Brief synopsis of the top good news stories from last week.
First New Asthma Attack Treatment in 50 Years: The research team at King's College London said the drug was a "game-changer" that could "revolutionise" care.
Local Businesses: Amex research shows that Gen Zers and millennials are, perhaps surprisingly, discovering new brands and businesses the old-fashioned way - by walking around their communities. That's good new for local stores.
A First For Tigers: The first international rewilding of tigers has taken place in Kazakhstan - more than 70 years after they vanished from the area.
Coffee Pulp: Extraordinary new study shows the positive impact of spreading discarded coffee pulp on regrowing deforested areas as it enables growth four times faster.
Alphabetic Writing: Found etched into clay cylinders in Syria, the strange symbols date to around 2400 B.C.E. That is 500 years before other known alphabetic scripts.
Einstein Passes Test: The mathematics Albert Einstein devised to describe the gravitational workings of the physical Universe in the early 20th century is still holding strong. In one of the biggest tests of general relativity to date, a huge team of astronomers has mapped the distribution of nearly 6 million galaxies across 11 billion years of the Universe's history, reports ScienceAlert. The way gravity clumps these galaxies together is exactly consistent with predictions made by Einstein.
Urban Environments
Urban Wildflowers: A new study has found that patches of wildflowers in urban areas are just as good for insects as “natural” meadows. Typically a hostile environment for wildlife, these small areas were found to have just as high a diversity of pollinators.
Finland’s Green City Plan: Its ten largest cities have committed to specific, measurable targets for biodiversity preservation, setting a new global standard for urban environmental stewardship.
Cars For Trees: Paris aims to replace 60,000 parking spaces across the city with trees by the end of this decade, according to its newly released climate plan. The goal of ripping up parking spaces is part of a larger aim to create more than 700 acres of green space by 2030. “Trees and nature are natural air conditioners,” officials note. “Their development makes the city more pleasant to live in during periods of high heat.”
Climate & Renewables
Have They Peaked? Experts say global emissions have or are about to peak. The IPCC has set 2025 as the year by which greenhouse-gas emissions must peak if the world is to stay within the Paris climate agreement. So it looks like the world might just achieve this milestone in time.
Global Solar Milestone: Global solar capacity has hit 2 TW, and installations are accelerating. Around 60 percent is from ground-mounted solar farms, while rooftop solar makes up 40 percent. What’s really astounding about this is the pace of change - it took 68 years for the world to install the first terawatt, and just two more to add the second. We need to install 8 TW by 2030 to keep the world on a 1.5C pathway. Not impossible says the Global Solar Council.
US Clean Energy: Are you feeling jittery about the future of the U.S. clean energy transition? Consider this. Renewable energy in the U.S. has grown steadily over the last 20 years. Look at this chart of wind and solar expansion - you’d be hard-pressed to pick out where a Democratic administration ends and a Republican administration begins.
Solar Skin: Mercedes-Benz is developing a new solar paint that could transform EV power by turning ordinary body panels into solar panels.
First and Largest: The world’s first and largest offshore solar farm is now online in China. Once fully complete and online, the solar farm is expected to generate enough energy to power around 2.67 million homes. Better yet, it’s forecast to save around 503,000 tons of coal and cut carbon emissions by 1.34 million tons annually.
SolarCycle: The company's new facility in Georgia will eventually recycle as much as 30 percent of America’s retired solar panels and convert them into new ones.
And Finally...
Raising Successful Kids: Every generation, new philosophies emerge to help parents raise well-adjusted children. But according to a significant body of research - conducted by the Harvard Grant Study since 1938 - there’s one aspect of child-rearing that truly sets kids up for success in adulthood: assigning them chores. That’s right - to reach the top of the ladder later in life, youngsters should start by scrubbing the dishes and taking out the trash.
Today's Articles
Random Funny Signs: A mood boosting collection of entertaining signs (some intentionally so) to get the day off to a good start.