Featuring top Afrobeat musicians from around the world, ASAP gives back to Africans. With support for Save the Children, which serves more families in West Darfur than any other independent humanitarian group, the lively music on this compilation helps people up. More than 22,000 children in camps and towns throughout West Darfur are attending classes with the assistance of Save the Children. With contributions from the best Afrobeat artists today, this funky music gives back.

Instead of burning kerosene lamps, families in the village of Danta Uno, Honduras can now use clean, renewable electricity to light their homes.

With the help of Village Energy, Inc., villagers are tapping the energy of a nearby stream, using a small ‘pico-hydro’ electric generator. The system provides a continuous 800 Watts of clean electricity, and with a large bank of batteries, village households now have enough power to keep a few light bulbs lit, charge cell phones, run fans and even sewing machines. Continue reading…

When it comes to musicians and green talk, The Duhks practice what they preach. The rootsy fusion band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, tours with an environmental policy, puts biodiesel in their bus, requests local, organic food at shows, buys carbon offsets for their tours, and produces CDs with recylced paper and soy-based ink. The band launched a sustainability project - GREENDUHKS - to educate concertgoers, hold festival workshops, participate in panel discussions, and spread the word wherever they can. We’ve got crystal-clear live tracks to support their mission. Listen up!

‘Threshing’ isn’t necessarily the most exciting task in the world. But in Sub-Saharan Africa, it’s a matter of survival. Harvesting and eating the region’s chief crops -  sorghum and millet - requires separating seeds from their stalks using a mortar and pestle. It’s a demanding job that takes hours, and lots of elbow grease, for a small yield of edible seeds. Now, a group of New Jersey high school students has made the task much easier – and more fun – by integrating an exercise bike. Continue reading…

In Milwaukee, Erik Lindberg recently hoisted 15 cubic yards of dirt to the roof of his remodeling business. After planting seeds and watering with a hose, he now supplies kohlrabi, rutabagas, lettuce and other vegetables to a local grocery store and a few neighbors. A couple of flat-roofed restaurants in the area are growing some of their own produce, too.

While rooftop farming is just catching on, the potential is enormous, according Steven Peck, founder and president of Toronto-based Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. Read full article.

In Nairobi, one organization is using the arts to transform the lives and perceptions of children living on the streets. Shangilia Mtoto wa Afrika - or ‘Rejoice Child of Africa’ - began working with disadvantaged children fifteen years ago, fueled by the belief that if you empower children, no matter their economic standing, they will rise up.

With a strong emphasis on the performing arts, Shangilia teaches music, dance, drama and Taekwondo; with dramatic performances centered around AIDS awareness, hygiene and sanitation. Continue reading…

[LILONGWE] Malawi’s newly re-elected president has promised increased investment in science as part of a plan to transform the country into a net exporter of goods and services.

Bingu wa Mutharika, who was sworn in this week (22 June), said in his inaugural speech that he would prioritize science and technology along with other key areas including agriculture and food security; irrigation and water development; and environmental degradation. Continue reading…

Through music, Michael Jackson truly changed the world. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the smash hit song ‘We Are the World’, which raised funds for USA for Africa, and was later combined with a charity event called Hands Across America, in which a human chain of approximately seven million people stretched across the continental United States. The combined revenues donated from ‘We Are the World’ and Hands Across America was almost $100 million. In 2000, Jackson was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for most charities supported by a pop star. Continue reading…

Is there enough wind whipping around the earth to supply the energy needs of the entire planet? In theory, the answer is yes - if cost and technology were not issues.

In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, researchers at Harvard University found that maximizing current technologies for wind power could produce five times the total energy used in the world today, and 40 times the electricity.   Continue reading…

From rideshares to solar stages and multiple flavors of offsets, carbon neutrality is in vogue at the big music festivals this summer. Central Washington’s Sasquatch! Music Festival was ‘made carbon neutral by Esurance’, and Bonnaroo plugged into the local Duck River grid for the first time this year, enabling a significant carbon savings over generator use. But the Rothbury Music Festival, so far as we can tell, is the only music festival that offers concertgoers the chance to produce energy and make music at the same time. Continue reading…