Every single day the Good Good Good crew collects the very best 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 —
In a unanimous vote, Sacramento simply declared itself a ‘sanctuary metropolis’ for transgender individuals
Forward of yesterday’s Transgender Day of Visibility, the Sacramento Metropolis Council voted unanimously on a decision to declare the town a “sanctuary metropolis for transgender individuals.”
Efficient instantly, no metropolis sources might be used to criminalize trans of us who’re on the lookout for transition-related care or to cooperate with different jurisdictions implementing legal guidelines in locations the place the care is criminalized.
The decision goes a step past state legislation, sending “a robust sign to everybody in our group that we’re a protected place for everybody.” Main medical associations within the U.S. help this sort of transition-related care, deeming it medically crucial.
Why is that this excellent news? As lawmakers throughout the nation are more and more working to restrict gender-affirming care, successfully denying trans of us the correct to exist, Sacramento paving the way in which for individuals to get the life-changing (and even life-saving) well being care they want with out concern is essential progress.
LEGO simply introduced new accessibility requirements at its shops to make them extra inclusive for all
April is Autism Acceptance Month, and LEGO simply introduced it’s celebrating by partnering with KultureCity, a nonprofit centered on sensory inclusion and accessibility, to make its shops extra accessible for all LEGO lovers.
Along with all-new complete employees coaching, each LEGO retailer will supply “sensory baggage” created by a crew of analysis professionals and neurodivergent builders. They embody noise-reducing headphones, a visible cue card, and extra.
A retailer supervisor stated they’ve already seen how the coaching and inclusion initiative has reshaped buying experiences for purchasers — and their neurodivergent prospects echo these sentiments.
What’s even higher: Already this 12 months, the LEGO Basis’s Play For All Accelerator program has disbursed over $11 million in grants to 5 organizations that middle on the event of modern toys, merchandise, and companies for neurodivergent youngsters all over the world. LEGO additionally not too long ago began mass-producing Braille bricks.
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Extra individuals care about local weather change all over the world than you would possibly assume
Information reveals that globally, a major majority of individuals in nations all over the world each fear about local weather change and help insurance policies to deal with it. On the identical time, this degree of concern can also be persistently underestimated by most individuals.
In not too long ago revealed analysis, 59,000 individuals throughout 63 nations have been surveyed and 86% stated they believed in local weather change — that motion was wanted, people induced it, it was a critical risk to humanity, and/or a world emergency.
Even within the nation with the bottom settlement, 73% nonetheless agreed it was a critical risk.
Extra analysis surveyed almost 130,000 individuals throughout 125 nations, and 89% needed to see extra political motion for local weather change, and 69% stated they’d contribute a minimum of 1% of their earnings to help efforts to deal with local weather change.
Not solely is it encouraging to know that almost all of your mates, household, and neighbors (everywhere in the world!) agree that local weather change is a serious subject — however this data can even assist governments, corporations, and even people take significant local weather motion.
Phoenix simply handed a historic ordinance to guard out of doors employees from excessive warmth
The Phoenix Metropolis Council simply unanimously handed an ordinance that requires employers to offer out of doors employees easy accessibility to relaxation, water, and shade, to obtain coaching to acknowledge indicators of warmth stress, and extra to guard them from excessive warmth.
The ordinance will impression 1000’s of employees within the nation’s hottest metropolis, which noticed a document 31 consecutive days of over-110-degree warmth final 12 months. With local weather change intensifying these excessive temperatures, these necessities are extra essential than ever.
The brand new excessive warmth protections are because of the advocacy work of unions and native employees and can impression employees in engineering, building and airport initiatives, and different metropolis companies.
Why is that this excellent news? Intersecting with racial justice, information reveals the chance of demise from warmth stress for Latine employees is over thrice greater than their friends. And whereas representing about 32% of the inhabitants, 40% of out of doors employees are Hispanic or Black.
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By making a small change to its guide design, a serious writer has saved 1000’s of timber
HarperCollins is among the 4 main guide publishers on the earth, and its designers not too long ago set out on a mission to cut back the carbon footprint of every guide they publish by lowering paper.
The writer’s designers got down to maximize each web page area and readability, and to date their tweaks have made an enormous distinction: the corporate has saved 245.6 million pages — equal to five,618 timber.
The brand new, extra intentional, planet-friendlier design was an intensive technique of testing fonts, spacing, and extra to develop the brand new design normal. In the end, they landed on fonts that additionally use much less ink, which is best for the planet, too.
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Extra excellent news about timber:
After a decade of explosive progress, almost one-quarter of U.S. electrical energy now comes from renewables
Whereas it may be exhausting to see once you don’t reside proper subsequent to a photo voltaic or wind farm, renewables have really grown at a staggering charge since 2014 — and now account for 22 p.c of electrical energy within the U.S.
Prior to now decade, photo voltaic went from producing lower than half a p.c of the nation’s electrical energy to producing almost 4 p.c. In that very same interval, wind grew from 4 p.c to roughly 10.
As soon as hydropower, geothermal, and biomass are accounted for, almost 1 / 4 of the nation’s grid was powered by renewable electrical energy in 2023, with the share solely anticipated to rise because of the continued surge in photo voltaic.
What’s even higher: The Inflation Discount Act is poised to kick the expansion curve even greater with expanded tax credit for manufacturing and putting in photovoltaic panels and wind generators, so essentially the most optimistic projections recommend that the nation is getting ever nearer to reaching its 2030 and 2035 clear vitality targets.
Regardless of transphobic trolls, a TikTok creator raised hundreds of thousands for gender-affirming care in honor of Trans Day of Visibility
Now in its third 12 months, TikTok creator Mercury Stardust’s annual livestream — co-hosted by Jory — raises cash for Level of Delight, which offers monetary support and direct help to trans of us in want of well being and wellness care.
After elevating $2 million final 12 months, this 12 months they got down to attain $4 million over the course of a 3-day livestream in honor of Transgender Day of Visibility. However trolls had different plans.
Though Jory and Stardust took to TikTok with nice enthusiasm — and with the help of associates — like Dylan Mulvaney and Underneath the Desk Information — they have been repeatedly banned from TikTok Reside, following organized reporting and hate campaigns from “trolls.”
Regardless of the transphobic assaults, they have been versatile and continued streaming on numerous platforms. And whereas they have been banned over a dozen instances from a myriad of accounts — they nonetheless raised $1.6 million to assist trans of us in want.
And so they’re not stopping: Stardust promised to maintain the fundraiser going till they attain their new aim.
Extra excellent news of the week —
India’s authorities is changing “minimal wage” with “dwelling wage” by 2025. Typically greater than minimal wages, dwelling wages are outlined because the earnings wanted to satisfy fundamental wants like housing, meals, healthcare, training, and clothes.
A Los Angeles-based artist helps of us stand up shut and private with the immigrant expertise. Uncomfortable and infuriating, hopeful and liberating, noé olivias’ new “Gilded Desires” exhibition goes past the surface-level info about immigration in the US.
Researchers within the UK found out tips on how to diagnose bowel most cancers with out biopsies. The medical breakthrough would eradicate the necessity for a dangerous, invasive process that may end up in an infection and limits to what it might probably seize.
A constructing in Detroit was remodeled into everlasting housing for veterans experiencing homelessness. 4 organizations within the metropolis and a nationwide companion are utilizing information to cut back homelessness towards “purposeful zero.”
1000’s of farmers in Africa have reforested a mixed space about seven instances the scale of Manhattan in lower than 10 years. The TREES program helps farmers swap monoculture crops for biodiverse forest gardens, which present meals, defend the soil, and enhance tree cowl.
Each new mother in Flint, Michigan is getting money support for a complete 12 months. The town has one of many nation’s highest charges of kid poverty, and is rolling out the brand new advantages to wipe out deep poverty throughout an important time for little one growth.
volunteering with hard-to-adopt shelter canine. Lots of the canine he cares for have been returned to the shelter for having an excessive amount of vitality, poor conduct, and even operating away.
To battle a extreme outbreak of the fever, Brazil is releasing hundreds of thousands of anti-dengue mosquitos. The nation has recorded 1.6 million possible circumstances since January – the identical quantity reported for all of final 12 months – and 491 confirmed deaths.
5 years after a whole bunch washed up useless onshore, the West Coast’s gray whale inhabitants has recovered. The entire quantity is now between 17,400 and 21,300, a rise from an estimated 13,200 to fifteen,960 whales final 12 months.
An Oregon-based startup is making it simpler for individuals to be told residents and thoughtfully interact with politics. The Citizenly platform offers a “full, correct, and repeatedly up to date database of each politician within the nation.”
When funds cuts threatened their native library, the Salem group got here collectively to offer it overwhelming help. The hassle introduced teenagers, librarians, and different group members out to help continued funding for the Salem Public Library.
The Inside Division is investing $25 million to guard and keep two wetland areas within the Southwestern U.S. The Yuma East Wetlands and Topock Marsh in Arizona are each essential for resilience and drought mitigation.
As a part of the nation’s main well being care reform, ladies in Canada will get free contraception. The Canadian authorities will cowl the price of essentially the most extensively used contraceptive strategies for 9 million Canadian ladies of reproductive age.
A community of newsrooms and group organizations will get individuals to attend under-reported public conferences and publish the outcomes. Their efforts assist be sure on a regular basis residents aren’t left at midnight when native elected officers are making large choices.
Scientists found solar-powered know-how that converts salt water into consuming water with zero emissions. By maximizing out there solar energy for water manufacturing, scientists produced consuming water cheaper than ever earlier than in lower-income nations.
