The world is full of excellent news, however it’s not at all times simple to search out. We’re right here to assist
Day-after-day, Good Good Good’s workforce of journalists, nonprofit consultants, and do-gooders search out the most effective excellent news on this planet.
We share these with our neighborhood right here on our web site, in our fashionable every day publication, on social media, and in our month-to-month print newspaper.
Listed below are the highlights for this week!
The Greatest Good Information We’re Celebrating This Week —
Serving to handle meals insecurity, a San Francisco neighborhood simply opened its first free grocery retailer
Modeled after a conventional grocery retailer, the District 10 Group Market is now formally open for customers. Reasonably than footing a significant invoice at checkout, although — its clients received’t pay something.
Whereas meals banks usually supply pre-packaged kits of meals for individuals, this grocery retailer provides a extra dignified buying expertise by permitting individuals to decide on their meals objects.
The market serves low-income neighborhood members who meet sure standards, and customers should acquire a grocery card from a partnering nonprofit to make the most of the market.
Why is that this excellent news? Meals insecurity is a significant subject within the U.S. (and all over the world). Along with addressing that subject, this sort of buying expertise reduces stigma, ends in much less meals waste (individuals “purchase” what they’ll really cook dinner and eat, relatively than objects being chosen for them), and helps donors perceive what individuals most respect and want.
The U.S. put in extra photo voltaic capability within the first quarter of 2024 than it did in all of 2018
The U.S. noticed probably the most photo voltaic manufacturing development within the nation’s historical past within the first quarter of this yr, with a complete put in capability of 200 gigawatts.
Making up an unimaginable 75% of all new electricity-generating capability added to the grid in Q1, a file 11.8 gigawatts of latest photo voltaic capability got here on-line.
A brand new report discovered that complete manufacturing capability additionally elevated to 26.6 gigawatts in Q1, a major soar from 15.6 gigawatts within the earlier quarter.
The identical report additionally discovered that the U.S. added extra new photo voltaic capability in 2023 than initially reported: over 40 gigawatts. It tasks the U.S. will set up one other 40 gigawatts complete this yr.
For the primary time in Brazil’s historical past, a conventional fishing neighborhood is now managing a state park’s providers
For the primary time in Brazil, a conventional neighborhood is managing and working customer services inside a state conservation unit.
The Caiçaras, a conventional fishing peoples, of Cardoso Island have lived in what’s right this moment Ilha do Cardoso State Park for the reason that nineteenth century. A yr in the past they received a landmark courtroom determination that discovered it was unconstitutional to bar them from bidding, provided that it was on their territory.
In a public-community partnership with the São Paulo state authorities, the neighborhood mow formally manages lodging providers for guests, cafeterias, training trails, a crafts store, and a guests’ heart.
Why is that this excellent news? Between the creation of Ilha do Cardoso State Park in 1962 and the top of Brazil’s navy regime in 1984, the 400 households residing on the island confronted fixed intimidation to depart.
In a poetic flip of justice, these households are actually extra integral to the land than ever earlier than — and historical past exhibits us that’s excellent news for the planet and for individuals.
Forward of this yr’s record-breaking hurricane season, local weather scientists are serving to Caribbean households shield their properties
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is formally right here and forecasts venture excessive numbers of storms.
To assist with preparations, a gaggle of local weather scientists fashioned the Caribbean Local weather Adaptation Community to attach scientists with communities and governments within the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
With a novel understanding of the coastal-urban surroundings, they’re on a mission to combine human-made programs, comparable to buildings and infrastructure, with pure programs, such because the environment, ecosystems, and oceans — all of which face distinctive challenges within the face of local weather change.
They’ve labored on upgrading outdated electrical energy infrastructure to extra resilient programs like solar energy, notably small-scale rooftop installations that may energy particular person properties and companies throughout grid outages.
[Related: While its neighbors didn’t fare so well after Hurricane Ian in 2022, one Florida community never even lost power.]
They’re additionally monitoring sea and land temperatures to raised shield individuals from excessive warmth and extra intense hurricanes. The community hopes to increase its efforts all through all the Caribbean.
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The world’s largest photo voltaic farm is now on-line in China — now dwelling to the three largest farms on this planet
Producing about 6.09 billion kilowatt hours of electrical energy yearly, the world’s largest photo voltaic farm is now related formally to China’s grid.
Positioned on 33,000 acres within the desert in northwestern Xinjiang, the photo voltaic farm’s manufacturing capability may energy 2.03 million electrical automobiles yearly.
China is dwelling to the highest three largest photo voltaic farms on this planet, and this newest is a part of the nation’s “megabase” plan to put in 455 gigawatts of wind and photo voltaic. The farms are situated in decrease populated areas and ship power to main city facilities.
What’s the nuance? Xinjiang can be a hub for producing polysilicon, a vital materials utilized in manufacturing photo voltaic panels. There have been rising requires transparency within the area’s provide chain as a consequence of reported mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims and different ethnic minorities.
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A significant equipment firm has donated a whole bunch of like-new fridges to meals banks across the U.S.
Whirlpool’s Really feel Good Fridge program takes broken or returned fridges, refurbishes them, and supplies them to meals banks and companies in want of storing perishable items.
Fridge models in this system are sourced from clients who return a fridge to a retailer, or from warehouses the place an equipment could have been broken in transit or at one other level in its youth cycle.
For the reason that program launched in 2021, it has donated greater than 900 refurbished fridges and delivered greater than 250,000 kilos of meals to associate companies, reaching greater than 25,000 food-insecure households. Because of a brand new partnership, it’s increasing to 10 extra U.S. cities.
Why is that this excellent news? In recent times, unsettling particulars about the place merchandise goes after it’s returned have surfaced, main shoppers to be extra considerate with their purchases and firms to make an effort to reduce their wasteful impression.
Returns even have a significant impression on the planet — as much as 24 million metric tons of carbon emissions are attributed to e-commerce returns annually.
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Scientists uncovered a method to convert blood sorts — opening the door to common blood donation
In a newly revealed examine — and a medical breakthrough 40 years within the making — researchers shared the findings of a brand new method taking the world one step nearer to creating blood sorts common.
Utilizing enzymes produced by micro organism (that the majority of us have in our guts already!), the scientists had been capable of strip purple blood cells of antigens and sugars that create distinctions between blood sorts.
The blood forms of donors and recipients must match as a result of the recipient’s immune system may assault and destroy the brand new blood cells, which could possibly be deadly. Common blood may additionally assist curb errors like ABO-mismatched transfusions.
Why is that this excellent news? This information is particularly thrilling to have a good time right this moment on World Blood Donor Day, since final yr the American Purple Cross introduced it’s going through extreme blood shortages — which suggests life-saving surgical procedures, transfusions, and extra are placed on maintain. This information may swiftly clear up these shortages and convey life-saving blood to individuals in want.
To enhance entry to well being care, nurses are going door-to-door in Baltimore to convey main care to residents
A brand new program in Baltimore known as Neighborhood Nursing goals to unravel a significant subject within the metropolis: individuals lacking out on main preventative well being care to catch medical points earlier than they flip into larger, costlier issues.
Aiming to “flip main care on its head,” Neighborhood Nursing’s workforce of nurses and neighborhood well being staff meet individuals the place they’re at with free well being checks.
They make weekly visits to lobbies of three condo buildings in a predominantly Black neighborhood that’s been deprived by many years of discriminatory housing insurance policies.
The thought is modeled after an identical program first tried in Costa Rica, which noticed individuals wrestle to entry preventive main well being care, particularly in poor and rural areas — very like the U.S. is seeing now.
It labored spectacularly in Costa Rica — they usually’re hoping to see related ends in Baltimore, too.
Extra excellent news of the week —
Beating their goal, Coldplay introduced their carbon footprint after two years of touring is 59% decrease than their earlier tour. The band used inventive options like kinetic dance flooring, recyclable LED wristbands, and touring by prepare.
[Related good news: Billie Eilish solidifies her “sustainable pop star” status by paying for fans’ public transportation and solar-powering her Lollapalooza set.]
The Division of the Inside simply introduced $130 million in funding to revitalize land in coal communities. It’s half of a bigger plan to scrub up legacy air pollution and create good-paying jobs and financial alternatives for coal communities amidst the clear power transition.
The New York Audubon Society simply formally modified its identify to sever ties with its namesake’s anti-abolitionist slave proprietor. Acknowledging John James Audubon’s contributions to artwork and ornithology, the group’s members voted to vary their identify to NYC Hen Alliance.
New accordion-style photo voltaic panels are designed to endure excessive climate and harsh environments. They will face up to wind speeds as much as 166 mph, superb for hurricane-prone locations like Puerto Rico, which is getting a cargo later this yr.
Austria is creating the first-ever photovoltaic freeway the place you may drive at 155 mph and recharge your automobile. First, they’re engaged on an progressive photo voltaic roof design that not solely harnesses the solar’s power but in addition ensures optimum safety and performance.
A metropolis in Spain is popping cemeteries into the nation’s largest city photo voltaic farm. The venture has been dubbed RIP, Requiem in Energy, and was launched this month with the primary photovoltaic panels put in.
To guard honeybees, Seoul simply banned a widely-used pesticide suspected in inflicting their inhabitants decline. At the least 7.8 billion honeybees, greater than 15% of the entire inhabitants, prematurely died or disappeared between September and November 2022, and neonicotinoids are a chief suspect.
[Be(e) the good: In addition to cutting out the use of pesticides, here’s a way you can help protect bees where you live!]
Sam Smith simply launched a brand new LGBTQ+ charity to present queer artists a “protected area” to be themselves. Referred to as The Pink Home, Smith mentioned it should “be a helpful useful resource for all queer individuals, to work in direction of serving to safe a cheerful dwelling for all.”
Eire simply expanded its free contraception program to incorporate ladies between the ages of 32 and 35. Serving to enhance entry to contraception, the nation’s Free Contraception Scheme was first launched in September 2022, initially for these aged 17 to 25, and expanded to incorporate 26-30-year-olds in 2023.
As a part of a rewilding venture, three endangered horses traveled 3,000 miles to a nature protect of their native homeland. Thought-about the final “actually wild” horse on this planet, the Przewalski’s horse inhabitants is slowly rising after they disappeared from the wild fully within the Sixties.
Thirty years within the making, building is now underway on the world’s largest wildlife crossing. Positioned over a busy freeway in California infamous for animal-car collisions, the state simply introduced the crossing is on observe to open in early 2026.
Critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombats had been simply relocated to a brand new forest in Australia. Profitable conservation and breeding efforts have led to a 1,000% enhance in its numbers, with about 400 complete now on this planet.
In a historic first for any skilled sports activities league, the Stanley Cup Remaining video games shall be broadcast in American Signal Language. The primary totally immersive viewing expertise for the Deaf neighborhood by an expert sports activities league, “NHL in ASL” is obtainable for each recreation of the collection.
Making historical past in plenty of methods, a trans girl was simply topped Miss Maryland USA. Bailey Anne Kennedy broke virtually each barrier that existed within the state’s pageant historical past, together with being the primary married, Asian American, and trans girl winner.
Researchers have developed oral insulin drops that would substitute injections for individuals with diabetes. Within the works for 3 years, the drops are positioned underneath the tongue and absorbed into the physique, eliminating the necessity for needles.
The WNBA is seeing file in-person attendance alongside record-breaking TV viewership. For the reason that begin of the season, greater than half of all WNBA video games have been sellouts — a 156% enhance from final yr — and WNBA arenas had been crammed to a 94% capability — up 17% from final yr.
Colorado’s 42 state parks will now supply blind guests an app to assist them safely discover on their very own. The Aira app is an accessibility-assist software, which makes use of the digital camera on a smartphone to attach customers to a stay, professionally-trained agent.
[Related: Several national parks have significantly increased their adaptive excursion offerings this summer.]
A women-led group of forest rangers in Indonesia is main patrols within the jungle to fight deforestation. Very like the workforce stopping rhino poaching in South Africa, their efforts are working they usually’re now sharing their methods with different women-led teams striving to guard their forests throughout the nation.
USPS simply launched a brand new sea turtle stamp assortment to honor the conservation efforts behind six endangered sea turtle species. The guide of stamps consists of six totally different designs that includes totally different species which are depending on U.S. coastal waters for his or her habitat and survival.
Regardless of having much less capability, Amtrak is on observe to interrupt ridership data in 2024. Ridership was 20% increased within the first seven months of Amtrak’s price range yr that started Oct. 1, and ticket income was up 10% versus the identical interval in 2023.
New quick chargers can cost extra electrical automobiles to 80% in simply quarter-hour. Whereas electrical automobiles include a slew of constructive advantages, one of many drawbacks for a lot of shoppers is how lengthy they take to cost — these new chargers assist clear up that.
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