no. 105: Most US voters want legal action against Big Oil

Hey friend,

Another week has come and gone...

... with 17 good stories that you're about to discover! If you want a sneak peek get ready for: a new way of drying clothes, major roads closing to cars, an unintended benefit of lobster urine, an exciting guest host for Thursday's episode, and lots more.

I had a fun and tiring week and as I'm writing this Thursday evening, it's all a blur. I do know that I started reading *Not the End of the World by Dr. Hannah Ritchie and I'm only about 30 pages in, but so far it's very inspiring. Full book review coming once I've finished!

Now enjoy this week's good news, get hopeful, and have an amazing weekend.

Progress from Monday, June 10

I always thought there were two ways to dry your clothes, use a drying machine which about 80% of people do every week in North America, or air dry on a clothesline or rack under the sunny sky, but there’s a third way of clothes drying that's gaining popularity in Japan called yokushitsu kansouki ("bathroom dryer"). (Bloomberg)

It blurs the lines between appliance and room, and combines air drying with machine drying, by essentially embedding a heat pump into a bathroom ceiling which blows warm, dehumidified air onto clothes that are hung below it. All your clothes dry in about 3 hours.

It requires a lot less energy than a tumble dryer, isn’t rough on your clothes, takes less time than just air drying, and perhaps especially useful if it’s freezing cold or raining out.

But it does require a small and compact bathroom to be effective.

So maybe there isn’t one best solution to drying clothes, but what do you do? Drop a comment below with your take!

Progress from Tuesday, June 11

🇨🇴 Every Sunday between 7 am and 2 pm, the biggest roads in Bogotá, Colombia have been closed to cars letting 1.5 million participants safely walk and bike through 79 miles of streets, which started a trend which has extended to cities around the world. (The Guardian)

🚽 A new Google Map shows all the public bathrooms across New York City which I can tell you from personal experience can be quite hard to find, as 46 new ones are being added and 36 are getting renovated to be more efficient and accessible across all 5 boroughs. (Secret NYC)

⚽ Real Madrid’s new soccer stadium has a fascinating retractable field made of real grass that’s stored in an underground greenhouse when not in use, reducing energy and maintenance needs. (GNN)

⚖️ The majority of US voters support legal action against Big Oil for deceiving the public, denying involvement, and delaying climate action while at least 40 lawsuits are already in motion by cities and states across the nation (The Guardian).

Progress from Wednesday June 12

🦞 The spiny lobster’s urine scares off predatory worms and snails that snack on coral according to a three-year study, and luckily they urinate quite often as a form of communication with each other. (The Guardian)

👀 The First Nations Guardian Watchmen are a group of indigenous communities monitoring and protecting their lands and waters in Canada who have been awarded Park Ranger badges to enforce laws against poaching and logging on their territory. (The Guardian)

🌞 The world’s largest solar farm is now officially running and connected to China’s power grid, spanning 33,000 acres and reportedly generating enough electricity to theoretically power the entire country of Papua New Guinea. (Reuters & PV Magazine)

🌱 Native succulents that had been lost to overgrazing by cattle and goats are being restored to 250,000 acres of South African land which are a favorite snack for elephants and absorb CO2 faster in the arid conditions. (The Straits Times)

Progress from Thursday, June 13 - cohosted by Adam Met from AJR (and Planet Reimagined)!

✅ By getting bi-partisan support in Congress, Adam and his team found a way to help energy communities in the western US transition their oil and gas businesses to wind and solar, without disturbing any new land by using existing energy permits, resulting in 2000 GW of clean energy which is the same as 2000 new nuclear power plants. (Planet Reimagined)

💧 Two inspiring high schoolers named Victoria and Justin designed an ultrasound system that filters 94% of microplastics out of water that they constructed themselves in their home which just won them a big and well-deserved scholarship. (Grist)

💨 A new study revealed that global efforts to protect the ozone layer and phase out harmful substances which started in the 1987 Montreal protocol are actually 5 years ahead of schedule as substances peaked in 2021 (The Guardian)

🦁 The world’s largest wildlife crossing, which is a bridge that safely reconnects two areas of land, is being built in California stretching the size of a football field and allowing animals like mountain lions, deer, and reptiles to cross safely. (Washpo)

Bonus stories 🍪

Ever heard of farmfluencers?

Environmental education gains ground in Latin America

From projects on coffee waste in Colombia to a Mexican school recycling water, teachers and students are driving successes and new awareness

Dialogue EarthMatias Avramow

Giant viruses discovered on Greenland ice sheet could reduce ice melt

Every spring when the sun rises in the Arctic after months of darkness, life returns. The polar bears pop up from their winter lairs, the Arctic tern soar back from their long journey south, and the musk oxen wade north.

Phys.orgJeppe Kyhne Knudsen

The US is getting stricter with car mileage regulations

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See you again soon,

Jacob

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