GOOD NEWS
Adidas’s Zero-Waste Sneaker, Creating Electricity from Snowfall, World’s Biggest Sun-Tracking Solar Farm
Adidas’s new ‘Futurecraft.Loop’ sneaker is made out of thermoplastic polyurethane and is completely recyclable; a new device generates electricity by capturing the charge produced when snow contacts a silicone surface; and Dutch engineers have built the world’s biggest archipelago of sun-tracking solar panel islands.
GOOD NEWS
Rethinking Sustainable Agriculture, E-Vehicle Battery Vending Machines, Curbing Illegal Wildlife Trade
Instead of relying on crop rotation, an ancient Jewish agricultural practice allows the land to rest for an entire year; SUN Mobility plans to solve India’s pollution problem by providing battery vending machines at charging stations; illegal shark fin trade can now be countered with a handheld DNA scanner.
GOOD NEWS
Del Taco to Add Pea-Based “Meat”, the Psychology of Peace, Record Solar Panel Installations in Australia
Del Taco customers will soon be able to request pea-based, environmentally-friendly “meat” as an alternative to any protein in Del Taco products; Israeli researchers are running a unique experiment in order to understand the psychology behind the Israel-Palestine conflict; Australia installed almost 50 percent more rooftop panels in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year.
GOOD NEWS
Electric Weed Control, Replacing Polyester with Banana Plants, Tree-Planting Drones in Myanmar
GOOD NEWS
Affordable Medicine for Africa, Philippines Poverty Rate Down 24%, AI Improves Disaster Relief
A Ghanaian start-up is making medicine in Africa more affordable; due to economic growth, the poverty rate in the Phillipines has decreased substantially since 2015; and advances in AI enable a variety of disaster relief measures – from rebuilding affected areas to tracking migration trends.
GOOD NEWS
Belize Triples Marine Protected Area, Banana Leaves Instead of Plastic Packaging, Shell Carbon Credit Scheme
Belize triples its marine reserves and prohibits fishing across most of these areas; Thai supermarkets are replacing plastic packaging with something as simple and effective as banana leaves; Shell will launch a new carbon credit scheme to offset driver’s emissions.
GOOD NEWS
Bavarians Vote for Green Farming, Cervical Disease Wiped out in Scotland, Solar Canoes for the Amazon
In response to a petition signed by nearly two million citizens, Bavaria will issue a law imposing green farming practices; HPV vaccination nearly wiped out cervical disease in Scotland; and in the Amazon, solar canoes could be a cheap and environmentally-friendly transportation alternative.
GOOD NEWS
Renewables Provide a Third of Global Power Capacity, Plastic-To-Oil Recycling, Boosting Income and Biodiversity
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, renewables now provide a third of the global power capacity; Tesco is trialing a game-changing plastic-to-oil recycling system; and farmers in Cameroon are boosting their income by planting forest-friendly spices and preserving biodiversity.
GOOD NEWS
Biofuel Breakthrough, NYC Establishes a Traffic Tax, Ethical Investing Gathering Momentum
University of Utah engineers have found a quick, cheap and efficient method to turn algae into fuel; NYC establishes a traffic tax in order to invest in public transit and cut congestion and emissions; and global impact investing has reached the largest ever market size.
GOOD NEWS
New York Bans Plastic Bags, App Supports Immigrant-Run Restaurants, Farming on Top of a Shopping Center
New York becomes the second state in the U.S. after California to ban most types of single-use plastic bags; a food delivery app in San Francisco is launching a program to put place immigrant-run restaurants into the spotlight; in Copenhagen, “Refarmed” is rethinking how we produce and consume food.
GOOD NEWS
Massive New Marine Reserve near Ascension Island, Carpooling Service Cuts Pollution in Pakistan
Covering nearly half a million square kilometers, a new marine reserve near Ascension Island will be one of the largest in the Atlantic; The Pakistani web-based service RASAI reduces congestion and pollution by helping commuters share rides; and dogs can be trained to warn about approaching epileptic seizures.
GOOD NEWS
New Hydrogel Absorbs Water from Air, Mentoring Refugee Women in London, Agroforestry in Kenya
Scientists have created a new hydrogel that can absorb up to 50 liters of water from the atmosphere; in London, a social enterprise matches mid-career women with refugee women for a four-month mentoring programme; and in Kenya, farmers are planting Melia volkensii trees to curb climate change and generate revenue through selling timber.
GOOD NEWS
Six-Country Initiative to Protect the Congo Basin, Teaching South African Children How to Code
Six Central African countries have announced an ambitious initiative to preserve the Congo Basin; Africa Teen Geeks, one of the largest computer science non-profit organisation in Africa, is teaching South African children how to code; and machine learning algorithms successfully monitor the annual wildebeest migration in Tanzania.
