I often feature stories about the pace of positive change and the rapid adoption of technology in low-income countries, and here's another story in that vein, from the Ghanaian Chronicle. According to the article linked above (from the post title), Ghana's environment minister has announced plans to revolutionize waste management across the country through widespread recycling. The minister made her commitment as she inaugurated a non-profit plastic recycling enterprise. The Cyclus Elmina Recycling Plant will employ local people to collect waste from communities for recycling and aims specifically to create jobs for young people in the surrounding district. The initiative couldn't be more timely, as wealthier Ghanaians are increasingly opting to buy water in plastic bottles and sachets (as tap water is not yet properly treated), and the use of other packaging materials is also on the rise. Unlike many high-income countries, however, Ghana is investing in recycling from the outset, hopefully leading to a more sustainable growth model and a cleaner environment.

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Just to let you know - I am now using Twitter. (I resisted for some time, but eventually caved!) I am posting positive news and other morcels there on a regular basis, so if you need a more frequent dose of good news and other mind-stimulating stuff than you get through RTBH alone, please follow me on Twitter.

Social networking, email and other 'new' technologies are often cited as barriers to forming genuine and meaningful human relationships. So I was interested to find this story on BBC today, about a woman who found her long-lost son through Facebook. Avril Grube from Poole in the UK had not seen her son, Gavin, since he disappeared with his father in 1982. Her former husband had taken the boy to his native Hungary. She and her sister had been searching for Gavin ever since, and her sister finally found his Facebook profile through an internet search engine. Eventually, direct contact was made, and Avril and Gavin were reunited. Now, apparently, they are happily catching up - face-to-face, at last.

Thanks very much to RTBH reader Robert for sending me this story from the BBC today. (I'd spotted it there myself earlier, in fact, and was already resolved to post it - it's such an amazing little tale!) According to the article - and accompanying video clip - an Australian boy's life was saved recently thanks to a household drill. Nicholas Rossi's parents took him to hospital after he fell off his bike and suffered a head injury. The hospital doctor, Rob Carson, believed Nicholas had bleeding between his skull and his brain, which had to be drained - but as the hospital didn't have any specialist staff or equipment Dr Carson had to use a household drill under instruction from a neurosurgeon via telephone. Fortunately, the procedure worked, and Nicholas was stabilized and transferred to a bigger hospital. He recovered in time to go home on his 13th birthday!

I thought I'd share this article from Treehugger today. It's a great list of some of the things you can do to change the world for the better, using social media. The list includes actions like rating a company online, using Twitter to raise funds for charity or to stimulate activism, and working as an online citizen journalist when you travel - and the article provides all kinds of links to help you get started. Definitely some options worth investigating, I'd say. And you don't even have to leave your couch...

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Check out my cousin Maps' new single, which was released yesterday. It's called 'Let Go of the Fear' - the perfect RTBH anthem! Turn it up loud, put YouTube on full screen - and enjoy.

What an inspirational tale from the UK's Times newspaper today! It tells of an army major, Phil Packer, who just finished the London Marathon - 13 days after it started. Packer was injured on duty in Iraq and was told he'd never walk again. But he managed to complete the marathon's 26 mile course on crutches, at a rate of 2 miles a day (the most his doctor would allow). In doing so, he was attempting to raise £1m (about $1.5m) for a charity called Help for Heroes, which supports soldiers injured in action. As part of the same fundraising campaign, he's already rowed the English Channel and completed a sky-dive. Next he's planning to climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in California, USA. A truly amazing effort.

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You can visit Phil Packer's website to find out more about his fundraising efforts and to contribute.

This is a great article from today's New York Times. It focuses on the ups and downs of New York's Street Soccer team, one of 19 US soccer teams for the homeless. Street Soccer NY is made up of players from a homeless shelter on Ward's Island, who now play in a men's soccer league at Chelsea Piers (one of the city's premier sports-entertainment complexes). The team started shakily, as the players didn't know each other's names, let alone trust each other - and some turned up drunk... But with regular practice, donated shoes and other equipment, and a burgeoning team spirit, the team has improved. They won for the first time this week. But it's not just the winning that's important. As some of the players have testified, it's a way to feel normal, interact with others and get fit again - all of which heightens the players' ability to cope with their tough circumstances. One thing's for sure - they'll have lots of people rooting for them now! (PS - there's a nice little video on the NYT website if you go to the article there.)

Thanks very much to RTBH reader Emily for sending in this article from the Good News Network, which highlights seven positive steps taken in recent years that will benefit the environment. GNN surveyed a range of leaders from NGOs and public bodies to identify the list, which ranges from the emerging consensus on and response to climate change, and the growing competitiveness - and attractiveness - of renewable energy, through to the importance of the internet in mobilizing social change. All this does give some cause for optimism that we are at least moving in the right direction, even if we are not yet "at one" with our planet. Let's hope that we have even more than seven good stories to tell when we look back again in 10 years time.

Thanks to RTBH reader Paul for sending me this article today, which comes from the UK's Guardian newspaper. It's perfect for Earth Day! And, funnily enough, it echoes something I posted about this time last year - post 187 on April 15th 2008 - about the amazing recovery of destroyed coral reefs. In that case, the reefs concerned had been damaged by underwater testing of nuclear warheads. Today's article considers the Great Barrier Reef near Australia, part of which was bleached a few years ago due to warm seas and a suffocating seaweed that covered it. However, the reef has grown back, in very little time, amazing scientists with its resilience. The case is significant as it shows damaged reefs can recover swiftly if presented with the right conditions - previously, it was thought they needed to reproduce over many years. There's no room for complacency, though. Many of the world's reefs have died off in recent years. They'll recover if left to their own devices, it seems - provided we keep the seas around them healthy. A 'natural compact', if you like...

If you haven't yet heard of Susan Boyle, then you're not spending enough time on the internet! The 47-year-old singer from the small community of Blackburn, West Lothian (Scotland) wowed the world with her stunningly beautiful voice recently, when she appeared on the UK TV show "Britain's Got Talent" - a performance that has since been watched over 5 million times on YouTube by viewers around the world. An interesting opinion piece on Susan's performance, and the studio audience reaction, is linked from the post title above. It's from the Scottish newspaper The Herald; another article, this time from MSNBC is linked here. But to be honest, you just have to witness her performance. She's going to go a long way, and thrill so many more people, with her gorgeous voice - that's for sure. (Photo from MSNBC.)

And, as if that wasn't enough talent, check out another act from the same show here. Hilariously funny, this duo - a British man of Greek Cypriot heritage and his 12-year-old son - had the TV audience and me in tears of laughter. I pretty much guarantee they'll cheer you up too.

But, there's more to this story. First, it says wonderful things about Britain - its rich diversity, its 'have a go' mentality, and the ability so many British people have to keep their feet on the ground and not take themselves too seriously while at the same time celebrating their talents. Some of the many things I like about my birth nation! Second, it just makes you think about how much more talent is surely out there, not just in Britain but around the world. Great minds, great voices, stunning abilities in all walks of life... What if all that richness of humanity were exposed and had an opportunity to shine? To delight all those who witnessed it? That really would make the world a brighter place. I hope fervently that we see that kind of equality of opportunity in my lifetime. "Britain's Got Talent" is just the tip of the iceberg.

Many thanks must go to RTBH readers Ol and Liz for spotting this story today and sending it in. (They saved my blushes, in fact, as RTBH has been a tad neglected recently - I was ill for a bit, then on vacation recovering!) But it's a lovely tale, from the UK"s Telegraph newspaper, about a very tough and clever dog. Sophie Tucker (yes, that's the dog's name) was on a boat with her owners off Australia's Queensland coast when she fell overboard. Her owners searched for hours, but they'd missed her. She swam five nautical miles to an island inhabited only by other animals - including baby goats, which she eventually feasted on to survive. Human rangers appeared on the island and they spotted her looking out of place. Fortunately, her owners were still searching for her and they were soon reunited. Everyone reckons it was a miracle she survived, what with the sharks and all... I'd have to agree. I don't think I'd have made it - and as a vegetarian I wouldn't have been eating many goats either... (Photo AFP from the Telegraph.)