Day-after-day the Good Good Good staff collects the most effective excellent news on the planet and shares it with our group. Listed below are the highlights for this week!
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The Finest Constructive Information We’re Celebrating This Week —
A cell residence park in Vermont was remodeled right into a net-zero power inexpensive housing neighborhood
Proving you may obtain net-zero power on a price range, a group in Vermont remodeled a uncared for trailer park into an inexpensive housing group.
McKnight Lane in Waltham, Virginia options 14 modular houses outfitted with photo voltaic panel techniques and a battery — alongside additional insulation, environment friendly home equipment, warmth pumps, and triple-pane home windows to decrease electrical energy consumption general.
Not solely do residents not have to fret about excessive electrical payments, particularly within the winter, however they had been additionally constructed as inexpensive housing models — made obtainable to “households incomes at or under 50% and 60% of the realm median revenue.”
Why is that this excellent news? This venture, a mannequin for others prefer it, addressed a number of issues within the space suddenly: it elevated the quantity of inexpensive housing obtainable, restored a uncared for neighborhood, and achieved net-zero emissions.
A TikToker is utilizing the web fame of Moo Deng the hippo and Pesto the penguin to lift cash for wildlife charities
For those who’ve been on the web in any respect in the previous couple of weeks, you’ve probably met Moo Deng — a feisty pygmy hippopotamus at a Thai zoo — and Pesto — a large King penguin chick at an Australia zoo.
One TikTok consumer noticed a chance to make use of their in a single day web fame to make a distinction.
Becoming a member of a 3rd viral child animal, the large panda Hua Hua born at a analysis base in China, the trio are the primary members of what TikTok creator @indipine has dubbed the “Knights of the Rotund Desk.” Others have since joined, nominated, and voted on by Indy’s followers.
Thus far, the entire child animals which have joined the “Rotund Desk” are endangered, threatened, or weak species on the decline. That’s why Indy began that includes wildlife sanctuaries, rescues, and nonprofits in her day by day ballot.
With votes topping 250,000 every day, Indy is utilizing the chance to fundraise for wildlife sanctuaries just like the KSTR Wildlife Rescue, and Alaska Sealife Heart.
→ Meet the remainder of the knights
Forward of Hurricane Milton, animal shelters are rescuing cats and canine within the storm’s path throughout Florida
With evacuation orders in place for counties throughout Southwest Florida forward of Milton, employees from the Humane Society of Broward County jumped in to assist their sister department in Manatee County, which is getting ready for a “direct hit.”
And that is all simply days after Hurricane Helene introduced devastation throughout northern Florida, and particularly in east Tennessee and Western North Carolina.
The collaboration to assist animals impacted by Helene and Milton has introduced collectively rescues, shelters, and boarding kennels throughout the nation — one nonprofit and a kennel in D.C. and Northern Virginia teamed up to absorb 100 animals alone.
→ Learn extra
Extra excellent news for catastrophe reduction:
The Arctic ozone reached a report excessive in March 2024
New analysis reveals that, because the Nineteen Seventies, March 2024 was a record-high month for Arctic ozone ranges — and there was an general improve from winter 2023 to 2024.
Following this record-high month, ozone ranges endured at an above-average stage via September 2024.
These findings are significantly vital since springtime has been traditionally related to ozone depletion resulting from increased CFC ranges coinciding with low-pressure polar vortices.
The researchers mentioned it’s early proof that CFC ranges are certainly declining within the environment, serving to the “Earth’s sunscreen” start to get better over the long run.
MIT researchers developed a “revolutionary” solar-powered desalination system to assist carry clear water to hundreds of thousands
With out using any exterior energy or batteries, MIT researchers say they’ve created a desalination system that’s powered instantly from daylight.
The “revolutionary” know-how adjusts with the quantity of daylight obtainable — producing extra desalinated water as daylight will increase, and fewer because it decreases. This helps maximize output and waste much less obtainable power.
This technique is anticipated to considerably scale back the price of desalination in comparison with different applied sciences, primarily as a result of standard strategies depend on grid energy — MIT’s new invention is totally solar-powered.
Why is that this excellent news? Components of the world like India, North Africa, and the Center East expertise excessive ranges of water shortage, and applied sciences like this might assist present low-cost environment friendly methods to carry clear water to these communities.
New knowledge reveals air pollution on the Port of Los Angeles is at its lowest ranges since 2005
Air pollution ranges on the two largest ports within the U.S. — the Ports of Los Angeles and Lengthy Seashore — are at their lowest ranges since information started in 2005.
Newly launched knowledge discovered that in 2023, cancer-causing diesel particulate matter was down 91%, carbon emissions had been down 24%, and smog-forming pollution had been down 74% from 2005 ranges.
Remarkably, regardless of a return to regular working ranges, general emissions are actually decrease than in 2020 on the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quite a lot of elements helped contribute to the decrease air pollution ranges, but it surely’s primarily resulting from extra environment friendly diesel vehicles, extra electrical vehicles, and extra electrical cargo-handling tools.
The 2 ports are among the many largest sources of carbon air pollution and smog in Southern California — so this progress is nice information each for human well being and the well being of the surroundings.
Australia simply introduced it’s going to defend 52% of its ocean territory — greater than some other nation on the planet
Australia’s authorities is finalizing protections for a 300,000-square-kilometer growth of a sub-Antarctic marine park, and as soon as it does, it’s going to formally have protected extra ocean territory than some other nation on the planet.
Quadrupling the dimensions of an current marine reserve, it’s going to add habitat safety zones and nationwide park areas, and produce the nation’s whole protected ocean territory to 52% — far exceeding the agreed-upon world goal of defending 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.
Consultants are calling this a “enormous environmental win,” because the protected areas are “wildlife havens” and the sanctuary-level standing affords them the best stage of conservation.
What’s the nuance? A significant authorities report discovered that Australia was not doing sufficient to adequately defend its surroundings, which was in “poor and deteriorating well being.” Whereas that is an unbelievable step in the best route, scientists are nonetheless involved about crucial marine ecosystems not having the beneficial sanctuary-level safety.
Interrupting their reside report, a Florida information crew rescued a household from Hurricane Milton waters
When Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, Amber Henry had already evacuated additional inland along with her 4 youngsters, however nonetheless didn’t escape rising waters from the storm — she referred to as emergency companies, however with the more and more hazardous circumstances, first responders couldn’t attain them.
Nonetheless, the WFLA Information crew had been driving to an deal with with reported flooding and obtained to a highway they might not cross. Stopping to do a reside report, they heard Henry calling for assist.
The information staff shortly jumped into motion to assist, alongside an area samaritan and their automotive’s headlights, and the household discovered a path out, wading via the water to security.
Why is that this excellent news? Tales like this are an necessary reminder that alternatives to assist are throughout us — they could not are available probably the most dire, treacherous circumstances, however typically we’ve got all we have to assist make a distinction, and even save a life.
After seeing the results of quick vogue firsthand, an Irish girl began a marketing campaign to forestall waste
When Mary Fleming went on a visit to Kenya, she noticed a mound of secondhand clothes subsequent to and spilling right into a river — and it opened her eyes to the results of quick vogue and overconsumption.
As soon as a fervent shopper, Fleming was impressed to steer a marketing campaign all about stopping waste by swapping, reusing, repairing, and repurposing garments.
She based Change Garments, a non-profit that helps individuals hire, change, and purchase used garments in addition to offers tutorials in mending and upcycling clothes.
Along with educating individuals about the best way to mend their garments to increase their lifespan, Change Garments can also be out to succeed in communities the place secondhand garments are stigmatized, “We’re attempting to alter perceptions.”
The swap store generally is a “nice gateway drug” in introducing individuals to the probabilities of secondhand clothes. And her efforts are working: Change Garments’ swap store, pop-ups, and courses have been so well-liked, they outgrew their authentic house and moved into a bigger house within the metropolis middle.
Extra excellent news of the week —
Greece has seen a report variety of sea turtle nests and surviving hatchlings because the species makes a unprecedented resurgence. Conservationists have been working for greater than twenty years to save lots of the Caretta caretta sea turtle, which has existed for 100 million years.
For the primary time in a long time, the FDA is contemplating approval for a brand new, secure sunscreen ingredient. Different nations have been utilizing bemotrizinol for many years, and specialists hope its approval will carry new, well-liked sunscreens in the marketplace and assist scale back pores and skin most cancers.
After a profitable trial, extra ladies in Australia will now be capable of entry oral contraceptive tablets over-the-counter. Individuals can get a resupply of their capsule from an authorized pharmacist while not having to return to the physician for a brand new prescription – so long as they’ve been taking the medicine for 2 years.
Scientists mapped 50 million neural connections in a fly mind, a “enormous leap” in understanding human brains, too. Probably the most detailed evaluation of the mind of an grownup animal ever produced, the brand new analysis sheds new mild into “the mechanism of thought.”
Cheaper variations of a “game-changing” HIV prevention drug will now be made obtainable to over 120 nations. The twice-yearly injection confirmed sturdy outcomes for full HIV prevention in ladies, and comparable ends in males.
A “landmark victory” for trans rights, a high EU court docket simply dominated that gender identification modifications should be acknowledged in all member states. The choice impacts hundreds of thousands of transgender individuals, guaranteeing their identities are revered and acknowledged, no matter the place they reside or journey inside the EU.
A gaggle of evangelical environmentalists are ramping up their faith-based local weather activism within the weeks earlier than Election Day. Leaders at Evangelical Environmental Community have seen an uptick in curiosity from their evangelical friends, particularly those that have skilled excessive climate occasions themselves.
A part of a sequence of vacation dolls, Mattel’s first-ever Diwali Barbie doll bought out on-line in someday. The corporate collaborated with Indian dressmaker Anita Dongre to launch the doll earlier than the Hindu vacation, celebrated between October 31 and November 1.
Making rail journey extra accessible and inexpensive, Portugal launched a €20 month-to-month cross for all prepare companies. The initiative is meant to assist the nation attain its environmental objectives and provide residents an inexpensive solution to commute and discover.
Vertical photo voltaic panels are a brand new resolution for colder, much less sunny areas, yielding 20% extra power than conventional panels. Earlier this 12 months, Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo turned residence to the world’s largest vertical photo voltaic panel set up on a roof, inserting the stadium on the forefront of renewable power innovation.
Adobe is working to make it simpler for artists to guard their work from AI scraping. The software program firm’s new instrument helps creators watermark their art work and decide out of getting it used to coach generative AI fashions.
Scientists within the UK are creating the world’s first vaccine to forestall ovarian most cancers. One of the frequent types of most cancers in ladies, the illness kills practically 26,000 ladies within the European Union yearly.
A brand new drug mixture stopped lung most cancers from advancing for greater than 40% longer than normal remedy. Medical doctors are celebrating the “wonderful” trial ends in treating the world’s main explanation for most cancers demise, which accounts for about 1.8 million deaths yearly.
Atlantic sturgeon fish had been simply reintroduced in a Swedish river for the primary time ever. The keystone species was pushed to useful extinction in Europe within the mid-twentieth century and a 42,000-euro grant is supporting their historic reintroduction in Sweden’s largest river.
Drones are serving to carry HIV prevention drugs and check kits to younger individuals in Kenya. Drones are dropping the provides at concert events and soccer matches within the nation, the place younger individuals are much less uncovered to messaging about HIV.
