Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd initiates a 12-year, US$816 billion project to minimize homelessness and provide accommodation for all seeking shelter. 

Paris Club
The 19-nation Paris Club of creditors agreed to waive a remaining US$7.8 billion owed by Iraq.

European Union
Throughout 2008, the European Union has provided €230 million to meet the monthly payroll and pension payments for nearly 78,000 Palestinian public sector workers.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy
French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a US$224 million initiative to improve existing homeless shelters as well as construct many new ones; US$28 million will be allocated to enhance the management and distribution of food aid.

Germany
Germany forgives Pakistan’s debt of approximately US$50 million in exchange for the country’s investment of half of the amount in national health programs.

European Commission
The European Commission will provide an additional €40.5 million, totalling €57.5, in humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, most of which is to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

The Irish Development Aid Agency
The Irish Development Aid Agency pledges to donate €30 million to Program 135, designed to help people living in the remote and mountainous areas in Âu Lạc (Vietnam).

George Clooney, Roger Jenkins
Hollywood actor George Clooney and businessman Roger Jenkins sponsored a “Not On Our Watch” charity event and raised almost US$15 million for two million displaced people in Darfur.

India
India donated US$12 million through the United Nations World Food Program to help provide fortified biscuits to Afghan children.

Atlantic Philanthropies
The US-based Atlantic Philanthropies organization donates US$12 million for the establishment and refurbishment of medical stations across Thừa Thiên, Huế province in Âu Lạc (Vietnam).

Russia
Russia has donated US$11 million to the United Nations World Food Program’s projects this year, and provided emergency assistance to Guinea, Bangladesh, and Azerbaijan.

OPEC Fund for International Development
The OPEC Fund for International Development provides US$3 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for emergency aid in to the Gaza region.

Italy
Italy has created a debt-for-development program in which half of Kenya’s debt to Italy, US$53 million, will be forgiven to be used for health, education, sanitation, etc.

Germany
Germany pledges to donate nearly US$4.1 million to Tonga as part of a regional project to help Pacific island communities address climate change.

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud
Saudi Arabian King, His Majesty Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, is honored with the Lech Walesa Prize for his charity works and endeavors to foster interfaith dialogue and international cooperation.

Clowns without Borders International
Clowns without Borders is a non-profit group with 9 independent organizations who have traveled to over 59 countries to bring joy and laughter to those facing crisis.

Circus to Iraq
Circus to Iraq is a group of volunteer performers who pay for their own expenses to travel to Iraq, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt to fulfill its mission of spreading love, playfulness, and smiles.

Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey, a well known American media personality, has been named by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as 2008 Person of the Year for her campaign to raise awareness about the mistreatment of animals as well as her encouragement of the plant-based diet.

Costa Rica, Austria, Singapore, Hungary
Costa Rica, Austria, Singapore, and Hungary have banned the use of wild animals in circuses.

Bulgaria, Four Paws
Bulgaria becomes the first nation in the European Union to officially sign a contract with the animal welfare organization Four Paws to ensure humane treatment of animals.

Spencer Brodsky
Seventeen-year-old Spencer Brodsky from Maryland, USA raised over US$12,000 to send 420 fuel-efficient stoves to Darfur, Sudan to protect women from the often-dangerous task of collecting firewood.

Taipei County Animal Protection Association
The Taipei County Animal Protection Association is Formosa’s (Taiwan’s) first dog shelter to transition all 300 dogs in their care to a vegetarian diet.

Dos Winkel
Dos Winkel, a renown underwater photographer, sheds light on the current state of the seas in his book “What’s the Catch with Fish?” and encourages the adoption of the vegetarian diet to preserve our planet.

Patrick Reynolds
Patrick Reynolds, the grandson of a tobacco company’s founder, spoke in Congress for a complete ban on tobacco advertising and travels all over the United States to advocate a smoke-free lifestyle.

Zhenya Tabakov
Eight-year-old Zhenya Tabakov of Noginsk, Russia rushed to the aid of his 12-year-old sister at the cost of his own life, scaring off an intruder who entered their home while they were home alone.

James Lewin
Retired firefighter James Lewin’s quick thinking saved his 12-day-old granddaughter from being hit by a pickup truck while he himself was seriously injured.

Merlin Ham and James Carpenter
Merlin Ham, who rescued a 3-year old boy from an oncoming train, and James Carpenter, who entered a neighbor’s burning house to save a young girl, were awarded the Carnegie Hero medal for their heroic acts.

Carolyn Watson and Marie McKenzie
Carolyn Watson and her sister, Marie McKenzie, rushed to the aid and saved the life of a two-year-old boy who was stuck under a mini train at Queen Elizabeth Park in New Zealand.

The Thorpe family’s puppies
The Thorpe family’s two puppies kept 3-year-old Jaylynn Thorpe of Halifax County, Virginia, USA, warm and safe in the freezing temperature when he was lost for 21 hours.

D-Boy the dog
D-Boy the dog saved his human family when he ran toward an armed intruder who had entered the Trawick family’s home in Oklahoma, USA, and chased the man away even after he was struck by bullets three times.

Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service
A crew of firefighters from the Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service went room to room to locate and rescue a number of cats from a burning house and revived them with infant-size oxygen masks.

Dr. Madan Kataria
Dr. Madan Kataria developed laughter yoga to help people resolve problems and find happiness within themselves; he also promotes the vegetarian diet as a compassionate way of living.

Elizabeth Anile and Andrew Glove
Eighteen-year-old vegetarian Elizabeth Anile established the Australian Teens Against Animal Cruelty with her friend, Andrew Glove, to promote the vegetarian diet and raise awareness for the compassionate treatment of animals worldwide.

United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) donated US$57 million to fund the Flagship Project, a five-year plan to enhance the Palestinian health sector in the West Bank and Gaza.

Queensland and Australia
The State of Queensland and the national government of Australia are sponsoring a five-year US$47.5 million initiative to buy approximately 150 homes for families at risk of homelessness.

European Union
The European Union has donated approximately US$24 million in humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka to help the 300,000 people displaced by the flood in the Wanni region.

European Union, United Nations Children’s Fund, International Committee of the Red Cross, US Agency for International Development, United Kingdom, South Africa
To provide urgent relief for the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe, the European Union donated US$11.4 million to contribute to the emergency response carried out by the United Nations Children’s Fund; the International Committee of the Red Cross distributed 13 tons of medical supplies and cholera kits; the US Agency for International Development (USAID) donated US$4.6 million; the United Kingdom pledged US$14.7 million in emergency aid; and South Africa is sending doctors as well as clean water and other supplies to the nation’s people.

Hong Kong
Hong Kong donates US$11.2 million to 12 non-governmental organizations for various projects to rebuild areas of the quake damaged province of Sichuan, China. 

European Union
The European Union donates €2.5 million, in addition to a previous €7 million support, to assist over 300,000 displaced persons in the Mindanao region in the southern Philippines.

IKEA
Swedish home store IKEA donates nearly US$7 million from toy sales to the United Nations Children’s Fund and the US charity, Save The Children. 

US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation
The US Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation have donated US$3.2 million to the University of Oregon, USA for research on how to best protect ecosystems from the impacts of climate change.

World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF)
World Wide Fund For Nature sponsored a US$2 million project to protect 134,000 hectares of primary forest in Âu Lạc’s (Vietnam’s) Thừa Thiên-Huế province, while at the same time improving the quality of life of the residents.

Singapore’s PSB Academy
Singapore’s PSB Academy is granting 40 scholarships and 20 tuition grants worth almost US$680,000 in 2009 to Aulacese (Vietnamese) students seeking higher education. 

His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud
His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud has gifted four mobile medical clinics to Sudan to provide healthcare to regions affected by disasters.

Formosa (Taiwan)
Formosan (Taiwanese) government’s “10 Energy Saving & Carbon Reduction Measures” has inspired the Tainan City Environmental Protection Bureau to declare that every Monday is “Veggie Day” and every Friday as “CO2 Reduction Day” to help safeguard our Earth.

Carter High School
After vegetarians Devan and Alexandria Quintana expressed their desires for vegetarian options at their school, Carter High School now offer more vegetarian food choices to their students.

Ma Wen-Jun
Chief Magistrate of Puli, Nantou County, Formosa (Taiwan) encourages and promotes the vegetarian diet to halt global warming during a unique Taoist festival that takes place once every twelve years.

Irish TV3
The main Irish television station, TV3, broadcast on nationwide news the message of “Be Veg, Go Green, Save the Planet!” that was on display during a parade organized by animal rights organizations.

Rhett Butler
Science and environment writer Rhett Butler founded the green Mongabay.com website to raise the urgent awareness of preserving the rainforests, wildlife, and natural areas.

Ace the dog & Ray Lau
Ace, the police search dog, and his human partner Ray Lau, found and rescued Donna Molnar who was buried in a snowy field for three days.

Thanks to animal behavior expert Gill Hodge of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), United Kingdom, Zoe the Dalmatian who was born without the ability to hear is now able to understand several words in Sign Language.

Professor Tim Lang
Professor Tim Lang of the United Kingdom’s Food Council calls for a new method of attaining a sustainable global food system.

United Nations
The United Nations General Assembly approved a nearly US$700 million increase in the 2009 budget, to a total of US$4.86 billion that will go toward supporting the organization’s work in 27 countries.

BBC One, Justin Kerswell, Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (VIVA!)
British television channel BBC One’s segment “One Minute on The One” recently featured Justin Kerswell, campaign manager of Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (VIVA!), who promoted  replacement of meat with vegetarian options for a compassionate Christmas

South Africa
South Africa allocates US$1.3 billion to improve and develop education for children with special needs over the next three years.

Formosa (Taiwan)
Formosa (Taiwan) allocates US$8.5 million for the Bureau of National Health Insurance to subsidize health insurance premiums for the less fortunate, including foreign spouses. 

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announces a US$6.2 million donation to Zimbabwe for cholera medicines and other emergency aid.

US Department of Labor, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking
US Department of Labor, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking fund a US$3.5 million project in Yemen with the aim to withdraw 4,100 youth from child labor, while protecting 3,000 others.

Australia
Australia announces a donation of nearly US$3.5 million to help in the upcoming elections of Afghanistan.

China
China donates millions of dollars in equipment and training to improve the livelihoods of Africans in telecommunications and agriculture.

UNICEF and the World Health Organization
UNICEF and the World Health Organization initiate a multimillion dollar campaign to improve survival rates for 1.5 million young children in Somalia. 

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Equatorial Guinea
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Equatorial Guinea delivered €2 million to Cuba for relief efforts following the country’s three hurricanes this year.  

Italy, United Nations
The Italian Embassy's Development Cooperation Office and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) organized a day of sports competitions for Palestinian youths living in refugee camps in Lebanon; Italy will also donate almost US$600,000 to the UNRWA to promote peace and dialogue through sports.

United Nations World Food Program
The United Nations World Food Program provides US$500,000 in food aid to 30,000 Colombian people who were affected by floods and landslides following the volcanic eruptions and heavy rains last month.

China and Tanzania
China donates US$500,000 while Tanzania sends 40 tons of medical supplies to Zimbabwe to assist in the efforts to stop the cholera epidemic.

Germany
Germany donates US$300,000 to Uganda for the construction of a 120-bed health center at the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Hospital in Lira.

Japan
Japan pledges US$256,000 to three grassroots medical projects to improve healthcare in various areas of Âu Lạc (Việt Nam). 

African Union
The African Union donates US$100,000 to aid in treating cholera for the people of Zimbabwe.

Cyprus
Cyprus donated €100,000 to China for reconstruction efforts in Sichuan province following the earthquakes there this year.

Volunteer heart specialists from USA, Australia, and Belgium
A medical team of volunteer heart specialists that includes doctors, nurses, and laboratory personnel from USA, Australia, and Belgium provide heart surgeries to twenty-three Rwandans at King Faisal Hospital in Kacyiru, Rwanda.

Vietnam Fund for Children, Vietnamese Industrial and Commercial Bank
The Vietnam Fund For Children and the Vietnam Industrial and Commercial Bank annually donate wheelchairs to children with disabilities in different cities in Âu Lạc (Vietnam).

Missouri’s Secret Santas
Two persons known only as “secret Santas” handed out US$20,000 in US$100 bills to individuals in the US cities of Kansas City and St. Louis in Missouri to spread the Christmas cheer.

Venezuela
Venezuela sent a plane filled with 14 tons of food and drinking water to aid the rain-affected people in Colombia.

Egypt
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry is coordinating donations and humanitarian aid from countries and organizations for delivery to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip

Iran, Egypt, Qatar, Qatari Red Crescent Society, Spain, Israel, Turkey, Jordan, UN agency for Palestinians refugees, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates
Assistance to Palestinians in Gaza: Iran has sent a shipment and plane of humanitarian aid via Egypt Qatar has sent 90 tons of supplies; the Qatari Red Crescent Society has sent five ambulances; Spain sends two trucks filled with medical aid; Israel authorized passage of 109 trucks provided by Turkey, Jordan, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and others; and Indonesia and the United Arabs Emirates pledged to send humanitarian aid.

Cheng Yung-chin
County Magistrate Cheng Yun-chin of Hsinchu, Formosa (Taiwan), has decided that Hsinchu County will provide at least one vegetarian meal a week in public schools for children in an effort to conserve the Earth’s resources and reduce carbon emissions.

USA
The United States welcomes 60,000 Nepalese refugees in Bhutan over the next few years to settle in the US.

Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'adua
Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'adua is providing humanitarian supplies to South Africa to assist the nation in helping cholera-affected Zimbabweans.

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia sends urgent aid for Palestinians in Gaza by bringing all possible medical supplies to Gaza and transporting all injured Palestinians to Saudi Arabian hospitals for treatment.

Red Cross Society, Save the Children, Oxfam, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The Red Cross Society, Save the Children, Oxfam, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are providing relief to the people of Papua New Guinea who are affected by the flooding caused by strong storms and unusually high tides.

Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), New Zealand Agency for International Development, Japan, Japan International Cooperation Agency
Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), New Zealand Agency for International Development, the Japanese embassy and the Japan International Cooperation Agency are providing financial aid to the flood victims of Papua New Guinea.

Red Cross
The Red Cross has united a number of parents and their children in the Democratic Republic of Congo after they were separated during recent unsettled conditions in the country.

The Smile Train
The Smile Train was founded in 1999 by Charles Wang and Brian Mullaney and has provided free cleft lip surgery to over 350,000 children worldwide.

Cuban doctors
Cuban doctors perform free eye surgeries in Uruguay to remove cataracts and restore vision to approximately 5,000 people.

Revel Consulting and Save the Children’s Clean Water Project
Revel Consulting, a leading American consulting firm, donates to Save the Children’s Clean Water Project for the provision of water filters to 3,200 Sudanese households.

Her Highness Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak of the United Arab Emirates
Her Highness Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak of the United Arab Emirates has been commended by Eritrean Health Minister Dr. Saleh Makki for her Giving Hands humanitarian mission to assist those less fortunate.

The Bath Activist Network
The Bath Activist Network, a British advocacy group, has succeeded in getting a second restaurant in Bath in the United Kingdom to remove foie gras from its menu.

Sri Lanka, Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Athens Network of Collaborating Experts
Sri Lanka, with the assistance of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the non-profit Athens Network of Collaborating Experts and a Sri Lankan youth organization, is implementing a solar energy project in Monaragala district with the goal of bringing electricity to 10,000 homes.

Soil Association
Soil Association in the United Kingdom released a report that proposed a six-point plan for the national government’s consideration that includes organic farming, sustainable energy use in farming, and consuming more fruits and vegetables and less meat.

Democratic Republic of Congo
Families in the Democratic Republic of Congo opened their homes to provide shelter for displaced fellow citizens despite their scant resources.

Nigeria and Agridev
Nigeria announced the implementation of the Desert-to-Food program with the Israel-based agricultural organization, Agridev, to help transform the arid soil in 19 Nigerian states into arable land through reforestation and other measures.

Perkins School for the Blind, International Relief Development
Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and International Relief Development donated learning aids and sunglasses to the Al Noor’s Institute for the Blind to help the visually impaired children in Baghdad, Iraq.

Dhinu Dhanveer Singh
Twenty-four-year-old Malaysian Indian Dhinu Dhanveer Singh and his family established Science of Life Systems 24/7 to provide training and life skills to disadvantaged youth in countries including Cambodia and East Timor.

Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo of Brazil, and other football playeres
Football stars, Zinedine Zidane of France and Ronaldo of Brazil, along with many other footballers, participated in a United Nations Development Program charity match to raise funds for the less fortunate and to promote the United Nations Millennium Development Goals of eliminating poverty.

Leah Green, the Compassionate Listening Project
Leah Green founded the non-profit Compassionate Listening Project based near Seattle, Washington, USA, in 1997 to encourage peace building and reconciliation by teaching individuals the skills for peacemaking in the families, communities, and at work.

Bolivia
Bolivia has completed the country’s 30-month literacy program through which as many as one million Bolivians have learned to read and write.

23 international scientists
A research team of 23 scientists from five research institutes report the discovery of more than 1000 species, including five new species, around the South Orkney Islands near the tip of the Antarctic.

India’s Forest Department
The Forest Department in India declared the villages Konkadasa and Chimti as part of the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary in which the villages are responsible for wildlife protection.

India
India has declared Ousteri Lake, the largest in India’s Puducherry Territory, a bird sanctuary where motorboat use and fishing will be banned.

League Against Cruel Sports and the people of North Ireland
A poll by League Against Cruel Sports found that 70 percent of the population in Northern Ireland feels that the endangered Irish hare should be granted permanent protection status, and seventy-five percent said that the cruel dog sport against these rabbits should be banned.

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe planted 140 million trees across the country since the launch of the National Tree Planting Day in 1980.

Brazil, Environment Minister Carlos Minc
Brazil’s Environment Minister Carlos Minc announced plans to reduce the rate of deforestation in the Amazon by 70 percent within the next decade, thus reducing 4.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide emission.

Georgina Downs
Georgina Downs campaigned for seven years to protect residents from pesticides based on health problems and finally won a case in London’s High Court that establishes precedent for a new evaluation of their potential harm.

USA
A newly passed US federal law requires ships to travel at reduced speeds when within 20 nautical miles of major ports to avoid collision with the rare North Atlantic right whales.

Irish Parliament
The Irish Parliament is considering a proposal to ban the use of circus animals to protect their well-being.

European Union
The European Union has passed the Renewable Energy Directive that mandates a reduction of greenhouse emissions by 20 percent and ensuring that 20 percent of the energy comes from sustainable sources by the year 2020.

Bank of America
Bank of America announced that it is phasing out financial support of companies engaged in environmentally destructive mountaintop mining.

European Union
The European Union agreed to adhere to the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System, which is intended to protect workers, consumers, and the environment through clear labeling, classification, and packaging of chemicals.

The House Rabbit Society of Singapore
The House Rabbit Society of Singapore is a non-profit association devoted to finding good homes for rabbits, with foster care, medical care, healthy food, and toys. 

New York Times Building owners and Lutron Electronics
The New York Times Building in New York City, USA has lowered its energy requirements by 70% by employing the Pennsylvania-based Lutron Electronics to install its Quantum lighting management system.

Cameroon, Nigeria, US-based Wildlife Conservation Society
With technical assistance from the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society, the Cameroonian government has established Takamanda National Park, which is being combined with Nigeria’s neighboring Cross River National Park, to offer sanctuary to 115 of the rare Cross River gorillas.

Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation
The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation distributes four million energy-saving light bulbs free of charge to help reduce power outages.

Pete Kadens
Pete Kadens, a Chicago-based entrepreneur, raised over US$10,000 for a homeless man, Troy McCullough, to secure housing and basic living expenses for the next year, and has worked out a plan that will enable Mr. McCullough to become self sufficient for the following year

Joan Jett
Joan Jett (American singer, songwriter, and actress) of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts promotes the vegetarian diet by pointing out the benefits of a meatless diet in reducing the effects of global warming.

Animal Board Germany
Animal Board Germany begins to provide meals for the canine companions of people without homes or jobs.

Angel Animals Network
US-based Angel Animals Network, founded by Allen and Linda Anderson in Minnesota, offers many ways to appreciate our animal companions’ spiritual side and how to bond with them.

European  Commission
The European Commission presented a €5 billion European green cars initiative to assist auto manufacturers in producing safer and more Earth-sustaining vehicles.

Zhejian province in China
Zhejiang province in China has invested US$261 million so far this year to ensure that all rural citizens will have access to clean drinking water in 2009.

Âu Lạc (Vietnam)
Aulacese (Vietnamese) Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng has announced a US$135 million national action plan to address the short and long term consequences of global warming

Nicaragua
Nicaragua implements a US$90 million wind power project to provide six percent of the country’s energy requirement with the goal of reducing fossil fuel use to three percent by 2013.

South Africa
South Africa sends US$30 million in humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe.

China
China purchases US$1 million in food from local farmers in Lesotho to be distributed by the United Nations World Food Program to 75,000 HIV and tuberculosis affected people.

Ireland, Norway, Spain, Laos, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and other countries
Ireland, Norway, Spain, Laos, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and nearly 100 other countries signed the international Convention (Ban) on Cluster Munitions in Oslo, Norway.

European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on Climate Change
The European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on Climate Change is asking that climate change concerns be integrated into all policies and areas to avoid a two-degree Celsius increase in average global temperatures.

Global Zero
The group Global Zero, headed by Richard Burt, US chief strategic weapons negotiator, proposes a phasing-out of all nuclear weapons over the next 25 years.

South Korea
South Korea concluded the country’s four-year humanitarian mission in Iraq with the remaining 519 troops return to Seoul.

Angola
The Angolan National Commission for Civilian Disarmament’s objective is to raise awareness and further peace through the removal of illegal firearms in Angola, and since its inception in March, over 52,000 firearms and 48 arsenals have been collected.

His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco
His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco announced the withdrawal of reservations regarding the Convention of the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), a move that allows for more equality in women’s rights.

CNN
CNN’s award-winning “Planet in Peril” broadcasts its second annual documentary series with the focus on ecological degradation and threats to the planet.

Cuban Doctors Brigade and Guatemalan specialists
The Cuban Doctors Brigade and Guatemalan specialists will provide training assistance to Guatemalan medical personnel at 5 hospitals in Guatemala.

Mexico
Mexico has been named by the Protected Areas National Commission (CONAP) as one of the top five countries for environmental protection.

European Union
Member states of the European Union have agreed to ban 22 toxic or carcinogenic substances from being used in herbicides and pesticides.

Iraq
Iraq announced plans to resume a project to remove excess soil salinity and restore the water quality by pumping groundwater of approximately 2.5 million hectares of affected soil.

European Commission
The European Commission proposed a co-financing of national, regional or local programs for thermal window glazing, wall insulation, and solar panel installation to boost energy efficiency and sustainability in low income homes.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally includes global warming in Australia’s national security policy.

Ecumenical Program for Peace, Conflict Resolution, and Reconciliation (PAREC)
The citizens of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo participated in the weapon-collection campaign launched by the Ecumenical Program for Peace, Conflict Resolution, and Reconciliation (PAREC) in which firearms are exchanged for US$100 and a length of fabric.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in Compton, California hosted its third annual Gifts for Guns program in which residents are encouraged to turn in firearms for a gift card valued up to US$200.

Bolivia
With 35,000 Bolivians in the Tarija Department who have just completed courses to learn to read and write, eight out of nine national territories are now restored to literacy in the Latin American nation.

European Commission, India’s Puducherry territory
A six-year collaborative project between the European Commission and India’s territory of Puducherry has been successful in helping 80 percent of the region’s villages to remain flood-free this monsoon season.

France
French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced new measures that promote education and employment equality for lower income families and immigrants.

Australia
Australia has initiated an international aid program, “Development for All,” to assist people with disabilities in developing countries.

10 African gorilla range states
All 10 gorilla range states in Africa pledged action plans to safeguard gorillas from decline in population at a United Nations Convention

China
China’s Health Ministry has banned 17 substances as food additives to enhance food safety.

The Philippines
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 for wider development of sustainable goal of 60 percent energy independence by 2010.

Israel & Denmark
Israel and Denmark are set to support the introduction of electric cars in 2010 and 2011, respectively, by employing US-based Project Better Place to install recharging stations nationwide.

Dr. Christian Marois, Dr. Paul Kalas, and participating scientists
Dr. Christian Marois, Dr. Paul Kalas, and participating scientists have taken an image of another solar system and a photograph of a new planet called Fomalhuat b.

MicroPro Computers
MicroPro Computers, an Irish company, has developed a line of computers called Iameco that is made of from recycled natural materials, which uses 30 percent less energy, and can also have seeds of native plants embedded in its wood panels so that when the components are buried, they easily decompose and allow new plants to grow.

Nippon
Nippon, a Japanese company, unveiled the Auriga Leader, the world’s first car freighter to employ a solar-based propulsion system, enabling it to transport up to 64,000 automobiles.

BYD
China’s automaker BYD begins sales of the world’s first mass-produced, plug-in hybrid car, the F3DM.

Los Angeles, CA, USA
The city of Los Angeles, California, USA passes a broad range of firearm laws, including a complete ban on Internet sales.

Greek Cypriot President Demetris Christofias
Greek Cypriot President Demetris Christofias stands down as leader of his political party to focus fully on reunification talks with the Turkish Cypriot community. 

United Nations, Australia, the Netherlands, and the United States
The United Nations is sponsoring a partnership with the military personnel of Australia, the Netherlands and the United States to help countries safely dispose of ozone-damaging chemicals.

United States and US schools
The United States federal government allocates US$49 million in 2008 to support the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program, in which schools bring fresh fruits and vegetables into the classrooms for kids to try.

Marguerite “Maggy” Barankitse
Marguerite "Maggy" Barankitse has been awarded the US$1 million Opus Prize in recognition of her 15 years of selfless service in establishing the Maison Shalom, or “House of Peace,” to provide a safe haven to 300,000 orphaned Tutsi and Hutu children in Burundi, Africa.

Life for Relief and Development
Life for Relief and Development (LIFE) based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates travels to flood-affected regions of Yemen to help in rehabilitation efforts.

Wei Te-sheng
The 2008 award-winning Formosan (Taiwanese) film director Wei Te-sheng donates almost US$55,000 to a Christian charity that will assist indigenous families in  Pintung County and central Formosa (Taiwan).

The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment
The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment supports organic farming by giving US$9,200 to organic farmers in Tublay and US$14,600 to organic orange growers in the Bontoc mountain province to increase food security and improve employment opportunities in those areas.

Dr. Margit Mueller, Fahad Abdullah Jaber, Cameron Oliver
Honored with Abu Dhabi Awards: Dr. Margit Mueller, a German veterinarian and director of a hospital that cares for birds in the Emirate, Fahad Abdullah Jaber, a United Arab Emirates developer of mobile phones for the hearing impaired, and Cameron Oliver, a 12-year old South African youth who has organized a nationwide anti-littering campaign

Carla Bruni, France’s First Lady
France’s First Lady, Carla Bruni, celebrated her birthday in a less fortunate neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, lending her support to various charities.

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) raised awareness for the environment and appreciation of nature by launching the animal-friendly video “Do One Thing for Nature this Christmas, on Youtube, “Breathing Places” website.

Minnesota’s high school teens
High school teens in the state of Minnesota, USA walk almost two miles in the snow to school daily to raise awareness and funds for children in the Philippines who have to walk miles to fetch water.

Friends without Borders
Friends without Borders, a pen-pal initiative started by John Silliphant and Mark Peters, connect thousands of school children in India and Pakistan with the spirit of respect and understanding through letters of friendship.

Trung Lê
Canadian-Aulacese (Vietnamese) inventor Trung Lê created a robot that can read documents, repeat directions, and recognize faces to assist the elderly.

James Oliver and Sue Thornton
Deputy curator James Oliver of London Aquarium saves the life of Carla, an angelfish with a hernia, by asking veterinarian Sue Thornton of International Zoo Veterinary Group to help Carla with a medical procedure.

Anonymous dog
A dog was spotted on a camera monitor in Santiago, Chile as he moved through fast-approaching vehicles to pull the body of another motionless dog to a median strip, and prompted their rescue by highway workers.

Simba the dog
Simba, the Leonberger dog from North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, was honored with the Pets as Therapist dog of the year prize for his kind personality and work as a pet therapist.

30 dolphins and 2 whales
A pod of thirty dolphins came to the assistance of Ronnie Dabal, a volunteer dolphin warden struggling on his Styrofoam board after his boat overturned, by taking turns to nudge the board to shore while two ten-meter-long whales stayed on each side of Mr. Dabal.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ program, Operation Baghdad Pups, has been reuniting American servicemen and women with the once-stray canines that came under their care while in Iraq.

Germany
Germany developed a new architectural technology that uses only 5 percent of a conventional heater’s energy needs.

Mexico City
Mexico City, listed in 1990 as the most polluted city in the world, is now viewed as exemplary in improved air quality through the city's ongoing efforts to reduce emissions.

Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney, daughter of vegetarian activists Sir Paul McCartney and the late Linda McCartney, is honored with the Green Designer of the Year award for her vegan fashion designs.