no. 82: 2024 is set to have more good news than ever
Happy 2024!
How did you ring in the new year?
I hope you managed to get a lot of rest and have some fun in the last days of 2023.
Despite getting the worst food poisoning of my life (from pizza, of all things) I still managed to rest, read, and party plenty.
And now is the start of a new year full of so many possibilities.
Let's make it a good one!
No Monday stories today because of the holiday! I stayed up too late watching the ball drop in NYC (not really, but I did walk by Times Square, got trapped, and had to take a 10-block detour to make it to my friend's house).
The good from Tuesday, January 2
A restaurant serving cat meat has reached a grant agreement with the Humane Society to close down and instead open a grocery store and save the remaining cats by giving them up for adoption. (VICE)
An estimated 3 million shipwrecks exist around the world (which is insane...!), but it turns out many of these are not sitting uselessly on the ocean floor but have actually created new marine ecosystems full of life from microbes to coral, fish, and sharks. (The Conversation)
Architects have been designing new buildings that are much more bird-friendly, using visible patterned glass, green roofs that provide habitat, and breaking up the solid glass style to reduce collisions. (The Guardian)
New data shows that since 2019, London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) has been so effective that it’s reduced more air pollution than what was created by all of its rail, river, and agriculture combined. (The Guardian)
The good from Wednesday, January 3
100 tiny white seahorses were released into the Sydney Harbour in a continued conservation effort to raise the population of these fascinating endangered animals found only in Australia. (ABC)
The Queen of Denmark is stepping down, with Frederik taking over who’s known for advocating for climate action and emissions reductions, with hopefully much more to come. (NYT)
The number of electric school buses in the US more than doubled last year providing cleaner air for school children in 914 school districts across 40 states. (GNN)
The number of people who are thrifting and buying secondhand clothes is set to double by 2027 as more want high-quality clothes for cheaper prices while being sustainable, with 64% of Gen Z-ers looking for used items before buying new ones. (Positive News)
The good from Thursday, January 4
New mobile biofactories are coming to Amazon communities to process crops like cacao right where it’s grown into delicious chocolate, allowing these communities to earn much higher incomes than just selling raw materials, which should lead to forest protections and avoiding destructive activities like cattle ranching or mining. Big Chocolate has not yet responded to this story… (Mongabay)
New York just became the 10th state to ban wildlife killing contests, ending events where people compete to kill the most, heaviest, or smallest animals for prizes. I was surprised these competitions still existed until I remembered some people literally race 278 yards with their wives on their backs every year to win the wife’s weight in beer… (WAN)
Some ultra-rich actually do good things for the planet like Kris and Doug who used to run Patagonia and North Face, who spent $345 million on South American land they then returned to Chile and Argentina who agreed to conserve it for the next 99 years. If you’re mega-rich and reading this, please take notes… (The Cooldown)
Many experts believe 2023 was the peak of energy emissions and we’ve hit the turning point. Fossil fuel CEOs are wiping their tears away as we speak with billions, and billions, and billions of dollar bills… (The Guardian)
Bonus stories
Carbon Brief Staff
Susan Elizabeth Turek
Good News Network
Sofia Quaglia
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Support good news & independent publishingSee you again soon,
Jacob
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