48 States in 48 Weeks

Some of us get our best ideas in the shower, but they don’t usually change the course of a year of our lives. Not so for Idaho resident Drew Johnson who “had an epiphany one morning in the shower.” The epiphany? To travel around the country volunteering — one state per week for 48 weeks. Since his journey began in South Dakota, he’s done everything from building houses for Habitat for Humanity to working with hospice caretakers to supporting environmental initiatives. But on his trip, which is supported by gifts from strangers, Drew is also promoting a lifestyle that focuses on “STO” — service to others.

John Adams

“Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.”

Who Wants To Be A Billionaire? I Don’t.

Jeffrey Lee is not interested in the soaring price of uranium, which could make him one of the world’s richest men. “This is my country. Look, it’s beautiful and I fear somebody will disturb it,” he says, waving his arm across a view of rocky land surrounded by Kakadu National Park, where the French energy giant Areva wants to extract 14,000 tonnes of uranium worth more than $5 billion. Mr Lee, the shy 36-year-old sole member of the Djok clan in Australia and the senior custodian of the Koongarra uranium deposit, has decided never to allow the ecologically sensitive land to be mined.

In Copehagen: A 15-year-old’s Call to Action

15-year-old Mohamed Axam Maumoon, a Climate Ambassador from the Maldives, is in Copenhagen this week, asking world leaders to take on climate change. Maldives is one of the countries on the front lines of climate change — eighty percent of the land lies three feet or less above the waves. The predicted sea level rise caused by global warming could wipe the country off the map. Democracy Now interviewed Mohamed, and what follows is a powerful video and transcript. His question to the world: “On the basis that you know what you are doing is wrong and you can see that the victim is begging for mercy … would you commit murder?”