Daily the Good Good Good group collects the perfect excellent news on the earth and shares it with our group. Listed below are the highlights for this week!
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The Finest Optimistic Information We’re Celebrating This Week —
Georgia simply made historical past with the state’s largest-ever launch of endangered sea turtles
Final week, conservationists and marine biologists marked their largest sea turtle launch in Georgia’s historical past, as 33 Kemp’s ridley turtles and one inexperienced sea turtle had been launched off of Jekyll Island.
However these turtles aren’t native Southerners; in a “exceptional cross-organization collaboration,” they had been introduced from aquariums up north, the place they had been present process rehabilitation for hypothermia-related situations.
This occurs each fall and winter, as a whole bunch of cold-stunned sea turtles — a lot of that are endangered Kemp’s ridley turtles — wash up on the seashores of Cape Cod.
Why is that this excellent news? Not solely is it thrilling to see a crew of turtles return to their rightful dwelling beneath the ocean (after being cared for by unimaginable helpers!), but it surely’s additionally thrilling as a result of the Kemp’s ridley turtle is essentially the most endangered turtle species on the earth — and these sorts of conservation efforts are vital to their survival.
Commencement charges for college kids with disabilities are bettering in a number of U.S. states
Information from the Nationwide Middle for Training Statistics reveals important enhancements in commencement charges for college kids with disabilities within the years main as much as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nationwide, the commencement price for college kids with disabilities was 71% for the 2019-2020 faculty yr, up from 65% 5 years prior, in the course of the 2014-2015 faculty yr.
Taking a more in-depth look, the commencement price hole is shrinking in most states, with Oklahoma, Nevada, Florida, and Louisiana have seen a few of the most dramatic enhancements between 2014 and 2019.
Nonetheless, extra progress is desperately wanted. In some states, the commencement hole between college students with disabilities and the statewide common is as excessive as 25%.
In Mississippi, the place the disparity is best, almost half of scholars receiving inclusive training do not graduate. Specialists and fogeys say systemic issues contribute, pointing to inadequately skilled academics, low expectations, and an absence of coaching in talent areas like communication.
Each federal and state insurance policies are at work to proceed bettering these commencement charges.
In a transportation revolution, bicyclists now outnumber motorists in Paris
Utilizing GPS trackers, Europe’s largest city planning and environmental company recorded the actions of three,337 Parisians between the ages of 16 and 80 years previous.
Whereas transportation within the suburbs occurs primarily by automotive, the variety of individuals touring by bike into town middle “far exceeds” the variety of motorists. That’s an enormous change from even simply 5 years in the past.
The shift is because of various anti-car measures like decreasing the variety of parking areas, limiting SUV entry, closing roads to automobiles, and extra. Paris can be implementing “15-minute metropolis” ideas, making certain key facilities are shut by, which reduces the necessity to drive.
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Extra excellent news about bicycling:
The EPA simply finalized limits to scale back poisonous air pollution and shield communities round U.S. chemical vegetation
Impacting greater than 200 chemical vegetation within the U.S. — and the communities round them — the EPA simply introduced a brand new rule to scale back poisonous emissions linked to cancer-causing pollution.
Beneath the brand new rule, poisonous pollution will likely be lowered by 6,200 tons per yr, and emissions from ethylene oxide (used to make antifreeze, pesticides, and extra) and chloroprene (artificial rubber for sneakers and wetsuits) will likely be decreased by 80%.
The rules round air air pollution at chemical vegetation haven’t been up to date since 2006, and also will require six poisonous air pollution to be tracked with way more detailed monitoring, in addition to stronger monitoring at vegetation round leaks.
Why is that this excellent news? Whereas air air pollution air isn’t good for anybody, this information is a win for environmental justice, too. Communities immediately round these chemical vegetation bear the brunt of the damaging well being impacts of polluted air. With fewer poisonous pollution within the air, most cancers diagnoses will drop, and “there will likely be lives saved.”
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International life expectancy elevated by 6.2 years since 1990 thanks largely to declining deaths from diarrhea and stroke
In accordance with a brand new examine, over the previous three a long time, world life expectancy elevated by 6.2 years. This unimaginable progress is because of a lower within the variety of individuals dying from a few of the main causes of loss of life like diarrhea and decrease respiratory infections.
The area with the biggest enhance in life expectancy, 10.7 years, was japanese sub-Saharan Africa, on account of management of diarrheal illnesses.
Whereas the examine had loads of hopeful progress to report, it additionally detailed the influence of COVID-19, which changed stroke because the second-leading reason for loss of life globally.
Whereas COVID-19 restricted progress — particularly in sure areas like Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa — progress in different causes of loss of life nonetheless resulted in the next life expectancy over the three-decade interval.
Sharp drops in loss of life from enteric illnesses like diarrhea and typhoid elevated life expectancy by 1.1 years, and from decrease respiratory infections like tuberculosis by 0.9 years. There was additionally quite a lot of world well being progress in stopping deaths from causes like stroke, neonatal problems, coronary heart illness, and most cancers.
An ‘overly playful’ canine who failed the police academy is now heroically rescuing individuals after the earthquake in Taiwan
After failing to turn out to be a drug-sniffing canine as a result of he was “overly pleasant and playful,” a labrador retriever named Roger discovered his new goal: rescuing individuals within the aftermath of earthquakes.
And after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan final week, the strongest in 25 years, Roger was despatched out on his seventh mission. The quake triggered lethal landslides and prompted buildings to partially collapse.
Rescue canines are vital in finding each stranded survivors in addition to our bodies. On this mission, Roger helped discover one of many 13 individuals tragically misplaced within the earthquake.
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Extra good canine information:
In a historic motion, the U.S. would require background checks for gun reveals and on-line firearm gross sales
Closing the damaging “gun present loophole” in U.S. gun regulation, the U.S. Justice Division simply introduced a historic new motion to assist stop gun violence within the U.S.
Beneath the brand new, firearms bought on the web and at gun reveals will likely be topic to the identical obligatory background checks as licensed gun sellers. Beforehand, anybody may buy a gun by way of these avenues with no background examine.
An estimated 22% of weapons owned by individuals within the U.S. had been bought with no background examine, and the brand new rule would require about 23,000 extra people to be licensed to promote weapons.
Why is that this excellent news? The gun present loophole in U.S. gun regulation places firearms into the fingers of people that wouldn’t in any other case be capable to buy a gun at a licensed supplier. Closing this loophole will stop gun violence and save lives by serving to preserve weapons out of the fingers of those that have completed or plan to do to hurt.
Storytellers are serving to handle childhood illiteracy in Pakistan with a “Tales on Wheels” program
In Pakistan, 77% of 10-year-old youngsters are illiterate, and whereas training is free and obligatory, the nation has the second-highest price of youngsters absent from faculty on account of components like prohibitively costly books and uniforms.
However Mohammad Noman, one in every of two storytellers for the Kahaani Sawaari (Tales on Wheels) program, helps change that.
Noman pedals an previous ice cream cart via metropolis streets, stops to learn tales to youngsters, and leaves behind books for them to borrow. This system is working to enhance literacy charges in underserved areas of Karachi, the biggest metropolis in Pakistan.
Over the course of 18 months, Noman has visited 30 areas of the densely populated Lyari neighborhood of Karachi, which has greater than 660,000 residents.
Whereas Noman says the kids have modified him, he has impressed them too: he is aware of of youngsters who had been impressed to enroll in colleges after attending his studying classes, and fogeys have reported a brand new love for studying amongst their youngsters.
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Extra excellent news of the week —
A planetary scientist and astronomer created a for visually impaired people to expertise the photo voltaic eclipse, too. Within the U.S., over 7 million persons are blind or visually impaired and should not be capable to expertise an eclipse the standard approach.
St. Paul, Minnesota’s public colleges are tapping geothermal vitality to chop emissions and constructing prices. New know-how and federal incentives have helped persuade the district that geothermal is amongst its greatest choices for attaining its local weather targets.
Oregon handed a first-of-its-kind “proper to restore” regulation that bans elements pairing. Going additional than different comparable legal guidelines, Oregon’s prevents corporations from implementing schemes that require elements to be verified via encrypted software program checks earlier than they are going to operate.
Participating followers for a very good trigger, Chappell Roan is utilizing friendship bracelets to boost cash for Gaza reduction. Recent off touring with Olivia Rodrigo, Roan inspired followers to donate friendship bracelets at her tour merch desk, reselling them to profit Mercy-USA for Gaza reduction.
Researchers discovered that utilizing proteins in milk and blood may quickly let docs detect breast most cancers earlier — and save lives. Breast most cancers is the mostly recognized most cancers amongst girls within the U.S. and is at present one of many main causes of most cancers deaths.
Canada’s First Nations are breaking floor on historic housing and group growth tasks. The Indigenous communities are reclaiming their land and defying NIMBYs to construct the densest neighborhood within the nation.
In a historic ruling, the European Courtroom of Human Rights simply dominated that human rights had been violated by local weather inaction. Taking “local weather grannies” to a different degree, a gaggle of older girls in Switzerland gained the court docket’s first-ever local weather case victory.
Thanks to 2 beneficiant donations, an Australian nature basis simply bought a property to guard endangered native species. Two donations of $100,000 from professors helped Nature Basis buy a 200-hectare property dwelling to malleefowl and different uncommon species in southeast South Australia.
A serious insurance coverage supplier simply introduced it will now not supply protection for brand new oil and gasoline tasks. It’s a major coverage shift since Zurich Insurance coverage at present insures fossil gasoline infrastructure spanning North Sea drilling to US pure gasoline terminals.
Dolly Parton’s free youngsters’s e book program is now increasing statewide in Virginia. Due to Dolly’s Creativeness Library program, all youngsters within the state as much as the age of 5 will obtain one free e book a month via the mail.
A brand new style of “protopian” reveals is portraying a extra hopeful future than the dystopias of the previous. “A Temporary Historical past of the Future” is now airing on PBS, and its creator was impressed by her daughter who mentioned she didn’t have quite a lot of hope for the longer term.
Three critically endangered lion cubs had been simply born on the London Zoo. Asiatic lions can now solely be present in Gujarat, India’s Gir Forest, and are particularly prone to a illness epidemic or pure calamity as a result of they solely have one habitat.
In a milestone for the critically endangered species, a child California condor has simply hatched in San Diego. There at the moment are roughly 275 free-flying condors in California, Utah, Arizona, and Baja California — thanks largely to the conservation work of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
The EPA simply introduced new limits on ‘ceaselessly chemical compounds’ in ingesting water. PFAS chemical compounds have been used for many years to waterproof and stain-proof client merchandise and are linked to a myriad of well being issues, together with most cancers.
Due to hovering renewables, carbon market emissions within the European Union fell by a document 15.5% in 2023. The most important fall was within the energy sector, which noticed a 24% drop in emissions in contrast with 2022 ranges because of an exponential surge in renewable vitality growth.
