Collection of good news nuggets to brighten the day.
Dance Marathon
Students at Penn State University have raised a whopping $15 million during their annual 46-hour ‘no sleeping or sitting’ dance marathon. It was an all-time record and will benefit Four Diamonds, a national nonprofit fund that covers 100 percent of all medical expenses for families with childhood cancer at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital. Dubbed THON, the dance party is the world’s largest student-run philanthropy program, which delivers year-round financial and emotional aid to families dealing with childhood cancer.
Dublin's New Greenway
In Dublin, Ireland, local officials have announced that there will be a brand new cycling network added to the city. The bike lanes will be added to the Dublin Canals, as part of a massive new greenway. "We will be able to enjoy the canal more, experience safer walking and cycling facilities and connect with each other more, particularly for those living or working in the northern part of the city," said Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy. The addition of the bike lanes and green space is part of an initiative that will increase the amount of trails in the city from its current 10km and expanded to 310km in the next eight years.
Donaldson Hits Top Spot
Crime writer James Patterson’s long-running streak as the most borrowed author in UK libraries has been broken by children’s author Julia Donaldson. Patterson had been the most borrowed author for 14 years according to Public Lending Right's data. But for the latest data, covering July 2021 to June 2022, Gruffalo author Donaldson was the most borrowed author overall, moving up from third place the year before, and shifting Patterson into second place. Donaldson was also the most borrowed children’s author.
NY Library's Most Borrowed Book Over 125 Years: Out of millions of books and dozens of genres, there is one story that sticks out for Brooklynites and beyond. It's also a book for children...
Drastic CO2 Reduction
Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed an innovative method for existing furnaces that could drastically cut steelmaking’s CO2 emissions. The iron and steel industry accounts for 9 percent of global emissions because the coke (a type of coal) used to produce metallic iron from mined ore releases large quantities of carbon dioxide. The technology aims to convert this carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide that can be reused in the iron ore reaction, subsequently lowering steelmaking’s emissions by up to 88 percent. If retrofitted in the remaining two blast furnaces in the UK, this method could save £1.28 billion in 5 years while reducing the country’s overall emissions by 3 percent.
Clean Water
The World Bank is launching a project in Vietnam to distribute 300,000 water purifiers to 8,000 schools and institutions across the country. It's expected to make clean water available to around two million children and to reduce carbon emissions by almost 3 million tons over the next five years (no more burning wood to boil water).
Reforestation
In the past six years Ghana has reforested over 628,000 hectares of land (approx 2,500 square miles), putting the country seven years ahead of its target to restore 2 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, says Afrik21. The success is attributed to an agroforestry programme that helps farmers plant trees on their land.
"What I am looking for is a blessing not in disguise."
Jerome K. Jerome
On this Day
1 March 1872: Yellowstone National Park was established by the U.S. Congress as the country's - and the world's - first national park this day in 1872.
$550 million of federal funding is on the way to help low-income communities of color fight pollution across the US. Read on...
Easter is a religious holiday, but some of its customs, such as Easter eggs, are likely linked to pagan traditions. Read on...
The Washington Post asked readers to take any word from the dictionary: add, subtract, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Read on...
Mood Booster
Kitten takes three ducklings on an outing.