no. 127: We won an award!

Hey fam,

The secret's out: I won my first award for the positive content you know and love... the Elevate Creatives Fund by Shorty Impact Awards & Wave HQ!

I tell stories of progress to protect our environment and amplify the people stepping up to create a better future for all of us.

I'm a mostly one-man show, and it's an honor to be one of the six recipients this year and to now have the opportunity to further expand this work and impact.

THANK YOU to everyone who's given me guidance, engaged with my work, and dedicated your time to making the planet a better place, whether or not you’re getting recognized for it yet.

This one goes out to you! 🥂

Friday, November 15

🪸 Scientists found the world’s largest coral colony that’s so massive it can be seen from space and is made of a billion coral polyps at least 300 years old, showing excellent health despite warming and acidification threats, which researchers hope will help inspire more ocean protections (Melissa Hobson|Natgeo)

🚖 New York City’s controversial congestion pricing plan is reportedly relaunching by Governor Hochul at a lower fee of $9 for cars driving in Manhattan below 60th street to help raise $15 billion for subway improvements while clearing streets and cleaning up the air quality following similar successes in London and Stockholm (Brigid Bergin, Elizabeth Kim, Stephen Nessen and Jon Campbell|Gothamist)

🍱 Students in low-income families buying school meals in the US will no longer have to pay “junk fees” starting in 2027, which are those added processing fees averaging 4.4%, thanks to a new law by the US Department of Agriculture aimed at increasing access to healthy meals for children (Anna Merod|K-12 Dive)

🇵🇱 And today’s community win comes from ryokatsudon who let us know that Poland is planning to establish their first new National Park in 20 years.

Monday, November 18

🦠 A new bacteria called “Chonkus” was discovered by scientists in underwater volcanoes and found to absorb high levels of CO2 through photosynthesis like plants and grows extremely fast in a lab into a dense green peanut butter like substance which could be helpful in future technologies (Sachi Kitajima Mulkey|Grist)

🐦 A fascinating flightless prehistoric bird once believed to be extinct for 100 years called the Takahē is returning to the wild in New Zealand thanks to conservationists incubating eggs and removing invasive predators to increase their population to about 500 (Nisha Zahid|Greek Reporter)

🌞 The world’s largest solar farm in the open sea is now connected to the power grid in China, and once it’s fully operational is expected to generate enough electricity to power well over 2 million homes just a few months after the nation installed the world’s largest single-capacity offshore wind turbine (Michelle Lewis|Interesting Engineering)

🍼 And today’s community win comes from Abby who just became an auntie.

Tuesday, November 19

🐌 A new transparent sea slug species has been discovered in the midnight zone of the deep sea where no light reaches, with marine biologists recording 150 sightings of the glowing gelatinous body of this “mystery mollusc” which is now the most comprehensive description of a deep-sea animal ever made (MBARI)

🌽 Food banks throughout North America have increased their culturally relevant foods that are more familiar to visitors and immigrants experiencing food insecurity which enable people to stay in touch with their cultural identities while meeting their nutritional needs (Jennifer Cole|RTBC)

☢️ Six more countries have signed a declaration to triple their nuclear energy capacity by 2050 with the addition of El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Nigeria and Turkey bringing the number of endorsers up to 31 who are working to clean up their power (WNN)

🐶 And today’s community win comes from [AS] whose local human society received a donation of $6,000 and 5 acres of land to rebuild and continue ending animal suffering.

Wednesday, November 20

🦌 The largest wildlife crossing in the world is now standing across 10 lanes in Los Angeles and while it’s still being built and planted with native plants, once completed it will provide passageway for all sorts of wildlife like mountain lions, bears, deer, coyotes, and snakes (Kirsten Henton|Discover Wildlife)

🌳 Paris is removing 60,000 parking spaces and replacing them with trees as they continue to completely transform the city to make people’s lives better by prioritizing walkability and public transit over cars while improving greenery, air quality, and resilience to extreme heat (Feargus O'Sullivan|Bloomberg)

🐟 After the the largest dam removal in US history was completed on the Klamath River last month allowing it to flow freely again after 100 years, hundreds of salmon have now returned to their old habitats in the area and even laid eggs with experts counting at least 42 egg nests (Hallie Golden|AP)

💼 And today’s community win comes from virtuevix who started working at the New York Immigration Coalition to help train nonprofits to better help immigrants through the legal system.

Thursday, November 21

🇨🇴 An alien-looking animal called the lowland tapir is sacred to the Indigenous Inga community in Colombia who are now leading a conservation project to protect the vulnerable species through a designated area to monitor and prevent hunting, mining or exploitation of the biodiverse territory (James Hall|Mongabay)

🌌 A cluster of galaxies is miraculously aligned in a pattern with gravity so intense that it’s forming a giant magnifying lens for us on Earth, giving astronomers an unprecedented deep view of the universe up to 12 billion light years away which could provide info on dark matter, dark energy, and the development of the universe (Tom Metcalfe|Scientific American)

🚫 The UK announced they’re banning new coal mines following their shuttering of the last coal power plant in the nation as they aim to establish themselves as a leader in the global transition to clean energy (Cristen Hemingway Jaynes|Ecowatch)

🌻 And today’s community win comes from laralovesfrogs who’s planting wildflowers and 20 trees in their lawn to add biodiversity while growing veggies and herbs too.

Bonus

✋ NYC approved a bill to end broker's fees for tenants,

🩷 Rare pink pigeons stand a chance,

🪄 Magic tricks to save the planet

This newsletter was written by Jacob Simon. 700,000+ people are in our community replacing dread & fear with hope & action across Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and now YouTube. You can say hi on LinkedIn, or by emailing jacob@jacobsimonsays.com