Good News

Unsplash+ In collaboration with Andrej Lišakov May 12, 2023

Compelling climate narratives in television shows and movies can help shift attitudes on climate change, a new study finds! Over a thousand participants were recruited, and researchers divided them into two groups. Half watched a climate-focused episode of Madam Secretary about a super typhoon menacing the Pacific Island nation of Nauru. The other half watched another episode of the same show about U.S. involvement in the Middle East.

People who watched the climate episode experienced “a substantial increase” in their level of concern about climate change and their support for government action. Researchers found this change persisted even two weeks after people watched the episode.

Good Energy (started by my friend Anna Jane Joyner) has a simple test for movies and TV shows to see if they’re talking about climate change. First, does climate change exist in the story world? And second, is a character aware of it? 

For a long time, the answer was usually “no” – but that’s changing now. The fifth-annual Hollywood Climate Summit wrapped up this week, where creators of all stripes came together to talk about how to best include climate in their plot lines. Just like climate change touches everything in our world, I’m convinced every story can have a climate element to it – and it’s good news to see that this is becoming more common and that it …

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Katharine Hayhoe

Photo by Andriyko Podilnyk, June 9, 2019

All around the world, people are planting tiny forests full of native plants on plots of land as small as a tennis court. These tiny forests — also called pocket forests, mini forests, and, in the U.K., “wee” forests — are based on principles developed in the 1970s by a Japanese botanist named Akira Miyawaki.

When I first heard about the Miyawaki forest being planted by middle-schoolers in California, I was amazed. “The reason we are planting the Miyawaki forests and using the Miyawaki method is to address climate change,” teacher Neelam Patil explained. By densely planting these small plots with native trees and shrubs, the competition between these plants for sunlight means that nearly a century’s worth of growth can be achieved in just a few decades.

Greening urban areas carries a host of benefits. These dense tiny forests cool their surrounding area, mitigating the urban heat island effect. The trees also filter pollution from the air, soak up floodwaters during heavy downpours, and provide a rich habitat for local wildlife. Because they’re so dense, these forests store more carbon than conventionally farmed trees would. And, as fifth-grader Lydia says here, “When I look at it, I feel very proud and I am happy that I’m helping the world.” That’s six wins!

Over 3000 projects around the world have already been created using Miyawaki’s methods, according to the British nonprofit Creating Tomorrow’s Forests. In Canada, six mini forests were planted last year while Amman, Jordan already has five mini forests and another in the works. Work on a new one on New York City’s small Roosevelt Island will begin this spring and an elementary schoolin McAllen, Texas is also getting one soon.

Want to learn more? Watch this video on the first tiny forest in Massachusetts, and consider starting one where you live. It’s a great project for neighbourhoods, communities and schools!

NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS

My cats, Dr. Evil and Mr. Jekyll

I love kittens – but even our cats Dr. Evil and Mr. Jekyll (pictured above) agree that a world with a longer, more active kitten season isn’t good for anyone.

Feral cats are typically most fertile when it’s warm out, and unfortunately, each year kitten season seems to be starting earlier and ending later. This means more kittens for already overloaded shelters, more feral cats, and more threats to biodiversity. One study estimated that outdoor, mostly unhomed, cats kill between 1 to 4 billion birds and 6 to 22 billion small mammals in the U.S. alone every year.

As you might guess, climate change – with its milder winters and earlier springtime – is likely responsible. Milder winters may mean more food, and so cats start mating earlier in the year than they have in the past. “No animal is going to breed unless they can survive,” says Christopher Lepczyk, an ecologist at Auburn University who studies free-ranging cats. Milder winters mean that last year’s kittens may survive in larger numbers, too. “I would argue that temperature really matters,” Lepczyk said.

And animal shelters cannot keep up. The Humane Society of America already likens each kitten season to a “natural disaster.” “As the population continues to explode, how do we address all these little lives that need our help?” asks Ann Dunn, director of Oakland Animal Services. “We’re giving this everything we have.”

INSPIRATION OF THE MONTH

YECA’s Steering Committee on an in-person retreat in Massachusetts, 2023

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www.chase.com

Small business owners have had to be resilient AND agile over the past two years in order to remain successful during uncertain times.

Joining us now to discuss the challenges and the rewards of running a small business is Brad Brodigan, Head of Small Business solutions at chase.

BIO:
Brad Brodigan is the Managing Director, Global Head of SMB a JPMorgan Chase & Co. Prior to joining JPMC, he held several leadership roles at the following: Deem, Inc. PayPal, Dosh, BlueVine and more. He is a graduate of Virginia Military Institute where he earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and business. Brad currently resides in Danville, California.

GENERAL OVERVIEW
Brad is successfully bringing home the “more than banking” narrative in the media coverage he’s been featured in during his time at JPMC. He knows business owners’ time is just as important as their money and his message pull-through proves to be helpful in displaying the Chase Payment Solutions (CPS) impact in the sector. Brad holds roughly 10 years of leadership experience in the payments industry, so now is the time to bring these insights to the forefront with the media. He is well-versed in what makes CPS’ technology worthwhile for businesses. The time is now to insert his POV into relevant SMB topics, including (but not limited to) offering banking and fintech resources for SMBs as a payments provider, finding the right processing partner and successfully becoming a payments facilitator.

#nationalsmallbusiness #bradbrodigan #chase #bankingpayment #bank #media #jpmc #money #cash #digitalpayment #bluevine #paypal #military #pandemic #global # technology

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If you see someone

falling behind, walk

beside them.  If you

see someone being

ignored, find a way to

include them.  Always

remind people of

their worth.  One

small act could mean

the world to them.

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Why it’s so critical for the healthcare industry to dedicate energy to SCLC

Advice for those who are beginning their journey with SCLC

Support services that can improve psychosocial health and well-being

Montessa and Abizer will also share details about a new online program called Nothing Small About It, the first-ever digital hub dedicated solely to SCLC patients and their caregivers that aims to provide empathy, education and inspiration through a collection of intimate testimonials from people living with the disease and those who help provide support to them.

It was developed to meet people exactly where they’re at in their individual care journeys, and it is focused exclusively on the psychosocial and educational needs of all people living with this rare form of cancer.

Interview is courtesy: Jazz Pharmaceuticals

1 National Organization for Rare Diseases. Small cell lung cancer. https://rarediseases.org/rarediseases/small-cell-lung-cancer/. Updated 2019. Accessed March 11, 2021.
2 Figg WD, Smith EK, Price DK, et al. Disclosing a diagnosis of cancer: Where and how does it occur? J. Clin. Oncol. 2010 Aug 1;28(22):3630-3635

#lung #cancer #montessa #sclc #abizer #gaslightwala #small #cell #medical #stigma #fear #hopelessness #healthcare #physicians #nurses #scientists #researchers #disease #jazz #pharmaceuticals

The post November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month WORST FEARS SURROUNDING SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER appeared first on Good News!.

LEARN WHY THIS IS A CRITICAL TIME FOR
SMALL BUSINESSES & THEIR EMPLOYEES
A Special Program is Providing Solutions for small Business Success with
Small Business Expert Steve Van Dinter of Verizon

Since the start of the pandemic, more than two-thirds of small businesses (67%) have tried to leverage technology, whether launching an eCommerce site or upgrading point-of-sale (POS) technology, to keep their businesses on track. Now, as the economy opens up, small businesses are taking advantage of these new technologies to jumpstart their businesses by utilizing new tools like 5G mobile communications. Of course, the new challenge is to grow and adapt with new technology in a constantly changing economy.

Hereto help is Verizon Business, which is sponsoring a special program called ‘SMALL BUSINESS DAYS’ through July 30 in many cities around the country. Each small business owner can kick off the summer with a complimentary tech assessment on the strengths and weaknesses of their business connectivity, as well as receive special offers including giving every small business a free 5Gphone with select trade-in devices for new and existing small business customers.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT ‘SUMMER FRIDAY’ EVENTS:
SECURITY TECH–Aiding business recovery and providing a competitive edge
E-COMMERCE ON THE MOVE–Take the lead and ways to innovate online
POINT OF SALE (POS)SUCCESS–How to upgrade or improve your network
NETWORK 5G–Toolsevery business needs to jumpstart creativity and connectivity
COLLABORATION-How to master remote work for customers and employees

SPOKESPERSON BACKGROUND: As Sr. VP for Nationwide Small Business and Channel Chief for Verizon Business, WendyTaccetta leads a team of more than 1,400 employees who are committed to accelerating small business growth and driving transformation across the Verizon Business ecosystem, and fostering a culture of collaboration every day.

Steve Van Dinter is the Director of local area communications for Verizon. Prior to his time with the company, he led external communications and social media strategy for SSM Health and before that was a TV tech reporter aka”Gadget Guy” for the CBS affiliate in Madison, Wis. for more than 12years

#SMALL #BUSINESS #OWNER #PANDEMIC #ECONOMY #EMPLOYEES #Program #Solutions #Verizon

The post WHAT EVERY SMALL BUSINESS OWNER SHOULD KNOW TO PROSPER IN THE POST-PANDEMIC ECONOMY appeared first on Good News!.

Under President Trump the United States has without a doubt seen a resurgence and renaissance in all aspects of our society, with stock markets breaking record highs, over 7 million new jobs created and millions of people off food stamps…But to our liberals in Hollywood, in Ivy League campuses and news rooms and studios of the mainstream media companies, as well as many politicians in our city halls, state capitals and the Washington DC beltway, socialism is more appealing than ever, leading to the national disgraces in places like San Francisco and New York City and witnessing the masses of brainwashed young generations enamored by the prowess and beauty of socialist and communist ideas and achievements.

America is at a crossroads.

Making the Case for Capitalism: Panel, Keynote and Book Signing, aims to make a case for capitalism and help clarify the vision for our great country by engaging a group of top thought leaders of America to offer their insights and perspectives on the advantages and disadvantages of capitalism and socialism. This is an event of historical significance. And it’s also timely.

TOPIC: Making the Case for Capitalism: Panel, Keynote and Book Signing
DATE: Friday, March 20, 2020
TIME: 5:30pm to 9:00pm
LOCATION: The Penn Club of New York City at 30 West 44th Street
Keynote Speaker:
Ziad K. Abdelnour is Founder, President & CEO of Blackhawk Partners, Inc. a private “family office” in the business of originating, structuring & acting as equity investor in strategic corporate investments and co-Founder of Aeros-Blackhawk Partners; a trading platform focusing on the financing of real estate and project finance properties throughout the US.

Founder & Chairman of the Board of the Financial Policy Council ; a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization designed to give its select group of supporters the opportunity to have direct face-to-face dialogue with the nation’s quintessential power brokers and policymakers

A member of TIGER 21, a peer-to-peer learning group for super high net worth individuals and of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) – a private group of global chief executives whose companies employ 16 million people and generate 6-trillion USD in annual revenues

Author of the bestselling book “Economic Warfare: Secrets of Wealth Creation in the Age of Welfare Politics” and of the upcoming book ” Startup Saboteurs: How Incompetence, Ego, and Small Thinking Prevent True Wealth Creation” to be published in Summer 2019.

Mr. Abdelnour has over 30 year experience on Wall Street backing over 125 companies & serial entrepreneurs worth in aggregate over 20 billion dollars in the private equity, high yield bond and distressed debt markets.

He holds a MBA in Finance Summa Cum Laude from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania & BS in Economics, Summa Cum Laude, from the American University of Beirut

Today, Mr. Abdelnour continues to be featured in hundreds of media channels and publications every year and is widely seen as one of the top business leaders by millions around the world.

He was just recently been featured as one of the 500 Most Influential CEOs in the World https://richtopia.com/inspirational-people/500-ceos

The Panelists:
Stephen Moore – Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Project for Economic Growth, at The Heritage Foundation.
As Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Heritage, Moore focuses on advancing public policies that increase the rate of economic growth to help the United States retain its position as the global economic superpower. He also works on budget, fiscal and monetary policy and showcases states that get fiscal houses in order.
“One of the projects I’m going to be working on is how President Obama has discredited liberal ideas more than anyone,” Moore said in an interview with The Foundry upon his return to Heritage. “Everything he’s done has been such a massive failure — from the [economic] stimulus to health-care reform to bailouts to green energy.
Moore’s early career was shaped by three people who had a profound influence on him: Julian Simon, the late Cato Institute scholar; Edwin J. Feulner, a co-founder of Heritage; and Art Laffer, the economist best known for the Laffer curve.
“What makes them so great is they were willing to take on the conventional wisdom. They were subject to a lot of criticism for doing that,” Moore told The Foundry. “Those are the real change-makers.”
Moore calls his creation of the Club for Growth the defining moment of his career. The organization, which he left in 2004, helps elect conservative members of Congress (including Heritage President Jim DeMint when he first ran for Senate).
Moore next founded the Free Enterprise Fund before joining The Wall Street Journal. As senior economics writer for the newspaper’s editorial board, he covered Washington policy debates and state issues.
“Because I’ve been a consumer of think tank material and policy research, I think I have a pretty good sense of what reporters want and how to get it to them in the way they want it,” Moore said. “Being timely — and not just offering opinion but giving them the facts and data is really critical.”
Moore, who grew up in New Trier Township, Ill., received a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds a Masters of Arts in economics from George Mason University.

David Wilcox – Serial deal maker and entrepreneur

David is the Chairman & CEO of Evolution Metals Corp. based in West Palm Beach, Florida. In addition, he holds numerous leadership positions in the private investment space, globally.

Mr. Wilcox’s career began at Deutsche Bank, based in both the London and New York offices, operating across 4 continents. He is a derivatives trading specialist but has also ran teams spanning various regulatory overhaul initiatives, driving value from government policy change.

Mr. Wilcox holds a Bachelor in Business from the University of Tennessee, and a Masters from St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, England.

Samuel Zhang – PhD, MBA – Chief Business Officer of NeoImmune Tech.

Dr. Zhang has nearly 20 years of drug development & commercialization experiences with industry leaders such as Pfizer and Novartis, and the unique expertise to strategically integrate commercial, scientific, medical, and financial perspectives into drug development and investment decision making.

He led the initial registration strategy of Bristol Meyers Squibb’s breakthrough cancer immunotherapy drug nivolumab that helped generate ~$4B/year in sales.

In his spare time, Dr. Zhang more than quadrupled his investment portfolio of biotech stocks over the last three and half years, by identifying winners before the Wall Street professionals given his industry expertise.

Dr. Zhang holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Columbia University, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, and a B.S. in biology from Peking University.

Moderator
Annie Ma – Serial entrepreneur, investor and social activist with business interests in international consulting, education, medicine and media, among others.
As a senior angel investor, fund manager and investment banking professional, Annie has more than 20 years experiences of financial management. Before she started her own companies, Annie worked for UNIDO, Shanghai New Margin Fund Management Co., Ltd., and Air China before she came to further her studies in USA in 1999.

Since 2003, Annie has been Chairwoman and CEO of Ample Luck International Capital Group, of Beijing Zhongchuang Fengxiang Educational Technology Corp., and of Ample Luck Medic Group, Beijing Jin Se Hao Yu Media. She has also served as a partner and vice chairwoman of Chinese Red Strategic Ming Fund, Partner and Investment Advisory Committee member of Jun Yuan-Tong Sheng Venture Capital, Partner of Alpview Venture Capital; Founding Partner and Board Director of Apptech Gateway, and Financial Investor and Board member of Northern Pharmaceutical Group of Canada. Through her own company and funds she manages, Annie and her team has successfully helped more than 100 companies globally to do fund raising, M&A and IPO as well as direct investment into the companies.

Annie holds a B.A., from Jilin University of Finance and Economics. A M.A., from Capital Economics and Trade University, a PhD.in Finance and Investment from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and had her Postdoctoral studies at the Central University of Finance and Economics from Beijing, China. Annie also did her Postdoctoral study on Internationalization of Chinese Medicine at Harvard Medical School and has enrolled herself in an Executive Program with Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

On a social level, Annie has been a Committee member of All-China Youth Federation; Standing Committee of Hubei Province Youth Federation; Vice president of North American Chinese Science and Technology Association; and Committee chairman of the World Chinese Business Association of Investment. She is a recipient of a “Secondary Award” of National Scientific Advancement from China and “First Award” of Guangdong Provincial Scientific Advancement from Guangdong, China.

Event Organizer and Manager
Daniel Lou – Cofounder and CEO, Time Entertainment Group, Inc.

Daniel Lou, is currently Co-founder and CEO of Time Entertainment Group, Inc., an event producing and management company. He also owns an international consulting firm Long Innovations International Group since 2013.

Before Long Innovations, Daniel co-founded Global Maximum Educational Opportunities, Inc.—a firm established to promote study abroad of American college students in China in 2012. He was also briefly appointed and worked as a managing director, business development for USA-China Investments Group in 2014.

Daniel was recruited to join New York Life Insurance Company in 2001 and served as a senior market management associate, market management consultant, director of the Cultural Markets Division, Agency Department until he left the company in 2012.

Prior to that, Daniel worked with World Journal as a metro desk, business and finance desk reporter during 1994-2001; with Institutional Investor as an intern in 1994 in New York and Beijing Review as a reporter, translator and book review editor during 1988-1993 in Beijing, China.

On the nonprofit side, Daniel also co-founded the Association of Patriotic Americans in 2020, US-China Entrepreneurs Association in 2012, Peking University Alumni Association of Greater New York in 2008 and Chinese Investors Association in 2001. He was elected Chairman of the Chinese University Alumni Alliance, Inc. in March 2015.

Daniel signed up as a volunteer of the Call Center at the Trump Headquarters in September 2016 and was later appointed a co-chair for the Asian American Community Outreach in the State of New York for Trump-Pence 2016. He organized or co-organized a series of rallies and gatherings in the City of New York and Philadelphia in support of Donald J Trump for his historical bid for the White House and has since become a strong advocate for conservative ideas and values in the United States involving himself actively in fundraising, grassroot organizing and promoting of the America First Agenda of President Trump. He was invited to join Trump Victory Finance Committee in May 2019.

Daniel graduated from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism with a Master of Science degree in 1994 and from Peking University with a Bachelor of Arts degree (Philosophy) in 1988.

Business Attire please.
General Admissions tickets: $80 per person.

Sponsors Packages:
Diamond Sponsor: $10,000
Event program booklet or flyer
All ad copies
Logo featured on website and other promotional materials
10 VIP tickets to event and VIP Dinner
Platinum Sponsor(s): $5,000
Event program booklet or flyer
All ad copies
Logo featured on website and other promotional materials
5 VIP tickets to the event and VIP dinner
Gold Sponsors: $2,500
Event program booklet or flyer
All ad copies
Logo featured on website and other promotional materials
2 VIP tickets to the event and VIP dinner
Silver Sponsor: $1,000
Event program booklet or flyer
All ad copies
Logo featured on website and other promotional materials
1 VIP tickets to the event and VIP dinner
Bronze Sponsor: $500
1 VIP Ticket and VIP Dinner
Individual sponsors: $300
Two VIP event tickets
Sponsors: Please register by clicking the Donate Link at http://www.financialpolicycouncil.org/donate/

General Admission: Please register by clicking on Purchase Event Tickets Icon at http://www.financialpolicycouncil.org/buy-tickets

Due to limited seats and tickets available, please make sure you act fast and secure your tickets.

For all inquiries related to this event, please contact Daniel Lou at 212-300-6564 or email him at xylou1966@gmail.com

#making #case #capitalism #panel #keynote #book #signing #policy #council #board #directors #patriotic #americans #incompetence #financial #ego #small #thinking #true #wealth #creation #america #crossroads #nyc #new #york #city #annie #ma #samuel #zhang #david #wilcox #stephen #moore #ziad #abdelnour #moderator

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