Day by day the Good Good Good workforce collects the very best excellent news on the earth and shares it with our neighborhood. Listed here are the highlights for this week!
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The Greatest Constructive Information We’re Celebrating This Week —
For the primary time ever, zero-carbon sources made up over 40% of the worldwide electrical energy generated in 2023
The world clear power transition is making record-breaking progress — and is projected to contindue doing so. New studies confirmed that zero-carbon sources made up over 40% of electrical energy generated globally final yr.
In 2023, hydroelectric energy made up 14.7%, wind and photo voltaic made up a brand new report excessive of 13.9%, and nuclear made up 9.4%. The studies additionally discovered that wind and photo voltaic made up 91% of web new energy capability additions in 2023 — a major improve over 83% in 2022.
Importantly, new fossil gas tasks made up simply 6% of latest capability — the bottom quantity ever.
Extra good local weather information:
Serving to restore the encompassing ecosystem, the biggest dam removing challenge in U.S. historical past is now full
Finishing the biggest dam removing challenge in U.S. historical past, crews simply completed demolishing the final of 4 dams on the Klamath River on the Oregon-California border.
It was an particularly “celebratory second” for tribal nations within the area who’ve been combating for many years to revive the river and its surrounding ecosystem — particularly to permit its iconic salmon inhabitants to swim freely for the primary time in over a century.
Whereas a long time of buildup might briefly affect water high quality, consultants say the long-term advantages of eradicating the dams far outweigh these short-term impacts.
Why is that this excellent news? Dam removing is an efficient local weather resolution, providing each local weather mitigation and adaption advantages far past habitat and ecosystem restoration — it reduces greenhouse gasoline emissions, restores biodiversity, transports sediment for coastal restoration, and extra.
Serving to cut back delays for survivors, new tech helps pace up DNA assortment in sexual assault instances
Whereas almost half one million sexual assault instances are reported yearly in each the U.S. and Canada, numerous extra go unreported. The commonest purpose is an absence of belief within the justice system, partly due to how lengthy the method takes.
And that mistrust isn’t misplaced: the “rape package backlog” has lengthy been a difficulty for survivors and anti-violence advocates. Whereas legislation enforcement methods should change to deal with the issue — DNA assortment can also be important.
Newly printed analysis outlines a method for analyzing DNA proof that would radically streamline the forensics pipeline — serving to cut back delays and produce justice to survivors sooner.
Why is that this excellent news? Because it stands now, processing proof in sexual assault instances is extremely technical and there are many hurdles — which may take days or even weeks. A lot of this time is spent transporting proof to the lab, however delays are additionally attributable to a big queue of instances requiring evaluation. This new forensic tech helps pace issues alongside.
The world’s greatest battery is coming to Maine, and it makes use of a novel lithium-alternative system
An power firm simply launched plans to open the biggest battery on the earth in Maine, with capability to retailer 8,500 megawatt-hours of power as soon as it’s accomplished. That’s about 130 million instances as a lot power as a laptop computer laptop can retailer.
The corporate estimates {that a} single megawatt-hour might present sufficient energy for an electrical automobile to journey 3,600 miles. Meaning, in the event you might theoretically hook this battery as much as an electrical automobile, it might journey round 31 million miles on a single cost — or circle the Earth 1,228 instances.
Will probably be constructed on the positioning of a former paper and pulp mill and notably makes use of novel iron-air batteries, that are cheaper to function and have a decrease environmental affect as a result of they use no heavy metals like lithium.
Why is that this excellent news? Along with offering a lithium-alternative battery resolution, as soon as accomplished, this battery will deliver some much-needed aid to part of the nation with an more and more strained power grid.
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Paralympics Good Information
The Paralympics are within the last days of competitors, and there have been so many unbelievable inspiring moments from this yr’s Video games. Listed here are a couple of extra highlights to have a good time:
The Paralympics wrap up on Sunday, September 8 with the Closing Ceremony beginning at 2:30 ET — however there’s nonetheless a lot of motion left! Catch the ultimate gold medal moments in wheelchair basketball, para desk tennis, blind soccer, and extra.
A gaggle of firefighters have raised almost $1 million for shelter canines by modeling in charity calendars
The revered first responders of Colorado’s hearth departments are expert at saving lives and combating wildfires, however every year, they flip up the warmth to make a distinction for shelter animals.
The annual Hearth Rescue Canine Calendar options 18 male firefighters who’ve stepped out of their protecting gear to mannequin alongside adoptable puppies.
Previously 10 years of creating the calendar, it’s raised over $950,000 — they usually’re aiming to prime $1 million this yr.
All cash raised advantages Lifeline Pet Rescue, a no-kill shelter based mostly within the Rocky Mountain area, to assist pay for important procedures like spaying and neutering, microchipping, and extra.
Doing good even past the calendar, the firefighters additionally use the pictures to share social media reminders for pet security ideas, particularly in the course of the hottest months of the summer time.
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Extra excellent news of the week —
A coalition of publishers, writers, and advocates joined a lawsuit to combat the state of Florida’s guide bans. Authors like John Inexperienced, Jodi Picoult, and Angie Thomas — whose books have all been banned in states throughout the U.S. — joined the combat to guard free speech.
The U.S. is sending $138.8 million to 18 states to supply higher housing choices for disabled folks. The funding will assist folks entry reasonably priced properties, and assist states develop methods to determine and refer folks to housing choices, in addition to present rental help.
The primary recorded births to this point this yr, three endangered Florida panther kittens have been noticed in a state forest. To date in 2024, 18 Florida panthers have been killed, 14 of them by automobiles as habitat loss threatens the survival of the species.
After the primary case of polio in 25 years was reported in Gaza, well being staff have formally began an emergency vaccination drive (and to this point, it’s “going properly”).
Regardless of humanitarian support struggling to succeed in Gaza, UNICEF was ready to ship 1.2 million doses of the polio vaccine to assist increase the drive.
Greater than 100 U.S. cities have banned gas-powered leaf blowers. Gasoline-powered leaf blowers create excessive noise air pollution (the antithesis of inexperienced noise), with essentially the most highly effective ones can produce sounds of as much as 100 decibels of low-frequency noise.
A examine discovered {that a} easy blood check might predict an individual’s coronary heart illness threat 30 years early. Along with levels of cholesterol, docs discovered that two different markers are vital predictors of an individual’s threat of coronary heart assault, stroke, and coronary coronary heart illness.
Individuals in England experiencing a psychological well being disaster can now dial 111 for 24-hour help. Whereas some anxious help methods can be overwhelmed, psychological well being consultants celebrated the addition of a devoted psychological well being help hotline.
The U.S. FDA simply accredited the primary automated insulin supply system for folks with Kind 2 diabetes. Now accredited for adults with Kind 2 diabetes, the system had already been accredited for folks 2 years and older with Kind 1 diabetes.
A brand new examine discovered that the danger of loss of life for individuals who donated a kidney has dropped by greater than half within the final decade. Whereas the dangers for a kidney donor have at all times been low, advances in surgical procedure and medical care, together with extra cautious donor choice, have made it safer than ever earlier than.
LEGO is on monitor to switch the fossil fuels utilized in making its bricks with renewable and recycled plastic. The corporate has examined greater than 600 completely different supplies to utterly section out oil-based plastic because it goals to make all of its merchandise from renewable and recycled supplies by 2032.
[More good: LEGO also recently changed up its physical store design to better support autistic shoppers.]
Quadrupling within the final decade, a brand new examine discovered that 1 in 9 U.S. faculties now use photo voltaic power. With over 800 faculties including photo voltaic arrays within the 2022-2023 faculty yr alone, over 6.2 million Ok-12 college students now attend a college that makes use of solar energy.
[Related: To clean up the air even further for students, moms are driving the push to get more electric buses on roads.]
Because of a brand new Illinois legislation, householders associations within the state can’t ban native crops. Native crops have huge ecosystem advantages, however HOAs within the state have taken to banning them for being too tall, weedy, enticing to rodents, and extra.
The Biden-Harris administration is investing $11 million to help multilingualism in faculties to protect Indigenous languages. The funding will help the recruitment and retention of bilingual and multilingual educators and supply high-quality programming to Native college students.
