets. Fast Company reports that the Oregon city is using a state-of-the art system to capture energy from water flowing through the city’s pipelines. Small turbines installed inside the pipelines are turned by the flowing water, sending energy into a generator and off into the power grid.

“It’s pretty rare to find a new source of energy where there’s no environmental impact,” Gregg Semler told Fast Company. Semler is the chief executive officer of Lucid Energy, the Portland start-up behind the new system. “But this is inside a pipe, so no fish or endangered species are impacted. That’s what’s exciting.”

By Emmanuel Thelamour

Guest Writer for Wake Up World

Love… The ever illusive word that carries multiple definitions. If I were to ask what does love mean to you, I would have countless answers. In some way, I can imagine that most of the answers would sound the same. But, what is love really?

Is it that feeling I get when I give family members or friends a hug? Perhaps it’s the one that I get when I lock eyes with someone who can see into my soul. It may be the waves of emotion that hits me when I look into someone else’s eyes and see their life story as my own. It may be that rapturous moment that occurs when you realize just how much a part of this world you are.

Love may seem like an abstract subject, however it is very easy to pick up on tangible acts of love when you see them in the world around you.

By Marc and Angel

Sometimes changing your circumstances isn’t possible – or simply not possible soon enough.  You can’t get to a new job in an instant.  You can’t make someone else change against his or her will.  And you certainly can’t erase the past.  So what options do you have left?

Change your perception, belief or opinion about your circumstances.  Doing so will help you change your attitude and ultimately allow you to grow beyond the struggles you can’t control.

The Greek philosopher Epictetus said it perfectly more than 2,000 years ago: “People are disturbed, not by things (that happen to them), but by the principles and opinions which they form concerning (those) things. When we are hindered, or disturbed, or grieved, let us never attribute it to others, but to ourselves; that is, to our own principles and opinions.”

As a former teacher who spent 7 years in the system, one of the things that really bugs me about today’s schools is the undercurrent of fear and control-based social conditioning that they subject our children to. Yes, our children do learn valuable skills and information, but often at the cost of their overall health and prosperity. Our schools, while they do indeed try, ultimately fail to fully harness the power of today’s young minds because they emphasize routine, discipline and testing over exploration, compassion and innovation.

Another problem today in education is that we simply aren’t teaching kids what they really need to know to be successful in life. While it is important to learn basic math, science, and reading to survive in today’s world, it is also important to teach kids how to thrive.

With some slight adjustments, we could quickly start to improve education by adding a few new subjects aimed at helping kids become healthy and successful adults. By teaching students information that will truly benefit them, we could start to transform education (and the world!) in a positive way.