Good News Friday

  • Teen invents a solar-powered water purifier — made entirely of electronic waste — to help people impacted by floods. Good Good Good.
  • TB deaths decline almost 80% among people living with HIV in Zambia. Longview News-Journal.
  • Between 2000 and 2020, access to safe water in China increased from 45.7% to 91.3%. BMC.
  • Completion of Dutch-Jordanian project brings clean water, improved sanitation to 125,000 people in Irbid. The Jordan Times.
  • St. Paul to wipe out medical debt for 32,000 residents. MPR News.
  • Since 2019, manufacturing jobs in 30 US states have witnessed the first full recovery after a recession since the 1970s. Stateline.
  • Researchers develop crystals to harvest water from air, inspired by desert life. NYU Abu Dhabi.
  • This malaria vaccine is delivered by a mosquito bite. Nature.
  • Middle schooler leads $11.5 million project to build air filters for schools. NBC.
  • Chile’s renewable energy surge pushes coal to new lows. The Progress Playbook.
  • Türkiye increases solar generation by 40% in a single year. Ember.
  • Global solar capacity hits 2 TW. It took 68 years for the world to install the first terawatt, and just two more to add the second. Global Solar Council.
  • A two-year experiment found that coral reefs can endure in heated water better than expected. Anthropocene.
  • Oldest known alphabet unearthed in ancient Syrian city. Phys.org.
  • AI finds hundreds more Nazca Lines in Peru. New York Times.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • GiveDirectly’s flagship cash program is 3 to 4 times more cost-effective than previously estimated. GiveWell.
  • Veteran homelessness in the US reaches record low, decreasing by 7.5% since 2023. VA News.
  • The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is the third most dangerous area for avian migration nationwide, and the “Lights Out” initiative has already proven to successfully reduce bird casualties. Good Good Good.
  • Since Nairobi’s school lunch program launched in 2023, test scores, attendance and enrollment have increased significantly. 17 central kitchens have created 2,000 jobs. 300,000 children now are having a meal every day. Bloomberg.
  • Australia’s emissions from generating electricity have fallen 30% since 2015 thanks to wind and solar. The Progress Playbook.
  • Global electric vehicle sales on track for another record year. The Progress Playbook.
  • Poverty rate in Latin America & Caribbean reaches lowest ever level. CEPAL.
  • Warsaw has cut road fatalities by 55% in the last decade. Bloomberg.
  • New analysis finds 99 percent of existing U.S. coal plants are more expensive to run than replacement by local wind, solar, and energy storage resources. Energy Innovation.
  • Colombia outlaws child marriage after 17-year campaign. The Guardian.
  • Cervical cancer could be the first cancer humanity eliminates. The Telegraph.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • Teen tobacco use falls to 25-year low. Axios.
  • Eight countries pledge to ban corporal punishment. The Guardian.
  • More women than ever will serve as U.S. governors. The 19th.
  • A cloned black-footed ferret successfully gave birth — marking the first time a U.S. clone of an endangered species produced offspring, and an opportunity to rebuild the black-footed ferret population. NPR.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Gentleman Boss by Thomas C. Reeves

Chester Alan Arthur was born in 1829 in Fairfield, Vermont (although he would later list his birth year as 1830 to make people think he was a year younger). His father William had been born in Ireland. William was a Baptist preacher, a school-teacher, a magazine editor, and co-founder of the New York Anti-Slavery Society.

Chet had four older sisters and a younger brother. He was named Chester after the physician who delivered him and he was named Alan after his Irish grandfather (his middle name is pronounced the Irish way).

Continue reading

Good News Friday

  • Between 2016 and 2021 the number of people killed by air pollution from fossil fuels fell by almost 7 per cent, from 2.25 million to 2.09 million, largely thanks to the closure of coal-fired power stations. The Times.
  • EU greenhouse gas emissions down 8 percent in 2023. Politico.
  • Researchers were able to train rats to pick up on the scent of illegally trafficked elephant ivory, rhino horn, African blackwood, and pangolin scales. IFL Science.
  • Australia to slash $10 billion off student debt amid cost of living pressures. Reuters.
  • Ozone hole continues healing in 2024. Earth Observatory.
  • Texas woodpecker no longer endangered after 54 years. Chron.
  • Thailand moves to end statelessness for nearly 500,000 people. UN News.
  • Plants absorb 31% more CO2 than previously thought. SciTech Daily.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • New York hit its distributed solar goal a year early. Renewable Energy World.
  • New ‘bioplastic’ degrades in water faster than paper — and could replace Styrofoam, other single-use plastics. Good Good Good.
  • China’s emissions have flatlined amid blistering renewables rollout. The Progress Playbook.
  • The EU got 52% of its electricity from renewables in second quarter of 2024. The Progress Playbook.
  • How a nearly extinct crocodile species returned from the brink in Cambodia. AP News.
  • The Cuyahoga River was so polluted, it used to catch fire. Now it’s making a comeback. NPR.
  • US power grid added battery equivalent of 20 nuclear reactors in past four years. The Guardian.
  • PhD student finds lost city in Mexico jungle by accident. BBC.
  • The American chestnut may be the first tree species brought back from functional extinction. MIT Technology Review.
  • Half a pound of this powder can remove as much CO₂ from the air as a tree. Los Angeles Times.
  • In the 1980s, mountain gorillas in Rwanda were on the brink of extinction due to poaching and habitat loss. Now they’re doing so well that they need more space. World Economic Forum.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.