Some tasty bite-sized chunks of positive news to perk up the day.
Good News for Koalas
Down Under, there’s a huge campaign to connect 315,000 hectares (750,000 acres) of coastal habitat for koalas in New South Wales into a single national park. Now, a new logging ban to come into effect will protect 106 “hubs” across 8,400 hectares (21,000 acres) of forest where koalas in the wild are known to congregate in largest numbers. It's an “historic step forward,” said the Nature Conservation Council, describing the area as “the most important koala habitat in the world.” The parcel is just one part, though key, of the 315,000 hectares that a coalition of conservation organizations is hoping to protect forever to ensure koalas can survive the eons.
US City Trees
Hundreds of communities in cities across America will share more than $1 billion in federal money to help them plant and maintain trees under a federal program that is intended to reduce extreme heat, benefit health, and improve access to nature.
Lucky Find
A sketch of Dover Harbor, created by British landscape artist John Constable on a sailing trip in 1803, has been found in a house in Leeds, northern England. It was discovered in an old suitcase during a house clearance, and those responsible for cleaning and restoring realized the celebrated artist was responsible for the work when they found ‘J Constable’ written by hand on the back while examining it. “That is an old inscription, perhaps added when members of his family sold off drawings and sketches after his death in 1837. It is not Constable’s signature,” said Dominic Cox, from auctioneers David Duggleby who will be selling the artwork. It's expected to fetch around $150,000.
New World Record
Last week, a group of speed freak students from ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland demolished the electrical vehicle acceleration world record in style, says Guinness World Records. Spending every spare minute building and refining their racing car, they managed to get from zero to 62.15 mph (100 kph) in 0.965 seconds over a distance of 40.3 feet (12.3 meters).
Forgoing $100 Million
Three decades ago, Ronnie and Terry Urbanczyk fell in love with the 245-acre Honey Creek Ranch in the wooded grasslands of Texas, and moved their family of five away from the bustle of San Antonio. Over the next 30 years, they grew the ranch to 750 acres. They had initially planned to sell off a chunk of their land that could have earned them $125 million, but in June, they accepted an offer from the state of Texas to buy 515 acres of the ranch for just $25 million in order to safeguard a crucial eco-system. “We’ve had a lot of fantastic memories out there and now the people in Texas are gonna get to really enjoy it for the next thousand years,” says Ronnie.“This acquisition is a wonderful example of what we can achieve through public-private partnerships and conservation-minded landowners who want to help preserve the last, best places in Texas for future generations,” says David Yoskowitz of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Cash to Homeless
Most people assume that homeless people cannot manage their money. This is not true, says Vox. Canadian researchers gave 50 people experiencing homelessness a one-time lump sum of $7,500 and the recipients spent it mostly on food, housing, transit, and clothing. They also spent an average of 99 fewer days homeless and spent less time in shelters - 'costing' society less by doing so. This, therefore, could be a radically new way of making people's lives better whilst being less of a burden on tax payers. A win win scenario.
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
On this Day
19 September 1893: New Zealand becomes the first country to grant all women the right to vote.
The lovely Swedish winter tradition of 'Little Saturday' that actually occurs on Wednesdays. Morale booster...
Mood Booster
André Rieu performs Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah live in London.
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