#78: COP28 has begun.

Happy December!

That's right, for the first and only time, it's the first day of the last month of 2023.

Doesn't it feel like the year just started?

What a year it's been, and we still have 31 juicy days full of potential to experience.

Let's make them count...

The good from Monday, November 27

The Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards just dropped and they are amazing, with a kangaroo playing air guitar taking the win, and beyond being hilarious, the competition also helps wildlife conservation. (Comedy Wildlife Photo)

The EU has agreed to mostly stop exporting plastic waste to poorer countries for recycling in an effort to reduce plastic pollution. (The Guardian)

Sylvia Earle was the first woman to dive with scuba gear and is now 88 years old and working to designate and protect 158 and counting ocean “Hope Spots” filled with biodiversity. (Reasons to be Cheerful)

A test flight from London to New York using only sustainable aviation fuel is set to test decarbonization potential tomorrow, November 28. (Canary Media)

For more context, NYC has new budget cuts and as a result is proposing to eliminate several important services like community compost drop-offs. I drop my compost off every Saturday morning at my local farmer's market alongside many thousands of others. Help us convince Mayor Adams to keep this pivotal service!

The good from Tuesday, November 28

A Eurasian eagle owl named Flaco is thriving in Central Park after escaping the zoo in February and just came back after a two-week trip to the Lower East Side. (The Guardian)

Foodcycle is running pop-up community cafes in the UK serving food that would’ve gone to waste in supermarkets thus tackling hunger, food waste, and loneliness. (Reasons to be Cheerful)

A new commission is creating a better socially and environmentally responsible mining sector with global standards for issues from child labor to biodiversity loss. (Bloomberg)

An emerging genre of "climate cookbooks" documented by Caroline Saunders helps people cook and eat more sustainably by reducing waste, using local ingredients, and eating more plants. (Grist)

The good from Wednesday, November 29

Young people are leading a global "mindset revolution" pushing for innovative progress across borders, offering hope for real change. (The Monitor)

109 people from 15 to 97 years old got in canoes and risked arrest to block a coal port for 32 hours in the biggest civil disobedience action in Australia’s history, blocking half a million tonnes of coal to demand no new coal projects. (The Guardian)

The EU has proposed a new law to use space satellites that collect forest data to help identify and prevent illegal logging and wildfires. (EcoWatch)

Missouri’s largest electricity provider is looking to close a coal plant that violates clean air laws early, refinance, and hopefully invest savings in renewable energy projects. (Missouri Independent)

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The good from Thursday, November 30

The Black Mambas are a badass all-female anti-poaching squad in South Africa who patrol 20,000 hectares without guns and are empowering women while saving wildlife. (BBC)

The UN global climate talks known as COP28 start today with 200 countries gathering for 2 weeks to take climate action, and honestly, there’s controversy, but I’m hopeful the world will reach meaningful agreements. I’ll keep updating y’all! (UNFCCC)

22 cities in California are testing an AI-powered software that automates solar panel permit approvals for buildings and homes which speeds up the process and lowers costs. (Canary)

Papua New Guinea announced they’re tripling ocean protections and safeguarding sharks, rays, and turtles thanks to 7 years of work from over 9,000 people in 100 indigenous communities. (Wildlife Conservation Society)

Bonus stories, for even more hope

California’s grid is hindering its climate goals. Can a new law fix…

The state’s grid isn’t growing fast enough to support a surge of EVs, heat pumps and more. A new law offers a potential path forward — and could be a model for other states.

Canary Media

New Coral Adoption Program by 4ocean to Help Save Reefs–Every Bracelet Plants a Coral and Removes Ocean Plastic

Every 4ocean bracelet sold will plant a live coral on a damaged reef–and you can watch your adopted coral grown in a nursery.

Good News NetworkGood News Network

Australia offers visas to Tuvalu residents displaced by climate change | Semafor

Tuvalu faces an existential threat from climate change, and rising sea levels are expected to swallow the nine-atoll South Pacific nation by 2100.

Semafor LogoJennaMoon/

‘Hope has to be a strategy’: the scientist who refused to let the climate warmongers win

As one of Australia’s most influential voices on climate, Lesley Hughes has thought deeply about how to talk about the crisis and says hope has a key role to play

The GuardianGraham Readfearn

Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change » Yale Climate Connections

The rapid rise of renewables and EVs has already put us on a safer path.

Yale Climate ConnectionsDana Nuccitelli

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See you again soon,

Jacob

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