Anyone who has been to Costa Rica can understand why the people are happy. The natural surroundings are beautiful and well maintained and there is a commitment to peace (the country abolished its armed forces in 1949).

Because of these and other reasons, an op-ed article in the New York Times reports the Dutch sociologists who run the World Database of Happiness lists Costa Rica as the leader in happiness out of 148 nations. On a 10-point scale, ticos earned 8.5, followed by Denmark at 8.3. The report says …

Tags: Costa Rica , eco , education , happy planet index , New York Times , tourism , United States , Wold Database of Happiness

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Researchers at U.C. Davis are trying to connect the dots leading to 10 autism clusters in California. One theory is that those parents are using certain hazardous household products, exposing their kids to dangers linked to the neuro-developmental disorder that usually surfaces by the time a child turns three.

According to the Contra Costa Times and other news sources reporting the findings, the study authors don’t attribute the cases to a toxic waste plant or other widespread polluter, but rather to household items like cleaners or landscaping products.

The …

Tags: autism , babies , birth defects , California , children , Easy Bay , education , environment , families , flame retardants , hazardous chemicals , health , household products , San Diego , Santa Clara , Sunnyvale , U.C. Davis , Western San Francisco

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“Get real! This is the biggest crisis humanity has faced,” warns Annie Leonard in her latest environmental education video, The Story of Cap & Trade. It is getting mixed reviews as the dust settles since its recent release.

A follow up to her widely popular animated eco tutorial, The Story of Stuff, it offers a pureed breakdown of how energy traders (greedy corporations and industries) and Wall Street financiers hope to get rich off of pretending to …

Tags: Annie Leonard , Capitol Hill , carbon caps , carbon emissions , climate change , Coal , Congress , copenhagen , corporations , eco , education , energy trading , Enron , farmers , fossil fuels , pollution , public information , taxes , The Story of Cap & Trade , The Story of Stuff , Third World , Wall Street

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Looking for an interesting, educational, fun and non-battery operated toy for your children? Look no further than OWIKit’s 6 in 1 Educational Solar Building Kit. It’s the latest in a line of solar toys for kids that OWIKit has been manufacturing for a few years now.

The 6 in 1 Educational Solar Building Kit, due for release next month, is designed to teach children (and adults, too) how to use solar power to drive a small motor. Consisting of 21 snap-together parts, the kit allows you to …

Tags: education , games , gift , kids , OWIKit , play , Solar Building Kit , solar power , toy

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You’re a kid again. Now, imagine sitting at your cramped classroom desk, your brain already stuffed full of letters and numbers, and the sunlight and fresh breeze beckoning you from outside. All you can think about is recess, and rightfully so! Although any kid can explain the importance of recess, studies now show that school kids with daily recess breaks show better classroom behavior than kids who go without.

The scientific explanation for this is that the brain needs a break. I’d like to add that humans evolved …

Tags: children , education , environment , health , parenting , sun exposure

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Education is the key when it comes to respecting and protecting the environment. So it makes sense to start teaching kids early about living green and what better way to do this than through books. Recognizing this, book publishers Simon & Schuster have put together a new eco-friendly series of storybooks made from recycled materials and aimed toward helping parents and children learn more about environmental awareness.

Simon & Schuster has teamed up with Keep America Beautiful, who will promote the Little Green …

Tags: children , education , environment , Keep America Beautiful , Little Green Books , parenting , reading , Simon & Schuster

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Do you remember how you first found out about sex? Not just how babies are made, but the…ins and outs, so to speak? For most of us, our first introduction to sex as more than just a reproductive act probably came from chatter with friends, a copy of Playboy or racy scenes in your aunt’s secret stash of adult novels. All of this titillation with no adult guidance whatsoever.

Abstinence-only education doesn’t work, and neither does fear-mongering with frightening statistics while kids inevitably experiment in back seats, figuring out …

Tags: alternative , education , health , holistic , parenting , sex

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Schools throughout the world are making efforts to be greener in both their environment and their actions.

But none can beat Green School in Indonesia, which opened in September 2008. Green inside and out, it is considered the world’s first truly green school. Located in Sibang Kaja in central Bali, this school is made from Balinese bamboo and features local alang-alang grass roofs and traditional mud floors. Even the furniture and furnishings are made from the local bamboo.

Green School’s energy and …

Tags: Bali , children , education , Green School , Indonesia , John and Cynthia Hardy , school

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Having worked on one heartbreaking case after another, a concerned group of social workers in Vietnam decided that they weren’t doing enough to aid the thousands of impoverished children in this region. To get off the streets, the children needed something they couldn’t afford: a quality education.

By Founding Mai Vietnamese Handicrafts, this devoted group of humanitarians provided many suffering youths with skill training, fair wages and literacy classes. Once schooling in Vietnam became free, this nonprofit organization turned to the people in most dire need of assistance. Thanks to …

Tags: artisan , education , fair trade , good cause , handmade , Mai Vietnamese Handicrafts

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