Goodbye, January
Hey fam,
When I'm feeling overwhelmed, I try and reduce my screen time, get my blood flowing a bit with a workout, and get outside in some nature. I did a lot of all three this week.
A literal breath of fresh air can't be beat, but as always, I've found some great stories of progress to help you get a big digital one.
If you're also feeling like it was a crazy month, remember that people aren't gonna stop fighting for a better future, and taking care of yourself should always be a priority.
Before we dive in, I have a quick fix from our last newsletter. It's come to my attention (thanks, David!) that one of last week's stories had a broken link. It's an interesting one, so here's that fixed for you:
🏡 Integrating nature into buildings known as biophilic design is gaining popularity amongst architects who are building homes around existing trees, planting greenery inside, and incorporating vegetation into urban buildings which gives off solarpunk vibes and could help remind people why nature is worth protecting (Kim Cook|AP)
And now, enjoy many more good stories from this week!
Friday, January 24 (watch here)
🌌 The most accurate map of the Milky Way ever created is this stunning collection from 3 trillion observations of 2 billion objects in space by the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope over the past decade which is giving us the best understanding of our galaxy to date with even more data coming soon (Evan Gough|Universe Today)
🏜️ The largest connected and protected stretch of land in the US is now spanning 600 miles from Utah to California, with the Moab to Mojave Conservation Corridor containing 18 million acres of wilderness that provides safe migration pathways, protects Indigenous cultural history, and preserves nature (Caitlyn Burford, Amy Tian, Nik Moy|NPCA)
🎒 To help children in rural areas of Tanzania without reliable electricity be able to read at night, Innocent James invented Soma Bags, or “reading bags” in Swahili which is a backpack made from upcycled cement bags and equipped with solar panels that charge up a light to enable reading after dark (Joshua Korber Hoffman|CNN)
🍌 And today’s community win comes from Justice who just started a compost pile.
Monday, January 27 (watch here)
🦅 Four climbers were heading up El Capitan in Yosemite when they found an active peregrine falcon nest (the fastest animals on Earth).
Last seen 35 years prior, they leapt into action to team up with local conservationists and help protect these magnificent birds. Learn more in today's throwback episode.
Tuesday, January 28 (watch here)
🌱 After Juan Guillermo Garcés started a fire to clear a stretch of land for cattle that grew out of control and was nearly the end for him, he turned his life around to become an environmental hero, setting up the Rio Claro nature reserve protecting 7,400 acres of wilderness where over 100 new species have been discovered (The Guardian)
🔬 The world’s first fully 3D printed microscope has been finalized which is open source, costs only about $60 and 3 hours of time, and means that almost anybody can access lab-grade microscopes to use for science and education which has historically cost tens of thousands of dollars (Benjamin Perez|3D Print)
🐺 15 more gray wolves have been reintroduced to the wild in Colorado as the state works to establish a permanent self-sustaining population, and these seven male and eight female wolves will be a big boost for the efforts by Colorado Parks and Wildlife to bring them back to their native home (Cristen Hemingway Jaynes|Ecowatch)
👙 And today’s community win comes from Lady Leo who started upcycling clothes to reduce fast fashion.
Wednesday, January 29 (watch here)
💼 A four day work week has come to 200 UK companies where over 5,000 people across marketing firms, nonprofits, tech, and consultancies are getting more free time with no loss of pay, which improves productivity, mental wellbeing, and employee retention for the same output over fewer hours (Kalyeena Makortoff|The Guardian)
🐵 A chimpanzee named Beryl and her daughter Lindsay have developed their own language gesture where Lindsay puts her hand on Beryl’s eye to signal when she wants to climb on her back and travel, a behavior that’s never been documented before as scientists continue to explore how language develops (Brandon Keim|NYT)
🔋 China smashed their own records for new installations of solar and wind power, increasing the amount of solar by 45.2% and wind by 18% which helped hit their targets 6 years ahead of schedule with some analysts saying their peak emissions could be achieved this year and then start falling (Cristen Hemingway Jaynes|Ecowatch)
☕️ And today’s community win comes from itskarianne who’s reducing waste by bringing their own reusable cup to cafes.
Thursday, January 30 (watch here)
🏠 A vacant lot in LA that was set once to become a new jail has instead turned into a housing complex for people experiencing homelessness, made from shipping containers and created in just 6 months which is providing 232 temporary and permanent housing units for about 800 people so far (Kamrin Baker|GoodGoodGood)
🐶 Thousands of therapy dogs are helping hospital staff deal with high stress levels, mental strain, and burnout, allowing doctors and nurses to decompress between intense situations with these labradors like Peppi trained as “Canine Companions” to help boost mental wellbeing (John Daley|NPR)
⚡️ Leaders from over half of Africa’s countries came together and committed to spending $35 billion on expanding electricity across the continent with about half going into community solar mini grids, the now quickest and cheapest way to help hundreds of millions get access to reliable power for the first time (Max Bearak & Malin Fezehai|NYT)
🧦 And today’s community win comes from ashamattai who’s committing to doing a no-buy year for new clothes.
Bonus stories
🌊 Waterwheels are making a comeback?
💒 Same-sex marriages became legal in Thailand, the 3rd Asian nation to recognize these.
💰 Bloomberg committed to funding the US contributions to the Paris Agreement (despite the president making the wrong choice by pulling the nation out of it).
Spread this breath of fresh air🪴
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Support good news & independent publishingThis newsletter was written by Jacob Simon. 800,000+ people are in our community replacing dread & fear with hope & action across Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and now YouTube. You can say hi on LinkedIn, or by emailing jacob@jacobsimonsays.com
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