A smorgasbord of positive news stories to brighten the day.
Winner's Message
A nursing student from Alabama has won Miss America – and used her platform to urge America’s young adults to get back to work. Abbie Stockard, 22, says she feels like ‘most celebrated girl in the world’ after scooping coveted tiara and $50,000 prize money on Sunday, beating 51 other hopefuls to be crowned the winner at the annual pageant in Orlando, Florida. When asked about employment for young adults, Ms Stockard said: “I believe we need to encourage those [people] to join the workforce, adapt to new skills and learn to grow in our current workforce and industries we have today.”
US Fusion Power
A location has been decided for the first commercial nuclear fusion power plant in America. Chesterfield County, Virginia will welcome Commonwealth Fusion Systems experimental ARC plant on the site of a decommissioned coal power plant. Founded on the campus of MIT in Boston, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is one of the world’s leaders in advancing the quest for commercial nuclear fusion energy - the ultimate energy source for humanity which replicates the process that forged our Sun to create emission-free, pollution-free energy. The first component of the ARC plant will be the fusion complex, and is slated to be finished in 2026.
New Year Spirit
Charles Hayward, a cabinet maker and editor of The Woodworker magazine, in 1938 wrote about starting the year with enthusiasm: "There is a dynamic quality about enthusiasm which nothing can resist. You can see it in the street orator, whose whole heart is in his argument, swaying a crowd. You can feel it in the work of any artist - painter, writer, musician, or whatever he be - if he has put himself into the thing he has wrought in, felt it enough, suffered it enough. And the beginning of the year is a good time, it seems to me, to set about enkindling our enthusiasm afresh. For life is a dead thing without it. Make it woodwork, if our tastes lie in that direction; make it stamp collecting; make it anything in the wide world so long as it is alive and vital."
Cute Animal Videos
A 2020 study from the University of Leeds found watching videos and images of cute animals can help reduce stress levels by up to 50 percent. The study was done in conjunction with Western Australia Tourism, which made sure that all study participants watched videos of the quokka, a small and very cute marsupial found in that region. It’s possible this was a stealth quokka marketing campaign, but other studies have also found cute animal videos provide stress-relieving benefits.
Watching Nature Makes You Happy: A study by BBC Earth and the University of California reveals that watching nature documentaries can make you happier. Here's the 2 minute video.
Cloud Forests
Determined conservationists are planting millions of polylepis, or "cloud trees," in the Andes, working to restore the forests that once covered wide swaths of the South American mountain range. Cloud trees absorb and retain water from clouds and melting glaciers and prevent soil erosion. The nonprofit Acción Andina works with Indigenous communities in Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Colombia to plant and care for saplings. Since 2018, more than 10 million trees have been planted.
Tesla Clings On
Tesla has announced that it had delivered 1.79 million vehicles last year, a 1 percent drop from the 1.81 million vehicles it delivered in 2023. This is the first time Tesla's annual sales have declined in over a decade. Tesla's Chinese rivals, on the other hand, saw a rise in sales.
BYD says that it sold 1.76 million battery electric cars in 2024, a 12 percent increase from the 1.57 million cars it sold in 2023.
"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." Rudyard Kipling
On This Day
7 January 1894: William K.L. Dickson captures "Fred Ott's Sneeze" as a motion picture at Thomas Edison's Black Mariah Studio, West Orange, New Jersey - becoming the first known copyrighted documentary film.
Today's Articles
CO2 to Methane: In good news for people and planet, another enterprise has created an innovative solution for reducing carbon emissions.
More Women Than Men: Iceland's new government has more women than men, becoming the fourth in the world to achieve this milestone.
Mood Boosting Video
Finland: A couple of adorable red squirrels filmed in the snow.