While enjoying the comfort and loving warmth of our home, we rarely think of people who are out there in the cold weather, without having a shelter or a blanket to keep them warm during the night.

Most people feel sympathy for the homeless, but it is not enough to keep them warm. Actions speak louder than words. There are over 3,000 homeless people in France, and this winter, the temperatures were shockingly low.

Therefore, a French engineer, Geoffroy de Reynal, MSc in Energy Engineering, got an innovative idea to help these people- a pop-up igloo that can be easily erected to comfortably fit a person.

He was working as a quality manager on wind construction sites, and the terrible conditions in France made him want to rescue the homeless and use his technical knowledge to tackle this social issue.

Testing was done with nine Igloos distributed in squats around Bordeaux, France, and people who have tried them did not want to leave. These shelters kept people safe from the wild nights outside and protected from theft and violence.

The igloos are made from polyethylene foam, covered with aluminum foil, and both layers protect from the freezing temperatures and keep the igloo around 15° warmer than the temperature outside.

They are private and compact, repairable, recyclable, and waterproof shelters. Moreover, they absorb body heat and solar lighting to naturally raise the temperature inside.

De Reynal used his own money to build the first igloos this winter, and afterward, he started an online crowdfunding campaign for which he received around $20,000.

He said:

“Using my resources and the money from the crowdfunding campaign, I built 20 igloos prototypes this winter and distributed 10 in Bordeaux, and 10 additional in Paris.

I was living abroad in Montenegro for a year, and there are not many people living outside there. When I came back to France, I was surprised by the number of homeless in the streets, so I decided to come up with an idea to help them.

I am not trying to replace emergency accommodations. I am just trying to make life a bit less difficult for homeless people. Having one of these igloos does not mean that you are not homeless anymore.”

Their inventor plants to make them larger and place showers inside as well, and he intends to create thousands of igloos by 2020. Once more, Geoffroy de Reynal showed that change starts with us as individuals, and we can all try a bit more and achieve much higher goals.

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Fortnite is a game created by Tim Sweeney, and has become one of the biggest games of this decade. Its creator has been working for decades and managed to develop various interactive and intricate realms in the digital world for players.

In the 1990’s, he founded Epic Games, a video and 3-D software company, that produced various popular games, including Gears of War, Unreal Tournament, and Fortnite. Tim soon became a billionaire, but this made him a bigger philanthropist, who tried his best to protect the beautiful western Carolina mountains.

In the last decade, he spent millions of dollars to support conservation projects in North Carolina, in order to save its forest. He bought 40,000 acres of land, and donated money to various conservation parcel projects, like an expansion of 1,500 acres to Mount Mitchell State Park.

In November 2016, he donated $15 million for a conservation project in order to protect 7,000 acres of the Box Creek Wilderness. This forest is located in the historic foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Being untouched, a large corporation wanted to carve up the land and use it to run power lines to other places. Additionally, Sweeney protected hundreds of endangered animal and plant species in the area by protecting it.

According to the biologist Kevin Caldwell:

“Ecologists documented more than 130 rare and watch-list plant and wildlife species, and several new-to‐science wildlife and plant species, including three moths and a new spiderwort species.”



Sweeney added:

“It’s one of the most diverse areas in North Carolina. It has such rare plant and wildlife species, it seemed a perfect fit with the Fish and Wildlife Service. This is a first step – there will be other places protected. The goal is to connect South Mountains State Park to Chimney Rock. This is one piece of the puzzle.”

Moreover, a year later, the man bought 193 acres in Alamance County for $1.973 million, and after securing the land, Jose Kellher, who is a representative of Sweeney, guaranteed that the land would not be developed. Last year, he bought a 1,500 acre place called Stone Hills, and protected it from being turned into a golf resort community.

Sweeney maintains:

“I bought this land because it has a nice longleaf pine forest and was available for a reasonable price. I’ll be holding it until I find a permanent nature conservation home for it, which will take years or decades.”

When he was asked about his short term plans for the land, he replied:

“I just plan to hike it and do some tree thinning and burning for ecosystem restoration until I find a permanent conservancy or state home for it.”

The Mind Unleashed wrote:

“Sweeney’s conservation efforts come at a time when protecting our nation’s forests has become increasingly important. A study led by North Carolina State University professor Nick Haddad and conducted by 24 scientists, found that there are only 2 truly intact forests left on Earth.

When the study’s authors examined the effects of human involvement on forests, they found habitat fragmentation leads to 13 to 75 percent decrease in plant and animal diversity, reduces the ability of animals and plants to survive and can even distort the food chain, as smaller patches of forest tend to have an increase in predator population.

Thankfully, as science continues to learn more about the importance of undeveloped forest land, billionaire philanthropists are noticing and taking action. China’s wealthiest man has also taken note of the importance of conservation. In 2015, Jack Ma, the billionaire behind online retail giant Alibaba, purchased 28,000 acres of land in the Adirondack mountains of upstate NY. His first action taken after purchasing the land was to halt logging operations.”

Let’s hope that actions of this kind will inspire other people who have the needed wealth, power, and influence, to do good, save the environment, and help the community.

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The success of the traditional food movement boosted the popularity of fermented foods, and we finally realized the wisdom of our ancestors. People have consumed fermented foods for centuries, due to the numerous health benefits they offer.

According to Jillian Levy, CHHC:

“Sauerkraut, a form of fermented cabbage, has been popular throughout Central Europe for hundreds of years. Sauerkraut combines one of the healthiest foods there is (cabbage) with one of the most beneficial and time-honored food preparation methods ever used (fermentation).

According to the Institute for Integrative Medicine at the University of Witten in Germany, sauerkraut is one of the most common and oldest forms of preserving cabbage and can be traced back as an important food source to the fourth century B.C.

Fermentation simply refers to an ancient technique and perseveration method that naturally alters the chemistry of foods. Similar to cultured dairy products like yogurt and kefir, sauerkraut’s fermentation process produces beneficial probiotics that are now linked to improvements in immune, cognitive, digestive and endocrine function.”

Sauerkraut is made by pickling cabbage in a process called lacto-fermentation. It is a rich source of enzymes that support digestion and help the absorption of nutrients in the body.

However, the store-bought sauerkraut is pasteurized and treated with numerous chemicals, so it no longer offers the same benefits.



Here is how to make your homemade sauerkraut and boost the intake of probiotics:

Homemade sauerkraut recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 pounds cabbage
• 3 tablespoons sea salt

Instructions:

1. Remove the large outer leaves of the cabbage, and shred the rest of it. In a bowl, mix it with the salt, and in order to stimulate the release of its juices, massage it with your hands for about 15 minutes.
2. Then, transfer the mixture to a larger fermentation container, pound it down for the juice to come up to the surface, and cover it with a plate. You should leave about 2 inches of space at the top.
3. Place a heavy glass jar with water over the plate to press it down and force the water out of it.
4. Keep the container at room temperature, in a cool, dark place, covered with a towel.

The fermentation process will take about a month. Afterward, store the sauerkraut in the fridge, and enjoy its benefits on a daily basis!

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Knowing an upcoming snowstorm could prevent a neighbor from getting crucial medical treatment, a group of high school students shoveled the woman's driveway at 4:30 in the morning to ensure she could leave the house.

Credit: Peter Lanigan / Twitter
Brothers Brian and Patrick Lanigan knew the snowstorm could be a life or death situation for their neighbor Natalie Blair. So Patrick opened up his phone and started reaching out to friends to help out.

Three of his fellow Parsippany High School seniors answered the call and volunteered to spend the night at the Lanigan house just to wake up and start shoveling.

"Snow Angels disguised as PHS Srs," Peter Lanigan wrote on Twitter.
"Justin, Pat, Chris, Tyler & Amon got up super early 4:30 (really never slept) to shovel a driveway for a neighbor who needed to get to dialysis."

Credit: Peter Lanigan / Twitter
"These young men restore my faith in humanity!! Job well done! Thanks guys!" @AlmaGayle replied to Lanigan's Twitter post.

"The parents of these kids have raised some good human beings," wrote @ohromujici.

"This made me cry! So proud of these young men! They ARE true ANGELS in this world! God bless them all! Made my day!" Tasha Strehl wrote.

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