Solar now cheapest new form of energy in nearly 60 countries In nearly 60 lower-income countries, the average price of solar energy has dropped to $1.65 million per megawatt in 2016, just below wind at $1.66 million per megawatt. That means new energy development projects will focus on solar energy rather than wind power. �Unsubsidized solar is beginning to outcompete coal and natural gas on a larger scale, and notably, new solar projects in emerging markets are costing less to build than wind projects,� says a report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a research and analysis organization for those investing in the energy industry. (Sunday January 1st, 2017 — Daily Kos - USA)

Obama and Trudeau Protect Millions of Acres From Drilling in the Arctic and the Atlantic President Obama invoked the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to withdraw 98 percent or 115 million acres of federally-owned Arctic waters, including all possessions in the Chukchi Sea and most of the Beaufort Sea from potential oil and gas drilling. He also protected 3.8 million acres of ocean on the Atlantic Coast from drilling in order to safeguard a series deep coral canyons that stretch from Norfolk, Virginia, to the Canadian border, reports Coral Davenport at The New York Times. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, simultaneously announced that his nation was enacting a ban on oil and gas drilling in Arctic waters, to be revisited every five years. (Wednesday December 21st, 2016 — Smithsonian online -USA)

Burgundy�s latest biodynamic convert: Ch�teau de Pommard Read more at http://www.decanter.com/wine-news/chateau-de-pommard-biody Burgundy's Ch�teau de Pommard is aiming for full biodynamic status within the next three years, its technical director says. (Tuesday December 20th, 2016 — decanter.com)

Over $10,000 worth of instruments donated to Metcalf Middle School Through Instruments in the Cloud (InstrumentsintheCloud.org), a website Vega created that connects musical instrument donors directly with schools in need, musical instrument donors in the Burnsville area donated three violins. As if on cue, Belanger Braid received a call from The City of Lakes Waldorf School in Minneapolis with a donation of violins, violas, and cellos. "[Our] school has a few stringed instruments of varying sizes� that need more fixing than our budget allows, [and it] looks like you do great work," wrote Stasia Verdoljak, the school�s String Ensemble teacher for grades 3-8. (Monday December 19th, 2016 — SW News Media )

Why Biodynamic Beauty Is the "Upgraded" Version Of Organic Beauty Products Biodynamic beauty products are certified by Demeter, the official certifying body for biodynamic products. It holds the strictest standards in the world. Demeter standards even exceed government-mandated organic regulations. From the way ingredients are grown to over 200 processing and production standards, biodynamic beauty products undergo strict regulation and review before certification is granted. (Sunday December 18th, 2016 — POPSUGAR - San Francisco, California USA)

Solar capacity has increased 99% since last quarter The U.S. solar industry just experienced a quarter of record-breaking growth, with 4,143 megawatts (or million watts) of solar capacity added between July and September. That�s a 99 percent increase over the previous quarter, and a 191 percent increase over the same time period last year. (Thursday December 15th, 2016 — Think Progress - USA)

The first major offshore wind project in the U.S. is now powering an island The Block Island Wind Farm is officially up, running, and connected to the grid, operators announced Monday. The country�s first offshore wind project will produce enough electricity to power 17,000 average homes. It will provide all the island�s electricity needs, supplanting its old diesel generators and will also send electricity onto the mainland grid. (Monday December 12th, 2016 — Think Progress - USA)

First Dinosaur Tail Found Preserved in Amber The tail of a 99-million-year-old dinosaur, including bones, soft tissue, and even feathers, has been found preserved in amber, according to a report published today in the journal Current Biology. (Thursday December 8th, 2016 — National Geographic - Washington DC USA)

Non-linear politics and learning Also, the German thinker Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) belongs to that tradition, not only in education and learning for children and youth, but in overall human development and thinking throughout our lives. To him, art and the humanities are particularly important fields, perhaps more than natural sciences, yet, he attempted to find a synthesis between the two. In his life-philosophy of freedom, it seems more important that we ask existential, spiritual, religious and other deep questions, and that we never stop wondering about the world around us, without necessarily finding exact answers. (Thursday December 8th, 2016 — The Nation - Lahore, Pakistan)

Sweden’s recycling is so revolutionary, the country has run out of rubbish Sweden is so good at recycling that, for several years, it has imported rubbish from other countries to keep its recycling plants going. Less than 1 per cent of Swedish household waste was sent to landfill last year or any year since 2011. (Thursday December 8th, 2016 — Independent - UK)

We are aMOOsed! Prince Charles triggers surge in 'cosmic farming' where cattle are allowed to develop their personalities (and c When the Prince of Wales embraced ‘biodynamic’ farming and admitted planting seeds according to phases of the moon, many thought he was probably showing lunar tendencies himself. But rather than ploughing a lonely furrow, it seems the Prince has inspired a new generation of ‘cosmic’ farmers, who grow fruit and vegetables according to signs of the zodiac and encourage their cows and sheep to develop a personality. (Thursday December 8th, 2016 — Daily Mail - UK)

A Unique Form of Learning Gaining Momentum in Duluth Spirit of the Lake Community School began in 2010 and became a ... It's all part of the Waldorf Educational approach ... (Wednesday December 7th, 2016 — WDIO-TV - Duluth, Minnesota USA)

Organic, Biodynamic, Sustainable: Lady-Like Words Like the Australian women in wine I wrote about a few weeks ago, Saverys wants to produce good wine without depleting the earth, and she wants to bring her personal revolution to the export market. But she is neither Australian nor in the Australian wine business. Saverys, a Belgian, is in the Italian wine business. (Wednesday December 7th, 2016 — Forbes - USA)

Waldorf to build campus A “patch of farmland” is set to become the new home of the Imhoff Waldorf School, as the school sets out to develop a R100m campus early next year, which will house a pre-primary, primary and high school. (Tuesday December 6th, 2016 — News24 - South Africa)

Success is when you choose to choose yourself We found a new school called Ukti—The Delhi Waldorf School, where Saloni Zutshi, the co-founder, spoke to us in a language that made us feel heard as parents. Zutshi spoke about developmental stages in children and their emphasis on teaching the whole child—head, hands and heart. She spoke about enabling children to identify with nature and awakening their reverence for knowledge and skill. We recognized our own child as we heard her. (Friday December 2nd, 2016 — Livemint - New Delhi, India)

Consumers Score Two Wins�Right in Monsanto�s Backyard New GMO technologies such as cloning, nanotechnology, synthetic biology�technologies sometimes referred to as GMO 2.0�won�t be allowed in organics, thanks to a recent decision by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). (Tuesday November 29th, 2016 — Organic Consumers Association - Finland, Minnesota USA)

Organto Reaches Agreement with Demeter Certified Farm in Uganda Organto Foods Inc. (TSX-V: OGO, OTC: OGOFF) ('Organto) is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with Amfri Farms Limited ('Amfri) a 600 hectare (1500 acre) Demeter Biodynamic® farm based in Uganda. As per the terms of the agreement, Amfri will grow Organic and Demeter certified organic products under the Organto brand to be distributed to Organto growing customer base throughout Europe. (Tuesday November 29th, 2016 — MENAFN.COM )

Waldorf students set sights on Haiti Students at the Monadnock Waldorf High School in Keene are undertaking an ambitious project to help children in Haiti, devastated last month by Hurricane Matthew. They’re selling Christmas trees, wreaths and gifts at the School Street campus today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as well as the next two weekends. They also planned to sell the items Saturday. The funds raised will help fly the high school’s senior class to Haiti in May for their annual service trip. (Sunday November 27th, 2016 — The Keene Sentinel - Keene, New Hampshire USA)

Why you can�t afford to ignore nature in the workplace Time to put a plant on your desk? Science shows incorporating nature in the workplace improves everything from worker happiness and creativity to the bottom line. (Sunday November 27th, 2016 — BBC online)

Spring Garden partners with Hattie’s Food Hub Spring Garden Waldorf School (SGWS) and Hattie’s Food Hub are collaborating to grow food in the school garden for Hattie’s Food Hub. The Hub is an innovative Hattie Larlham farm-to-table work-training program for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that also offers the Akron community access to fresh, local food through its fresh market. (Thursday November 24th, 2016 — Akron Leader Publications - Akron, Ohio USA)